Haenel Magazine Design
 

Much has been written about the Haenel magazine, but I have yet to see an author or researcher address the reason why the front of this distinctive magazine hangs out of the pistol.

Does anyone have an idea why after more than 40 years of Luger production, Hugo Schmeisser and Haenel changed the basic look of the magazine? Was it necessary to make the new spring fit square with the rounds and still retain the original capacity?

I suppose war time expediency trumps any design elegance.

Perhaps it was easier to withdraw from the pistol.

I'll go with the new spring design.

FN

The straight cut helps to leave enough material to pin the base to the tube through the center of the button. Also it is cut at a straight 90 degree angle, so easier to manufacture.

Since the magazine was introduced and designed well before WW2, the war itself played no role in the design.

Apart from that it works. Functionality and cost price was probably more important than looks in those days. :)

:typing: 90 degree cut as easier to manufacture would have been my contribution, but VLIM beat me to it!

I would say economy of materials is more likely than ease of manufacture...With a 90º cut, there is less waste of the tubing...

You could probably measure the two different cuts and figure out how many magazines could be cut from a 5' magazine tube...and there would probably be one more mag using the 90º cut than the angled cut...

...Hypothetically speaking... :D

spring change...
 

Hi To all, Haenel had round coil mag springs early in their manufacture period, but when the tube was extended, also the spring became a box type... I think mainly to accomadate the new springs length, and shape, and not to forget function... there was probably material savings also.. as the follower cap was eliminated, and finally the aluminum bottoms became plastic... Best to all, til...lat'r...GT....;)

I asked my grandfather-in-law, he said he screwed up and after in went into production, it was too late.

Harry

I cannot speak about the spring situation, but c'mon, think about it: A Luger mag, non-Haenel style has two angled cuts, they are not the same angle, but their angles swing in the same direction off the perpendicular. Lay a couple end-to-end, in sequence, and you will see that it would actually eat up more material to accommodate a straight cut! Optimal material saving accomplished if the angles of cuts, in succession, is alternated; in this arrangement the only drops would be a piece from each end of the length of tube stock. This approach would work for either style of mag to save material.

mag tube design...
 

Actually the tubes are the same length if measured at the rear spine.. the big difference, is one type was two pieces of stamped sheet steel, and the other one piece, and according to some, later a cold drawn formed tube, or an extrusion that required no trim or flash removal.. so if you look at start to finish, the later mags probably were not as material demanding .. but I think the trade off is, they ( the later mags) were actually more machining and labor intensive... A good plan gone wrong so to speak... Typical war time German ideaology... ;);)..best to all, til...lat'r...GT

GT, Originally I thought that the 90d bottom cut had something to do with the extrusion process, but now I see that his earlier nickeled extruded mags that are pinned at the rear and are angle cut as are the folded mags. So you may be correct stating the cause to be the change in springs, but the fact that the retaining pin does not have to go into the mag well and can be peened over, seems to me to be of great benefit both in reliability and ease of production. TH

Haenel- Schmeisser magazines are discussed at length (and I mean at length, 12 pages!) in "Pistole Parabellum" by Görtz/Sturgess. To begin with, they are not extruded. They are stamped, folded, and almost invisibly welded along their spines. With the introduction of the stronger zig-zag spring the base retaining pin had to be "relocated to an almost central position in the finger grips which eliminated the possibility that the base might work loose through non-symetrical leverage exerted by the spring. This relocation of the base pin to the center line of the magazine body necessitated the lower end of the magazine body being reprofiled to a right angle". I hope this helps. Regards, Norm