9mm Parabellum

From The D Archives

The 9 mm Parabellum pistol cartridge (9 x 19 mm Luger, 9 x 19 mm NATO) was introduced in 1902 by the German weapons manufacturer Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) for their Pistole Parabellum. It was a higher-power version of the earlier 7.65 mm Luger Parabellum, itself developed from an earlier 7.65 mm Borchardt cartridge. It is commonly known by the surname of the DWM engineer and firearms designer, Georg Luger, who was one of the primary people to work on the round and the pistol.

It is the most widespread pistol cartridge in the world. It also is widely used in a variety of pistol-caliber carbines by civilians, and has been the dominant submachine gun cartridge since World War II.

The name Parabellum is derived from the Latin: Si vis pacem, para bellum ("If you seek peace, prepare for war"), which was DWM's motto.