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M30 Luftwaffe Drilling
The M30 Luftwaffe Drilling ("Drilling" meaning "triplet") was a survival weapon issued to Luftwaffe pilots, primarily during the North Africa campaign. It was produced from 1941 to 1942 by JP Sauer & Sohn, based on a commercial version that had been marketed to hunters starting in 1930 (hence the name): it is thought that Hermann Goering's decision to order the weapon was influenced by his personal fondness for hunting. They were procured outside of normal military channels and so the military versions were made to the same standards of fit and finish as the commercial version, making the Drilling extremely expensive. The weapon has two hammerless shotgun barrels, with a single rifle barrel underneath, firing two 12 or 16 gauge shells (16 only seems to have been used on the commercial version) alongside a single 9.3x74mmR rifle round.
The mechanism for this is just as strange as the weapon itself: the M30 has two triggers and a sliding selector directly behind the lever for opening the breech. With the selector in the forward position, the 100m V-notch rear sight is raised and the forward trigger engaged. In this mode, the front trigger fires the rifle barrel while the rear trigger fires the left shotgun barrel, which is choked for slugs. Sliding the selector back retracts the rear sight, disables the front trigger and makes the rear trigger fire the right shotgun barrel, which is choked for birdshot (presumably intended to allow the device to be used for hunting). This odd setup allows the weapon to fire three shots without either opening the breech or lowering the weapon from the shoulder.
The Drilling was stored in an aluminium chest on board the aircraft, containing the weapon itself, a sling and cleaning kit, 20 rounds of soft-pointed 9.3x74mmR ammunition (which the airman could not legally fire at a human), 20 12-gauge slug shells and 25 12-gauge birdshot shells. The whole chest weighed 32 pounds, and was intended to be retrieved from the aircraft after it crashed rather than taken as the crew bailed out, thus making it the only survival weapon which faced a stiff challenge to its own survival. As a side note (and probably as a result), it is an extremely rare firearm (around 2,500 were produced) that is worth thousands of dollars even in poor condition.
Specifications
(1930s (commercial), 1941 - 1942 (military))
- Type: Survival weapon (combination shotgun / rifle)
- Caliber: 12 gauge (16 also used on commercial versions) / 9.3x74mmR (many other variants available)
- Weight: 7.5 lbs (3.4 kg)
- Length: 45 in (114.3 cm)
- Barrel length: 25 in (63.5 cm)
- Feed System: Break-Action
The M30 Luftwaffe Drilling and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Note | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forgotten Hope 2 | 12 Gauge | 2005 | |
| Sniper Elite 4 | M30 Drilling | "Lock and Load Weapons Pack" DLC | 2017 |
| Call of Duty: WWII | M30 Luftwaffe Drilling | 2017 |