3 Attachment(s)
DWM Model 22 Pocket Pistol
Latest gun acquisition; spotted it at an online auction, and decided to throw in a bid once I figured out what it was.
It's a DWM made FN 1910/22 pistol, chambered in 7.62 Browning. Apparently early ones had wooden oak grips (such as this example). Despite there 50,000 being made, the highest serial number I've found online was just under 5000. :confused:
From Ian V. Hogg´s book "GERMAN HANDGUNS", (Greenhill Books, 2001, p. 42-43) concerning the DWM 7,65mm pistol:
"In the aftermath of World War I, DWM found themselves in a quandary: they had a skilled work force and splendid machinery, but they were forbidden, under Versilles Treaty, to manufacture military pistols. They therefore decided to manufacture a pocket pistol for the commercial market.
Instead of employing a designer to come up with something completly novel, DWM took the easy way out and produced a close copy of the 1910 Belgian Browning (...) In fact they made such a good job of copying that Fabrique NAtionale of Belgium, who had designed and produced the original, threatened legal action, even though the Browning patents were on the point of expiring. This, together with declining sales in later 1920s, led DWM to cease production in 1928, after about 50,000 had been made.
DWM marketed its gun initially as Model 22. The original version had walnut grips, but these were soon changed to black plastic and the pistol became the Model 23, though this was purely company inventory nomenclature and never appeared on the pistols. The sole marking is the DWM monogram on the left side of the slide and on the black plastic grips."
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