Mauser C96

The Mauser C96 (commonly called the "Broomhandle" or "Broomhandle Mauser" due to its distinctive grip) was a German semi-automatic pistol manufactured from 1896 to circa 1937. It was one of the first semi-automatic pistols to see widespread use and was copied in Spain and China. There are several major variants, though continual product improvement at the Mauser factory led to dozens or hundreds of individual variations arising over four decades of manufacture.

• The original C96 was the full-sized, ten-shot model in 7.63x25mm Mauser.
• The "Bolo" model was produced in limited numbers before the First World War, then produced exclusively by Mauser for most of the 1920s due to restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles.
• The "Red 9" was a 9x19mm model produced to fill a contract for the German army during the First World War. As it was externally identical to the concurrently produced 7.63mm version, its caliber was prominently marked on each side of the grip.
• The "Schnellfeuer" was introduced in the early 1930s, in response to the select-fire C96 copies produced in Spain by Beistegui Hermanos. It used ten or twenty round detachable magazines and a select-fire mechanism designed by J. Nickl (early) or K. Westinger (most commonly seen). The Schnellfeuer is popularly known as the "M712", though this designation seems to have originated in a Stoeger catalog and not at the Mauser factory.
• The Astra 900 was another Spanish copy, produced by Unceta & Cia. It retained the overall shape and locking system of the C96, but used a trigger mechanism of original design.
• The Astra 903 was Unceta's equivalent of the Schnellfeuer, though unlike Beistegui's later versions the 903 was not compatible with Schnellfeuer magazines.
• The Type 17 was a .45 ACP version produced in Shanxi, China under the orders of ruling warlord Yan Xishan in order to maintain ammunition compatibility with the Thompson M1921 clones his Taiyuan factory already produced. C96 copies of varying quality were also produced by Chinese arsenals at Hanyang, Taku, and several other locations.

Specifications

Type: semiautomatic or select-fire pistol, short-recoil operated, single-action trigger

Caliber: 7.63x25mm Mauser, 9x19mm Parabellum, 9x25mm Mauser Export (rare), .45 ACP (Type 17)

Capacity: 6 (early), 10 or 20 (very early) round fixed box magazine, or 10 or 20 round detachable box magazine

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The Mauser C96 "Broomhandle" pistol has been seen in the following films and television shows used by the following actors:

Pre-War dated Mauser C96 "Broomhandle" Commercial Version - 7.63x25mm Mauser. Note the rear tangent sight; in something of a display of wishful thinking, the C96's sight is adjustable for ranges up to 1000 metres.

Mauser C96 "Red 9" Version for the German Army - 9mm. This model is World War One dated.

Mauser C96 in silver finish.

Shansi Type 17 chambered in .45 ACP with unfired rounds and stripper clips

ASTRA 900 chambered in the same 7.63x25mm

ASTRA 903 machine pistol

Mauser M712 Schnellfeuer

File:Mauser c96 bolo.jpg

Mauser C96 7.63x25mm Mauser - Short Barreled "Bolo" Model

C96 "Broomhandle" Mauser fitted with holster/stock combo - 7.63x25mm.

Highly engraved Mauser C96 'Bolo' - 7.63x25mm.

File:C96 carbine.jpg

Reproduction of the very rare full stocked C96 carbine - 7.63x25mm.

File:C96 Bolo.jpg

A Mauser C96 'Bolo' with rifle stock attached - 7.63x25mm.

Film

• Max von Sydow as Joubert in Three Days of the Condor (1975)

• Queen of Outer Space - the astronauts weapons were short magazine C96 Mausers painted gold.

• Daniel Pilon as as the contract killer Gorman in Brannigan (M712 Schnellfeuer).

• John Le Mesurier used a C96 with a shoulder stock in the 1968 film "Salt and Pepper"

• Geoff Parry as Bubba Zanetti in Mad Max

• Mel Gibson in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

• Roger Rees as Augustus Steranko in Teen Agent

• Oliver Reed in Sitting Target (M712 Schnellfeuer)

• Fred Williamson as Tommy Gibbs in Black Caesar and Hell up in Harlem

• Morgan Freeman as Sloan in Wanted (M712 Schnellfeuer)

• Turkish Army officers in Lawrence of Arabia

• German soldiers in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

• German soldiers in Raiders of the Lost Ark

• Spanish and German officers in Rough Riders

• Brad Johnson as Henry Nash in Rough Riders

• Antoine Saint-John as Colonel Von Roerkel in The Wind and the Lion

• IRA forces in Michael Collins.

• Joss Ackland as Arjen Rudd in Lethal Weapon 2

• Richard Kiel as Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me

• Robert Shaw as Red Grant in From Russia With Love

• Harrison Ford as Han Solo in the Star Wars series (as the "DL-44 Blaster")

• Luke Perry as Billy in The Fifth Element (M712 Schnellfeuer)

• The Medjai in The Mummy

• Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Lock-Nah in The Mummy Returns

• Simon Ward as Winston Churchill in Young Winston

• Don Stroud as bounty hunter Lamarr Simms in Joe Kidd

• Matthew Fox as Racer X in Speed Racer

• Clint Eastwood as Joe Kidd in Joe Kidd

• Kung Fu Killer

• Hannibal Lector in Hannibal Rising

• Axe gang members in Kung Fu Hustle

• Turkish Officer in All The King Men (1999)

• Tom Adams as Agent Charles Vine in The Second Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World

• Actor Kamal Hassan as Saket Ram in Hey Ram (2000) Bollywood movie

• Several "Street Thunder" gangmembers carry C96's equipped with silencers in Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

• State Department: File 649 (1949)

• Jean-Louis Trintignant as Silence (Silenzio) in The Great Silence (Il Grande Silenzio) 1968

• Seen in the gun cabinet in Down in the Valley (2005)

Video Games

• Hitman: Blood Money (as the "WW1 Pistol")

• Medal of Honor: Airborne - available during the "Der Flakturm" level

• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Shansi Type 17)

• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Shansi Type 17)

• Resident Evil 4 (as the "Red 9," with an optional stock and fitted with an underbarrel laser pointer)

• Fallout (Gizmo the casino boss, as "9mm Mauser")

• Fallout 2 (Found in a locker in the back of New Reno Arms)

• Fallout 3 (as the "Chinese Pistol")

• Silent Storm (C96, Red-9 & M712 versions)

• Team Fortress 2 (Loose basis for the Sniper's SMG)

• Day of Defeat: Source (M712 Schnellfeuer version with a stock)

• Timesplitters [as the "Mauser Pistol"]

• Red Dead Redemption as "Mauser Pistol"

Television

• The Professionals (Carbine Variant)

• Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983) (Bolo version)

• The Unit Used by an attempted assassin.

• Band of Brothers Used by French soldier to execute German soldiers.

Anime

• in Gunsmith Cats it is seen the shop and at Rally's house

• Hellsing a Vampires Nazi can be seen holding two

• Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade: at the shooting range and in the end scene

• Rotton the Wizard in Black Lagoon

• Heine Rammsteiner in Dogs: Bullets and Carnage

• Kochikame

Animation

• Atlantis, The Lost Empire

• The Brak Show