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Spangenberg & Sauer, Sauer & sohn, V Ch Schilling, CG Haenel, all of Suhl, Germany. F Dreyse, Sommersda. Royal Arsenal, Erfurt, Germany In Germany this revolver played an important roll. It was the sidearm for the German forces from 1879 until 1908, when the Luger were introduced. Because of its effectiveness it was copied for commercial use by Germany and countries around it, as can be seen in this collection. In 1879 the Imperial German Federal Government (Deutsches Kaiser Reich) decided to introduce a common army- and navy-revolver for the four different armies, Preußen, Bayern, Sachsen and Württemberg. First the Model 1879 was introduced and later the Model 1883. The model 1879 has a 180 mm barrel with a muzzle ring, is browned. On the left side is a crank to secure the base or cylinder pin and additional is a safety blocking the hammer. There are plain wooden grips, lanyard ring, shows acceptance- and proof stamps and unit markings. The caliber is 10.55, sometimes called 10.6mm, comparable to the .44 Russian. The model 1883 has a 117mm barrel, is blued. On the left side is a push-button "transverse pin" working similar to Colt's later SAA to secure the base- or cylinder pin, and additional is the safety. It has plain wooden grips, lanyard ring and shows acceptance and proof stamps and unit markings. The same calibre and single action mechanism with safety lever were used. The military version for troops was single action and there were no pin to push casings out of the roll. While the above revolvers were for service use, the officers had to buy their own arms. Most of the officers came from well-to-do families and wanted a better finish, checkered grips, with a variety of double action revolvers, and because private property there are no unit stamps. It is classified as an antique in the USA. (Ref. ‘Pistols and revolvers’ by JE Smith, ‘Pistols of the world’ by Hogg and Weeks p187, Pistols and revolvers by Maj F Myatt )

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