![deutsche werke ortgies pistol 25 acp deutsche werke ortgies pistol 25 acp](https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/115092198707_/Ortgies-German-25acp-pistol-parts-slide-Deutsche-Werke.jpg)
A normal grip safety is spring-loaded so that it's always on unless the shooter's hand depresses it by having a firm grip on the pistol let go of the pistol and it comes on, which makes sense, since to most firearms designers the primary purpose of a grip safety is to help prevent a dropped pistol, or one the shooter doesn't have fully in hand yet (while being drawn from a holster, for instance), from firing at an unwanted moment. What's really going on here is that the Ortgies has a grip safety-you can see the lever for it at the back of the grip, shown in the extended position in both photos-but it works backwards of the way grip safeties normally work. Look at the right side and you'll see that there is no corresponding button there, just a little nub where the button on the left side is anchored. That looks like it might be a cross-bolt safety, which works a bit like those two-position switches you sometimes find in old lamps (push the rod so it sticks mostly out of one side to turn it on, push it back from the other end to turn it off). If you look at the photo of the left side above, you'll notice a little button above the grip. On the other hand, it has a deeply weird safety that is almost not a safety at all. 32-caliber semiautomatic pistols available in that part of the world at around the same time. I mean, on the one hand, it's pretty straightforward it has a simple blowback action and a single-column magazine with a heel release, which make it similar to a vast multitude of. The second version with this particular set of markings had a less elaborate version of the HO monogram medallion on the grips, while the third replaced it with a D-themed trademark for Deutsche Werke. This particular one is the first of three variations of the fifth variant of the gun's left-side markings. The example shown, as you can see from the engraving on the chamber, is one of the 7.65mm/.32-caliber "original" models. (Not that the "large-frame" pistol is all that large, really.) Unfortunately, the German economy was in the process of completely unraveling, and the pistols went out of production in 1923, at around the same time that the mark became essentially worthless. in 1921, only a couple of years after production began, and with their greater resources they expanded the product line to include two other offerings: a new version of the original pistol in 9mm Kurz (.380 ACP) and a small-frame model in 6.35mm (.25 ACP). At any rate, Ortgies had worked for unspecified arms companies in Liège, where FN was headquartered at the time, so that's probably how they met.Īt any rate, DW bought out Ortgies and Co. Why he wouldn't have sold it to FN is not made clear, although the same source notes that Brauning emigrated to the US between the wars maybe he sold what became the Ortgies patent as part of his preparations for leaving Europe. At least one source attributes the design to a German former employee of Fabrique Nationale in Belgium, one Karl August Brauning (not to be confused with John Moses Browning!), who sold the design to Ortgies. was headed by one Heinrich Ortgies, who owned the patent on the pistol the company made.
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In 1921, they bought up the small concern of Ortgies & Co., which manufactured a pocket pistol chambered for the ubiquitous 7.65mm Browning (.32 ACP) cartridge. DW, not to be confused with the more famous DWM ( Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabrik, manufacturers of the Luger pistol among other things), was a state-owned arms factory until it was privatized as part of the demilitarization of Germany after World War I. In this case, the great bulk of the Ortgies pistols were made by Deutsche Werke, located in Erfurt, capital city of the state of Thuringia in central Germany. Like many handguns of the era (compare the Frommer Stop), the Ortgies is known by the name of its designer (or at least the owner of the patent on its design-more on this in a moment) rather than its manufacturer. The Ortgies-patent pistols in general were made between the World Wars. actually I'll have to get back to you on that for the exact year, my detailed notes on this one are in my other house. Still, it's good to keep one's hand in on these things, and I do happen to have a few pics and some information about a slightly odd and interesting piece on hand (and a pretty special future installment up my sleeve for sometime hopefully fairly soon), so here is:Ī. circumstances prevailing at Eyrie HQ right now. It's a pretty short and photo-lite Gun of the Week this week, owing to the. 32Įyrie Productions, Unlimited Subject: "Gun of the Week: DW Erfurt (Ortgies). Eyrie Productions, Unlimited - Gun of the Week: DW Erfurt (Ortgies).