Semi-automatic pistol (Borchardt C-93)
Pistola semiautomática (Borchardt C-93)
- Date
- 1893 · confidence high
- Place
- Berlin, Germany
- Credited to
- Hugo Borchardt (Ludwig Loewe & Co.)
- Field
- Conflict
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
The first commercially viable semi-automatic pistol: recoil of the barrel and a toggle lock ejects the case and chambers a new cartridge from a box magazine in the grip. Its design inspired the Mauser C96 and the Luger P08.
The Schönberger-Laumann (1892, Austria) and other prototypes are earlier, but Borchardt's was the first mass-produced; what counts as 'first' is debated.
What it led to
- the Luger P08 and Mauser C96
- Browning's Colt M1911
- automatic pistols for police and military use