[m1903a3]

Since some (many?) of you aren't members of the other Luger forum, here's what I posted over there:

Groan . . .

A lot of errors, and a ton of BS in the comments.

1. All Navy Lugers were P.04s There was never a P.14

The Navy never changed the basic nomenclature as the pistols evolved. The 1914 designation for the late, short frame, P.04s is the invention of modern collectors seeking a convenient way to identify major versions. It is itself wrong, based on the erroneous assumption that they were made for a 1914 contract which was actually the contract for the last long frame P.04s known to collectors as 1908 models.

2. The grip safety was not deleted for the late short frame "1914" pistols, it was deleted as a WWI production expedient in the 1914 contract for the last of the long frame P.04s.

3. The author gives the impression that the toggle checkering for the "1914" pistols differs from the previous long frame pistol. The checkering is the same for all P.04s made from the original 1906 contract through the final production in 1917.

4. Saying the checkering differs "if you can bring yourself to care" is pretty idiotic given that the only ones with the different checkering are the original 150 pistols made for the Navy carrying trials and are easily worth 10 times as much. Those pistols have several differences, including a flat mainspring, a toggle lock, and a heavier barrel.

5. The P.04 was not designed for ship to ship combat, nor were submarines a consideration. At the time the P.04 was adopted the first U-Boot had yet to be laid down. The U-1 wasn't commissioned until fives months after the first contract for 8,000 P.04s had been delivered and U-Boots are not mentioned in the Tirpitz instructions for small arms. The P.04 and its stock were intended for use on small vessels, primarily torpedo boats, and by officers and machine gunners of larger ships. to replace GeW98s for use by boarding and landing parties. They most certainly were not intended for use as sniper weapons to pick off enemy captains!

6. The statement that the BATFE exempts Lugers from the "arcane" barrel and stock restrictions is dangerously inaccurate. The BATFE exempts Navy P.04s and Army LP.08s only when used with their original stocks. You cannot use an LP08 stock on a P.04, or a P.04 stock on an LP.08, and no stock can be used at all on an Army P.08.