A solid stock was typically fitted to the rear of the gun to help offset the uncontrollable nature of such a small weapon firing at such a high rate. This design included an extended magazine for additional rounds and an automatic action was added. One of two major model variants of the Model 1912 pistol line became a "machine pistol" form. About 200,000 of the guns were given new barrels to fire the Parabellum cartridge and this allowed the Model 1912 to remain consistent with other German pistols of the period. In official German Army service, the pistols were christened as "9mm P12(O)" and physically marked with "P-08" along the left side of the slide assembly for identification purposes. Another batch-order followed and these examples were those chambered for the Luger pistol cartridge mentioned earlier. Germany returned to the Model 1912 in the period leading up to World War 2 (1938-1945) when it annexed Austria in 1938. The grip handle used a near-vertical shape and the trigger was solid within the oblong trigger ring. The slide was smooth and rectangular with few major features breaking the fine lines - the muzzle protruding a short distance ahead of the forward section giving the gun a somewhat unique appearance. Iron sights were set fore and aft for some accuracy in ranged fire. Effective range was out to 160 feet with a muzzle velocity of 1,120 feet per second being reported. The barrel was rotated to lock the breech in the action and this was essentially a "cleaned-up" version of the function seen in the earlier Roth-Steyr Model 1907 pistol.
![steyr mannlicher m1912 steyr mannlicher m1912](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H3pGk3AXHXg/TfhLQxebfsI/AAAAAAAAAKo/OobnO1ZYPjY/s1600/1912-2.jpg)
Its semi-automatic function meant one cartridge was fired with each trigger pull and this action also cocked the weapon in succession. Internally, the Model 1912 operated from a recoil action and was fed through an 8-round integral magazine (stripper / charger clips holding the 9x23mm Steyr M12 cartridges in line). The gun acquitted itself quite well under the rigors of war time use. At the outbreak of World War 1, the Model 1912 was already in quantitative circulation and several foreign buyers emerged including the German Empire. The Model 1912 saw its birth in 1911 but was not introduced until 1914 and this with special Austro-Hungarian units before wider adaptation was witnessed.
![steyr mannlicher m1912 steyr mannlicher m1912](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/36yZHueEZLY/maxresdefault.jpg)
Designs from America and Italy would soon change the focus to semi-automatic types and many gun concerns followed. The Model 1912 was developed for Austro-Hungarian Army service at a time when the revolver was still globally entrenched as the primary military sidearm. As such, this pistol saw combat service in both World Wars. It was also adopted by the German Empire (and later Nazi Germany) which eventually employed it through a 9mm Luger (Parabellum) chambering instead. At its core, the Model 1912 was a sidearm of semi-automatic function chambered for the 9mm Steyr cartridge. The storied concern of Steyr-Mannlicher handled its design and production. The Steyr Model 1912 (also "Steyr-Hahn") was an Austro-Hungarian handgun appearing prior to World War 1 (1914-1918).