Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Despite being an unorthodox, but lasting handgun, the long-recoiling Frommer Stop semi-automatic pistol had a design that was unconventional in its operation. The brainchild of designer Rudolf Frommer, it was first adopted by the Austro-Hungarian military in 1912 and went on to see widespread use by Hungarian armed forces through both World War I and World War II. Instead of traditional blowback action, however, this gun had a complex mechanism in which the 6.5-inch barrel and bolt moved backward using their separate springs after each shot. In addition to allowing unique cartridges chambered such as proprietary 7.65mm and 9mm with more punch than .32 ACP or .380 ACP from a magazine holding only seven rounds. With its length of over half a foot and weighing in at twenty-two ounces when not loaded, it certainly wasn’t light. The Frommer Stop pistol faced criticisms due to its complexity involving long-recoil for underpowered pistol cartridges; notwithstanding, it stood the test of time. It also did not take off due to the experimental ‘machine pistol’ type introduced briefly in 1917. Nevertheless, carbine variants with ten-inch barrels having fifteen-round magazines become more applicable. Thus throughout decades of Hungary’s armed forces and law enforcement agencies have proven themselves worthy of this oddball stop design by Frommer that proved robust like no other.
“Manufacturer: Feg Fegyvergyar
Model: Frommer Stop
Type: Pistol
Gauge: 7.65 mm
Barrel: 4 inch round
Finish: blue
Grip: plastic”
Lot 256: Hungarian Feg Frommer Stop Semi-Automatic Pistol. (n.d.-e). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved May 27, 2024, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/2076/256/hungarian-feg-frommer-stop-semiautomatic-pistol.
