The Dreyse M1907 was a pistol manufactured by Germany in the early 1900s. It was chambered for 7.65 mm (.32 ACP) cartridges and had a magazine capacity of 7 rounds. It was a blowback-operated pistol with a breech lock that surrounded the barrel. The weapon itself had a total length of 16 cm and an empty weight of 0.7 kilograms. It was fed by a seven round box magazine.[1]
Although primarily a police pistol, the Dreyse M1907 saw service in World War II with the Wehrmacht. The Dreyse was not officially produced in a series with variants but over the course of its production, several small modifications and improvements were made.
History[]
The Dreyse M1907 was designed by Louis Schmeisser, who was a renowned technical designer in Europe during the early years of the 20th century. Schmeisser's M1907 pistol was unique at the time and proved popular, and soon after it's initial production it was adopted by the German police force. It was also fielded with Austrian troops during World War I.[2]
By the 1930s other designs had revolutionized the market and the Dreyse was somewhat quaint, but it was still used as a sidearm for Wehrmacht soldiers and officers. It was mainly towards the end of the war that the Dreyse saw any action, since Germany's supplies were dwindling and they had to make do with stopgap weapons. M1907s were also captured by Allied troops, who favored them over the Colt M1911.
References[]
- ↑ http://www.hungariae.com/Drey07.htm
- ↑ The Illustrated World Encyclopedia of Guns, p.166
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