The Pistole Parabellum—or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just Luger[7]—is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol which was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 to 1948. The design was first patented by Georg Luger as an improvement upon the Borchardt Automatic Pistol and was produced as the Parabellum Automatic Pistol, Borchardt-Luger System by the German arms manufacturer Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM).[1] The first production model was known as the Modell 1900 Parabellum.[1] Later versions included the Pistol Parabellum Model 1908 or P08 which was produced by DWM and other manufacturers such as W+F Bern, Krieghoff, Simson, Mauser, and Vickers.[8] The first Parabellum pistol was adopted by the Swiss army in May 1900. In German Army service, it was adopted in modified form as the Pistol Model 1908 (P08) in caliber 9×19mm Parabellum.[1] The Model 08 was eventually succeeded by the Walther P38.