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Title:	PISTOL, SEMI-AUTOMATIC -  GERMAN PISTOL MAUSER MODEL HSc 7.65MM SN# 779566
Maker/Manufacturer:	MAUSER, PAUL
Date of Manufacture:	1939-1944
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 883
Measurements:	OL: 15.4CM 6 1/8" BL: 8.3CM 3 5/16 1.32 lbs. empty

Object Description:

GERMAN PISTOL MAUSER MODEL HSc 7.65MM SN# 779566
Manufactured by Mauserwerke, Oberndorf, Germany - Standard German WWII Navy issue semi-automatic, pistol with 8-round detachable box magazine. Double action, positive safety. Fixed-barrel blowback. Hammer concealed within the slide, leaving only a small lip protruding sufficiently to allow thumb cocking, Blued finish; two-piece wood grips. Fixed sights. Weapon weighs approximately 1.32 lbs. empty. Magazine on this specimen is not Navy.

Markings:
Barrel: Commercial proofs.
Frame: 779566.
Slide: Mauser logo. MAUSER-WERKE A.G. OBERNDORF A.N/MOD. HSC/ KAL. 7.65MM.
Trigger guard: Commercial proofs/M/8 Navy stamps.

Weapon transferred to the Museum from Raritan Arsenal, Metuchen, N.J. on 29 November 1951.

Exhibit label: "HSc 7.65 millimeter - In 1937 Mauser developed a double action pistol, possibly to compete with Walther's PP and PPK models. Although intended as a commercial venture, most of them were inducted into military service at the outbreak of war in 1939 and issued to Navy and Air Force personnel."

Notes: "Generally similar to the Walther PP, with which it was intended to compete, the HSc - 'HS' represents 'Hahn, Selbstspanner' (hammer, self-cocking), 'c' signifies the third model - differed from its rival in many respects. For example, the detachable barrel was retained by a latch set into the trigger-guard web. A hold-open was disconnected as soon as a new magazine was inserted. The chamber had shallow longitudinal flutes, guarding against case-head separations caused by the breech opening too rapidly. The hammer was shaped to close the aperture in the rear of the slide whether cocked or lowered.
The HSc was originally intended for sale commercially, but, particularly after the Second World War began in earnest, was widely favoured by the military authorities. It was especially popular in the navy and the air force. Production stopped in 1945, but then recommenced under French supervision before finally ceasing in 1946. A slightly modified HSc reappeared in the 1970s and was licensed in the 1980s to Armi Renato Gamba of Gardone Val Trompia." - A.B. Zhuk

References:
Zhuk, A.B. THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HANDGUNS. Greenhill Books, London, England. 1995.