peashooter85:World War I experimental Mauser Model 1912/14 pistol,From Rockislandauctions,Produced b
peashooter85:World War I experimental Mauser Model 1912/14 pistol,From Rockislandauctions,Produced based on the designs of Josef Nickl, who would later go on to play a major role in establishing the Czech arsenal at Brno, the 1912/1914 began development in 1909, in an attempt to match developments in martial sidearms, particularly Colt’s then-emerging 45 ACP pistols and DWM’s 9mm Parabellum Luger. Going through several changes and alterations in it’s short life, the 1912/1914 showed great promise, but was cut short by the opening of hostilities of World War I. Due to the war, production of the 9mm variation ended at only a few hundred units, with the 45 ACP version being swept from the drawing board entirely. Adding insult to injury, what few 1912/1914s were produced were pressed into service in the trenches, where the brutal conditions all but wiped out the pistol. How this example survived, and in such pristine condition, is unknown. -- source link