Grandpa's gun

Vlim · 04-17-2007, 07:31 AM

A very nice example of a Dutch KNIL luger.

The KNIL "Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger" (Royal Dutch Indonesian Army) was a colonial army with a catch. Many members were local Indonesians. As the Dutch were on the good guys side during WW2, this is one of the few service Lugers that was used on the allied side, until the Indonesian islands were overrun by the Japanese, who confiscated and re-used many Dutch lugers. As a result, American GI's captured former Dutch lugers during the pacific war.

The brass plate shows regiment info. A very good book 'The Dutch Luger' was written about these guns.

Vickers had ties with DWM, the gun's original manufacturer. Members of the Berlin Loewe family had seats in the boards of Loewe, DWM and Vickers. In fact, when one of the Loewe brothers died, his seat was taken over by a member of the Vickers family. As a result of this common interest, DWM also produced the famous Maxim/Vickers machinegun. So when DWM needed a favor done just after WW1, Vickers was prepared to step in and organize the delivery of the pistols to the Netherlands.

Ron: Slight correction: rust is pronounced exactly as the English rust, it only differs in meaning. It can best be translated as the military phrase 'at ease'. It also means 'rest'.

The crown/W is the Dutch royal property mark. The W stands for the Dutch Queen Wilhelmina, during her reign the gun was accepted for service.

04-17-2007, 07:31 AM	#11
Vlim Moderator Lifetime LugerForum Patron Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Europe Posts: 5,053 Thanks: 1,036 Thanked 3,991 Times in 1,205 Posts	A very nice example of a Dutch KNIL luger. The KNIL "Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger" (Royal Dutch Indonesian Army) was a colonial army with a catch. Many members were local Indonesians. As the Dutch were on the good guys side during WW2, this is one of the few service Lugers that was used on the allied side, until the Indonesian islands were overrun by the Japanese, who confiscated and re-used many Dutch lugers. As a result, American GI's captured former Dutch lugers during the pacific war. The brass plate shows regiment info. A very good book 'The Dutch Luger' was written about these guns. Vickers had ties with DWM, the gun's original manufacturer. Members of the Berlin Loewe family had seats in the boards of Loewe, DWM and Vickers. In fact, when one of the Loewe brothers died, his seat was taken over by a member of the Vickers family. As a result of this common interest, DWM also produced the famous Maxim/Vickers machinegun. So when DWM needed a favor done just after WW1, Vickers was prepared to step in and organize the delivery of the pistols to the Netherlands. Ron: Slight correction: rust is pronounced exactly as the English rust, it only differs in meaning. It can best be translated as the military phrase 'at ease'. It also means 'rest'. The crown/W is the Dutch royal property mark. The W stands for the Dutch Queen Wilhelmina, during her reign the gun was accepted for service.