Hi,
Because luger production was rather complex and many small parts need minor fitting before they function properly. In army circumstances, when a complete outfit is field stripping and cleaning guns, the mix-up of small parts can lead to malfunctions when you really don't want them.
An example, while cleaning my 1913 Dutch luger, I accidentally installed the wrong firing pin. Because of slightly smaller dimensions of the firing pin extension which should catch the sear bar, the pistol went full-auto.
I believe John Walter once described a situation where an allied soldier during WW1, unarmed, found himself against a German armed with a luger. The German pulled the trigger and nothing happend. The allied soldier took out the German with his shovel. He kept the gun as a souvenir. When the pistol was examined years later, it had the wrong side plate installed, which led to the malfunction.
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