The Haenel Schmeisser Pistol

Patent Drawing - U.S. Patent 1486497 — Patent Drawing from U.S. Patent 1486497

The C.G. Haenel company was founded in 1840 by Carl Gottlieb Haenel. Around 1896 it became C.G. Haenel Waffen- und Fahrradfabrik, Suhl, as the company began production of bicycles in addition to weapons. Several sources cite 1921 as the date Hugo Schmiesser came to work for C.G. Haenel. However, an advertisement in the September 1920 Der Waffemschmied, the German gunsmith journal, shows the fully developed Haenel Schmeisser pistol already for sale, so it seems likely that Hugo Schmeisser and his brother Hans both came to work for Haenel at least by sometime in 1919. Hugo had previously been chief designer for Bergmann, responsible for the model 1910 Bergmann machinegun and the MP18.1 submachinegun. The first two patents were filed in 1919.

According to Norbert Moczarski, in his paper on the Schmeisser brothers, in 1922 the brothers formed a company under the name Gebrüder Schmeißer in order to protect their patent rights. It is significant, however, that the brothers were already filing a patent using this name in December of 1919. Moczarski also states that the brothers became shareholders in C.G. Haenel, as well as de facto managing partners.

The Patents

German patent № 326536 was filed on 17 May 1919 by Hans Schmeisser. This patent covers the method of barrel retention by a locking pin, the pin forming the rear of the recoil spring guide rod.

German patent № 337666 was filed by the Gebrüder Schmeißer (the Schmeisser brothers) on 16 December 1919.

This patent covers a safety mechanism that prevents removal or insertion of the magazine when the manual safety lever is not in the Safe position. This patent was amended twice, by the two patents listed below.

German patent № 342078 was filed by the Gebrüder Schmeißer on 7 February 1920. This patent covers further improvements on the safety mechanism described in the previous patent.

German patent № 361175 was filed by the Gebrüder Schmeißer on 3 July 1921. This patent covers the final design of the safety mechanism. Apparently, the previous designs had a flaw that allowed the magazine to be removed, under certain circumstances, before the safety was engaged. This new design rectified this issue, firmly locking the magazine release when the safety was off.

U.S. patent № 1486497 was filed 26 August 1921 by Hans Schmeisser, and included all of the mechanisms described in the German patents—the method of disassembly as well as the various safety mechanism designs.

The Modell I Schmeisser Pistol

The Schmeisser brothers used the basic design of their father, Louis Schmeisser’s, Dreyse vest pocket pistol, the frame and lockwork, and the barrel with the post at the rear, to create their own unique pistol. Hans designed a new method of barrel retention, and the brothers created an entirely new safety mechanism for the magazine.

Like their father’s design, the “slide” is really just a breech block with two arms that extend beneath the barrel. The barrel is fixed in the frame by a locking pin at the rear of the recoil spring guide rod, which has a larger diameter than the guide rod itself. The barrel in turn retains the slide on the frame.

Schmiesserpistole - SN 154603 - Field Stripped

The oblong post depending from the rear of the barrel fits into an oblong hole in the top of the frame. The T-shaped lug at the front of the barrel fits into longitudinal grooves cut into the slide. The recoil spring guide rod has a groove near the front which is used to pull it forward and out of engagement with the rear post of the barrel. The rear baseplate of the magazine has a semi-circular cut-out that fits into the groove in the recoil spring guide rod for this purpose. The guide rod may be lifted up or to either side, causing the rear pin to butt up against the wall of the frame.

The extractor is mounted externally on the right side of the breech block, and there is no ejection port because the gun has an open-top slide. The rear of the striker spring guide rod protrudes through a hole in the back of the gun to indicate that the striker is cocked.

The gun did not receive its Model I designation until the Model II appeared in 1926. Before that, it was simply known as “die Schmeisserpistole.” The Schmeisserpistole was available in blue or nickel finish.

As is evident from the three Gebrüder Schmeißer patents, the magazine safety mechanism, which was intended to prevent removal or installation of the magazine when the safety was not engaged, went through three iterations. These are clearly illustrated in the U.S. patent, figures 5 through 8. Since a gun with the first design has not yet been located, we do not know exactly what issue it had . But in the second design, which is found in early Schmeisserpistoles, if the magazine is in the gun and the safety is moved to a position where the lever is pointing straight down, it is possible to remove the magazine, after which the safety can be moved to the Fire position. This was clearly not acceptable, so the Schmeisser brothers redesigned the magazine safety mechanism yet again.

Dr. Stefan Klein, in examining guns in his collection, was the first to recognize that there are at least two different magazine safety mechanisms in the production Haenel Schmeisser pistol, corresponding to the mechanisms illustrated in the second and third patents. It seems likely that the Schmeisser brothers may have recognized the limitations of their first design early enough in 1920 that they began production with their second magazine safety design. Dr. Klein tells the author, in private correspondence, that the change from the second to the third safety design took place somewhere between serial numbers 20236 and 25483.

The magazine safety, in its final iteration, is quite thoroughgoing. The magazine cannot be removed unless the safety is on. The safety cannot be released until the magazine is reinserted. Hence, if a live round is left in the chamber, it cannot be fired with the magazine removed. With the safety engaged, the gun cannot be cocked, but the slide can be retracted enough to eject a live round in the chamber. The Schmeisser pistol was touted as being safe even for people who are unfamiliar with guns.

Production Variations

There are several minor variations. The early Schmeisser Pistol is distinguished by a distinct “hump” at the rear of the slide which rises up to form the rear sight. The front sight is a half-moon shape set above the groove on top of the slide. The grips have a monogram of an S intertwined about an H in an oval at the top. Grip stocks are made of hard rubber. There are sixteen vertical triangular-cut slide serrations at the rear of the slide. The serial number is on the right side of the frame just above and behind the trigger. The inscription on the left side of the slide is in sans-serif characters on one line and reads:

C.G. HAENEL SUHL, SCHMEISSER’S PATENT

According to Dr. Stefan Klein, various iterations of the Schmeisser pistol saw the comma in the inscription replaced by a period, or a space, and in very late guns by a dash.

In early production, guns intended for export were marked:

C.G. HAENEL SUHL, GERMANY, SCHMEISSER’S PATENT.

In later production, guns intended for export were simply stamped GERMANY or MADE IN GERMANY.

Late Schmeisser pistols are distinguished by a smaller rear sight. This change appears to have taken place at least by serial number 67819, though a few earlier examples have been noted.

The Modell II Schmeisser Pistol

Haenel Schmeisser Model II — Haenel Schmeisser Modell II

The Model II Schmeisser pistol was already being marketed as early as January of 1926, so it is likely that production began in 1925. Production of the renamed Model I pistol continued at the same time. The Model II was given its own serial number sequence, beginning with 1, but only extended into the 1200 series when the company decided to number the Model II with the Model I, so the next series began with 100000. The highest serial number recorded thus far is 108804, so at the time of this writing, total production of the Model II appears to be just over 10,000.

The Model II is a miniaturized version of the Schmeisserpistole (now renamed the Model I) and was likely intended to compete with the Walther Model 9, which appeared in 1921 and at the time was the smallest 6.35 mm pistol in the world. Many companies began to market smaller pistols to compete with the Walther. The Model II retains the barrel with the post at the rear and the T -shaped lug at the front, as well as the method of barrel retention. Instead of a half-moon cutout at the rear of the magazine, as on the Model I, the Model II has a half-moon cutout at the front of the magazine baseplate to use in pulling the recoil spring guide rod forward.

Haenel Schmeisser Mod. II - SN 105969 - Field Stripped

Like the Walther Model 9, the Model II Schmeisser has an external transfer bar on the right side which runs beneath the right grip stock. The magazine safety consists of a vertical lever beneath the right grip stock, held in place by the stock itself and the grip screw which transects it. When the magazine is withdrawn, the lever blocks the sear. The lever is often found missing, since its removal is all that is necessary to disable the magazine safety.

The extractor is on top of the slide, mounted externally. Like the Model I, the Model II has a pin on the rear of the striker spring guide rod that protrudes through a hole at the rear of the gun to indicate that the striker is cocked. The sear on the Model II was redesigned—instead of pivoting it moves straight up and down. The slide on the Model II has sixteen fine triangular-cut serrations at the rear, angled toward the front.

The slide inscription is on two lines on the left side in italic serif characters:

C.G. HAENEL SUHL, SCHMEISSER’S PATENT
MODELL II.

The serial number is on the bow of the trigger guard, on the right side of the gun. The first three digits are stamped on the bottom of the slide and the bottom of the barrel lug.

A number of very minor changes were made to the gun. Early guns had a magazine release that was 8.57 mm wide. After production of approximately 4500 gun, the magazine release width was reduced to about 6.5 mm. Most guns have a trigger that easily falls out if the right grip stock is removed because the trigger is held in place only by the post on the back of the transfer bar, which fits into a hole in back of the trigger. If the transfer bar is removed, or falls out, the trigger also immediately falls out of the gun. In the middle of production, somewhere in the 102400 series, a pin was added, which can be seen just above the safety lever and behind the trigger on the left side of the gun. This pin formed a backstop for the trigger, holding it in place when the gun was disassembled. But the pin was dropped after little more than 1400 or so guns were made with it.

The Model II Schmeisser Pistol has two styles of grip stock in checkered plastic. The first style has an HS monogram in an oval at the top. The HS monogram was identical to a proprietary logo belonging to the Siemens-Halske company, which may account for the fact that it was eventually eliminated. The second style of grip stock has SCHMEISSER written across the top of the grip. The grip stocks are made of Trolit, a proprietary plastic made of pressed or injection-molded cellulose acetate. The Model II was available in blue or nickel finish.

	Zehna	Model I Schmeisser	Model II Schmeisser
Length	118 mm	112 mm	100 mm
Barrel Length	60 mm	54.2 mm	52 mm
Height	75 mm	76 mm	67 mm
Slide Width	17.6 mm	18.1 mm	16.1 mm
Frame Width	14 mm	14 mm	11.3 mm
Slide Height	17 mm	18.3 mm	21 mm
Weight	371 g	380 g	263 g

Field Stripping

Turn the safety on.
Remove the magazine.
Work the slide to make sure the chamber is empty.
Draw the slide back about half an inch. On the Model I the slide can be locked open by pushing the safety up and into the cut in the slide. On the Model II you will have to hold the slide open with your thumb over the top.
Using the notch in the magazine (or a tool such as a screwdriver), engage the cut in the recoil spring guide rod and pull it out about a half-inch and up or over to one side about one millimeter, locking it in the forward position.
The barrel can now be removed straight up and out of the frame. The barrels are closely fitted. You may need to tap the gun with a plastic-tipped hammer or turn the gun upside down.
Move the recoil spring guide rod back to center so it will spring back into place.
Release the safety (on the Model I) and ease the slide off the front of the gun.

* Please send your serial number along with photographs or a description of your Schmeisser.

References

Hogg, Ian V., German Handguns, Greenhill, London: 2001.
Hogg, Ian V., German Pistols and Revolvers, 1871-1945, Galahad, New York: 1971.
Hogg, Ian V. & Weeks, John, Pistols of the World, Arms & Armour Press, London: 1978.
Hogg, Ian V. & Walter, John, Pistols of the World, Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin: 2004.
Klein, Dr. Stefan, https://taschenpistolen.de/taschenpistole-des-monats/02-2022-c.g.-haenel-modell-i.
Matthews, J. Howard. Firearms Identification, Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL: 1962.
Moczarski, Norbert, “Die Ära der Gebrüder Schmeisser in der Waffenfabrik Fa. C. G. Haenel Suhl 1921-1948. Ein weitgehend unbekanntes Kapitel Suhler Industriegeschichte,” Jahrbuch des Hennebergisch-Fränkischen Geschichtsvereins 1999. Hildburghausen, S.
Walter, John., Dictionary of Guns and Gunmakers, Greenhill, London: 2001.
Weaver, W. Darren, An Encyclopedia of German Tradenames and Trademarks, 1900-1945, Schiffer, Atglen, Pennsylvania: 2011.

Special thanks to Vaclav Vriesen who created a database of Schmeisser Model II serial numbers on the Jan C. Still Luger forums, at: https://www.lugerforums.com/threads/haenel-schmeisser-model-2-serial-number-list.35940/.

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