Dreyse 1910: An Attempted WW1 9mm Pistol

Designed by Louis Schmeisser, the Dreyse Model 1910 was an attempt to build a blowback pistol in 9x19mm for German military or police service, expanding on the existing market for the popular smaller .32ACP (7.65mm) Dreyse pistols. In order to make a safe blowback action, Schmeisser made a very stiff recoil spring, which then required a mechanism for the shooter to disengage or bypass the spring in order to manually cycle the action.

The guns were excitedly received by several German agencies, and several thousand were ordered when the gun was announced. Unfortunately for Rheinische Metallwaaren- und Maschinenfabrik (the manufacturer, now known as Rheinmetall), production turned out to be quite difficult, and only about 500 were actually produced before the plan collapsed.

Today we will take a look at two standard production examples and two prototypes...

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