| Salvator-Dormus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Semi-automatic pistol |
| Place of origin | Austria-Hungary |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria Georg von Dormus [de] |
| Designed | 1891 |
| Manufacturer | Œ.W.G. |
| Produced | 1895 |
| No. built | about 50 |
| Specifications | |
| Cartridge | 8mm Dormus |
| Action | Delayed blowback |
| Maximum firing range | 40m |
| Feed system | 5-round magazine |
| Sights | Iron sights |
The Salvator-Dormus pistol is the earliest-patented semi-automatic pistol. It was patented on 11 July 1891, by Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria and Count Georg von Dormus [de]. As the first of its kind, it was designed without the benefit of experience with earlier models. Various modifications were made with approximately twenty prototypes before thirty pistols of a workable design were submitted for Austrian military trials in 1896. This 8 mm delayed blowback pistol loads through the top and has a hinged magazine door on the butt. The pistol has a separate bolt release and safety. The production delay between patent and military trials allowed comparisons with other self-loading pistols, and the Salvator Dormus was considered inferior to its competition. The designers abandoned this project; and few pistols survive. The Bundeswehr Museum of German Defense Technology in Koblenz has one of these specimens in its collection.
References
- ^ McCollum, Ian (15 May 2017). "1891 Salvatore-Dormus: The First Automatic Pistol". ForgottenWeapons.com. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- Antaris, Leonardo M. (2017). "In the Beginning". American Rifleman. 165 (10). National Rifle Association of America: 76.
External links
- 1891 Salvator-Dormus: The First Automatic Pistol
- Salvator Dormus Semiautomatic Pistol model 1891—1897