My Collection of Vintage Firearms
Dreyse Model 1907 Pistol
The Dreyse Model 1907 is a semi-automatic pistol designed by Louis Schmeisser. The gun was named after Nikolaus von Dreyse, the designer of the Dreyse Needle Gun. The Waffenfabrik von Dreyse company was acquired by Rheinische Metallwaren & Maschinenfabrik Sömmerda in 1901, although the Dreyse Model pistols were marketed under the Dreyse name.
The pistol had an interesting feature for the time: when the gun was ready to fire, the firing pin projected through the back of the breech block, serving as an early handgun-cocking indicator. For cleaning, the frame, receiver and slide pivoted forward on a pin in front of the trigger guard. The pistol and its derivatives (Dreyse Model 1907 Pocket Pistol, Dreyse Model 1912 Parabellum) was of simple blowback recoil operation, though of unusual design.[2]
Despite the gun's limited production time, the gun is relatively common today, in large part due to its use by Volkssturm and Volksgrenadier late in World War II, enabling many Allied servicemen to bring examples home as war trophies.
Dreyse company[edit]The Waffenfabrik von Dreyse was founded around 1841 to manufacture the famous Dreyse Needle gun for the Prussian Army, and they also made needle-pistols andcaplock revolvers. The Dreyse Factory went into decline after the German Army adopted the Mauser in 1872. In 1901 Rheinische Metallwaren- & Maschinenfabrik of Sömmerda purchased Waffenfabrik von Dreyse.
Presstoff late-war holster issued toVolksgrenadiers
The Model 1907 Dreyse Pistol was designed by Louis Schmeisser (who had previously worked with Theodor Bergmann on the Bergmann Machine Gun) in 1905-6 and were marketed from 1907 onward. The first gun, the 7.65 mm Auto was the most unusual. Most of the cranked slide lay along the top of the barrel, with a short section projecting down behind the chamber to serve as the breech block.
The breech block was confined within a flat-sided frame with a bridge to carry the back sight and arrest the upper section of the slide. The recoil spring surrounded the barrel, enclosed in the frame and held by a collar engaging the front end of the slide through a spring catch. Pulling back on the finger grips at the front of the slide brings the breech block into view behind the frame.
The Dreyse pistol was fired by a striker whose tail protruded back through the rear of the breech block when the chamber was loaded. The entire top section of frame and slide could be pivoted on a pin in front of the trigger guard, being locked in the firing position by a catch at the rear of the frame. This final refinement was essential to dismantling; removal of the cranked slide would have been impossible otherwise.
The Dreyse design was strongly influenced by John Browning's FN M1900, though the Browning had its recoil spring above the barrel, while the Dreyse had a concentric recoil spring. Nonetheless, the overall shape was the same, as was the grip angle and surface design, the magazine release, the positioning of the manual safety and the breech blocks.
Design Modifications[edit]The only major modification concerned the firing mechanism. Prior to 1915, the cocked striker had been held by the sear before being released by the trigger; pulling the trigger subsequently pushed the striker back before releasing it, compressing the striker spring to a greater extent. This was inspired by the later 9 mm Dreyse due to insensitive wartime ammunition. It allowed a second strike if the first misfired. Another wartime change involved a recess cut in the top front of the slide to facilitate removal of the recoil-spring retaining bush.
Variants[edit]Early pistols were marked 'DREYSE Rheinische Metallwaren- & Maschinenfabrik ABT. SOMMERDA' on the left side of the frame and an 'RMF' monogram on the grips as shown above. Later pistols are usually marked 'DREYSE RHEINMETALL ABT. SOMMERDA'.
A few pistols made in 1914 lack the 'DREYSE' marking. The pistol was also marketed commercially for police forces, including the Royal Saxon Gendarmerie, examples of which are marked as 'K. Sachs. Gend.'
Military Users[edit]Primarily used by Austrian troops during World War I, especially officers of the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg Empire. Also used by officers of Imperial Germany during World War I.
Examples issued to the Imperial German Army will have an acceptance proof above the ejection port on the right as well as the normal Crown N commercial proofs on the left side of the frame and slide near the trigger.
Examples saw use by Wehrmacht troops (especially officers) during World War II. Nearing the end of the war many examples were issued to the Volksgrenadiere and Volkssturm, the latter often with so-called "last-ditch" Presstoffholsters. Large numbers of these were brought back to the United States by returning servicemen, which accounts for their availability in the country today. Typically the paper Presstoff holsters have not survived.
A few thousand were purchased by the Czech military in 1921 and 1922, but they were removed from service in 1923 due to unspecified accidents with them.
In 1912 the pope's Swiss Guard acquired thirty of these pistols for use by officers and non-commissioned officers. They remained in service until 1990 when they were replaced by the SIG P225 pistol as the P75.[4]
During World War II this pistol found its way to the Norwegian resistance. Quite a few of these pistols have, alongside home-made Sten-guns and illegal radios, been found hidden within the house-walls of Norwegian resistance members and sympathisers.
There has not been described any action in Norway with any Dreyse-pistols. As for the unspecified "accidents" with these pistols, the rear latch which holds the hinged upper part, may come loose. If this happens, the striker WILL move forward and ignite the cartridge. An unconfirmed civilian incident happened in the 80`s, where the shooter pierced his foot with the 7.65mm as a result of the latch coming loose.
The Dreyse M1907 was never imported officially by contract into the United States, but significant numbers of them were brought back by GI's following World War II.
The pistol had an interesting feature for the time: when the gun was ready to fire, the firing pin projected through the back of the breech block, serving as an early handgun-cocking indicator. For cleaning, the frame, receiver and slide pivoted forward on a pin in front of the trigger guard. The pistol and its derivatives (Dreyse Model 1907 Pocket Pistol, Dreyse Model 1912 Parabellum) was of simple blowback recoil operation, though of unusual design.[2]
Despite the gun's limited production time, the gun is relatively common today, in large part due to its use by Volkssturm and Volksgrenadier late in World War II, enabling many Allied servicemen to bring examples home as war trophies.
Dreyse company[edit]The Waffenfabrik von Dreyse was founded around 1841 to manufacture the famous Dreyse Needle gun for the Prussian Army, and they also made needle-pistols andcaplock revolvers. The Dreyse Factory went into decline after the German Army adopted the Mauser in 1872. In 1901 Rheinische Metallwaren- & Maschinenfabrik of Sömmerda purchased Waffenfabrik von Dreyse.
Presstoff late-war holster issued toVolksgrenadiers
The Model 1907 Dreyse Pistol was designed by Louis Schmeisser (who had previously worked with Theodor Bergmann on the Bergmann Machine Gun) in 1905-6 and were marketed from 1907 onward. The first gun, the 7.65 mm Auto was the most unusual. Most of the cranked slide lay along the top of the barrel, with a short section projecting down behind the chamber to serve as the breech block.
The breech block was confined within a flat-sided frame with a bridge to carry the back sight and arrest the upper section of the slide. The recoil spring surrounded the barrel, enclosed in the frame and held by a collar engaging the front end of the slide through a spring catch. Pulling back on the finger grips at the front of the slide brings the breech block into view behind the frame.
The Dreyse pistol was fired by a striker whose tail protruded back through the rear of the breech block when the chamber was loaded. The entire top section of frame and slide could be pivoted on a pin in front of the trigger guard, being locked in the firing position by a catch at the rear of the frame. This final refinement was essential to dismantling; removal of the cranked slide would have been impossible otherwise.
The Dreyse design was strongly influenced by John Browning's FN M1900, though the Browning had its recoil spring above the barrel, while the Dreyse had a concentric recoil spring. Nonetheless, the overall shape was the same, as was the grip angle and surface design, the magazine release, the positioning of the manual safety and the breech blocks.
Design Modifications[edit]The only major modification concerned the firing mechanism. Prior to 1915, the cocked striker had been held by the sear before being released by the trigger; pulling the trigger subsequently pushed the striker back before releasing it, compressing the striker spring to a greater extent. This was inspired by the later 9 mm Dreyse due to insensitive wartime ammunition. It allowed a second strike if the first misfired. Another wartime change involved a recess cut in the top front of the slide to facilitate removal of the recoil-spring retaining bush.
Variants[edit]Early pistols were marked 'DREYSE Rheinische Metallwaren- & Maschinenfabrik ABT. SOMMERDA' on the left side of the frame and an 'RMF' monogram on the grips as shown above. Later pistols are usually marked 'DREYSE RHEINMETALL ABT. SOMMERDA'.
A few pistols made in 1914 lack the 'DREYSE' marking. The pistol was also marketed commercially for police forces, including the Royal Saxon Gendarmerie, examples of which are marked as 'K. Sachs. Gend.'
Military Users[edit]Primarily used by Austrian troops during World War I, especially officers of the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg Empire. Also used by officers of Imperial Germany during World War I.
Examples issued to the Imperial German Army will have an acceptance proof above the ejection port on the right as well as the normal Crown N commercial proofs on the left side of the frame and slide near the trigger.
Examples saw use by Wehrmacht troops (especially officers) during World War II. Nearing the end of the war many examples were issued to the Volksgrenadiere and Volkssturm, the latter often with so-called "last-ditch" Presstoffholsters. Large numbers of these were brought back to the United States by returning servicemen, which accounts for their availability in the country today. Typically the paper Presstoff holsters have not survived.
A few thousand were purchased by the Czech military in 1921 and 1922, but they were removed from service in 1923 due to unspecified accidents with them.
In 1912 the pope's Swiss Guard acquired thirty of these pistols for use by officers and non-commissioned officers. They remained in service until 1990 when they were replaced by the SIG P225 pistol as the P75.[4]
During World War II this pistol found its way to the Norwegian resistance. Quite a few of these pistols have, alongside home-made Sten-guns and illegal radios, been found hidden within the house-walls of Norwegian resistance members and sympathisers.
There has not been described any action in Norway with any Dreyse-pistols. As for the unspecified "accidents" with these pistols, the rear latch which holds the hinged upper part, may come loose. If this happens, the striker WILL move forward and ignite the cartridge. An unconfirmed civilian incident happened in the 80`s, where the shooter pierced his foot with the 7.65mm as a result of the latch coming loose.
The Dreyse M1907 was never imported officially by contract into the United States, but significant numbers of them were brought back by GI's following World War II.
1908 Colt Pistol
Known as the Model ‘N’ internally within Colt, the 1908 Vest Pocket is a diminutive 4.5 inches long, and sports a 2 inch barrel. Weighing a mere 13 ounces, it is fed by a six round single column magazine. The pistol’s fixed open iron sights were rather small and rudimentary, but typical for small hideout automatics of its era and adequate for the short range at which it was intended to be used. The Model 1908, has a standard slide-locking safety catch, as well as a grip safety.
A piece of American history to be had with a 5-digit serial number.Manufactured around end of 1910. Has two-toned magazine and crimped well. The bottom of the magazine has "25 auto Colt" on it.
A piece of American history to be had with a 5-digit serial number.Manufactured around end of 1910. Has two-toned magazine and crimped well. The bottom of the magazine has "25 auto Colt" on it.
Savage Model 1907
84286 makes in 1913
The Savage Model 1907 is a semi-automatic pocket pistol produced by the Savage Arms Company of Utica, New York, from 1907 until 1920 in .32 ACP and from 1913 until 1920 in.380 ACP caliber. Although smaller in size, it is derived from the .45 semi-automatic pistol Savage submitted to the 1906-1911 US Army trials to choose a new semi-automatic sidearm. After several years of testing the Savage pistol was one of two finalists but ultimately lost to the Colt entry, which became famous as the Colt Model 1911. 181 of these .45 ACP pistols were returned to Savage after the testing and sold on the civilian market.[1]
The Model 1907 is often erroneously called a Model 1905 because of the date Nov. 21, 1905 date stamped into the top of the slide on all Savage semi-automatic pistols. This is the date Elbert Searle was awarded one of his firearm patents, which were the design basis for all the Savage semi-automatic pistols.
Advertised with the slogan "Ten shots quick!", the Model 1907 was very popular because, despite its small size, it had a 10 round double-stack magazine. A safety lever is located on the left side of the pistol, at the upper rear of the grip. Though it appears to have an external hammer, it is actually a striker-fired gun; the "hammer" is actually a cocking lever. Model 1907s made from 1913 until 1917 had a collared barrel and a loaded chamber indicator, allowing the shooter to tell by touching the shell ejection port whether a cartridge was chambered. The Model 1907 uses no screws (even the grips snap into place) and is simple to strip. The grips were made from gutta-percha, though some early production examples had metal grips. In 1912 the Model 1907 underwent a major design revision modifying almost every major component.
As with most semi-automatics, the pistol is readied for firing by pulling back and releasing the slide, which inserts a cartridge into the chamber and cocks the pistol. The recoil from firing a cartridge automatically extracts and ejects the empty shell, cocks the firing pin and loads another cartridge into the chamber, ready for firing.
Although the Model 1907 was designed for civilian use, the French government purchased over 40,000 .32 ACP Model 1907s between late 1914 and 1917 for the French military in World War I. These military "contract" pistols are recognized by the presence of a loaded chamber indicator and a lanyard ring, or mounting holes in the grip for a lanyard ring; lanyard rings were not available on civilian pistols. The Savage Model 1907 pictured to the right is a French contract pistol. A much smaller contract of 1,150 pistols in the same configuration were purchased by Portugal, which are distinguished by grips bearing the lesser arms of Portugal instead of the standard Indian head.
Savage made two other very similar semi-automatic pistols, with many parts in common with the Model 1907. The first was the hammerless Model 1915; the .32 Model 1915 was made only in 1915 and 1916 and the .380 model from 1915 until 1917. Like the Model 1907, the Model 1915 uses no screws. The other is the Model 1917, made from 1920 until 1926 in .32 and from 1920 until 1928 in .380. The Model 1917 is mechanically the same as and shares almost all of its parts with the final version of the Model 1907 (including a smaller, thinner cocking lever "hammer"), but with a significantly larger handle. Because this required larger grips, the Model 1917 uses one screw through each grip to hold them to the pistol frame.