Mannlicher M1905

Mannlicher M1905
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Austria-Hungary
Service history
Used by	Argentine
Wars	Chaco War
Production history
Designer	Ferdinand Mannlicher
Manufacturer	Œ.W.G.
Produced	1905–1910
No. built	6,000
Specifications
Weight	910 g (32 oz) empty
Length	246 mm (9.7 in)
Barrel length	160 mm (6.3 in)
Cartridge	7.63mm Mannlicher
Action	Delayed blowback
Feed system	8-round stripper clip loaded magazine

The Modelo 1905 is a pistol designed by Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher in 1899 and originally produced in Austria as the Mannlicher Model 1901. The Mannlicher Model 1901 was an improved version of the Model 1900, both of which were produced by Osterreichische Waffenfabrik Steyr (commonly known as Steyr). All of these models have the same basic design and operation, but minimal adjustments were made to improve each of them. The Modelo 1905 is the version of the Model 1901 that the Argentine Army purchased from Steyr in 1905. This semi-automatic pistol has a unique and elegant appearance due to the curve of the handgrip. It is single action and uses a blowback operation system to reload. Like its predecessors, the Modelo 1905 has a non-detachable magazine that can be loaded from the top with a stripper clip.

The Mannlicher 1900, 1901 and the Modelo 1905 all use the same blowback operating system. Fowler, North, and Stronge describe blowback-operated weapons as using the pressure from the spent round to push a bolt that is located behind the round back and forth against a spring. The pressure forces the slide back against the spring and ejects the spent cartridge. Then, a new round enters the chamber and the compressed spring pushes the bolt forward again, loading the bullet into the breech, leaving the gun ready to fire again.

According to Fowler, North and Stronge, It is a delayed blowback operation, using a large external hammer and heavy spring. This operation is carried out by the unique design of the slide, which includes the extractor and the firing pin. Since the pistol is single action, the hammer needs to be cocked before it can fire a round. This is accomplished by the slide as it is pushed back from the gasses, which are expelled out of the cartridge once it is fired. Finally, as the slide moves back to the forward position, it chambers a new round.

The reason why this operation system is able to work is because the Modelo 1905 has an open top design and the barrel was screwed into the breech. Borallo furthers this explanation by stating that "the design was simple: it had a fixed barrel and the triggering mechanism was installed on the sides of the frame and the recoil spring was located below the barrel”. Fowler, North, and Stronge North describe this as "…a mechanism which has been likened to that of a fine watch". There are very few moving parts, and all of them are located outside of the integral magazine in a small mainspring housing.

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Wikipedia