The Dryse Model 1907,Invented in 1907, the Dryse Model 1907 was a simple blowback .32acp pistol inve

The Dryse Model 1907,Invented in 1907, the Dryse Model 1907 was a simple blowback .32acp pistol invented by Loius Schmeisser, father of the famed Hugo Schmeisser.  Although a Schmeisser invention it was named in honor of Nikolaus von Dreyse, the mid 19th century gun designer who created the Dreyse needle gun.  A single action striker fired pistol, one interesting feature is that the firing pin protruding from an opening in the breechblock when the pistol was cocked, serving as cocking indicator.Later a model was produced in 9mm Para called the Model 1912.  The pistol became very popular among German and Austrian officers during World War I.  After the war many were placed in storage only to be dusted off and re-arsenaled for World War II.  They were especially famous for being issued to the Volksturm, Hitlers people militia that desperately recruited young boys and old men during the last months of the war.  Another interesting user was the Vatican, which armed its Swiss Guard with Dreyse pistols all the way up to 1990, when it was replaced by modern handguns made by SIG. -- source link

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