Читать книгу Gun Digest 2011 онлайн

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Krieghoff’s production of the Luger pistol dates back to 1934, when they were awarded a Luftwaffe contract for 10,000 pistols. The last of these were delivered in 1937. Most significantly, they delivered on the Luftwaffe’s contract clause that required interchangeability of parts. Previously all Lugers were hand-fitted. Furthermore, they did this with a massive reduction in rejected parts during production, reducing Mauser’s 40% rejection rate to a more acceptable 10% rejection rate. This heightened standard of machine production raised the bar for Mauser and the other German firms. For Krieghoff, it resulted in lucrative contracts to make the MG 15 and other weapons.

Both Mauser and Krieghoff remedied a problem found in the 1920s-vintage Lugers made by Simson. The top rear of the ear on either side of the Luger’s frame must be of sufficient thickness to prevent the head of the rear toggle link axle being completely exposed as the toggle cycles. If fully exposed, the axle (or pin, if you prefer) can drift out during recoil and prevent the toggle from returning to battery. This was found to occur only on Simson Lugers, which had the most metal removed from this area. Mauser and Krieghoff both increased the thickness here beyond even that of the DWM Lugers to make sure this would not happen to a German soldier in combat. To draw attention to their fix, Mauser added an extra machining cut to produce a slight bulge over the area needing more thickness, a sight that many former Simson users found comforting.