Salvator Dormus pistol

Salvator-Dormus
Type Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin Austria-Hungary
Production history
Designer Karl Salvator
Georg von Dormus
Designed 1891
Produced 1895
No. built about 50
Specifications
Cartridge 8mm Dormus[1]
Action Delayed blowback
Maximum firing range 40m
Feed system 5-round magazine[1]
Sights Iron sights

The Salvator-Dormus pistol was the earliest-patented semi-automatic pistol. It was patented on 11 July 1891 by Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria and Count Georg von Dormus. 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 8mm blowback pistol loaded through the top and had a hinged magazine door on the butt. The pistol had a separate bolt release and safety. The production delay between patent and military trials allowed comparison 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]

References

  1. 1 2 McCollum, Ian. "1891 Salvatore-Dormus: The First Automatic Pistol". ForgottenWeapons.com. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  2. ↑ Antaris, Leonardo M. (2017). "In the Beginning". American Rifleman. National Rifle Association. 165 (10): 76.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.