Type Pistol Designed 1904 | Place of origin German Empire Parent case 7.63×25mm Mauser | |
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Used by Austria, Hungary, Chile, others Designer Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken | ||
The 9×25mm Mauser (or 9mm Mauser Export) was a cartridge developed for the Mauser C96 service pistol around 1904 by DWM. Mauser pistols in this relatively powerful caliber were primarily intended for export to Africa, Asia and South America. The 9mm Mauser Export cartridge was produced specifically for Mauser pistols and carbines made from 1904 to 1914 and then later from approximately 1930 to 1945 for submachine guns chambered for this caliber.
Contents
The basis of this cartridge was the 7.63×25mm Mauser. The case length is the same as the 7.63×25mm Mauser, but the case is straight and does not have a bottleneck shape. This cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case. The 9 mm Mauser should not be confused with the 9×19mm Parabellum (9×19mm Luger) or the 9×23mm Steyr.
Manufacture
Although Germany was not a primary user of firearms in this caliber, it was a major producer of it, both for commercial export and foreign military contracts. Pre-World War I production was for C96 Mauser pistols, but as war loomed, production was re-oriented towards calibers in official military usage. Demand for the cartridge returned in the 1930s, as it was used in several Austrian, Hungarian and Swiss submachine guns and machine carbines. German munitions companies DWM, Geco (Gustav Genschow & Co.) and RWS (Rheinische-Westfälische Sprengstoff AG) made this round through World War II. Various munitions factories in Austria and Hungary produced this round in the 1930s and 1940s as well as Kynoch, Fiocchi, Société Française des Munitions of Paris, France, and Greek Powder and Cartridge Co. of Athens, Greece. In Italy, the round was manufactured at the Giulio Fiocchi plant in Lecco, both during World War II for military purposes and in the 1950s and 1960s for limited commercial sale.
C96
Mauser C96 pistols in this caliber usually have an indentation milled into the upper surface of the magazine's follower to facilitate feeding of the straight-cased 9×25mm cartridge cases. The rifling in the barrel has a unique 13.8 twist. In addition, the flat surfaces extending around the chamber are longer to accommodate the higher pressures of the 9×25mm cartridge. Examples of Mauser C96s in this caliber are rare, but are still occasionally found on the private collector's market.
In Africa, big-game hunter W.D.M. Bell carried a stocked C96 in 9mm Mauser Export as his personal sidearm, nicknamed "Bom-Bom." According to Bell, the "particularly vicious bang" of the 9mm Mauser intimidated hostile natives he encountered and "kept them dodging dust-bursts for four or five hundred yards."
Mauser C/06-08
Mauser's experimental Model 1906-08 pistol was designed to chamber this caliber. As the German Army seemed to show more official interest in the P-08 Luger than the C-96, Mauser developed a new design. In 1906, Mauser introduced the Model 1906-08 (or C/06-08) pistol in 9×25mm Mauser caliber, which used a detachable box magazine of 6, 10 or 15 rounds. This pistol had a similar layout to the C-96, with the magazine situated in front of the trigger group, but incorporated a locking system that was considerably different. Interested purchasers included the German and Brazilian armies. The pistol was never manufactured for commercial sale, although a few examples exist as museum or collector's pieces.
Submachine guns
Originally known as the Steyr-Solothurn S1-100, the Steyr MP30 and MP34 were adopted by the Austrian Army and police and manufactured until 1940 in several calibers, including 9×25mm Mauser. In Greece, the MP34 in 9×25mm Mauser was issued to mechanized police units; production of the ammunition there continued through German occupation.
The Steyr-Solothurn S17-100 was a direct-blowback submachine gun in 9×25mm Mauser that was intended to be mounted on a tripod or vehicle, but did not see wider adoption in the armed services.
SIG automatic carbine models MKMO, MKMS, MKPO and MKPS were produced in Switzerland from 1933 until 1942 with 9×25mm Mauser caliber as an option.
The Scotti OM 42 was an experimental Italian submachine gun in 9×25mm Mauser .
The Pál Király-designed Géppisztoly 39M and 43M in 9×25mm Mauser were produced by Danuvia in Hungary from 1939 through the end of World War II. These weapons remained in Hungarian service through the early 1950s.
Reloading
Reloadable cartridge cases may be produced by resizing and trimming 9mm Winchester Magnum brass. A reasonable starting point for load development would be .38 ACP (not .38 Super) load data. The .38 Super data may possibly be more consistent with the original factory loading, as these had a claimed muzzle velocity of approx. 1362 fps with a 128 gr. bullet. The 8th edition of Cartridges of the World has a listing in the entry for 9mm Mauser using a 125 gr. bullet with a heavier charge of Blue Dot powder than is normally listed as the maximum for 124 gr. jacketed bullets in the .38 Super. Old loading data may incorporate more powerful loads than is intended with modern components, but care should be taken not to underload the cartridge to ensure proper cycling in an auto-loading firearm.