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1907 Dreyse Pistol by Ed Buffaloe Historical Background & Patents The
It is difficult to find a reliable source of information about Louis Schmeisser. Hans-Joachim Tillig comments that “…patent № 185444, dated 4 January 1906, precisely documents his departure from Bergmann and his new beginning at Rheinmetall in Sömmerda.” However, to have filed a patent in the first week of January 1906, Schmeisser must have begun work on the design sometime the previous year, or even earlier. F.W.A. Hobart tells us that Shcmeisser became the chief designer for RM&M in 1902. His last patent for Bergmann may have been in 1901, so perhaps Hobart is correct. First Patent: As indicated above, on 4 January 1906, RM&M filed German patent № 185411, which was granted on 3 May 1907, for a pistol with barrel and upper receiver housing hinged at the front of the weapon. Two designs are shown in the patent: one with the magazine in front of the trigger, reminiscent of the Bergmann Simplex which was one of the last designs Schmeisser worked on for Theodor Bergmann, and the other with the magazine in the grip. A similar patent was filed in the United States on 2 January 1907 (U.S. patent № 956430) with Louis Schmeisser listed as the inventor. The U.S. patent provides a more complete description of the mechanism of the version with the magazine in the grip. The design features a fixed barrel with a concentric recoil spring enclosed in a slide, which attaches to a heavy bolt at the rear, running in a receiver housing above the grip, with the ejection port on top of the slide. This is clearly not yet the production pistol. Second Patent: On 21 February 1908, RM&M filed German patent № 209632, which was granted on 15 May 1909. The patent covers the design of a separate breechblock and slide, joined at the rear by a connecting cap with bayonet lugs, enabling quick disassembly and reassembly without tools. The lockwork shown in the patent drawings is essentially that of the early Dreyse pistol, but the breech block and slide are quite different from the production Model 1907. No patent claims are made regarding the relatively simple lockwork. It seems likely that in February 1908, when this patent was filed, the design of the Model 1907 had not yet been finalized. Third Patent: The patent for the production Model 1907 was filed on 1 June 1908, under Louis Schmeisser’s name, in the United States. U.S. Patent № 956431 was granted on 26 April 1910. No corresponding patent from Germany or any other country has been found. Only the design of the slide, bolt, and upper receiver housing, and their hinging at the front of the frame, are claimed in the patent. Based on the above information, production of the Dreyse Model 1907 probably did not begin until late1908 or possibly early 1909. Serial number 2661 has Austrian proofs that are dated 1909 . The author is unaware of any advertisements for the Dreyse pistol prior to 1910, by which time the 6.35mm vest pocket Dreyse was also available. Both pistols are listed in the 1910 Georg Knaak catalog.
The 25 June 1911 issue of the German language magazine Der Waffenschmied (The Gunsmith) has the following entry: “The Rheinische Metallwaren- und Maschinenfabrik, Sömmerda department, reports the following about its rifle factory branch: The rifle and weapons factory's flagship product, the "Automatic Dreyse Pistol," has had an excellent introduction. The main customers include the police administrations of larger cities as well as the gendarmerie and police commands of the German federal states. Production of the small model is progressing, and the start of production of a promising military pistol is also within reach. Rifle barrel sales have remained moderate, reflecting the ongoing sluggish business in the hunting rifle industry.”
The 1907 Dreyse is a striker-fired unlocked-breech design chambered for the 7.65mm Browning cartridge (.32 ACP). It was strongly influenced by the 1900 Browning, though the Browning has its recoil spring above the barrel, while the Dreyse has a concentric recoil spring. Nonetheless, the overall shape is similar, as are the grip angle, the magazine release, and the positioning of the manual safety. Magazines are interchangeable. Both guns have breech blocks that protrude from the rear of the gun during recoil. The only advantage of Schmeisser’s design is that it can be disassembled without a screwdriver, though it does require a tool to depress the recoil spring bushing. A groove is cut in the floorplate of the magazine for this purpose but is only marginally useful.
The barrel and barrel housing are fixed to the upper receiver housing, and sit beneath the slide. The recoil spring is held in place around the barrel by a collar-like bushing at the front. The bushing compresses the recoil spring as the slide is drawn to the rear. The breech block contains the striker, extractor, and cocking indicator pin. The indicator pin protrudes from the back of the breech block when the striker is cocked. The extractor is a flat piece of spring steel with a hook on the end, fitted into a slot on the right side of the bolt. Ejection is to the right through an ejection port in the right side of the upper receiver housing. The ejector is fitted into the left side of the upper receiver housing and held in place by a screw. This same screw also retains the barrel in the housing—with the screw removed, the barrel can be unscrewed using a special tool.
Hogg states that early guns had a sear which simply released the striker, but that wartime production guns had a modified sear that forced the striker back a little further before releasing it. This was apparently necessary because some military ammunition had hard primers. The shape of the sear was modified several times during the course of production. The serial number is stamped on the top of the breech block (except on a few early guns), just behind the slide, on the frame in front of the magazine well, and beneath the barrel housing. Many small parts are also stamped with the last two or three digits of the serial number. The highest serial number recorded by Bob Campbell is 251211. Serial numbers as high as 254857 have been reported. It is generally believed that the serial number range of the 1920 Rheinmetall pistol began at about 251000, but it is possible that parts were still being assembled into 1907 Dreyse pistols as late as 1923. Production nominally ended at the end of World War I, but assembly of weapons from remaining parts continued for several years. Certain German police are known to have continued using the 1907 Dreyse into the 1950’s. Stocks are of checked horn with an oval cartouche at the top featuring the RM&M monogram. Early grips had the retention screw at the rear edge of the grip plate, but it was later moved to the center of the grip where it remained for the vast majority of the guns produced. There are at least six variations and a number of sub-variants, and there are overlaps in some characteristics between variations.
K.S. Gend. 21 These Police Models have a thin flat-topped slide with a small integral front sight, and a U-shaped rear sight channel integral with the upper receiver housing. There are vertical triangular -cut raised serrations at the front of the slide. Some of the "K.S. Gend" marked pistols with three-digit serial numbers have characteristics of later pistols, including crown-over-N proofs, indicating they were manufactured later than the serial number might indicate. Internally, all early Dreyse pistols are distinguished by having no disconnector. The transfer bar pushes the sear down and then moves past it, resetting when the trigger is released, but there is no mechanism to prevent the gun from firing when the slide is out of battery. The magazine is unmarked. Some early magazines have six viewing holes only on the right side, but most have six holes on each side. Grip stocks for all early guns are made of checked horn with an oval cartouche at the top containing the RM&M monogram. The stocks are fitted into dovetails in the grip frame and retained by a screw at the rear. The grip screw on the left side also serves to retain the sideplate. The other screw securing the sideplate, located just behind the trigger, extends all the way through the right side of the frame. There is no lanyard ring on early pistols. A checked safety lever is positioned flat against the surface of the receiver on the left side. The spring steel extractor in the bolt is approximately 2mm wide. The proof mark on slide, barrel housing, and frame is the crown-over-crown-over-U black powder proof, which was used until late 1911 or early 1912, after which it was replaced by the crown-over-N nitro proof.
The Second Variant is the one shown in the U.S. patent. This may have been considered the “commercial model” (though it was short-lived) and seems to have been made at the same time as the Police Model, in the same serial number sequence, but in larger quantities. The Second Variant has a scalloped slide, the center portion of which is the same height as the flat slide of the First Variant Police Model. The sides of the slide rise up to form a shallow U shape. The raised triangular-cut slide serrations extend below the slide and overlap the flat barrel housing. Second Variant pistols are marked on the left side of the upper receiver housing: DREYSE 1907
In the Third Variant, by approximately serial number 3150, the slide serrations overlapping the barrel housing are discontinued. Raised triangular-cut vertical serrations are found on the slide only. The barrel housing has a horizontal groove near the top. By at least serial number 5584 (likely still in the first year of production) the model number “1907” was omitted from the legend on the upper receiver housing, reading simply: DREYSE A few scarce pistols have retailer markings instead of the RM&M company name and address.
The 1907 Dreyse continued to have no disconnector or lanyard ring through at least serial number 8047, but by serial number 9305 it featured both. A depression is milled in the bottom of the breech block to accept the upper lobe of the disconnector. When the slide is out of battery the disconnector is depressed and the transfer bar is lifted out of contact with the sear. A fixed U-shaped lanyard ring is added to the sideplate on the left side of the grip frame by at least serial number 8856. A few four-digit serial numbers, falling in the Third Variant category, have been documented with concentric rings on the safety instead of checking (for example, serial numbers 6009, 6934, 7420, 8047, 9387). The narrow extractor continued in use through at least serial number 18825, when it was replaced with one about 3mm wide. Stocks with the screw at the rear continued in use at least through serial number 32957, and possibly later.
The majority of Model 1907 Dreyse pistols produced fall in this Fourth Variant category and, once the grip screw was moved, the gun remained essentially the same for a long period of time. The Fourth Variant continues to have vertical serrations at the front of the slide—not incised cuts but raised triangular-cut ridges. There is a fixed U-shaped lanyard ring on the left side of the grip at the bottom rear. The spring steel extractor is approximately 3mm wide. Like the Third Variant, the Fourth Variant is marked on the left side of the upper receiver as follows: DREYSE They are sometimes found stamped for export: “GERMANY.”
The highest Fourth Variant serial number the author has noted is 215661, while the lowest Fifth Variant serial number noted is 216158. Early Fifth variant legends were like that of Third and Fourth Variants, but after the company began using the name Rheinmetall, they were marked on the left side of the upper receiver as follows: DREYSE
Soon after the change in the legend, the takedown cutout beneath the front of the barrel was eliminated. Ortmeier & Hofmann state that the factory provided a special takedown tool. Hans -Joachim Tillig says: “These pistols used to have a cup-like pressure piece, which tapered at the bottom of the cup into a long spike, on which a wooden handle was inserted. I once saw this tool in a police armory. A suitable, short piece of tubing can be used...” Sixth Variant
The author would be interested to receive serial number information, descriptions, and photographs from readers in order to determine at what point various changes were made to the gun*
* Write to me at edbuffaloe@unblinkingeye.com
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