1916 Dwm 7.65

Vlim · 04-08-2008, 03:20 PM

Hi Alf,

The development of the luger rounds was quite an interesting one and you can fill some books about it.

Here is the ultra-short version:
Hugo Borchardt developed the basic round for his C/93. 7,65 Borchard in diameter with an overall case length of .990" (25.15mm).

Mauser, Mannlicher and Tokarev 7,63 x 25 rounds are basically just rip-offs of the 7.65 Borchardt round. Dimensionally the same, but with a spiffier load.

Georg Luger made a tour along the European armies with the C/93 Borchard, demonstrating it with the aim of getting army contracts for it. The Swiss were interested, but suggested a number of changes were needed. Luger got to work and one of the things he did was to introduce the grip angle as we know it today. In order to create that grip angle and to reduce the bulkiness of the package, he shortened the 7,65 Borchardt to a case length of some 21.5 mm (.845-ish). The Swiss were quite happy with this round and Luger's pistol design and they introduced it to their army around 1900.

Luger continued to market and demonstrate his guns, but many army commissions had doubts about the stopping power of the small round. Luger thus redesigned the round, doing away with the necked design (originally conceived as an effective gas seal) and created the 9mm parabellum (or 9 millimeter luger) round. The slightly tapered case together with a machined step in the pistol's chamber created an equally effective gas seal.

Since the overall shape of the 7,65 para round's base and the length didn't change, the modifications done to the pistol were pretty much limited and consisted of a modified barrel/chamber and a retweaked main spring.

This is the reason why a 7,65 para / .30 luger version of the luger pistol does not differ much from the 9mm version.

The 9mm round as we know it, but with a flat head nose at first, was introduced around 1902.

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04-08-2008, 03:20 PM	#6
Vlim Moderator Lifetime LugerForum Patron Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Europe Posts: 5,053 Thanks: 1,036 Thanked 3,990 Times in 1,205 Posts	Hi Alf, The development of the luger rounds was quite an interesting one and you can fill some books about it. Here is the ultra-short version: Hugo Borchardt developed the basic round for his C/93. 7,65 Borchard in diameter with an overall case length of .990" (25.15mm). Mauser, Mannlicher and Tokarev 7,63 x 25 rounds are basically just rip-offs of the 7.65 Borchardt round. Dimensionally the same, but with a spiffier load. Georg Luger made a tour along the European armies with the C/93 Borchard, demonstrating it with the aim of getting army contracts for it. The Swiss were interested, but suggested a number of changes were needed. Luger got to work and one of the things he did was to introduce the grip angle as we know it today. In order to create that grip angle and to reduce the bulkiness of the package, he shortened the 7,65 Borchardt to a case length of some 21.5 mm (.845-ish). The Swiss were quite happy with this round and Luger's pistol design and they introduced it to their army around 1900. Luger continued to market and demonstrate his guns, but many army commissions had doubts about the stopping power of the small round. Luger thus redesigned the round, doing away with the necked design (originally conceived as an effective gas seal) and created the 9mm parabellum (or 9 millimeter luger) round. The slightly tapered case together with a machined step in the pistol's chamber created an equally effective gas seal. Since the overall shape of the 7,65 para round's base and the length didn't change, the modifications done to the pistol were pretty much limited and consisted of a modified barrel/chamber and a retweaked main spring. This is the reason why a 7,65 para / .30 luger version of the luger pistol does not differ much from the 9mm version. The 9mm round as we know it, but with a flat head nose at first, was introduced around 1902.