Luger LP08 Artillery Model Pistol : German Army

Luger LP08 Artillery semi automatic pistol. Toggle marked DWM and the breech top 1917. All parts have matching serial numbers except for the magazine which is stamped 974. Two piece checkered wood grips and has a T section slide on the back strap for the wooden butt stock.

The German Lange Pistole 1908 (LP08), known as the ‘artillery Luger’, was developed to produce an effective weapon that offered a longer range than a standard pistol but was more convenient than a conventional bolt-action rifle. Developed and manufactured by Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken Aktien-Gesellschaft (DWM), the LP08 was adopted by the German Army in June 1913 and issued the following year. The Royal Arsenal of Erfurt also manufactured a limited number of the LP08 in 1914.

An effective and popular weapon, the gun was initially issued to artillery units before being adopted by the members of the Luftstreitkräfte and the elite Sturmtruppe assault forces. Following the war, the terms of the Treaty of Versailles for the demilitarisation of Germany restricted the amount and type of weapons the country could hold for civil defence and policing. In 1920 the LP08 was formally added to the list of prohibited weapons. Approximately 155,000 were produced between 1914 and 1918.