Mauser HSc

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mauser HSc
Type	semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1939-194?
Used by	Nazi Germany
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designed	193?
Manufacturer	Mauser
Produced	1937-197?
Specifications
Weight	600 g unloaded
Length	152 mm
Barrel length	86 mm
Cartridge	.32 ACP, .380 ACP
Caliber	7.65 mm, 9 mm
Feed system	Magazine capacity: .32 ACP: 8 .380 ACP: 7
Sights	fixed iron sight

The Mauser HSc is small pistol made in Nazi Germany starting in 1939 to the end of World War II. It resumed production for a couple of years under French occupation and, later, in the 1960s by Mauser Werke. It features an exposed hammer, double-action trigger, single-column magazine, and a spring surrounding the barrel. It competed with the contemporary German Walther PPK and PP and Sauer 38H for police and military use. The Mauser HSc was originally intended only for the police and civilian market but due to a shortage of pistols during World War II it was procured by the Wehrmacht and was especially used by the German Navy and Air Force.

Production began at serial number 700,000, as an extension of the serial number range of the Mauser Model 1934 pistol. The early pistols have brown/wooden grips, a highly polished and rich blued finish and various German commercial or military markings. Those HSc's with Eagle/L, Eagle /C and Eagle/N markings are generally commercial or Police weapons. The earliest military pistols were made for the Kriegsmarine or for commercial sale and had an unusual "Low Grip Screw", placed very low on the wooden grip panel. After the first 1500 to 1700 pistols were produced the grips were found to be very fragile and the grip screw was relocated to a more central and sturdier position. The Wehrmacht/German Army pistols were purchased in five different series with widely separate serial numbers. An initial order for 3,000 pistols was delivered to the Wehrmacht in early 1941, with serial numbers ranging from about 703,000 to 710,000. These highly sought after pistols are marked with a WaA655 inspection stamp on the left rear trigger guard web AND with an Eagle/swastika proof stamp on the left rear grip tang. No other military HSc's were proofed. Subsequent orders were placed for 5,000(Eagle/655), 4,000(Eagle/135), 31,000(Eagle/135) and 32,000(Eagle/WaA135) respectively. The last German weapons were in the 950,000+ range. Polish, finish and bluing deteriorated as the war progressed and pistols in the 950,000+ range were phosphate (similar to American Parkerizing) finished rather than blued. Later pistols often were equipped with plastic grip panels. To its credit Mauser did a remarkable job of maintaining functional quality of their weapons to the very end. Troops considered the HSc to be very reliable. Post war models have Mauser-Werke commercial markings and are usually all black (non-wood material). The models made under the French have RW stamps.

The pistol utilized the .32 ACP cartridge but during the 1970s some Mauser HScs were also manufactured in .380 ACP.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mauser HSc

• Mauser HSc at guns.ru

German-made firearms and light weapons of World War II
Side arms (Pistole)
Mauser C96 | Luger | Walther P38 | Walther PPK | Sauer 38H | Mauser HSc
Rifles & carbines (Gewehr & Karabiner)
Karabiner 98k | Gewehr 43/Karabiner 43 | StG44/MP44 | FG42 | StG45(M)
Submachine guns ( Maschinenpistole )
Bergmann MP18 | MP38/MP40 "Schmeisser" | MP3008 "Volks MP"
Machine guns & other larger weapons
MG08 | MG34 | MG42 | Faustpatrone | Panzerfaust | Panzerschreck Flammenwerfer 35 | Panzerbüchse 39 | Granatwerfer 36 | Granatwerfer 42
Notable foreign-made infantry weapons
P.640(b) | Vis.35 | Vz.24/G24(t) | MG26(t) | Panzerbüchse 35(p)
German-made cartridges used by the Wehrmacht
7.92 x 57 mm | 7.63 x 25 mm Mauser | 7.92 mm Kurz | 7.65 mm Luger | 9mm Luger