Schouboe Automatic Pistol

Schouboe Model 1903
This is a patent photo for the Schouboe Automatic Pistol, designed in 1903
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Denmark
Production history
Designer	Jens Theodor Suhr Schouboe
Designed	1903
Manufacturer	Compagnie Madsen A/S
No. built	less than 1000, Serial numbers 1–524 with 1–100 being experimental
Specifications
Mass	1,2 kg
Length	25 mm
Barrel  length	150 mm
Cartridge	11.35mm Schouboe 32 ACP
Caliber	11.35mm
Action	Simple blowback
Muzzle velocity	488 m/s
Feed system	6 rounds

Jens Theodor Suhr Schouboe patented his semi-automatic pistol in 1903. It was a simple blowback design featuring an unusual wood-core projectile with a metal jacket. By 1917, production of these weapons had ceased.

History

The Schouboe pistol was designed in 1903 as a pocket pistol chambered in 32 ACP. ^[1] In 1907, Schouboe developed a .45-caliber version of the pistol for entry in the 1907 US pistol trials. The trials' requirements included the pistol being chambered in .45 caliber. The Schouboe was a direct blowback pistol, so it could not handle the energy of a traditional .45-caliber cartridge. To address this, Schouboe designed bullets with a wood core and metal jacket, making them light enough to be fired safely from the pistol. The pistol was rejected due to insufficient wounding capability. ^[2]

The 11.35 mm Schouboe or .45 Schouboe was developed in 1902 as an experimental centerfire pistol cartridge for the Schouboe Automatic Pistol. The lightweight bullet was a steel jacketed wooden plug with an aluminium disk protecting the base. Muzzle velocity was 1600 feet per second. Accuracy was poor, and the blowback pistol chambered for this cartridge was unsuccessful. ^[3]

11.35 mm Schouboe Danish-made cartridges.

11.35 mm Danish ammo headstamps.

References

1. Forgotten Weapons (13 April 2015), Schouboe Model 1903 .32ACP Pistol at RIA, archived from the original on 15 December 2021, retrieved 26 October 2017
2. Forgotten Weapons (12 March 2015), Schouboe Prototype .45 Pistols at James D Julia, archived from the original on 15 December 2021, retrieved 26 October 2017
3. Wilson, R. K. Textbook of Automatic Pistols, p.232. Plantersville, SC: Small Arms Technical Publishing Company, 1943.

External links

• The Schouboe Pistol by Ed Buffaloe
• Vaabenhistorisk Selskab, The Danish Arms & Armour Society ^{[ dead link ]}
• Patent nummer 6135 af 6. November 1903 af J. T. S. Schouboe gældende fra 2. dec. 1902