Original Bulgarian WWII P08 Luger Black Leather Holster Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice Bulgarian WWII Issue holster for the legendary German P08 Luger Pistol. During WWII Bulgaria was one of many smaller countries that Allied itself with Germany, partly hoping of regaining territory lost during previous wars. They originally had been Neutral, but with the majority of their trade being related to Germany, including their arms supply, their nationalist leadership decided to formally join the Axis powers.

As they had been supplied by Germany since the WWI era, they utilized many of the same small arms, including the P-08 Luger. The holsters originally used had a full length front flap, secured by a leather strap through a loop near the bottom. As time went on they simplified the design, with a more standard size top flap, secured by a small strap over a front stud. This particular holster is very similar to one shown on page 77 of Luger Holsters and Accessories of the 20th Century by Eugene J. Bender. The book photo shows a separate flap for the magazine which was eliminated later in the war as it was considered somewhat redundant.

Condition of the holster is very good, and looks to have been brown leather, which was then dyed black. The inside of the top flap is stamped with WAFFENAMT SS 44, but this is almost certainly a spurious post-war addition. We have seen other examples of Bulgarian issue Luger holsters with the exact same marking. The leather is still supple, and the belt loop on the back is fully intact, as is all of the stitching we can see.

Ready to display or use!

The Pistole Parabellum—or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just Luger—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). The first production model was known as the Modell 1900 Parabellum. Followed by the “Marinepistole 1904” for the Imperial German Navy. The later versions included the popular “Parabellum Pistole Modell von 1908” or simply “P08” (Pistole 1908) which was produced by DWM and other manufacturers such as W+F Bern, Krieghoff, Simson, Mauser, and Vickers. The first Parabellum pistol was adopted by the Swiss army in May 1900. 1904 they were adopted by the German Navy. In German Army service, it was adopted in slightly modified form as the Pistole Modell 1908 (Pistole 08) in caliber 9×19mm Parabellum. The Model 08 was eventually succeeded by the Walther P38.

The Luger is well known from its use by Germans during World War I and World War II, along with the interwar Weimar Republic and the postwar East German Volkspolizei. The P.08 was introduced in 7.65mm Parabellum, though it is notable for being the pistol for which the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge was developed, also known as the 9×19mm Luger. The pistol has been used in fictional works by many villainous characters over the past several decades because of its association with AH’s Germany.