Please help me I.D. this Luger

[Douglas Jr.]

Shaffer,

Congratulations for your Brazilian contract Luger. I've been collecting data (your wasn't in my list) and studying this variations for some time now, and I have some information posted on Jan Still's board.

Now, let's share it here too.

In 1908 a military commission was sent to Germany by the Brazilian Army in order to purchase 400,000 Mauser Rifles (the so called Brazilian Model 1908). At the same occasion it was also dealt with DWM the acquisition of 5000 “Neuer Art” pistols in caliber 7,65mm Luger.

Those pistols, featuring the grip safety and 4.75 inches barrels, had a specific serial number range (1 – 5000), a Brazilian inspector proof stamped on the left side of the receiver (a “circled B”), and the extractor marked “CARREGADA” (which means “loaded” in Portuguese language). On the contrary to the Mauser rifles, the pistol lacked any national coat of arms. The guns were delivered in several batches between 1908-1911.

Official news about its issuing in the Brazilian Army and its technical and shooting information was published in the Army Bulletin nr. 214", dated from July 5th, 1912. On this bulletin, it was presented the "Instructions to the Parabellum Pistol's Shooting" (Instruções para o Tiro com a Pistola Parabellum).

At that time, the Luger pistol was named according to the “old” rule of nomenclature, which remained in use from the Empire days until the late 1940s. According to this system, they follow the commercial name of the gun and, so, the Luger of the Brazilian contract was called “Pistola Parabellum” upon its adoption by the Brazilian Army.

Sometime during the 1920s, the name Parabellum became Parabelum (with only one “L”), and was written this way in the documents of some State Law Enforcements where the Luger pistol also saw service. This version of the name was found in documents from the State of Alagoas Police Department (1925) and from the Federal District of Guanabara (which comprised the city of Rio de Janeiro, by then the Brazilian Federal Government District) in 1923 and 1924. The guns transfered to the Northeastern states remained in use until late 50s, in small scale, where they became a kind of praised gun.

It's interesting to note that, contrary to the common belief, these pistols saw plenty of action. There is a common (but incorrect) thinking that Brazilians Lugers should not look so weary as the country was not involved in a war for a century or so.

However, this is not true: these Lugers' time of service coincided with a period of social and military unrest in Brazil's history. Considering that these pistols were issued to service around 1908-1910, they took part during in several military episodes:

- Contestado War (1912-1916):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contestado_War

- First World War (1918): Brazil sent a small fleet of ships to escort convoys in Atlantic, a medic unit to France and some pilots served with the RAF.

- The "Lieutenants" Revolts of 1922 and 1924-27: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenente_revolts

- The Revolution of 1930: the revolt that put an end to the 1st republic and saw the rising of dictator Getulio Vargas (1883-1954) who would head the government until 1945.

- The Revolution of 1932 (or "The Constitutionalist Revolution"): an attempt to debulk Vargas' government conducted by the State of São Paulo forces that developed into a brief Civil War.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constit...ist_Revolution

- The "Cangaço": is the name given to a form of "social banditry" in the Northeast of Brazil in late 19th and early 20th centuries. This region of Brazil is known for its aridness and hardships, and in a form of reaction against the domination of the land owners, the government and the European colonizers, many men and women decided to become nomadic bandits, roaming the sertões, seeking money, food, and revenge. The most famous "cangaceiro" was "Lampião", who carried a 1918 DWM Luger in 9mm . Most of the police forces and even some of the bandits carried and praised the Luger, by them called "para-belo". Lampião was killed in an ambush in 1938, beheaded, and his head was displayed along with several pistols and rifles captured with his gang.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canga%C...aceiro_weapons

So, it was not only the tropical weather that the Brazilian Lugers had the bear with. They saw, in fact, a lot of action.

During my research, I managed to get copies of two governmmental documents regarding the pistol. The first one is the “Manual of Infantry Weapons” ("Manual de Armas da Infantaria") of the Brazilian Army, authored by Cyro de Albuquerque Lima (Rio de Janeiro, Papelaria Moderna publisher, 1933). In its pages 45-50, it calls the Luger as “pistola Parabellum”. I’m attaching the first page of this book. Interesting to note that it shows an “Alter Art” Luger (model 1900) and that they used both ways of writing (with one and two "L"). This paper was provided to me by the curator of the Army's Museum located in the city of São Conrado, Rio de Janeiro (that's why it is marked "private collection").

The second is the above mentioned Army Bulletin #214, that I'm attaching a few pages.

Hope it helps you a little bit.

Greetings,

Douglas.