What as the first successful semiautomatic pistol? That depends on how you define it. If we’re going to define “first successful” in terms of commercial mass production, then the C-39 Borchardt pistol takes the trophy. Here’s the story behind this storied weapon.

Borchardt C-93 Pistol and 7.65x25mm Cartridge History & Specifications

The C-93 pistol was designed and invented in 1893 by Hugo Borchardt (June 6, 1844-May 8, 1924), who was born in Magdeburg, Kingdom of Prussia (the present-day capital of the German state Saxony-Anhalt, and was also known for the Sharps-Borchardt Model 1878 rifle. The manufacturing rights for the C-93 were bestowed upon Ludwig Loewe & Co. of Germany, then a major manufacturer of military rifles.

Unlike the overwhelming majority of more modern semiauto pistols which used either a slide or a bolt (Sturm, Ruger’s enduringly popular Standard Model .22 auto is prime example of the latter), Borchardt’s invention employed a toggle-action: When a cartridge was fired, the barrel and breech bolt locked together, recoiling until a pair of lugs on the frame lifted the toggle-joint action of the breech and allowed the bolt to continue its travel independent of the barrel. The bolt then continued its recoil cycle, ejecting the empty shell casing and cocking the arm, then came forward again, feeding a new cartridge into the chamber, pushing the barrel forward and locking rigidly as the toggle joint fell back into line.

Dimensions included a barrel length of 7.7 inches (195 mm), an overall length of 14.0 inches (355 mm), a weight of 41 ounces (1,160 grams), and a standard detachable box magazine capacity of eight rounds.

According to the Ohio Gun Collectors Association:

“Although the pistol was outside of Loewe’s usual venue, the firm felt that its contacts would surely facilitate a military contract. Unfortunately, Loewe was wrong. While it was true that the Borchardt was chambered for the powerful 7.63 mm Borchardt cartridge, functioned with a reliable toggle-locked mechanism (locked breech), and had a convenient safety and a push-button magazine release, the gun was extraordinarily ungainly, especially without the detachable shoulder stock. It made no difference that the pistol and stock were attractively packaged in attaché-cased sets with four matching magazines, a dummy magazine, cleaning implements and an instruction booklet. The answer from every government was still ‘no.’ After repeated suggestions that the gun be redesigned to a more compact form, Borchardt got angry, refused and turned the project over to Georg Luger. In the meantime, Loewe assembled about 1,100 Model 1893s before handing the production to Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM), which completed fewer than 2,000 pistols, bringing the total number of Borchardts to about 3,000 guns.”

Interestingly, the gun was also given consideration as a potential U.S. military-issue pistol. According to firearms historian T. Logan Metesh of High Caliber History, the U.S. Navy tested it out in 1894 followed by trials at the historic Springfield Armory (not to be confused with the present-day Springfield Armory); “they discovered … it was accurate, but it was not very good in terms of long-range penetration.” (Thus, it came to pass that the iconic M1911 .45 ACP instead became the U.S. military’s first-ever semiauto pistol.)

As for its original 7.65x25mm Borchardt cartridge, it had an actual bullet diameter of 7.86mm (0.309 in), a bullet weight of 85 grains (5.5 grams), a muzzle velocity of 1,300 feet per second (390 m/s), and a muzzle energy of 423 Joules (312 foot-pounds). The round was designed by Georg Johann Luger, who would later immortalize himself via his legendary P08 Pistole Parabellum ”Luger” pistol, which also used a toggle-action like the Borchardt.

Live-Fire Range Reports

The YouTube channel SpruceReduce has a one-minute video of a Borchardt live-fire range session; the shooter runs afoul of a single “nosedive” jam at round count no. 7 but doesn’t give any report on the pistol’s accuracy performance. However, in the comments section, he notes that “The only weird thing was that it’s very back heavy. The recoil was mild and the trigger is very good.”

Meanwhile, YouTube channel Le Feu aux Poudres also conducts a live-fire demo with one of these pistols. Judging by the visual indicators and the rather choppy English subtitles of the original French audio narration, the shooter apparently fires a total of six rounds at a distance of 5 meters; he scores two 10-ring hits, along with one hit each in the 6-, 5-, and 3-rings, with one round staying on the paper but straying completely outside the scoring rings.

Want Your Own? Where Are They Now?

If you want your own Borchardt, then bring a bankbook: Rock Island Auction Company (RIA) of Rock Island, Illinois, is currently listing one with an “Estimated Price” $14,000-$22,500; Collectors Firearms of Houston, Texas, recently listed a mint condition specimen for a whopping $32,500; and Morphy Auctions of Denver, Pennsylvania, (not to be confused with Denver, Colorado) sold one for a whopping $103.500!

If, on the other hand, you don’t have all of that excess money burning a hole in your pocket and you’re content to see the pistol in a museum, you can view one at the National Rifle Association National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia (a tour I can personally vouch for; ask for Ernie Lyles as your tour guide if you can). Meanwhile, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History Behring Center lists the Borchardt in its collection but unfortunately doesn’t currently have it on display for public viewing.

About the Author: Christian D. Orr

Christian D. Orr is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.

Image: Shutterstock.