Luger P.08

The Luger (Pistol Parabellum or P08) is a German semi-automatic pistol designed by Georg Luger around 1898 and formally adopted by several armed forces in the early 20th century. It uses a distinctive short-recoil, toggle-lock mechanism rather than a sliding breech, and is most famously chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge that Luger helped popularize. The pistol typically holds eight rounds in a single-stack magazine and was prized for its ergonomic grip and accurate, crisp single-action trigger. While elegant and effective for its time, the Luger’s complex toggle mechanism made it more expensive to produce and more sensitive to fouling than later simpler designs. Its historical importance endures both for its influence on handgun development and for helping establish the 9mm Parabellum as a global military cartridge.