Sauer & Sohn

J. P. Sauer und Sohn GmbH (Sauer & Sohn) is a manufacturer of firearms and machinery and is the oldest firearms manufacturer still active in Germany. The products of this company are frequently referred to as Sauer.

The first Sauer company was founded in 1751 by Lorenz Sauer in Suhl in the duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen, this locality being known as Waffenstadt Suhl in the past because of its many gunmakers. J.P. Sauer & Sohn is the oldest recorded gun maker in Germany. In 1815 Johann-Gottlob Sauer started managing the firm; in 1835 Johann Paul Sauer became manager. In 1840 that Johann Paul and his son, Lorenz Sauer created the new name and trademark of J.P. Sauer & Sohn.

In 1937 the Sauer 'Karabinerbau' is erected in Suhl. By 1938 about 1,450 employees are working for the company. With beginning of World War 2 Sauer & Sohn is manufacturing more military firearms again, after 1941 production serves the war effort almost exclusively. Next to Mauser the company 'Sauer & Sohn' became one of the most important manufacturers of the German standard rifle, the Karabiner 98k. Among the better known is the M30 Luftwaffe drilling, a survival gun for air crews. Meanwhile, the 'Maschinenkarabiner 42' (MKb 42) is developed by C. G. Haenel in the Suhl, and a competing model by Walther. It will become the 'Maschinenpistole 43' (MP 43) and later the Sturmgewehr 44 This weapon is manufactured in numbers by Sauer and other companies. Production will continue after the war for newly formed armed forces, e.g. the Volkspolizei of East Germany (DDR or GDR).

Of particular note is the company's Sauer 38H, the first mass-produced semi-automatic pistol to feature a cocking/de-cocking lever. It was a very advanced pocket pistol design made in .25 ACP, .32 ACP, and .380 ACP. It was adopted as German alternate standard as 'Modell 38' and was widely used by air and tank forces. Full length is 158.75mm, barrel length is 84 2/3mm, mass is 737.088g with a magazine capacity of eight. The action has a cocker/de-cocker lever that can control the concealed hammer. The handgun has a re-strike capability should the round in the chamber fail to fire on the first trigger pull.

At the end of World War II, the original Sauer company is located in what will become East Germany (GDR). In April 1945 the U.S. Army arrives in Suhl, in early July the area is ceded to the Soviet Red Army. The company assets were seized without compensation end of October. This was confirmed by the German Communists in 1948, Rolf-Dietrich Sauer moving to West Germany (later FRG). Hans Sauer is deported by the Soviet occupational government and never heard from again, he probably died in 1946. The machinery, as happened with most of the industrial companies that had been located in the Soviet Occupation Zone, was mostly dismantled and moved east. From 1946 to 1948, formerly independent companies in East Germany, or what was left of them, were restructured and finally merged into industrial conglomerates.

In Suhl the original J. P. Sauer und Sohn company (now renamed to VEB Fortuna), along with other former weapons manufacturers like Greifelt & Compagnie and Gebrüder Merkel, were merged into a group called VVB MEWA Suhl (MEWA short for 'Metallwaren' - metalwares, metal products), at first producing small machinery (e.g. typewriters and sewing machines) for the civilian market.

The former company C. G. Haenel (which had been renamed to VEB Ernst-Thälmann-Werk Suhl) is starting production again in 1948, by 1954 the Fortuna (ex Sauer & Sohn) and 'Merkel' plant parts were attached to the 'Thälmann Works' as 'Produktionsbereiche' (PB, production areas). Now hunting weapons, later also small calibre and sporting firearms and airguns are being manufactured again. The firm Simson & Co. (renamed VEB Fahrzeug und Gerätewerk Simson Suhl), first producing bicycles, then mopeds, motorbikes and also firearms, is included in the group. The weapons manufacturing is taken over by the 'Thälmann Works', until all companies mentioned are finally merged into the VEB Fahrzeug- und Jagdwaffenwerk "Ernst Thälmann" in 1968.

The well-known trademarks were also still being used by the GDR to sell products abroad until 1970. With all the companies being united, use of the trade names 'Sauer und Sohn (Suhl)', 'Fortuna (Suhl)', 'C. G. Haenel (Suhl)', 'Gebr. Merkel (Suhl)', and 'Simson (Suhl)' (the latter only for weapons, not vehicles) were dropped.