Luger pistol
Pistole 08
Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken1900–1953Smokeless revolution
Also known as P08, Parabellum-Pistole
Image credit
- Title
- File:Luger IMG 6761b.jpg
- Author
- Rama(attribution required)
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 2.0
- Source
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Luger_IMG_6761b.jpg
How Muzzle energy is calculated
E = ½ · m · v²
Inputs
- m7.452 g115.0 grverifiedsource115 gr as published, converted to grams.
- v359.7 m/s1,180 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 101.6 mm barrel, not this arm's 100 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Muzzle velocity is calculated
nearest sourced barrel length — no extrapolation (SPEC.md §8.2)
Inputs
- v at 101.6 mm359.7 m/s1,180 fpsverifiedsource1180 fps as published.
Assumptions
- This figure belongs to a 101.6 mm barrel. It is shown because it is the closest measurement that exists, not because it applies here.
1 of 1 inputs link to their source.
How Loaded mass is calculated
m_loaded = m_empty + m_magazine + n · m_cartridge
Not calculated: m_magazine has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- One magazine, filled to the stated capacity. Spare magazines, optics, slings and lights are the owner’s, not the arm’s.
2 of 4 inputs link to their source.
How Free recoil is calculated
E_recoil = ½ · m_firearm · v_recoil²
Inputs
- m_firearm0.871 kg1.920 lbverifiedsource
- v_recoil3.077 m/s10.10 fpsestimated
Assumptions
- Propellant gas momentum is excluded: ARMAG does not record charge weights (SPEC.md §14). This is therefore a lower bound on the real free recoil, consistent between entries but smaller than a figure that includes the gas term.
- Free recoil: the arm is unrestrained. Stock design, muzzle devices, stance and shooter mass are not modelled, because none of them is a property of the arm.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Capacity is calculated
as published for the primary chambering
Inputs
- capacity8verifiedsourceDetachable box magazine. A 32-round drum was made for the artillery model.
1 of 1 inputs link to their source.
Derived figures
Computed from the sourced values above. Open ƒ on any figure for the formula, its inputs, and the assumptions it makes.
How Momentum is calculated
p = m · v
Inputs
- m7.452 g115.0 grverifiedsource115 gr as published, converted to grams.
- v359.7 m/s1,180 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 101.6 mm barrel, not this arm's 100 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Sectional density is calculated
SD = mass(gr) / (7000 · diameter(in)²)
Inputs
- mass7.452 g115.0 grverifiedsource115 gr as published, converted to grams.
- diameter9.03 mm0.3555 inverifiedsourceCartridge maximum, dimension G1.
Assumptions
- Reported in the conventional lb/in² so it is directly comparable with published figures.
2 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Power factor is calculated
PF = mass(gr) · velocity(fps) / 1000
Inputs
- mass7.452 g115.0 grverifiedsource115 gr as published, converted to grams.
- velocity359.7 m/s1,180 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 101.6 mm barrel, not this arm's 100 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
Assumptions
- A competition classification defined by the IPSC and USPSA rulebooks, stated in their units. It describes a scoring category, not an effect.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Magazine dump is calculated
t = (n − 1) / (rpm / 60)
Not calculated: rpm has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- Cyclic rate held for the whole magazine, no stoppages, trigger held down. A theoretical figure for comparing mechanisms, not a measured one.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Sight error at 1 mm is calculated
θ = atan(misalignment / sight radius)
Not calculated: sight radius has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- Shows what a stated aiming error costs. The misalignment is the reader’s figure; the site does not claim how well anyone aims.
No input on this calculation carries a clickable source yet.
Specifications
Every row here is generated from the schema, so a figure recorded on this entry cannot be missing from the table — and the same rows, read the same way, are what the comparison shows.
Identity
- Type
- Pistol
- Action
- Self-loading
- Fire modes
- Semi-automatic
- Operating system
- Short recoil
- Roles
- Designed in
- German Empire
- Produced in
- Introduced
- 1900
- Production
- 1900–1953
Dimensions and mass
Sights and rifling
- Sight radius
- not recorded
- Sight height over bore
- not recorded
- Rifling twist
- not recorded
- Twist direction
- not recorded
- Grooves
- not recorded
- Sight graduation
- not recorded
Operation
- Cyclic rate
- not recorded
- Trigger pull
- not recorded
- Effective range
- not recorded
- Units produced
- 3,000,000source
- Launch price
- not recorded
Chamberings
- 9x19mm Parabellumprimary8 rounds
Scale
A to-scale outline against family siblings. The dimensions are sourced; the shape is a representative outline for the type, and says so.
- Luger pistol222 mm8.740 inheight not recorded
Representative outline — the dimensions are sourced, the shape is not. Overall length, and barrel length where recorded, are drawn from this entry's own figures; the profile is a generic one for the firearm type and says nothing about this arm's actual contours. Luger pistol records no height, so its outline is drawn at the type's proportion — that height is part of the shape, not a measurement.
Detail
Georg Luger took Hugo Borchardt’s 1893 pistol, moved its enormous clock-spring housing into the grip and angled that grip backwards, and produced a weapon that looks like nothing else and works unlike almost anything else. The breech is locked by a toggle — two links that sit slightly below their pivot line at rest, so rearward pressure only presses them harder together. Recoil drives the barrel and toggle back together until a ramp in the frame kicks the toggle’s knee upward and it folds.
The mechanism is beautiful, expensive and intolerant. It needs clean, correctly loaded ammunition and tight tolerances, and the 9×19mm cartridge was developed for it because the earlier 7.65 mm bottleneck round did not give the toggle enough impulse in the shorter barrel.
Germany adopted it in 1908 and replaced it with the Walther P38 in 1938, principally because the P38 could be made for a fraction of the cost. Production continued to 1953 in Switzerland.
The article publishes no width, height or sight radius, and no unloaded weight distinct from the 871 g recorded here.
References
This entry's own bibliography. Every citation key on this page resolves into this list.
- Luger pistol · Wikipedia · 1369143532 · read 2026-08-31 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Last verified 2026-08-31 · review status: agent-populated