Of the various models of the classic Luger pistol the ones made in England are some of the most unusual. Vickers Ltd. made almost 6,000 Lugers for the Government of the Netherlands. Most of these are marked “VICKERS LTD” on the toggle. But there were also a small quantity of hand fitted samples made by the craftsmen of the Woolwich Arsenal.
Fast Facts
- The Vickers Luger pistols are somewhat veiled in mystery.
- They were made as a special arrangement between DWM and Vickers in England to enable their manufacture while complying with the Treaty of Versailles and its conditions imposed on German industry.
- The regular production pistols of this consignment are marked with “VICKERS LTD” on the toggle.
- A small number of toolroom special sample pistols were made at Woolwich Arsenal and were hand fitted by craftsmen gunsmiths. These are marked with a “crown/W” marking in a cross pattern.
- One of these special Lugers with the “crown/W” marking in a cross pattern marking on the toggle is for sale by Rock Island Auction at the time of publication.
The Treaty of Versailles which ended the First World War (1914-1918) produced some problems to German firearms makers and their customers. One of those affected were the government of Holland who had selected the Luger pistol as the side-arm for its military in the Dutch East Indies (now modern day Indonesia).
Between 1911-1913 the Dutch government had purchased 4,182 Luger pistols for the Royal Netherlands Indies Army (Koninklijike Nederlandsche Indische Leger). These pistols were ordered in 1911, and delivered between 1912-1913. Deliveries stopped in 1914 with the start of the First World War.
During the war spare parts were not available so the Dutch government arranged to have spare parts for these pistols made at the “Geweer School” (i.e. rifle school) in the city of Bandoeng (modern day Bandung) in West Java.
After the First World War ended in 1918 the Government of the Netherlands wanted to purchase 6,000 more. The problem with this was that under the Treaty of Versailles, the Allied Control Commission did not permit DWM (Deutsch Waffen und Munitionsfabriken) to make and sell these pistols.
What was needed was a bit of imaginative strategizing to work around the ban and DWM and British company Vickers were well equipped to do that.
While the exact relationship is a bit murky it seems that DWM manufactured and sent to Vickers Armaments Ltd. in Britain parts for the Luger pistols that they could legally make under the conditions imposed on them by the Allied Control Commission.
Vickers then made the parts that DWM were not able to and created complete pistols to send to the Dutch government.
The exact number of pistols made is not certain but was approximately 5,900. The serial numbers ranged from 4182 up to 10181.
These Luger pistols were all fitted with 4 inch round barrels and were chambered for the 9mm Parabellum cartridge.
The vast majority of these pistols were marked on the top of the toggle “VICKERS” with “LTD” below it. Many were shipped without grip panels, and grip panels were made and fitted in the Dutch Indies. Quality and style of these grip panels is quite variable with some featuring coarse checkering and others better quality fine checkering.
The majority of Lugers shipped to the Dutch Indies had a brass identification plate soldered to the left side of the action by the Dutch authorities.
A small number of these Vickers Lugers were assembled at the Woolwich Arsenal as high grade samples. These do not bear the VICKERS LTD marking on the toggle but instead have a “crown/W” marking in a cross pattern.
The “W” stands for Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and the pistols with the “crown/W” marking in a cross pattern were presentation, trial, or toolroom samples prepared for high ranking Dutch military and government officials.
These toolroom presentation pistols were hand fitted by individual highly skilled craftsmen, notably Mr. Wm. Daniels of Woolwich Arsenal working in collaboration with staff of Vickers Ltd.
One of these unusual Luger pistols is currently for sale by Rock Island Auction. The sale pistol is serial number 8607 and it comes in a wood presentation box, with a spare toggle, and two extra magazines.
The condition of this pistol is described by Rock Island Auction as follows:-
“Very fine overall as refinished with much of the finish, light wear, and pitting. Mechanically functions.”
The pistol is accompanied by a letter stating its provenance.
You will find the sale page for this unusual Luger if you click here.
Picture Credits: All pictures courtesy Rock Island Auction.
Jon Branch is the founder and senior editor of Revivaler and has written a significant number of articles for various publications including official Buying Guides for eBay, classic car articles for Hagerty, magazine articles for both the Australian Shooters Journal and the Australian Shooter, and he’s a long time contributor to Silodrome.
Jon has done radio, television, magazine and newspaper interviews on various issues, and has traveled extensively, having lived in Britain, Australia, China and Hong Kong. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. He has studied the Japanese sword arts and has a long history of involvement in the shooting sports, which has included authoring submissions to government on various firearms related issues and assisting in the design and establishment of shooting ranges.
