Editing Mauser C96 (section)

==Contract variants==
===1897 Turkish Army Mauser===
Mauser's first military contract was with the Ottoman government in 1897. They ordered 1,000 pistols for the royal palace guards. They had their own range of serial numbers, running from 1 to 1000. They differ in that they use a [[Farsi]] number system on the tangent sight and [[serial number]], and the weapon is designated in the [[Islamic calendar|Muslim calendar]] year number system "1314" in place of the year of the [[Gregorian calendar]] "1896/1897". Markings include a six-pointed star on both sides of the chamber and the crest of [[Abdul Hamid II|Sultan Abdul Hamid II]] (a trophy of crossed Turkish flags, various polearms, and a collection of his royal awards and honours) and the Muslim year "1314" on the square left rear frame panel. Under the sultan's rule, there was great concern about potential military coups, and most weapons were locked away in armories, including many of the C96 pistols. After the [[Young Turk Revolution|Young Turk Revolution of 1908-1909]], these pistols were issued to the army and police for service use. Some were used in combat in World War I, and after the war they were considered obsolete, being put up for sale cheaply to army or police officers. All of this meant that they saw a lot of use, much of in quite harsh conditions, and as a result few specimens survive today.

===1899 Italian Navy Mauser===
In 1899, the Italian government ordered Mauser's first major military contract; an order for 5,000 C96 pistols for the [[Regia Marina|Italian Royal Navy]].<ref name="skennerton8" /> They differ in that their receivers are "slab-sided" (i.e., lacked the milling on the sides found on commercial Mausers). They also have a "ring hammer" (spurless hammer with a hole through its head) instead of the early "cone hammer" (spurless hammer with ribbed cone-like projections on the sides of its head). These guns had their own serial number range, running from 1 to 5000.

===1910 Persian contract Mauser===
The Persian government ordered 1,000 pistols. They have the Persian government's "[[Lion and Sun]]" insignia on the rectangular milled panel on the left side of the receiver and the serial numbers range from 154000 to 154999. It is often confused with the Turkish contract Mauser.

===M1916 Austrian contract===
[[Austria-Hungary]] ordered 50,000 Mausers in the standard 7.63×25mm. A small number were rebarreled to [[8mm Gasser]] (8.11×27mm) for an unknown reason.<ref name="hungariae.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.hungariae.com/Maus96.htm |title=Mauser Model 1896 (C96) Pistol |website=Manowar's Hungarian Weapons & History |access-date=5 December 2014}}</ref>

===M1916 Prussian "Red 9"===
[[File:Mauser C96 M1916 Red 4.JPG|thumb|right|Mauser "Red 9" C96 with [[stripper clip]]]]

During World War I, the [[German Army (German Empire)|Imperial German Army]] contracted with Mauser for 150,000 C96 pistols chambered in [[9mm Parabellum]] to offset the slow production of the standard-issue [[Luger P08|DWM P.08]] pistol. They use the same clip-loaded internal box magazines as the 7.63mm Mauser and also hold ten rounds. This variant of the C96 was named the "Red 9" after a large number ''9'' burned into the grip panels and painted in red.<ref>Skennerton (2005), p. 5.</ref> (This was done to warn the pistols' users not to incorrectly load them with 7.63mm ammunition.) Because the army delegated the branding to unit armourers, not all 9mm pistols carry the nine. Of the 150,000 pistols commissioned, approximately 137,000 were delivered before the war ended.<ref name="1896mauser.com" /> Original 9mm pistols can be told from 7.63mm-to-9mm conversions because they have 9mm-rated sights (marked "50 m-500 m") rather than 7.63mm-rated sights (marked "50 m-800 m").

===M1920 French police contract===
The French government set up an order for 2,000 pistols with {{convert|99|mm|adj=on}} barrels for the [[Gendarmerie Nationale (France)|Gendarmerie Nationale]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forgottenweapons.com/french-gendarmerie-c96-a-german-pistol-for-the-occupation/|title = French Gendarmerie C96: A German Pistol for the Occupation|date = 20 April 2020}}</ref> The pistol has black [[ebonite]] grips rather than wooden ones.

===WW2 Luftwaffe contract===
The German government purchased 7,800 commercial M1930 pistols in 1940 for use by the [[Luftwaffe]]. They have [[Wehrmacht]] proof marks and the Mauser serial numbers come from the early- to mid-1930s. The weapon had ceased production in 1937 but the order was filled from remaining stocks. According to Kersten, Moll and Schmid, these were likely purchased by the high command of the armed forces and issued to motorcycle and flak crews of the Luftwaffe.