94-488: The Walther P38 (originally written Walther P.38 ) is a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol that was developed by Carl Walther GmbH as the service pistol of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II . It was intended to replace the comparatively complex and expensive to produce Luger P08 . Moving the production lines to the more easily mass producible P38 once World War II started took longer than expected, leading to
188-532: A "0" prefix to the serial number. The third series pistols solved the problems for the German Army and mass production began in mid-1940, using Walther's military production identification code "480". Several experimental versions were later created in .45 ACP , and .38 Super but these were never mass-produced. In addition to the 9×19mm Parabellum version, some 7.65×21mm Parabellum and some .22 Long Rifle versions were also manufactured and sold. The P.38
282-412: A "Materia Nova", "expressive of our own age". By the 1930s, Bakelite was used for game pieces like chess pieces , poker chips , dominoes , and mahjong sets. Kitchenware made with Bakelite, including canisters and tableware, was promoted for its resistance to heat and to chipping. In the mid-1930s, Northland marketed a line of skis with a black "Ebonite" base, a coating of Bakelite. By 1935, it
376-505: A "fully automatic" or machine pistol, which continues to fire as long as the trigger is held or until all rounds have been fired. The Mauser M712 Schnellfeuer (German for "rapid fire"), a modified Mauser C96 pistol, is a notable example of a true machine pistol. While both types of weapons operate on the same principles, fully automatic weapons must be built more ruggedly to accommodate the heat and stress caused by rapid firing, and it can be difficult (and illegal in most countries) to convert
470-428: A "semi-automatic pistol" or a "self-loading pistol" usually all imply a semi-automatic handgun that is fed by a removable magazine, which discharges one round for each trigger pull. Semi-automatic pistols use one firing chamber that remains fixed in a constant linear position relative to the gun barrel. In contrast, although double-action revolvers can also be fired semi-automatically, their rounds are not fired from
564-526: A Swedish contract. The designation P.38 indicates Wehrmacht adoption in 1938, although the exact date is unknown. The transition from HP to the mechanically-identical P.38-marked pistols took place 1939–1940. Sweden bought the Walther HP in 1939. During WWII, the P.38 was produced by Walther, Mauser, and Spreewerk. To conceal manufacturer identities, each wartime manufacturer used a letter code : ac (Walther); byf (Mauser), and cyq (Spreewerk), followed by
658-500: A cartridge in one continuous motion. Each pull of the trigger on a DAO semi-automatic pistol requires the same amount of pressure. The Kel-Tec P-11 is an example of a DAO action. DAO semi-automatic pistols are most generally recommended only in the smaller, self-defense, concealable pistols, rather than in target or hunting pistols. A notable exception is the Glock range of pistols, which optimize preset triggers (similar to DAO), but
752-651: A machine pistol, in contrast, this can be accomplished by blowback , or, less commonly, by gas operation , harnessing gases produced when the gun is fired. The Desert Eagle is a rare example of a semi-automatic pistol that siphons off some of the gases instead of relying on short recoil operation. A revolver , which uses multiple chambers and a single barrel, and a derringer , which uses multiple chambers and multiple barrels, also fire one round per trigger pull, but achieve this in different ways and as such are not classified as being semi-automatic. A semi-automatic pistol will fire only one shot per trigger pull, in contrast to
846-498: A meeting of the American Chemical Society on February 5, 1909. Baekeland started semi-commercial production of his new material in his home laboratory, marketing it as a material for electrical insulators. In the summer of 1909, he licensed the continental European rights to Rütger AG. The subsidiary formed at that time, Bakelite AG, was the first to produce Bakelite on an industrial scale. By 1910, Baekeland
940-473: A removable box magazine to provide ammunition, which is usually inserted into the grip. However, some pistols are based on receiver -style designs similar to existing semi-automatic rifles , and thus have the magazine inserted separately from the grip. The language surrounding "automatic", "semi-automatic", "self-loading", etc., often causes confusion due to differences in technical usage between different countries and differences in popular usage. For example,
1034-540: A screw-on wooden stock, the C-93 served well as a small pistol carbine . In 1896, Paul Mauser introduced the first model of his Mauser "Broomhandle" semi-automatic pistol, the C96 . This was the first mass-produced and commercially successful pistol to have a large-capacity, staggered-column magazine holding 10 or 20 rounds. Its original cartridge was called 7.63 mm Mauser , which was more powerful but otherwise identical to
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#17327880309491128-461: A semi-automatic pistol into a fully automatic mode of fire. A selective-fire action pistol, though, can be converted back and forth by means of a switch, and often includes a burst mode , typically for a three-round burst with each trigger pull. Selective-fire weapons are generally used by specialized law enforcement and security personnel such as SWAT teams, hostage rescue teams, anti-terrorist units, or government bodyguards for heads of state. In
1222-414: A similar material fakelite (fake bakelite) exists made from modern safer materials which do not contain asbestos . The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted Baekeland a patent for a "Method of making insoluble products of phenol and formaldehyde" on December 7, 1909. Producing hard, compact, insoluble, and infusible condensation products of phenols and formaldehyde marked the beginning of
1316-412: A single chamber, but rather are fired from each of the chambers that are rotated into linear alignment with the barrel's position in turn just prior for each shot fired. Typically, the first round is manually loaded into the chamber by pulling back and releasing the slide mechanism. After the trigger is pulled and the round is fired, the recoil operation of the handgun automatically extracts and ejects
1410-405: A synthetic plastic was revolutionary for the chemical industry, which at the time made most of its income from cloth dyes and explosives. Bakelite's commercial success inspired the industry to develop other synthetic plastics. As the world's first commercial synthetic plastic , Bakelite was named a National Historic Chemical Landmark by the American Chemical Society . Bakelite was produced for
1504-401: A synthetic resin rather than coating it. By controlling the pressure and temperature applied to phenol and formaldehyde , he produced a hard moldable material that he named Bakelite, after himself. It was the first synthetic thermosetting plastic produced, and Baekeland speculated on "the thousand and one ... articles" it could be used to make. He considered the possibilities of using
1598-537: A time on pistols produced in France after the war, being called "Gray Ghosts" by collectors on the account of their distinctive parkerizing and sheet metal grips. Post war P1 grips were made of black colored plastic. The Walther P.38 was in production from 1939 to 1945. Initial development of the pistol took place 1937–1939, culminating in the first Model HP or Heerespistole ("army pistol"), which had several variants as engineering changes were made. Early production included
1692-608: A varnish, and a protective coating, as well as for the emerging electrical and automobile industries because of its extraordinarily high resistance to electricity, heat, and chemical action. The earliest commercial use of Bakelite in the electrical industry was the molding of tiny insulating bushings, made in 1908 for the Weston Electrical Instrument Corporation by Richard W. Seabury of the Boonton Rubber Company. Bakelite
1786-661: A very heavy slide and stiff spring, making them bulky, heavy, and difficult to operate. A somewhat commercially successful blowback pistol design in the more powerful calibers was produced; the Spanish Astra 400 in 9 mm Largo and the similar Astra 600 in 9 mm Parabellum. U.S. manufacturer Hi-Point also produces a line of blowback-operated pistols in several calibers, including 9 mm and .45 ACP. Virtually all other service-caliber pistols are locked-breech designs After Hiram Maxim introduced his recoil-powered machine gun in 1883, several gunsmiths set out to apply
1880-613: A wide variety of filling materials, including cotton, powdered bronze, and slate dust, but was most successful with wood and asbestos fibers, though asbestos was gradually abandoned by all manufacturers due to stricter environmental laws. Baekeland filed a substantial number of related patents. Bakelite, his "method of making insoluble products of phenol and formaldehyde", was filed on July 13, 1907, and granted on December 7, 1909. He also filed for patent protection in other countries, including Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and Spain. He announced his invention at
1974-465: Is a semi-automatic pistol design, which introduced technical features used today in commercial and military semi-automatic pistols, including the Beretta 92FS and its M9 sub-variant. The P38 was the first locked-breech pistol to use a double-action/single-action (DA/SA) trigger (the earlier double-action PPK was an unlocked blowback design, but the more powerful 9×19mm Parabellum round used in
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#17327880309492068-403: Is also resistant to electricity, and prized for its low conductivity. It is not flexible. Phenolic resin products may swell slightly under conditions of extreme humidity or perpetual dampness. When rubbed or burnt, Bakelite has a distinctive, acrid, sickly-sweet or fishy odor. The characteristics of Bakelite made it particularly suitable as a molding compound, an adhesive or binding agent,
2162-409: Is also used in the mounting of metal samples in metallography . Bakelite items, particularly jewelry and radios, have become popular collectibles. The term Bakelite is sometimes used in the resale market as a catch-all for various types of early plastics, including Catalin and Faturan , which may be brightly colored, as well as items made of true Bakelite material. Due to its aesthetics,
2256-417: Is an example of this style of action. A common mode of carry for DA semi-automatic pistols is with the magazine full, a round chambered, and the gun holstered and uncocked with the external safety unengaged or off. The Taurus PT145 is an example of a DA/SA weapon, as it has no decocker and thus has its striker primed from the moment of chambering and only enters double-action mode if a round fails to fire upon
2350-407: Is condition 1, popularly known as cocked and locked. Condition 1 (a term popularized by Jeff Cooper ) refers to having the magazine full, a round chambered, the hammer fully cocked, and the thumb safety engaged or on, at least for right-handed users. For many single-action, semi-automatic pistols, this procedure works well only for right-handed users, as the thumb safety is located on the left side of
2444-524: Is extracted and ejected as the slide/bolt moves rearwards under recoil , the hammer /striker is cocked by the slide/bolt movement, and a new round from the magazine is pushed into the chamber when the slide/bolt returns forward under spring tension. This sets up the following shot, which is fired as soon as the trigger is pulled again. Most pistols use a short recoil operation to perform this, but some pistols use simple blowback or gas operation mechanisms. Most types of semi-automatic pistols rely on
2538-415: Is fired each time the trigger is pulled, as the pistol's fire control group disconnects the trigger mechanism from the firing pin /striker until the trigger has been released and reset. A semi-automatic pistol recycles part of the energy released by the propellant combustion to move its bolt , which is usually housed inside the slide . After a round of ammunition is fired, the spent cartridge casing
2632-402: Is still manufactured and produced in sheet, rod, and tube form for industrial applications in the electronics, power generation, and aerospace industries, and under a variety of commercial brand names. Phenolic resins have been commonly used in ablative heat shields. Soviet heatshields for ICBM warheads and spacecraft reentry consisted of asbestos textolite, impregnated with Bakelite. Bakelite
2726-483: The 7.65 mm Borchardt cartridge, had been designed in 1893 and made its public debut in 1894. Borchardt based the principle of the C-93's mechanism in large part upon Maxim's toggle-lock. The C-93 featured a locking mechanism modeled after the human knee, which is called Kniegelenk in German (knee joint). The C-93 proved mechanically reliable but was too large and bulky to receive widespread acceptance. Equipped with
2820-602: The 7.65 mm Borchardt . The Mauser was one of the first self-loading pistols used extensively in battle, notably the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. These pistols were made in 7.63 mm Mauser , or 9×25mm Mauser, along with some models eventually being made in 9 mm Parabellum and a small number in .45 ACP for China. 1898 saw the Schwarzlose Model 1898 , a semi-automatic pistol invented by Prussian firearm designer Andreas Wilhelm Schwarzlose . It
2914-570: The Catalin company, through a different process which enabled them to introduce 15 new colors. Translucent jewelry, poker chips and other items made of phenolic resins were introduced in the 1930s or 1940s by the Catalin company under the Prystal name. The creation of marbled phenolic resins may also be attributable to the Catalin company. Making Bakelite is a multi-stage process. It begins with
Walther P38 - Misplaced Pages Continue
3008-569: The German Army and featured a locked breech and a hidden hammer but the Army requested that it should be redesigned with an external hammer. The P38 concept was accepted by the German military in 1938 but production of prototype ("Test") pistols did not begin until late 1939. Walther began manufacture at their plant in Zella-Mehlis and produced three series of "Test" pistols, designated by
3102-475: The 20th century has been for semi-automatic pistols to replace revolvers for military use, although the transition has been slower in police and civilian use. As of 2011 , revolvers are mainly used in jurisdictions that permit their use for civilian self-defense, hunting, plinking , and target practice. Semi-automatic pistols are by far the most popular for concealed carry by civilians, primary handguns for police and military use, backup guns for police use, and where
3196-536: The Army and black buttons for the RAF . In 1947, Dutch art forger Han van Meegeren was convicted of forgery, after chemist and curator Paul B. Coremans proved that a purported Vermeer contained Bakelite, which van Meegeren had used as a paint hardener. Bakelite was sometimes used in the pistol grip, hand guard, and buttstock of firearms. The AKM and some early AK-74 rifles are frequently mistakenly identified as using Bakelite, but most were made with AG-4S . By
3290-698: The Belgian firm of Fabrique Nationale (FN) and later by Colt in the U.S. Browning's first successful design was the Browning M1900 . Like Georg Luger 's work conducted around the same time in Germany, it was designed alongside a in 7.65 mm cartridge, but the 7.65 mm Browning (aka .32 Auto) differs substantially from Luger's 7.65 mm Parabellum . Browning went on to design .25, .38, .380, and .45 ACP cartridges for his semi-automatic pistol designs. Browning must be given credit for developing
3384-601: The FN Browning Hi-Power , announced in 1922, during the last years of his life, working on this design until his death in 1926. This was a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol capable of holding 13 rounds in the magazine (plus one chambered). The next notable design was the 7.65 mm Luger by Georg Luger , which although successful in its function, nonetheless failed to have adequate stopping power and failed to win widespread acceptance. In 1902, Luger's subsequent and similar P08 in 9 mm Parabellum overcame
3478-736: The German military. West Germany desired to rebuild its military so that it could shoulder some of the burden for its own defense. Walther retooled for new P38 production since no military firearms production had occurred in West Germany since the end of the war, knowing that the military would again seek Walther firearms. When the Bundeswehr announced it wanted the P38 for its official service pistol, Walther readily resumed P38 production within just two years, using wartime pistols as models and new engineering drawings and machine tools. The first of
3572-574: The P08 remaining in production until September 1942 and copies remained in service until the end of the war. As the previous service pistol, the Luger P08, was expensive to produce, Germany started to look for a replacement as early as 1927, settling on the Walther P38 in 1938, which offered similar performance to the Luger P08 but took almost half the time to produce. The first design was submitted to
3666-400: The P38 needed a locked breech design). The shooter could chamber a round, use the safety- decocking lever to lower the hammer without firing the round, and carry the weapon with a round chambered. The lever can stay on "safe", or if returned to "fire", the weapon remains safely "ready" with a long, double-action trigger pull for the first shot. Pulling the trigger cocks the hammer before firing
3760-515: The Spreewerk (cyq) die broke. Subsequent pistols appear to be marked "cvq" due to the broken die. About 31,400 pistols are so marked. Spreewerk production ended April 1945. From 1945 to 1946, several thousands of pistols were assembled for the French armed forces(frequently dubbed "grey ghosts" because of parkerized finish and grey sheet metal grips). Only after 1957 was the P38 again produced for
3854-507: The United States, selective-fire weapons are not legally available to civilians unless they live in a state that allows civilian ownership of National Firearms Act or Title II weapons. Self-loading automatic pistols can be divided into "blowback" and "locked breech" categories according to their principle of operation. The blowback operating principle is suitable for smaller, lower-powered calibers, such as .32 ACP and .380 ACP , as
Walther P38 - Misplaced Pages Continue
3948-661: The area of inexpensive board and tabletop games produced in China, Hong Kong, and India. Items such as billiard balls, dominoes and pieces for board games such as chess, checkers, and backgammon are constructed of Bakelite for its look, durability, fine polish, weight, and sound. Common dice are sometimes made of Bakelite for weight and sound, but the majority are made of a thermoplastic polymer such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). Bakelite continues to be used for wire insulation, brake pads and related automotive components, and industrial electrical-related applications. Bakelite stock
4042-599: The article "Bakelite – What It Is" by Allan Brown. The range of colors that were available included "black, brown, red, yellow, green, gray, blue, and blends of two or more of these". The article emphasized that Bakelite came in various forms. Bakelite is manufactured in several forms to suit varying requirements. In all these forms the fundamental basis is the initial Bakelite resin. This variety includes clear material, for jewelry, smokers' articles, etc.; cement, for sealing electric light bulbs in metal bases; varnishes, for impregnating electric coils, etc.; lacquers, for protecting
4136-416: The breech and re-engaging the barrel; ending its return travel with a fresh round chambered, hammer cocked and ready to repeat the process. The hinged locking piece assisted breechblock design provides good accuracy due to the in-line travel of the barrel and slide. Initial production P38 pistols were fitted with walnut grips, but these were later supplanted by Bakelite grips. Sheet metal grips were used for
4230-457: The commercial manufacture of synthetic phenolic resin as "distinctly an American achievement", and noted that "the publication of figures, however, would be a virtual disclosure of the production of an individual company". In England, Bakelite Limited, a merger of three British phenol formaldehyde resin suppliers (Damard Lacquer Company Limited of Birmingham , Mouldensite Limited of Darley Dale and Redmanol Chemical Products Company of London ),
4324-522: The date (e.g.: ac44: Walther 1944 production). Spreewerk did not mark production dates. Pistols were produced in blocks of 10,000 consecutively numbered pistols, with each block having a consecutive letter suffix, to conceal production volume. 1,277,680 P.38s were produced during WWII: 617,585 by Walther in Zella-Mehlis; 372,875 by Mauser in Oberndorf; 287,220 by Spreewerk Grottau. Late in the war,
4418-674: The demand for molded plastics led the company to concentrate on molding rather than cast solid resins. The Bakelite Corporation was formed in 1922 after patent litigation favorable to Baekeland, from a merger of three companies: Baekeland's General Bakelite Company; the Condensite Company, founded by J. W. Aylesworth; and the Redmanol Chemical Products Company , founded by Lawrence V. Redman . Under director of advertising and public relations Allan Brown, who came to Bakelite from Condensite, Bakelite
4512-514: The first half of the 20th century. Beginning in the 1920s, it became a popular material for jewelry. Designer Coco Chanel included Bakelite bracelets in her costume jewelry collections. Designers such as Elsa Schiaparelli used it for jewelry and also for specially designed dress buttons. Later, Diana Vreeland , editor of Vogue , was enthusiastic about Bakelite. Bakelite was also used to make presentation boxes for Breitling watches. By 1930, designer Paul T. Frankl considered Bakelite
4606-400: The first shot with double-action operation. The firing mechanism extracts and ejects the first spent round, cocks the hammer, and chambers a fresh round for single-action operation with each subsequent shot; all features found in many modern handguns . Besides a DA/SA trigger design similar to that of the earlier Walther PPKs the P38 features a visible and tactile loaded chamber indicator in
4700-416: The first time in 1872 by Adolf von Baeyer , though its use as a commercial product was not considered at the time. Leo Baekeland was already wealthy due to his invention of Velox photographic paper when he began to investigate the reactions of phenol and formaldehyde in his home laboratory. Chemists had begun to recognize that many natural resins and fibers were polymers . Baekeland's initial intent
4794-433: The foaming that would otherwise occur. The resulting substance is extremely hard and both infusible and insoluble. Molded Bakelite forms in a condensation reaction of phenol and formaldehyde, with wood flour or asbestos fiber as a filler, under high pressure and heat in a time frame of a few minutes of curing . The result is a hard plastic material. Asbestos was gradually abandoned as filler because many countries banned
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#17327880309494888-426: The form of a metal rod that protrudes from the rear of the slide when a round is chambered. The moving-barrel mechanism is actuated by a wedge-shaped hinged locking piece underneath the breech. When the pistol is fired, the barrel and slide recoil together, until the hinged locking piece drives down, disengaging the slide and arresting further rearward movement of the barrel. The slide continues its rearward movement on
4982-409: The frame, ejecting the spent case and cocking the hammer before reaching the end of travel. Unlike most autopistols which eject empty cases to the right, the Walther P38 ejects empty cases to the left. Two recoil springs on either side of the frame and below the slide, having been compressed by the slide's rearward movement, drive the slide forward, stripping a new round from the magazine, driving it into
5076-420: The hammer or striker may be either thumb-cocked or activated by pulling the trigger when firing the first shot. The hammer or striker is recocked automatically during each firing cycle. In double-action pistols, the first pull of the trigger requires roughly twice as much pressure as subsequent firings, since the first pull of the trigger also cocks the hammer (if not already cocked by hand). The Beretta 92F/FS
5170-418: The heating of phenol and formaldehyde in the presence of a catalyst such as hydrochloric acid, zinc chloride , or the base ammonia. This creates a liquid condensation product, referred to as Bakelite A , which is soluble in alcohol, acetone, or additional phenol. Heated further, the product becomes partially soluble and can still be softened by heat. Sustained heating results in an "insoluble hard gum". However,
5264-399: The high temperatures required to create this tend to cause violent foaming of the mixture when done at standard atmospheric pressure, which results in the cooled material being porous and breakable. Baekeland's innovative step was to put his "last condensation product" into an egg-shaped "Bakelizer". By heating it under pressure, at about 150 °C (302 °F), Baekeland was able to suppress
5358-492: The late 1940s, newer materials were superseding Bakelite in many areas. Phenolics are less frequently used in general consumer products today due to their cost and complexity of production and their brittle nature. They still appear in some applications where their specific properties are required, such as small precision-shaped components, molded disc brake cylinders, saucepan handles, electrical plugs, switches and parts for electrical irons, printed circuit boards , as well as in
5452-463: The layers into thermosetting industrial laminated plastic. Bakelite phenolic sheet is produced in many commercial grades and with various additives to meet diverse mechanical, electrical, and thermal requirements. Some common types include: Bakelite has a number of important properties. It can be molded very quickly, decreasing production time. Moldings are smooth, retain their shape, and are resistant to heat, scratches, and destructive solvents. It
5546-668: The new P38s were delivered to the West German military in June 1957, some 17 years and two months after the pistol had initially seen action in World War II, and from 1957 to 1963 the P38 was again the standard sidearm. In late 1963 the postwar military model P1 was adopted for use by the West German military, identifiable by the P1 stamping on the slide. The postwar pistols, whether marked as P38 or P1, have an aluminium frame rather than
5640-410: The pin's impact; at other times, it operates as a single-action striker-fired firearm. In contrast, a single-action (SA) semi-automatic pistol must be cocked by first operating the slide or bolt, or, if a round is already chambered, by cocking the hammer manually. The M1911 is an example of this style of action. All SA semi-automatic pistols exhibit this feature and automatically cock the hammer when
5734-420: The pistol and is easily accessible only for those who are holding the pistol in the right hand. Many modern SA semi-automatic pistols have had their safety mechanisms redesigned to provide a thumb safety on both sides of the pistol (ambidextrous), thereby better meeting the needs of left-handed, as well as right-handed users. Many SA semi-automatic pistols have a hammer position known as " half-cocked ". Squeezing
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#17327880309495828-500: The problem of inadequate stopping power and featured a greatly improved Borchardt-type Kniegelenk ("knee-joint") locking mechanism. Unlike Browning's locked-breech design, the barrel in a Kniegelenk design does not tip up and down while the gun is fired, thereby theoretically improving shooting accuracy. Luger's P.08 was adopted by the German military and served as their standard sidearm in World War I . During World War II, Germany
5922-429: The production of asbestos. Bakelite's molding process had a number of advantages. Bakelite resin could be provided either as powder or as preformed partially cured slugs, increasing the speed of the casting. Thermosetting resins such as Bakelite required heat and pressure during the molding cycle but could be removed from the molding process without being cooled, again making the molding process faster. Also, because of
6016-408: The resistance of the recoil spring and mass of the slide are sufficient to retard the opening of the breech until the projectile has left the barrel and breech pressure has dropped to a safe level. For more powerful calibers such as the 9 mm Parabellum (9 mm) and .45 ACP , some form of locked-breech is needed to retard breech opening, as an unlocked blowback pistol in these calibers requires
6110-461: The same .45 ACP ammunition used in the M1911A1, because of the great demand for handguns and the need to adopt a common cartridge for use in both semi-automatic pistols and revolvers. After World War II, most nations eventually adopted 9 mm Parabellum caliber pistols employing some variant of Browning's locked-breech design for their standard-issue military pistols. The most popular early choice
6204-490: The same principles to handguns, including Maxim. Maxim's designs for smaller firearms using his recoil-powered ideas never went into production. In the 1880s, other designers worked on self-loading designs. The Salvator Dormus was the first semi-automatic pistol followed closely by the Schönberger-Laumann 1892 . The first model to gain any commercial success was Hugo Borchardt 's C-93 , which, together with
6298-402: The shell casing and reloads the chamber. This mode of operation generally allows for faster reloading and storing a larger number of cartridges than a revolver. Some modern semi-automatic pistols are exclusively double-action (DA or DAO) trigger function; that is, once a round is chambered, each trigger pull cocks the hammer, striker, or firing pin, and additionally releases the same to fire
6392-430: The slide is first "racked" to chamber a round. A round can also be manually inserted in the chamber with the slide locked back. Then the safety can be applied. It is generally not a good idea to load a round manually as this can cause excessive wear on the extractor as semi-automatic firearms were designed to have cartridges loaded from the bottom via the magazine. The normal mode of carrying an SA semi-automatic pistol
6486-575: The smooth polished surface that resulted, Bakelite objects required less finishing. Millions of parts could be duplicated quickly and relatively cheaply. Another market for Bakelite resin was the creation of phenolic sheet materials. A phenolic sheet is a hard, dense material made by applying heat and pressure to layers of paper or glass cloth impregnated with synthetic resin. Paper, cotton fabrics, synthetic fabrics, glass fabrics, and unwoven fabrics are all possible materials used in lamination. When heat and pressure are applied, polymerization transforms
6580-514: The steel frame of the original design. Starting in June 1975, the aluminum frame was reinforced with a hex bolt above the trigger guard, and a slightly modified, stronger slide design was introduced. During the 1990s the German military started replacing the P1 with the P8 pistol and finally phased out the P1 in 2004. An improved version of the P38, the Walther P4, was developed in the late 1970s and
6674-471: The striker is partially cocked back as the slide closes. This allows for significantly shorter trigger pulls than DAO. The trigger spring can be replaced with a lighter one and paired with a low-strength sear connector resulting in lightened trigger pulls to improve a shooter's accuracy (like models G34 and G35 ). Standard modern semi-automatic pistols are usually double-action (DA), also sometimes known as double-action/single-action (DA/SA). In this design,
6768-507: The surface of hardware; enamels, for giving resistive coating to industrial equipment; Laminated Bakelite, used for silent gears and insulation; and molding material, from which are formed innumerable articles of utility and beauty. The molding material is prepared ordinarily by the impregnation of cellulose substances with the initial "uncured" resin. In a 1925 report, the United States Tariff Commission hailed
6862-419: The term "automatic pistol" technically refers to a fully automatic machine pistol , which is capable of continuously firing multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger, although in popular American usage it is also used as a synonym for any self-loading pistol, the vast majority of which are semi-automatic. In colloquial usage, because machine pistols are very rare on the market, an "automatic pistol",
6956-399: The thumb safety (accessible only to right-handed users) positioned in the off (or ready-to-fire) mode. The primary advantage of the half-cocked position versus the uncocked position in that particular scenario was added sound suppression (of the click of the weapon being cocked). A secondary advantage was the avoidance of accidental discharges if the gun was accidentally dropped. The half-cock
7050-540: The trigger will not fire the gun when it is in the half-cocked position, and neither will dropping the gun in this state cause an accidental discharge. During World War II , in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater , an unofficial and unapproved carry mode for the SA M1911 by left-handed U.S. soldiers in combat was carrying the gun with the magazine full, a round chambered, the action in half-cocked position, and
7144-547: The type of locked-breech action which is commonly used by the vast majority of modern large caliber semi-automatic pistols. One of Browning's most enduring designs was the Colt M1911 , which was adopted by the U.S. military as its service pistol and is in active use since 1911 within some U.S. special forces and Marine units, albeit in modernized forms (the M45A1 Pistol is a prime example). Browning also co-designed
7238-408: The usual five or six shots of a revolver are deemed inadequate. Bakelite Bakelite ( / ˈ b eɪ k ə l aɪ t / BAY -kə-lyte ), formally polyoxybenzylmethyleneglycolanhydride , is a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin , formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde . The first plastic made from synthetic components, it
7332-771: Was acquired by Borden Chemical of Columbus, Ohio, now Hexion Inc. In addition to the original Bakelite material, these companies eventually made a wide range of other products, many of which were marketed under the brand name "Bakelite plastics". These included other types of cast phenolic resins similar to Catalin , and urea-formaldehyde resins, which could be made in brighter colors than polyoxybenzylmethyleneglycolanhydride. Once Baekeland's heat and pressure patents expired in 1927, Bakelite Corporation faced serious competition from other companies. Because molded Bakelite incorporated fillers to give it strength, it tended to be made in concealing dark colors. In 1927, beads, bangles, and earrings were produced by
7426-723: Was adopted by the (normally unarmed) British police in 1911 and by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines before the First World War, revolvers were generally preferred by most British military . In the Soviet Union, the TT pistol replaced the Nagant M1895 revolver during the war. In the United States, the M1911A1 was adopted as the standard military sidearm. Both Colt and Smith & Wesson produced revolvers chambered for
7520-410: Was adopted by the police forces of South Africa, Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg . Improved version with a closed slide. Semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol (also called a self-loading pistol , autopistol , or autoloading pistol ) is a handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridges in its chamber after every shot fired. Only one round of ammunition
7614-412: Was aggressively marketed as "the material of a thousand uses". A filing for a trademark featuring the letter B above the mathematical symbol for infinity was made August 25, 1925, and claimed the mark was in use as of December 1, 1924. A wide variety of uses were listed in their trademark applications. The first issue of Plastics magazine, October 1925, featured Bakelite on its cover and included
7708-468: Was also very important to the developing automobile industry. It was soon found in myriad other consumer products ranging from pipe stems and buttons to saxophone mouthpieces, cameras, early machine guns, and appliance casings. Bakelite was also very commonly used in making molded grip panels on handguns, as furniture for submachine guns and machineguns, the classic Bakelite magazines for Kalashnikov rifles, as well as numerous knife handles and "scales" through
7802-869: Was chambered for the 7.65×25mm Mauser, but could also shoot the weaker Borchardt ammunition. The Schwarzlose design was most advanced and far ahead of its time, but not widely adopted with less than 1000 pieces being manufactured. Small lots were sold to members of the Russian Social-Democratic Party who were plotting insurrection but were confiscated at the Russian border and issued to the Imperial Russian Frontier Guards. In Belgium , in 1896, American gun designer John Browning developed self-loading semi-automatic pistols. His models were first manufactured in Europe by
7896-698: Was developed by Leo Baekeland in Yonkers, New York , in 1907, and patented on December 7, 1909. Bakelite was one of the first plastic-like materials to be introduced into the modern world and was popular because it could be moulded and then hardened into any shape. Because of its electrical nonconductivity and heat-resistant properties, it became a great commercial success. It was used in electrical insulators , radio and telephone casings, and such diverse products as kitchenware, jewelry, pipe stems, children's toys, and firearms. The retro appeal of old Bakelite products has made them collectible. The creation of
7990-564: Was formed in 1926. A new Bakelite factory opened in Tyseley , Birmingham, around 1928. It was the "heart of Bakelite production in the UK" until it closed in 1987. A factory to produce phenolic resins and precursors opened in Bound Brook, New Jersey , in 1931. In 1939, the companies were acquired by Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation . In 2005, German Bakelite manufacturer Bakelite AG
8084-704: Was producing enough material in the US to justify expansion. He formed the General Bakelite Company of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, as a U.S. company to manufacture and market his new industrial material, and made overseas connections to produce it in other countries. The Bakelite Company produced "transparent" cast resin (which did not include filler ) for a small market during the 1910s and 1920s. Blocks or rods of cast resin, also known as "artificial amber", were machined and carved to create items such as pipe stems , cigarette holders , and jewelry . However,
8178-406: Was revised by Colt in the 1970s and subsequently other manufacturers – the hammer will fall from half-cock if the trigger is pulled on most newer 1911 type guns. A self-loading pistol reloads the chamber with a new round automatically each time the weapon is fired, without additional action being required by the user. For a semi-automatic pistol, this is typically accomplished by recoil operation. In
8272-421: Was soon used for non-conducting parts of telephones, radios, and other electrical devices, including bases and sockets for light bulbs and electron tubes (vacuum tubes), supports for any type of electrical components, automobile distributor caps, and other insulators. By 1912, it was being used to make billiard balls, since its elasticity and the sound it made were similar to ivory. During World War I, Bakelite
8366-597: Was the FN Browning Hi-Power mentioned above; another popular model was the locked-breech Walther P38 because of its many safety features. Over the course of the postwar 20th century, additional popular semi-automatic pistols were introduced, including the Smith & Wesson Model 59 , Beretta 92 , CZ 75 , Glock , SIG Sauer P226 , Walther P88 , Heckler & Koch USP , Kel-Tec P-11 , and Kel-Tec P-32 , among many other models. The almost universal trend since
8460-573: Was the first nation to adopt a double-action pistol, the Walther P38 , which could be carried loaded (with a cartridge chambered) and ready to fire without the risk of an accidental discharge if dropped. The P38 also used Luger's 9 mm Parabellum cartridge. Revolvers were still issued by various major powers, but their use was decreasing. Though the British firm Webley & Scott had developed several adequate self-loading pistols, one of which
8554-415: Was to find a replacement for shellac , a material in limited supply because it was made naturally from the secretion of lac insects (specifically Kerria lacca ). He produced a soluble phenol-formaldehyde shellac called Novolak , but it was not a market success, even though it is still used to this day (e.g., as a photoresist ). He then began experimenting on strengthening wood by impregnating it with
8648-403: Was used in solid-body electric guitars . Performers such as Jerry Byrd loved the tone of Bakelite guitars but found them difficult to keep in tune. Charles Plimpton patented BAYKO in 1933 and rushed out his first construction sets for Christmas 1934. He called the toy Bayko Light Constructional Sets , the words "Bayko Light" being a pun on the word "Bakelite". During World War II, Bakelite
8742-577: Was used in a variety of wartime equipment including pilots' goggles and field telephones. It was also used for patriotic wartime jewelry. In 1943, the thermosetting phenolic resin was even considered for the manufacture of coins, due to a shortage of traditional material. Bakelite and other non-metal materials were tested for usage for the one cent coin in the US before the Mint settled on zinc-coated steel . During World War II, Bakelite buttons were part of British uniforms. These included brown buttons for
8836-596: Was used widely, particularly in electrical systems. Important projects included the Liberty airplane engine , the wireless telephone and radio phone, and the use of micarta-bakelite propellers in the NBS-1 bomber and the DH-4B aeroplane . Bakelite's availability and ease and speed of molding helped to lower the costs and increase product availability so that telephones and radios became common household consumer goods. It
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