7.65mm Roth–Sauer

The 7.65mm Roth–Sauer is a centerfire cartridge resembling a shortened .32 ACP. Two self-loading pocket pistols were designed for this cartridge. One was manufactured by Roth-Sauer of Germany, and the other by Frommer of Hungary.^[1]

TypeSemi-automatic pistol

PlaceoforiginGermany, Hungary

WarsWorld War I

DesignerKarel Krnka

Quick facts Type, Place of origin ...

7.65mm Roth–Sauer
Roth-Sauer pistol
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Germany, Hungary
Service history
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designer	Karel Krnka
Designed	1901
Manufacturer	J.P. Sauer & Sohn[a]
Produced	1905 to 1910
No. built	approximately 4,000 units
Variants	Roth-Steyr M1907[b]
Specifications
Case type	Rimless, straight
Bullet diameter	.30 in (7.6 mm)
Neck diameter	.332 in (8.4 mm)
Base diameter	.335 in (8.5 mm)
Rim diameter	.335 in (8.5 mm)
Rim thickness	.043 in (1.1 mm)
Case length	0.51 in (13 mm)
Overall length	0.84 in (21 mm)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 71 gr (5 g) FMJ 820 ft/s (250 m/s) 106 ft⋅lbf (144 J)
Source: "Textbook of Automatic Pistols" [1]

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The Roth-Sauer pistol was named for its Austrian patentee Georg Roth, but was developed by Czech designer Karel Krnka. It was produced in small quantities (probably less than 3000) by J P Sauer & Sohn of Suhl in Germany during the early 1900s. It employed a notably complex long-recoil mechanism to fire a unique 7.65 x 13mm cartridge. It bears similarities to other designs by Krnka, the most famous of which was Roth-Steyr adopted for service by the Austro-Hungarian Army. The striker firing mechanism is also of interest, in that it foreshadows the system used in modern double-action striker-fired pistols such as the Glock.

The markings on some of the surviving pistols suggest that they were used by the Berlin police and also Landes polizei for the German colony of South West Africa.^[2]