The Bergmann 1896 was a 19th-century

semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actuall ...

developed by German designer Louis Schmeisser and sold by Theodor Bergmann's company. A contemporary of the

Mauser C96 The Mauser C96 (''Construktion 96'') is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 2 ...

and

Borchardt C-93 The Borchardt C93 is a semi-automatic pistol designed by Hugo Borchardt in 1893. The design is based upon the Maxim gun's toggle lock model. Borchardt developed the high-velocity, bottlenecked 7.65×25mm Borchardt cartridge for the C93. His a ...

pistols, the Bergmann failed to achieve the same widespread success, although Bergmann himself later went on to design one of the earliest practical and successful sub-machine guns, the MP-18. The first cartridges in Bergmann pistols were grooveless, with the bullets having a sharp nose to avoid jams. Later pistols, however, have mechanical extractors and cartridges with grooved flanges. The M96 had an internal box-magazine holding five cartridges. Описание пистолета “ Бергман 1896 ” на www.fire-arms.ru
Проверено 29 июля 2008

M1893 and M1894 prototypes

The initial design patented in 1893 was chambered for a rimless 8mm cartridge. Versions designated M1893 and M1894 were evaluated and rejected by Swiss, German, and Belgian military trials; and the M1896 design reflected improvements to correct shortcomings reported by those trials.

M1896 production

While the earlier models had been manufactured by Louis Schmeisser, the M1896 was built under license by Charles V. Schilling of Suhl. Three cartridges were chambered for the M1896 pistols. Approximately 2,000 small pistols designated M1896 No. 2 were chambered for the

5mm Bergmann The 5mm Bergmann is an unusual centerfire Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center A centerfire cartridge is a firearm metallic cartridge whose primer is located at the center of the base o ...

. Production of a larger pistol was approximately 4,400 M1896 No. 3 chambered for the 6.5mm Bergmann, plus two or three hundred M1896 No. 4 chambered for the 8mm Bergmann.

M1897 improvements

With the commercial success of civilian sales for the M1896, Bergman made additional modifications hoping to obtain military contracts. The M1897 was a sturdier design with a shrouded barrel and rear sight adjustable to . The M1897 was chambered for a new 7.8mm Bergmann cartridge, and the most obvious change was a more modern detachable 10-shot magazine housed in front of the trigger. The magazine could be fed by a

stripper clip A stripper clip (also known as a charger or charger clip, especially in British and in Commonwealth military vocabulary) is a speedloader that holds several cartridges (usually between 5 and 10) together in a single unit for easier and faster lo ...

. Most were sold with a hollow shoulder stock. A few had barrels with either a conventional carbine configuration or a detachable wooden shoulder stock. Bergmann was again unsuccessful in obtaining military contracts, and the similar Mauser C96 captured an increasing share of civilian sales. Production was discontinued after approximately 1,000 M1897s had been manufactured.

Pop culture

In the 1971 Technicolor Western film ''

Big Jake ''Big Jake'' is a 1971 American Technicolor Western film starring John Wayne, Richard Boone and Maureen O'Hara. The picture was the final film for George Sherman in a directing career of more than 30 years. It grossed $7.5 million in the ...

'' , the character Michael McCandles , uses a Bergmann 1896 as his sidearm. It is worth noting however, that the pistol was called a Bergmann Mark 1911 in the film, and the actual prop gun was made by modifying a Walther P38 to superficially resemble a Bergmann 1896. The blaster pistol utilized by the titular character in the 2019 television series '' The Mandalorian'' is based on the Bergmann M1894 nº 1. The Bergmann No.3 is featured as a usable weapon in '' Hunt: Showdown'' as the "Bornheim No. 3". 3 variants exist - the pistol, a pistol with a custom 8-round fixed magazine and a long barrelled carbine with a fixed wire stock.

References

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External links