Monday, April 19, 2010

Hi-Power semi-automatic pistol

Hi-Power semi-automatic pistol

After Hiram Maxim introduced his recoil-powered machine gun in 1883, several gunsmiths set out to apply the same principles to handguns, including Maxim. Maxim's designs for smaller firearms using his recoil-powered ideas never went into production. In the 1880s, other designers worked on self-loading designs. The first model to gain any commercial success was the Hugo Borchardt-designed self-loading Borchardt C-93 semi-automatic pistol, which was designed in 1893 and made its public appearance in 1894. Borchardt invented the C-93 mechanism, but it was based in large part upon Maxim's toggle-lock principle. The C-93 featured a clever locking mechanism modeled after the human knee joint in which the mechanical joint is called a knee, or in German Kniegelenk (knee joint).

The C-93 proved mechanically reliable, but was too large and bulky to receive widespread acceptance. Equipped with a screw-on wooden stock, the C-93 served well in small pistol carbines, however. Borchardt also developed the 7.65x25mm Borchardt cartridge, around which the C-93 was built.

In 1896, Paul Mauser introduced his first model of the famous Mauser "Broomhandle" semi-automatic pistol, the C96. Using the powerful 7.63 mm bottle-necked cartridge originally designed by Borchardt, the Mauser was the first self-loading pistol used extensively in battle, notably the South African War of 1899-1902. These pistols were made in 7.63x25mm Mauser along with some models eventually being made in 9 x 19 mm Parabellum (9 x 19 mm Luger) and a small number in .45 ACP.

In the United States in 1896, the first American gun designer to develop self-loading semi-automatic pistols was John Browning, whose models were manufactured by Colt in the US, and by the Belgian firm of Fabrique Nationale (FN) in Europe. Like Luger's work conducted around the same time in Germany, Browning's first successful design was in 7.65 mm caliber, the Browning M1900. Browning also devised a slightly different 7.65 mm Browning (.32 Auto, 7.65x17mm SR) cartridge for his .32 caliber semi-automatic pistol that differed from Luger's 7.65 mm Luger (.30 Luger, 7.65 x 21 mm) cartridge. Browning also designed .25 ACP, .380 ACP, and .45 ACP cartridges in addition to .32 ACP cartridges for his semi-automatic pistol designs.

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