Vickers Ltd Luger Pistols for the Dutch East Indies
Forgotten Weapons
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8m 42s
The Dutch government adopted the Luger for the KNIL (Dutch East Indies colonial forces) in 1910, and placed an initial order for 4,182 pistols from DWM in Germany. These were standard 9mm New Model Lugers, with grip safeties, no stock lugs, and manual safeties marked “RUST”. When more pistols were needed by the KNIL after World Wa rOne, the Treaty of Versailles prohibited DWM from making them. Instead, the Vickers company tooled up to produce them at its Crayford factory. Back when Maxim-Nordenfelt licensed the Maxim gun to DWM, part of the deal was a reciprocal license for Maxim to produce DWM products. That was inherited by Vickers when they acquired Maxim-Nordenfelt, and it gave them the right to make the 6,000 guns ordered by the Dutch in 1923.
One of these has a “GS” marked barrel dated 1930, which indicated that it was rebarreled in the Dutch East Indies in 1930. It also has a 5-pointed star over the chamber, which is an Indonesian national property mark added in the 1950s. The other has a Dutch M11 pattern holster, complete with cleaning rod and loading tool.
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