Some thoughts on the comments made so far in this discussion--
drbuster wrote:
â?¦ since we were not at war in 1900, it is possible that a number of these lugers could have came through in good condition.
Although not technically â??at warâ?, the Test Lugers were sent to areas of U.S. Military activity. 305 were sent to cavalry troops in the Philippines; 170 sent to cavalry troops in Cuba; and 395 to the American frontier, forts in such places as Wyoming, South Dakota, Kansas, Missouri, Utah, Texas, Arizona, Montana, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, and â??Occupied Territoriesâ? (as well as forts in Vermont, Virginia, and California).
The United States had recently been engaged in the Spanish-American war, and as a result of that conflict occupied the Philippines and Cuba. Early in 1901 the U.S. put down a three-year-long rebellion by Philippine rebels. As an occupier force patrolling a large countryside after such an event, one would expect these guns to have done active duty. The same could be said for Cuba, save for the insurrection.
The army in the Philippines and Cuba served in tropical conditions. These are extraordinarily hard on gun steel, as evidenced by almost every Dutch Luger still in existence. One can also imagine that the guns serving with the cavalry on the frontier were subject to dust and constant holster wear.
Donâ??t forget, these guns were issued to be tested. They were sent to places in which they would be subject to extremes of service. During the test period a number of these guns were returned to Springfield Armory for repair, where they were determined to be unrepairable and unfit for further service. I canâ??t document the number right now, it was not insignificant.
Just an afterthought: the test eagle on the cover of Reese's book looks to be in pretty good shape!
Indeed it does. Although it would have been disingenuous of the author, there is nothing in the book which indicates that this is actually a U.S. Test gun. The other guns he pictures, still in very good shape, all show evidence of use even with the bookâ??s mediocre photo reproduction.
Imperial Arms wrote:
According to the number of surviving US Test Lugers (let's say 200-300 piecesâ?¦)
255 of the Bannerman guns are reported to exist.
Erndog105 wrote:
I understand that there is a Luger in the West Point Museum. Did West Point get any test lugers?
Eight or ten guns were sent to West Point for testing (the record is conflicting). 200 rounds were sent with each gun, suggesting that they would not have been subject to much active use.
It should be understood that â??all- of the Test Eagles in the Armyâ??s possession were recalled and sold, including the guns at West Point and Springfield Armory. The guns currently in their museums are recorded in the Bannerman auction list.
Apropos of no one elseâ??s comments:
It should be remembered that 50 Test Eagles â??now on hand and in good conditionâ? were exchanged for the 50 Cartridge Counter guns. Hans Tauscher directed that the Army send these guns directly to A.H. Funke, a firearms retailer in New York. These guns are, of course, not represented in the Bannerman list, and their serial numbers are unknown.
Hans Tauscher specified that the guns were to be in "good condition" (i.e., re-sellable); the â??now on handâ? comment is from a 1903 extract of the proceedings of the Board of Ordinance. It is hard not to imagine that the best condition and easiest accessible guns were those in the possession of the Springfield Armory and West Point. It is possible to read it to mean that by April, 1903, the U.S. Test guns had begun to be recalled.
--Dwight
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