7.65×21mm Parabellum
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The 7.65×21mm Parabellum (designated as the 7,65 Parabellum by the C.I.P.C.I.P. TDCC datasheet 7,65 Parabellum
/ref> and also known as .30 Luger and 7.65mm Luger) is a rimless, bottleneck, centerfire
pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...
cartridge that was introduced in 1898 by
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
arms manufacturer
Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken ''Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktiengesellschaft'' (German Weapons and Munitions public limited company), known as DWM, was an arms company in Imperial Germany created in 1896 when ''Ludwig Loewe & Company'' united its weapons and am ...
(DWM) for their new Pistol Parabellum. The primary developers of the pistol cartridge were
firearms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originated ...
designers
Georg Luger Georg Johann Luger (6 March 1849 – 22 December 1923) was an Austrian designer of the famous Luger pistol and the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. Early life and military service Georg Luger was born in Steinach am Brenner, Tyrol to Dr. ...
and
Hugo Borchardt Hugo Borchardt (June 6, 1844 – May 8, 1924) was a German firearms inventor and engineer, born in Magdeburg, Kingdom of Prussia. He is known for his inventions of the Borchardt C-93 pistol and the Sharps-Borchardt Model 1878 rifle. In 1860 he ...
, who developed the round from the earlier 7.65×25mm Borchardt while working at DWM.


Development

In 1897, the C-93 Borchardt pistol was submitted for testing to the Swiss Military Trials Committee. The committee found the Borchardt too heavy and unwieldy to serve as a military sidearm. Georg Luger was asked by DWM to improve upon the Borchardt pistol. He developed the 7.65×21mm Parabellum cartridge from the 7.65×25mm Borchardt. By shortening the cartridge case, Luger was able to design a narrower grip, and the toggle action required a shorter stroke than in the original Borchardt design. A transitional Borchardt-Luger model in the new caliber was submitted to the Swiss commission in 1898. After further improvements, the final result became the DWM Pistole-Parabellum ("
Luger pistol The Pistole Parabellum or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just the Luger or Luger P08, is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The Luger was produced in several models and by several nations from 1 ...
"). The loading for the new cartridge was standardized and mass production began in 1900–1901 in DWM's factory in
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...
, Germany. Around 1903, a separate load was developed for Parabellum carbines, with about 20% more powder (increased from the standard 0.32–0.35 g to 0.40 g) and a blackened cartridge case. This carbine load was manufactured until sometime after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.


History and usage

Since its introduction, 7.65×21mm Parabellum ammunition has been manufactured in several countries for both domestic use and for export, including
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
,
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
,
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. In 1900, with the adoption of the Luger Parabellum Model 1900 pistol, the 7.65mm Luger became the standard pistol cartridge of the Swiss Army. The Swiss ''Modell 06/29'' pistol served the Swiss Army until well after the adoption of a
SIG P210 The SIG P210 ( Swiss Army designation Pistole 49, the civilian model was known as SP47/8 prior to 1957) is a locked breech self loading, semi-automatic pistol designed and manufactured in Neuhausen am Rheinfall (Canton of Schaffhausen, Switzer ...
in 1949, and remained in limited service until the late 1960s. The SIG P210 was also manufactured in this caliber, but only for civilian use; Swiss military issues of the P210 were chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum. The 7.65mm Parabellum was replaced by the
German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...
with the
9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO or simply 9mm) is a Rim (firearms)#Rimless, rimless, Centerfire ammunition, centerfire, tapered cartridge (firearms), firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer ...
cartridge. Around 1900, Brazilian armed forces adopted the round for use in German-made Parabellum pistols (partially replacing the Simson Nagant-style revolver) and, later, in some Schmeisser MP-28 II submachine guns made in Belgium under license. It remained in limited use by some police forces up through the 1970s, such as the former Guanabara State Police (based in Rio de Janeiro). The Luger pistol in 7.65mm was adopted by the Finnish in 1923 with the designation ''Parabellum Pistooli 23,'' abbreviated m/23. About 8,000 pistols were delivered, but few survived the war. Many of these pistols were rebarreled to 9mm, and a limited quantity remained in storage until 1980 for arming noncombat personnel. The Finnish
Lahti L-35 The Lahti L-35 is a semi-automatic pistol designed by Aimo Lahti that was produced between 1935 and 1952. Designed to be manufactured autonomously in Finland, the pistol was used by Finland throughout the Winter War and Continuation War. Consider ...
pistol, a 1929 design introduced in 1935 to replace the Luger pistol, was also originally chambered in 7.65mm Parabellum before it, too, was switched over to the 9mm Parabellum. In addition to the Luger Parabellum and the SIG P210, several other handguns have been manufactured in this caliber, mainly for commercial sale in countries that restrict civilian use of contemporary military calibers such as 9mm Parabellum. Examples include the Astra A-80, Benelli B80, Beretta M952,
Beretta 92 The Beretta 92 (also Beretta 96 and Beretta 98) is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. History Carlo Beretta, Giuseppe Mazzetti and Vittorio Valle, all experienced firearms designers, contributed to ...
,
Browning Hi-Power The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol available in the 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W calibers. It was based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at FN Herstal. ...
, Colt Commander,
Mamba Mambas are fast-moving, highly venomous snakes of the genus ''Dendroaspis'' (which literally means "tree asp") in the family Elapidae. Four extant species are recognised currently; three of those four species are essentially arboreal and gre ...
, some models of the
Ruger Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., better known by the shortened name Ruger, is an American firearm manufacturing company based in Southport, Connecticut, with production facilities also in Newport, New Hampshire; Mayodan, North Carolina; and ...
P series, the
SIG Sauer P220 The SIG Sauer P220 is a semi-automatic pistol designed in 1975 by the SIG Arms AG division of Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (now SIG Holding AG), and produced by J. P. Sauer & Sohn, in Eckernförde. It is currently manufactured by both ...
,
Smith & Wesson Model 59 The Smith & Wesson Model 59 is a double-action pistol produced from 1971 to 1982. It was developed by Smith & Wesson from the earlier Smith & Wesson Model 39 by adapting a 14-round capacity stagger-stack magazine. History and users The Model 59 w ...
,
Walther P5 The Walther P5 is a 9mm semi-automatic pistol developed in the mid-1970s by the German small arms manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. It was designed with the German police forces in mind, who sought to replace existing 7.65mm pistols ...
, Walther P38 and P38K. A handful of
submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...
s have been manufactured in this caliber, notably the SIG Bergmann 1920 (the licensed Swiss version of the Bergmann MP-18/1), the Swiss Furrer submachine gun, and its double-barreled aerial counterpart the Flieger-Doppelpistole 1919, the M/Neuhausen MKMS, the Austrian
MP34 The MP34 (''Maschinenpistole 34'', literally "Machine Pistol 34") is a submachine gun (SMG) that was manufactured by '' Waffenfabrik Steyr'' as Steyr-Solothurn S1-100 and used by the Austrian Army and Austrian Gendarmerie and subsequently by ...
, and the Suomi M-26. The name is derived from the Latin phrase ''
si vis pacem, para bellum () is a Latin adage translated as "If you want peace, prepare for war." The phrase is adapted from a statement found in Roman author Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus's tract ''De Re Militari, Dē Rē Mīlitārī'' (fourth or fifth century AD) ...
''—"If you want peace, prepare for war."


Cartridge dimensions

The 7.65×21mm Parabellum has 0.93  ml (14.3 
grains A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and le ...
H2O) cartridge case capacity. 7.65×21mm Parabellum maximum CIP cartridge dimensions, all sizes in millimeters (mm) The common
rifling Rifling is the term for helical grooves machined into the internal surface of a firearms's barrel for imparting a spin to a projectile to improve its aerodynamic stability and accuracy. It is also the term (as a verb) for creating such groov ...
twist rate Rifling is the term for helical grooves machined into the internal surface of a firearms's barrel for imparting a spin to a projectile to improve its aerodynamic stability and accuracy. It is also the term (as a verb) for creating such groov ...
for this cartridge is 275 mm (1 in 10.83 in), 4 grooves, ø lands = 7.62 mm, ø grooves = 7.83 mm, land width = 3.05 mm and the primer type is small pistol. This cartridge headspaces on the shoulder of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pistols'', p. 244. Plantersville, SC: Small Arms Technical Publishing Company, 1943. According to the official
Commission internationale permanente pour l'épreuve des armes à feu portatives The Commission internationale permanente pour l'épreuve des armes à feu portatives (English: ''Permanent International Commission for the Proof of Small Arms''), commonly abbreviated C.I.P., is an international organisation which sets standards ...
(CIP) guidelines, the 7.65×21mm Parabellum case can handle up to piezo pressure. In CIP-regulated countries, every pistol cartridge combo has to be proofed at 130% of this maximum CIP pressure to certify for sale to consumers.


Synonyms

* 7.65×22mm Parabellum * .30 Luger * 7.65mm Luger * 7.65×21mm * 7.65×21mm Luger * 7.65mm Parabellum * 7.65mm Para


See also

*
7 mm caliber This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated a ...
*
Table of handgun and rifle cartridges This is a table of selected pistol/submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load (e.g. the highest muzzle energy might not be in the same ...


References

* Barnes, Frank C. (1972). ''Cartridges of the World'', 3rd Edition. Digest Books, pp. 153, 177. . * Goertz, Joachim and Sturgess, Geoffrey (2010 and 2011). ''The Borchardt & Luger Automatic Pistols''. Brad Simpson Publishing and G.L. Sturgess. pp. 1455–69. .


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:7.65x21mm Parabellum Pistol and rifle cartridges Military cartridges 1898 establishments in Germany