Theodor Bergmann
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Theodor Bergmann | |
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| Born | Theodor Bergmann May 21, 1850 |
| Died | March 23, 1931 (aged 80) |
| Occupations | Industrialist, inventor, firearms manufacturer |
Theodor Bergmann (21 May 1850 – 23 March 1931) was a German businessman, industrialist, and firearms manufacturer best known for developing a series of innovative automatic pistols, firearms, and early machine guns. Although armament production was not originally the main focus of his industrial activities, his company became one of Germany's most important early firearms manufacturers.
Bergmann was born in Sailauf, Kingdom of Bavaria, and later managed the industrial company Eisenwerke Gaggenau. His early business interests included bicycles and automobiles, industries that were rapidly expanding during the late 19th century. In 1910, he sold his automobile manufacturing operations to Carl Benz.
His firearms designs became particularly influential during the development of self-loading pistols. A new Bergmann pistol model was patented almost every year during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including:
- Bergmann 1893
- Bergmann 1894
- Bergmann 1895
- Bergmann 1896
- Bergmann 1897 (also known as Bergmann Pieper)
- Bergmann 1898
- Bergmann 1899
- Bergmann 1901 (also known as Bergmann Simplex)
- Bergmann Mars
- Bergmann 1905
- Bergmann 1908
- Bergmann 1910
- Bergmann 1910/21
Theodor Bergmann also developed the locking system used in the Bergmann MG 15nA, a light machine gun designed during the First World War. The weapon was based on a patent filed by Bergmann in 1901 and was adopted by the German military during the later stages of the war.
During World War I, Bergmann Waffenfabrik also became involved in the development of infantry automatic weapons. In 1915, the German Rifle Testing Commission at Spandau sought a new weapon suitable for trench warfare. After experiments with fully automatic versions of existing pistols such as the Luger pistol and Mauser C96, the commission concluded that a dedicated automatic weapon was required.
Hugo Schmeisser, working at Bergmann Waffenfabrik, led the design team that developed the MP 18, one of the world's first practical submachine guns. The MP 18 was introduced in 1918 and saw service during the final stages of World War I.
Theodor Bergmann died on 23 March 1931 in Gaggenau, Weimar Republic. His company continued to exist and later became involved in industrial manufacturing, including plastics production.
References
[edit]External links
[edit]- Guns & Ammo, May 2003 Bergmann pistols
- Pieper Belgium licensed manufacturer of Bergmann pistol under the brand Bergmann-Bayard.
- 9mm Largo, 9mm Bergmann
- MG15
- MP 18.1 Video, Informations and Pictures
- A Bergmann MP 18 built in Tsing Tao, China in 1927
- Historic Arms
- Springfield Armory's Villar Perosa[permanent dead link]
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