The Roth-Steyr M1907, or, more accurately Roth-Krnka M.7 was a semi-automatic pistol issued to the Austro-Hungarian Kaiserliche und Koenigliche Armee cavalry during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. It was the first adoption of semi-automatic service pistol by a land army of major power.

Mechanism

The Roth-Steyr pistol fires from an unusual style of locked breech. The bolt is very long. Its rear end is solid, except for a sleeve for the striker, but its front part is hollow and fits tightly over the barrel. The interior of the bolt has cam grooves cut into it, and the barrel has studs which fit into the grooves. When the pistol is fired, the barrel and bolt recoil together within the hollow receiver for about 0.5 inch. During this operation, the grooves in the bolt cause the barrel to turn 90 degrees, after which it is held while the bolt continued to the rear, cocking the action as it does so. For safety with intended use by mounted cavalry, the pistol has a heavy trigger pull against the firing striker spring similar to a hammerless revolver.

The Roth-Steyr is a locked-breech pistol, which allows the barrel and bolt to recoil together within a hollow receiver. It is chambered for a cartridge specific to this model. The Roth-Steyr does not have a detachable magazine, but features a fixed magazine loaded from the top with stripper clip

Stripper clip

A stripper clip or charger is a speedloader that holds several cartridges together in a single unit for easier loading of a firearm's magazine. A stripper clip is used only for loading the magazine and is not necessary for the firearm to function...

s. The sights are fixed, the grips are wooden and terminate in a lanyard

Lanyard

A lanyard is a rope or cord exclusively worn around the neck or wrist to carry something. Usually it is used where there is a risk of losing the object or to ensure it is visible at all times. Aboard a ship, it may refer to a piece of rigging used to secure objects...

 ring. Rifling is 4 grooves with right-hand twist.

Production and distribution

The pistol was developed by the Czech designer Karel Krnka, working for an ammunition company of Georg Roth, from an earlier design of Roth-Theodorovic pistol. After development and tests of several prototypes, the final version of the Roth-Krnka won a contest for an Army pistol in 1906, and was adapted as a standard gun of Austro-Hungarian Army as: Repetierpistole M.7. (self-loading pistol M1907). Since Roth had no weapon production capabilities, the government bought all the rights and ordered production in the Österreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft

Steyr Mannlicher

Steyr Mannlicher is a firearms manufacturer based in the city of Steyr, Austria. Originally a part of the Steyr-Daimler-Puch manufacturing conglomerate, it became independent when the conglomerate was broken in 1990.-History:...

(OEWG) in Steyr

Steyr

Steyr is a town, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Steyr and Enns. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and simultaneously the 3rd largest town in Upper Austria....

 and FEG in Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

. From 1908 to 1914, approximately 99,000 weapons were manufactured (the Army received 59,334 from Steyr and 38,213 from FEG, plus several hundreds were sold in civilian market). Despite common name for the pistol Roth-Steyr, Steyr works didn't participate in its design, apart from minor improvements. Following the dissolution of Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

, the Roth-Steyr was fielded by Yugoslavia, with limited use during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 by Austrians and Hungarians. Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 received a number of pistols as World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

reparations from Austria-Hungary, and these pistols were used by Italian troops during World War II. They were used also in Czechoslovakia and Poland.