Re: .45 caliber Luger information provided by the Norton Gallery
 

At the suggestions of both John Sabato and Johnny Peppers, I am listing here all of the know information (other than what John has posted from our firearms collection catalogue) that was taken from Mr. Norton's handwritten notes:


"Crown over N proof mark on underside of barrel and on left side of receiver. No other markings. Blue with finely checkered wooden grips. Wooden butt piece on magazine. Weight: 36-1/2 oz. with 7-shot magazine. NOTE: Do not remove mainspring, for a special jig is required for its reinstallation. Purchased from Harry E. Jones, Torrance, Calif. in 1960."

Thank you Jerry for the update... (EOM)
 

Re: .45 caliber Luger information provided by the Norton Gallery
 

Of the two .45 Cal Lugers furnished to Springfield Armory while negotiations for the purchase of a total of 200 to meet the requirements of a field test, only one is known to have survived intact and is in excellent condition. This pistol remained in Springfield Armory until purchased by Sidney Aberman of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The pistol had apparently been purchased by an unnamed collector or investor around 1994 or 1995, and supposedly has again been sold once again to a collector/dealer.

One only has to look at the number of contracts that DWM had to fulfill in the 1906 timeframe to understand why they did not want to tool up for a pistol of completely different dimension. The correspondence between Hans Tauscher of DWM and General Crozier of Springfield Armory makes for very interesting reading. The negotiated price of the .45 Cal. Lugers was to be $48.75 each with 100,000 rounds of .45ACP ammunition furnished at a cost of $20.00 per thousand.

Re: .45 caliber Luger information provided by the Norton Gallery
 

I will definitely update the information I have on the .45 cal Luger in the Generla Info section with this new info.


Dok