Ballester-Molina

The Ballester-Molina was a pistol designed and built by the Argentine company Hispano Argentina Fábrica de Automotores SA (HAFDASA). The Ballester was originally called the Ballester-Rigaud (c. 1938–1940). The Ballester was designed to offer the Argentine police and military a less-expensive alternative to the Pistola Colt Modelo 1927, which was itself a licensed copy of the Colt M1911A1 (and was built under the supervison of Colt engineers). Production of the Ballester-Molina began in 1938 and ceased in 1953.

The history of the company dates back to 1929, when two Spaniard entrepreneurs, Arturo Ballester and Eugenio Molina, established a branch of the Spanish Hispano-Suiza in Buenos Aires. Some years later, HAFDASA hired two engineers, the French Rorice Rigaud and Carlos Ballester Molina, a relative of the founders. Rigaud became the chief designer of the firm, while Ballester-Molina was appointed chief executive officer.^[1]

As the Ballester-Molina was designed to serve alongside the M1927 that was currently in Argentine service, it bears a striking resemblance to the Colt M1911A1. The Ballester-Molina and the M1911 share an identical 7-round magazine, barrel, recoil spring, and barrel bushing. Although many other parts appear identical at first glance, they are not. Many parts are adaptable, however. The Ballester is also known as the "Hafdasa" after the initials of the company that made it.

Use

The Ballester-Molina was used by Argentina's security forces. The Argentine Army adopted this weapon in 1938. The Ballester-Molina is a short recoil-operated semi-automatic locked breechpistol. The locking system is a near identical copy of the Colt M1911A1, with the swinging lock used to unlock the barrel from the slide. The trigger is single action, two stage, but pivots rather than slides like the 1911 trigger. The hammer is locked by the frame-mounted manual safety, and there is no grip safety. Overall quality is excellent. Many examples for sale on the surplus market have seen heavy use, but show little internal wear.

The Ballester Molina is a copy of a Spanish Star pistol rather than an M1911 Colt, but was manufactured in .45 ACP. It has a few parts, such as barrel, magazine, and recoil spring, interchangeable with the M1911. The Ballester Molina is a very well made and very accurate pistol, which can successfully compete with any .45 manufactured in those times.

Ballester Molinas were manufactured in Buenos Aires Argentina by HAFDASA (Hispano Argentina Fábrica de Automotores Sociedad Anonima) between 1938 and 1953.

In a September 2007 article in Argentine gun magazine Magnum about the British-ordered Ballester Molina pistols, gun writer and collector George E. Arbones' research and collection data seems to indicate the legend British-bought Ballester Molinas being manufactured using steel salvaged from the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee after she was scuttled in the River Plate, across from Buenos Aires is true. Another specialist, Alejandro Gherovici, dissmised the legend, saying the steel was likely supplied by the U.S. under Lend-Lease.^[1] Arbones article also details the use of those pistols by the British 8th Army and the SOE, and how he came to have his own British marked Ballester Molinas. About 10,000 to 15,000 of the Ballester Molinas were manufactured specially for Britain during World War II. A number of pistols was issued to agents of the SOE, in order to avoid the use of British weapons for undercover operations in occupied Europe and behind enemy lines. British contract Ballester-Molinas are identified by serial numbers in the range of 12000 to 21000, with a "B" prefix.

Arbones' article also shows the actual pistols that were manufactured during the Peron presidency and that carry the names of President Juan Perón and his wife Eva, and the ‘secret’ pistols issued to Perón's private police force. It also lists all known markings found on Argentine-made Ballester Molinas

Variants

A version of the Ballester Molina chambered for .22 Long Rifle was produced for training purposes. This version was identical externally to the standard Ballester Molina, except for slide markings indicating the caliber. However, the .22 caliber version was blowback operated to accommodate the less-powerful rimfire cartridge. This version was produced in much smaller numbers, and is much rarer today. The Ballester-Molina pistol also came with an extended barrel.

Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Argentina
Service history
Wars	World War II, Malvinas War
Production history
Manufacturer	Hispano Argentina de Automotives SA
Produced	1938-1953
Specifications
Weight	1,130 g (2 lb 8 oz)1,075(unloaded) g
Length	288 mm (9 in)
Barrel length	127 mm (5 in)
Cartridge	.45 ACP, .22 LR
Action	recoil operated, blowback (.22 LR variant)
Rate of fire	Semi-automatic
Feed system	7-round magazine
Sights	Iron

Beretta M1934

The Beretta Model 1934 is a compact, semi-automatic pistol which was issued as a standard service firearm to the Italian armed forces beginning in 1934. It is chambered for the 9 mm Corto, more commonly known as the .380 ACP. The pistol was infamously used in the assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the world famous peace activist and the leader of Indian Independence Movement.

History[edit]

Armi Beretta SpA of Gardone Val Trompia has a history in firearms manufacturing reaching back to 1526, when they were established as a maker of barrels. But it was not until 1915 that, responding to the needs of the military during World War I, they produced their first pistol, the model 1915. Beretta has become one of the world's largest pistol makers and the model 1934 (M1934) was their most numerous product in the pre-World War II era.

In the early 1930s, the Italian army was impressed by the Walther PP pistol. Beretta did not want to lose a big military contract to their German competitor and designed the M1934 for theItalian Army which accepted it in 1937. This model was followed by the M1935, which was similar to the M1934 in most respects, except that it fired a .32 ACP (7.65 mm Browning) cartridge.

Pistols made during the Fascist Era are marked with their year of manufacture in two forms: the conventional Julian date in Arabic numerals and the date in the Fascist Era in Roman numerals. The Fascist calendar commenced on 28 October 1922, so a pistol from 1937 may carry either "XV" or "XVI" as its Fascist year

Intended market[edit]

It was designed and purpose-built for the Italian armed forces, but was also sold on the black market. Pistols taken by the armed forces usually exhibit acceptance marks stamped into the frame on the left just above the grip: "RE" (Regio Esercito) for the army, "RM" (Regia Marina) for the navy, or "RA" (Regia Aeronautica) for the Air Force, always in the form of an Eagle wearing a Royal Crown for the Royal air force. Police pistols may be marked "PS" (Pubblica Sicurezza).

The Romanian military, at the time an Axis power, also purchased model 1934 (and 1935) pistols. The calibre marking appears as 9 mm Scurt (short in Romanian) rather than 9 mm Corto.^[1]Romanian Army M1934's differ from Italian M1934's in that the Romanian pistols use the Russian sight picture, where the Italian pistols use the standard sight picture used by Western armies

Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Kingdom of Italy
Service history
In service	1935-1991
Used by	Royal Italian Army
Wars	World War II
Production history
Manufacturer	Beretta
Produced	1934–1991
Number built	1,080,000
Specifications
Weight	660 g (23.28 oz) (Unloaded)
Length	152 mm (6 in)
Barrel length	94 mm (3.7 in)
Cartridge	.380 ACP (9×17mm Corto)
Action	blowback
Muzzle velocity	750 ft/s (229 m/s)
Feed system	1 + 7-round detachable boxmagazine
Sights	Fixed front blade and rear notch

Walther PP

The Walther PP (police pistol) series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols.
They feature an exposed hammer, a traditional double-action trigger mechanism, a single-column magazine, and a fixed barrel which also acts as the guide rod for the recoil spring. The series includes the Walther PP, PPK, PPK/S, and PPK/E.
The various PP series are manufactured in either Germany or the United States.Since 2002, the PPK variant is solely manufactured by Smith & Wesson in Houlton, Maine, United States, under license from Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. In the past, this particular model has been manufactured by Carl Walther in its own factory in Germany, as well as under licenses by Manurhin in Alsace, France, and by Interarms in Alexandria, Virginia.
Originally built in 1929, the Walther PPK remains a popular pistol used today for concealed carry, V.I.P. protection, MI5, European and American police.


Overview

The PP was released in 1929 and the PPK in 1931; both were popular with European police and civilians, for being reliable and concealable. During World War II they were issued to the German military and police, the Schutzstaffel, the Luftwaffe, and Nazi Party officials; Adolf Hitler shot and killed himself with his PPK (a 7.65mm/.32 ACP) in the Führerbunker in Berlin.Moreover, the Walther PPK (also a 7.65mm/.32 ACP) pistol is famous as fictional secret agent James Bond's signature gun in many of the films and novels: Ian Fleming's choice of the Walther PPK directly influenced its popularity and its notoriety.
The most common variant is the Walther PPK, the Polizeipistole Kriminalmodell (Police Pistol Detective Model), indicating it was more concealable than the original PP and hence better suited to plainclothes or undercover work. Kriminal refers to the police detective (criminal) division.Sometimes, the name Polizeipistole Kurz (Short Police Pistol) is used; however, the accuracy of that interpretation is unclear. The PPK is a smaller version of the PP (Polizeipistole) with a shorter grip and barrel and reduced magazine capacity.

The PP and the PPK were among the world's first successful double action semi-automatic pistols that were widely copied, but still made by Walther. The design inspired other pistols, among them the Soviet Makarov, the Hungarian FEG PA-63, the Argentinian Bersa Thunder 380, the Spanish Astra Constable, and the Czech CZ5

Luger

The Pistole Parabellum 1908 or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum)—popularly,^[1] but incorrectly, known as the Luger—is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The design was patented by Georg J. Luger in 1898 and produced by German arms manufacturer Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) starting in 1900; it was an evolution of the 1893Hugo Borchardt–designed C-93. The first Parabellum pistol was adopted by the Swiss army in May 1900. In German Army service, it was succeeded and partly replaced by the Walther P38 in caliber 9mm Parabellum.

The Luger is well known from its use by Germans during World War I and World War II, along with the interwar Weimar Republic and the post war East German Volkspolizei. Although the P.08 was introduced in 7.65mm Parabellum, it is notable for being the pistol for which the 9mmP (also incorrectly known as the 9mm Luger) cartridge was developed.

Design details [edit]

Luger P08 cross sectional drawing.

A Luger with breech opened, showing the jointed arm in its most bent position.

A Rare Persian Long Luger mod1314 with holster

Persian Luger. "Iran Army, A gift to General Evans from Motorized Division training center" is etched on frame

One of the first semi-automatic pistols, the Luger was designed to use a toggle-lock action, which uses a jointed arm to lock, as opposed to the slide actions of almost every other semi-automatic pistol. After a round is fired, the barrel and toggle assembly (both locked together at this point) travel rearward due to recoil. After moving roughly 0.5 in (13 mm) rearward, the toggle strikes a cam built into the frame, causing the knee joint to hinge and the toggle and breech assembly to unlock. At this point the barrel impacts the frame and stops its rearward movement, but the toggle assembly continues moving (bending the knee joint) due to momentum, extracting the spent casing from the chamber and ejecting it. The toggle and breech assembly subsequently travel forward under spring tension and the next round from the magazine is loaded into the chamber. The entire sequence occurs in a fraction of a second. This mechanism works well for higher-pressure cartridges, but cartridges loaded to a lower pressure can cause the pistol to malfunction because they do not generate enough recoil to work the action fully. This results in either the breech block not clearing the top cartridge of the magazine, or becoming jammed open on the cartridge's base.^[2]

In World War I, as submachine guns were found to be effective in trench warfare, experiments with converting various types of pistols to machine pistols (Reihenfeuerpistolen, literally "row-fire pistols" or "consecutive fire pistols") were conducted. Among those the Luger pistol (German Army designation Pistole 08) was examined; however, unlike the Mauser C96, which was later manufactured in a selective-fire version (Schnellfeuer) orReihenfeuerpistolen, the Luger proved to have an excessive rate of fire in full-automatic mode.

The Luger pistol was manufactured to exacting standards and had a long service life. William "Bill" Ruger praised the Luger's 145° (55° for Americans) grip angle and duplicated it in his .22 LR pistol.

Service [edit]

The Swiss Army evaluated the Luger pistol in 7.65×21 mm Parabellum and adopted it in 1900 as its standard side arm, designatedOrdonnanzpistole 00 or OP00, in 1900. This model uses a 120 mm barrel.

The Luger pistol was accepted by the Imperial German Navy in 1904. The Navy model had a 150 mm barrel and a two-position (100/200 metre) rear sight. This version is known as Pistole 04.

In 1908 the German Army adopted the Luger to replace the Reichsrevolver in front-line service. The Pistole 08 (or P.08) had a 100 mm barrel and was chambered in 9×19 mm Parabellum. TheP.08 was the usual side arm for German Army personnel in both world wars, though it was being replaced by the Walther P38 starting in 1938. In 1930, Mauser took over manufacture of the P.08 (until 1943).^[3]

The Bolivian Army adopted the DWM Luger in 9 mm Parabellum as the main officer's side arm in 1908; a few hundred were bought, starting with a batch of about 250 that were included in an order of 4,000 Mauser DWM 1907 rifles and 1,000 Mauser DWM 1907 short rifles, both in caliber 7.65×53 mm, and continued with smaller batches every year until 1913. Only the first batch wore crests and the Legend "Ejercito Boliviano" stamped in the receiver.

'Artillery Luger' Lange Pistole 08 with 32 round Trommel-Magazin 08 and removable stock.

A P-08, BYF-41, 1941, 9×19mm caliber Parabellum Luger Mauser pistol—with the safety on, and with breech opened, showing the jointed arm in its most bent and locked position

The Lange Pistole 08 (German: "Long Pistol 08") or Artillery Luger was a pistol carbine for use by German Army artillerymen as a sort of early Personal Defense Weapon. It had a 200 mm barrel, an 8-position tangent rear sight (calibrated to 800 metres) and a shoulder stock with holster. It was sometimes used with a 32-round drum magazine (Trommelmagazin 08). It was also available in various commercial carbine versions with yet longer barrels.

The firm Armeria Belga of Santiago Chile, manufactured the Benke Thiemann retractable stock that could fold out from the grip section.

The United States evaluated several semi-automatic pistols in the late 19th century, including the Colt M1900, Steyr Mannlicher M1894, and an entry from Mauser. In 1900 the US purchased 1000 7.65 mmLugers for field trials. Later, a small number were sampled in the then-new, more powerful 9 mm round. Field experience with .38 caliber revolvers in the Philippines and ballistic tests would result in a requirement for still-larger rounds.

The .45 ACP Luger and the Colt Model 1905, from a 1907 report on testing

In 1906 and 1907, the US Army held trials for a large-caliber semi-automatic. DWM provided two sample Luger pistols chambered in .45 ACP for testing, with serial numbers 1 and 2. The fate of serial number 1 is unknown, as it was not returned. The serial number 2 Luger .45 passed the tests, and survived to be traded among collectors. Its rarity gives its value of around US$1 million at the time the "Million Dollar Guns" episode of History Channel's "Tales of the Gun" was filmed,^[4] recheck by Guns & Ammo as of 1994.^[5]

At least two pistols were manufactured later for possible commercial or military sales, and one is exhibited at the Norton Gallery, in Shreveport, Louisiana. The other was sold in 2010 and remains in a private collection. After initial trials, DWM, Savage, and Colt were asked to provide further samples for evaluation. DWM withdrew for reasons that are still debated, though the Army did place an order for 200 more samples. A single .45 Luger carbine is also known to exist.^[6]

In 1941–42 Mauser switched from "straw finishing" to blueing the small parts and levers on their pistols. In combination with black plastic grip panels, these pistols were named the "Black Widow" model by a post-war US arms dealer as a marketing ploy.

Captured Lugers were much prized by Allied soldiers during both of the World Wars as War Trophies and could sell for $100. However, German soldiers were aware of this and, during World War II, would use Lugers as "bait", rigging them to detonate land mines or hidden booby traps when disturbed.^[7] This was a common enough tactic that experienced Allied soldiers would be deeply suspicious of an apparently discarded Luger found lying on the ground.^[8]