If I remember correctly, President Ted Roosevelt was given a (Tangent Sight) Luger Carbine shortly after the period of the US Test Trails. He started to experience some problems with the carbine after he finished the 50-100 471A cartridges that were originally delivered with his carbine. He also complained about the point of impact and was making arrangements to deliver the carbine to an arsenal for some adjustments. There was some communication between his office and H. Tauscher sometime in 1902-03 requesting for additional ammunition, so this event likely proves that 471A ammunition was produced in 1902.
With the added mass of the barrel and the accelerator in the forearm, both features having a draw on energy, I would assume that DWM would have provided a 9 mm +P cartridge for a ' 9 mm carbine' without making a sacrifice on the diameter of the barrel. They would have probably made the barrel slightly thicker for a 9 mm cartridge, but this is not the case. If DWM would have made a carbine in caliber 9 mm, I would assume that they would have not allowed the margin of tolerance to decrease. Do not forget what happened with the M1907 .45 Luger when DWM made a complaint because they were dissatisfied with the .45 ammunition provided by the Rock Island arsenal. Power of a cartridge was a very sensitive issue with Luger pistols and carbines, and I would not take for granted that a 9 mm cartridge would have properly done the job with an adequate margin of tolerance.
DWM could have used the 9 mm Mauser Export (9 x 25) cartridge in a 9 mm Luger Carbine which would have done the right job, but I guess that both competitors wanted to keep their high-power cartridges for use in their own firearms. The 9 mm Mauser Export cartridge was introduced into the market around 1902-03.
I strongly agree with Tom that any Luger that requires an alibi is very questionable and it is best to avoid it.
Albert
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