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Salvator Dormus pistol

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Salvator-Dormus
TypeSemi-automatic pistol
Place of originAustria-Hungary
Production history
DesignerArchduke Karl Salvator of Austria
Georg von Dormus [de]
Designed1891
ManufacturerŒ.W.G.
Produced1895
No. builtabout 50
Specifications
Cartridge8mm Dormus[1]
ActionDelayed blowback
Maximum firing range40m
Feed system5-round magazine[1]
SightsIron sights

The Salvator-Dormus pistol is the earliest-patented semi-automatic pistol. It was patented on 11 July 1891, by Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria and Count Georg von Dormus [de]. As the first of its kind, it was designed without the benefit of experience with earlier models. Various modifications were made with approximately twenty prototypes before thirty pistols of a workable design were submitted for Austrian military trials in 1896. This 8 mm delayed blowback pistol loads through the top and has a hinged magazine door on the butt. The pistol has a separate bolt release and safety. The production delay between patent and military trials allowed comparisons with other self-loading pistols, and the Salvator Dormus was considered inferior to its competition. The designers abandoned this project; and few pistols survive.[2] The Bundeswehr Museum of German Defense Technology in Koblenz has one of these specimens in its collection.

References

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  1. ^ a b McCollum, Ian (15 May 2017). "1891 Salvatore-Dormus: The First Automatic Pistol". ForgottenWeapons.com. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  2. ^ Antaris, Leonardo M. (2017). "In the Beginning". American Rifleman. 165 (10). National Rifle Association of America: 76.
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