THe Night Luger

glock30 · 09-08-2012, 04:28 PM

While it looks like a prop for a steampunk costume, this is actually a very rare and early tactical handgun. A modified Luger pistol, this "Night Pistol" was issued to officers of the Hitler Guard, the men who patrolled Adolf Hitler's bunker.

What made the Night Pistol so unique was that it was retrofitted with a machined, barrel-mounted anodized brass flashlight. In the '40s. And even though the tactical gun-mounted flashlight is something that's downright mundane today, the Night Pistol still has a few tricks up its sleeve.

Behind the flashlight housing is the battery, which is wired to the right grip panel. Recessed into the checkered walnut grips are two brass plates that, when in contact with skin, which is slightly conductive, toggle the light on. The Night Pistol's tactical light only comes on when handled.

The flashlight was designed to clip on and off easily for storage. The holsters issued with the Night Pistol don't accommodate the light while it's installed, so it stands to reason they were carried separately. The holster also has a wide cutout around the grip to facilitate quick draws.

Even without the modifications and the light, the Night Pistol is an uncommon configuration. It is based on early Luger designs, with a 4-inch barrel, chambered in 7.65x21mm Parabellum and featuring a grip safety. It also was issued with magazines with matching walnut wooden floorplates.

If you happen to come across a Night Pistol, do pick it up, because only two are known to exist. One recently sold at the Rock Island Auction house for $184,000 and the other lives in a military museum in Germany.

So this isn't a P08 that's been cobbled together for a movie by a die-hard Jules Verne fan, it's rather a nearly-priceless piece of World War II history machined from brass and deep blued steel. It's also a design that's years ahead of it's time.

Edward Tinker · 09-08-2012, 04:51 PM

like this one

2007 Chattanooga NAPCA convention

glock30 · 09-08-2012, 04:57 PM

Ed, did you ever see Ancient ALiens (The History Channel) Where the Nazi's got all their technology from ALiens? Whatever anyone thinks it is pretty convincing stuff with all the info on it as told in the program, with Marie Ostrich and the Vlir. Amazing stuff, nonetheless, they were ahead of their time, in almost all aspects.

Vlim · 09-08-2012, 07:09 PM

Ancient Aliens is a nice program for people who like to believe in fairy tales. What is so 'alien' about a flash light bolted to a pistol?

The connection with Hitler's guards was never proven. They are a nice gimmick from the era, however.

glock30 · 09-08-2012, 10:52 PM

The most ridiculous thing is when they said Von Braun actually said that we got help from them? LOL. WHat gets me, that I can't explain, we go from flintlocks to lugers, and than not even 60 years later we have men on the moon, all our technology, in reality, is so new. It makes me wonder, but Ilike fary tales. I mean we are around for millions of years, but just in the last 100 we have this explosion in technology, it doesn't add up.

mahd776 · 09-08-2012, 10:54 PM

Seen the one the Rock Island Auction Co. had while attending the NRA convention in St. Louis this year. Pretty cool item!

glock30 · 09-08-2012, 10:54 PM

There is nothing Alien about a light on a pistol, IN essense, the Ancient ALien things was just something that came to mind, sorry if I offended anyone or upset anyone. Just talking.

Edward Tinker · 09-08-2012, 11:04 PM

I helped an older lady out while in high school, she was born in 1889; and I always thought of all the things she had witnessed?

Then my Grandparents, born before the depression, they saw amazing things, amazing.....

Cars, highways, super highways, planes, jets, computers, amazing things....

Terry Tiell · 09-08-2012, 11:08 PM

Cool Luger!

As to the Ancient Alien program I have got to agree too many thing in history just do not add up the way the history books tell it happened. One day we're living in caves painting ourselves blue and then we're building mega structures that we couldn't duplicate to this day! GIANT cut slabs of stone so heavy that it would take 2 or 3 heavy duty cranes of today to move but not only did we "somehow" quarry those massive slabs of rock but moved them hundreds of miles UP MOUNTAIN SIDES?

Or better yet the small figurines in the shape of airplanes that have been built and an actually fly yet they are thousands of years old, where did they come from? Either we had stuff on Earth long ago or Doc Brown has been going back to Aztec days to drop off toys.

Curly1 · 09-09-2012, 12:49 AM

+1 on the ancient astronauts theory, we aren't that smart w/o help to make those leaps IMO.

Lugerdoc · 09-09-2012, 10:30 AM

I'll bet that the luger recoil was hard on flash light bulbs. TH

ithacaartist · 09-09-2012, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curly1

+1 on the ancient astronauts theory, we aren't that smart w/o help to make those leaps IMO.

I beg to differ, Curly. It's not that our level of intelligence has increased. People 4,000 years ago were as intelligent as we are today. However, what's called the "body of knowledge" was rather small back then. Its growth, since, has been exponential--its rate of increase has been increasing. Notable exceptions, or voids, in the accumulation of knowledge were due to Catholicism and Islam. Arabia led the world in the development of mathematics, for example. With growth in the number and influence of Miuslims--whose Quran describes mathematics, working with numbers, as the devil's work--progress in mathematics stalled entirely, leaving off with mere algebra. Remember the dark ages? Thank the Christians for that. The church suppressed science, rationality, and anything else that threatened its free ride and power.

"Occam's razor" is a rule of thumb for figuring things our, basically, the simplest explanation for a phenomenon is the most likely solution. It's not even necessary to invoke visits from aliens. It has been thoroughly demonstrated that the techniques for laying out and constructing the pyramids needed nothing more than rudimentary levels, string-lines, levers and rollers. It's actually kind of insulting to insinuate that aliens were necessary for our progress in technology. It is immensely and needlessly more complicated to suggest that other life forms overcame almost unimaginable distances/time to seek us out, make their way to us, and give us the transistor and a handful of pyramids, go away, and never return (so far) don't you think? The claim that we weren't smart enough to figure out such things for ourselves would need LOTS of evidence to support it, while the evidence that we are intelligent, imaginative, and driven to discover and change the world around us is all-pervasive!

David Parker

cdmech · 09-09-2012, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ithacaartist

Remember the dark ages? Thank the Christians for that. The church suppressed science, rationality, and anything else that threatened its free ride and power.

David Parker

Really? Do I have to read this kind of crap on the "LUGER FORUM"? Lets talk about guns.
Marc

DavidJayUden · 09-09-2012, 10:51 PM

"Some people are destined to waft away on the fumes of their own B. S."
dju

Terry Tiell · 09-09-2012, 11:27 PM

The Luger may have been invented 1000 years earlier if it hadn't been for the dark ages.

09-08-2012, 04:28 PM	#1
glock30 User Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Obama LAND Posts: 206 Thanks: 18 Thanked 17 Times in 14 Posts	THe Night Luger While it looks like a prop for a steampunk costume, this is actually a very rare and early tactical handgun. A modified Luger pistol, this "Night Pistol" was issued to officers of the Hitler Guard, the men who patrolled Adolf Hitler's bunker. What made the Night Pistol so unique was that it was retrofitted with a machined, barrel-mounted anodized brass flashlight. In the '40s. And even though the tactical gun-mounted flashlight is something that's downright mundane today, the Night Pistol still has a few tricks up its sleeve. Behind the flashlight housing is the battery, which is wired to the right grip panel. Recessed into the checkered walnut grips are two brass plates that, when in contact with skin, which is slightly conductive, toggle the light on. The Night Pistol's tactical light only comes on when handled. The flashlight was designed to clip on and off easily for storage. The holsters issued with the Night Pistol don't accommodate the light while it's installed, so it stands to reason they were carried separately. The holster also has a wide cutout around the grip to facilitate quick draws. Even without the modifications and the light, the Night Pistol is an uncommon configuration. It is based on early Luger designs, with a 4-inch barrel, chambered in 7.65x21mm Parabellum and featuring a grip safety. It also was issued with magazines with matching walnut wooden floorplates. If you happen to come across a Night Pistol, do pick it up, because only two are known to exist. One recently sold at the Rock Island Auction house for $184,000 and the other lives in a military museum in Germany. So this isn't a P08 that's been cobbled together for a movie by a die-hard Jules Verne fan, it's rather a nearly-priceless piece of World War II history machined from brass and deep blued steel. It's also a design that's years ahead of it's time. Attached Images

09-08-2012, 04:51 PM	#2
Edward Tinker Super Moderator Eternal Lifer LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: North of Spokane, WA Posts: 15,960 Thanks: 2,062 Thanked 4,592 Times in 2,114 Posts	like this one 2007 Chattanooga NAPCA convention Attached Images __________________ Edward Tinker ************ Co-Author of Police Lugers - Co-Author of Simson Lugers Author of Veteran Bring Backs Vol I, Vol II, Vol III and Vol IV

09-08-2012, 11:08 PM	#9
Terry Tiell User Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: The Fascist State of Maryland Posts: 224 Thanks: 55 Thanked 26 Times in 14 Posts	Cool Luger! As to the Ancient Alien program I have got to agree too many thing in history just do not add up the way the history books tell it happened. One day we're living in caves painting ourselves blue and then we're building mega structures that we couldn't duplicate to this day! GIANT cut slabs of stone so heavy that it would take 2 or 3 heavy duty cranes of today to move but not only did we "somehow" quarry those massive slabs of rock but moved them hundreds of miles UP MOUNTAIN SIDES? Or better yet the small figurines in the shape of airplanes that have been built and an actually fly yet they are thousands of years old, where did they come from? Either we had stuff on Earth long ago or Doc Brown has been going back to Aztec days to drop off toys. __________________ Trying to redo grand dads Luger the best I can.

09-09-2012, 12:49 AM	#10
Curly1 User Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Upstate New York Posts: 1,244 Thanks: 125 Thanked 715 Times in 372 Posts	+1 on the ancient astronauts theory, we aren't that smart w/o help to make those leaps IMO. __________________ Laugh hard and often. Gary

09-09-2012, 10:30 AM	#11
Lugerdoc Patron LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: POB 398 St.Charles,MO. 63302 Posts: 5,089 Thanks: 6 Thanked 737 Times in 484 Posts	I'll bet that the luger recoil was hard on flash light bulbs. TH __________________ Tom Heller POB 398 ST.Charles, MO. 63302 Tel 636-447-3006 lugerdoc@charter.net

09-08-2012, 04:57 PM	#3
glock30 User Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Obama LAND Posts: 206 Thanks: 18 Thanked 17 Times in 14 Posts	Ed, did you ever see Ancient ALiens (The History Channel) Where the Nazi's got all their technology from ALiens? Whatever anyone thinks it is pretty convincing stuff with all the info on it as told in the program, with Marie Ostrich and the Vlir. Amazing stuff, nonetheless, they were ahead of their time, in almost all aspects.

09-08-2012, 07:09 PM	#4
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	Ancient Aliens is a nice program for people who like to believe in fairy tales. What is so 'alien' about a flash light bolted to a pistol? The connection with Hitler's guards was never proven. They are a nice gimmick from the era, however.

09-08-2012, 10:52 PM	#5
glock30 User Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Obama LAND Posts: 206 Thanks: 18 Thanked 17 Times in 14 Posts	The most ridiculous thing is when they said Von Braun actually said that we got help from them? LOL. WHat gets me, that I can't explain, we go from flintlocks to lugers, and than not even 60 years later we have men on the moon, all our technology, in reality, is so new. It makes me wonder, but Ilike fary tales. I mean we are around for millions of years, but just in the last 100 we have this explosion in technology, it doesn't add up.

09-08-2012, 10:54 PM	#6
mahd776 User Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 29 Thanks: 2 Thanked 6 Times in 3 Posts	Seen the one the Rock Island Auction Co. had while attending the NRA convention in St. Louis this year. Pretty cool item!

09-08-2012, 11:04 PM	#8
Edward Tinker Super Moderator Eternal Lifer LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: North of Spokane, WA Posts: 15,960 Thanks: 2,062 Thanked 4,592 Times in 2,114 Posts	I helped an older lady out while in high school, she was born in 1889; and I always thought of all the things she had witnessed? Then my Grandparents, born before the depression, they saw amazing things, amazing..... Cars, highways, super highways, planes, jets, computers, amazing things....

09-09-2012, 10:51 PM	#14
DavidJayUden Patron LugerForum Patron Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 4,047 Thanks: 578 Thanked 1,414 Times in 887 Posts	"Some people are destined to waft away on the fumes of their own B. S." dju

09-09-2012, 11:27 PM	#15
Terry Tiell User Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: The Fascist State of Maryland Posts: 224 Thanks: 55 Thanked 26 Times in 14 Posts	The Luger may have been invented 1000 years earlier if it hadn't been for the dark ages. __________________ Trying to redo grand dads Luger the best I can.