The German WWI Artillery Luger,In the early 1900’s the German Army expressed interest in a spe

The German WWI Artillery Luger,In the early 1900’s the German Army expressed interest in a special carbine which was to be used to equip artilleryman and other light rear echelon units.  Several firms throughout Europe submitted their own designs for testing, but the German War Commission chose a modification of the indigenous P.08 Luger pistol.  Called the “Lange Pistole” (long pistol), the new Luger artillery pistol used the original P.08 Luger design, but featured modifications which turned it into a handy carbine or personal defense weapon.  The new Artillery Luger featured a detachable wooden buttstock which also double as a holster.  In addition the artillery Luger had a long barrel, making it closer to a carbine than a pistol.  Since the weapon was intended to be used as a carbine, the artillery Luger featured a adjustable tangent sight calibrated to 800 meters, whereas the original Luger pistol had fixed sights.  Many artillery Lugers were issued with a special 32 round drum magazine called a “trommelmagazine”.  The trommelmagazine increased the weapon’s firepower, a necessity in the close quarters of WWI trench warfare.The artillery Luger was issued to units of the German Imperial Artillery Corps. It was ideal as a personal defense weapon because of its light weight and compact design, which allowed an artilleryman to do his job yet still was effective enough for him to defend himself against an enemy attack.  Further interest in the design caused the artillery Luger to be adopted by other military units.  Early in the war pilots were equipped with the artillery Luger because it could be easily stashed away in an airplane.  Later, specialized infantry called stormtroopers adopted the weapon because of its effectiveness in close quarter combat.   -- source link

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