The Portuguese Army purchased 5,000 7.65mm Luger pistols in 1908, and the Navy followed suit the next year – but the Navy opted for 9mm ones, with 100mm barrels. A contract for 350 was placed in November 1909, with the guns delivered in 1910. These were in a standalone serial number range starting at 1, and they had a crown over anchor crest on the chambers in recognition of King Manuel II. Manuel was overthrown in 1910, however, and the followup order for an additional 300 guns were delivered with “RP” over anchor crests, for the Republic of Portugal (the final delivery was August 1912). These pistol were ordered with holsters, lanyards, double magazine pouches, and three magazines with each gun.
Q&A
Q&A #7 Video
Another set of questions from my awesome Patreon contributors! 0:43 – Guns flexing in slow motion 3:41 – Destructives Devices – the guns vs the ammo 9:54 – What makes some stocked pistols exempt from […]
Select-fire Rifles
Vintage Saturday: AR10 in Angola
From the look in his eyes, he knows you will burn down a village to get one of those rifles. Note the integral bipod on the AR-10 (A Portuguese m961 model).
Semiauto pistol
Portuguese Army Lugers: From Manuel II to World War Two
Portugal first tested the Luger pistol in 1901, and its commission on self-loading pistols recommended the design for adoption in 1904. No money was available at the time, but a second commission again recommended the […]
Few people know that it was Portugal, not Russia, that was the first nation-state to become a socialist republic by armed revolution. Their revolution in 1910 predated the October Revolution by nearly eight years.
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