Luger of the Month

Commemorative Arty with Studicatis sights

The picture shows a rare .30 Luger Mauser commemorative Arty. I have already spoken about this pistol in the May Luger of the Month. My interest today is show you the very rare sight mounted on the pistol. It is a rare Sudicatis Nocturnal Sight. This sight was made by the firm Ludw. Sudicatis & Co. The patent (DRP 306 347) is dated 13 February 1917. The item is composed of two components. Both use the visibility of Radium at night to collimate the rear and front sights. In the picture it is possible to see how the sight works. Only three Sudicatis have been reported in literature. You can find info on this sight both in the Gortz, Bender and Walter books. The sight is marked with Sudi and the serial number. There are some minor differences between the Sudicatis shown in the literature. According to Gortz, this is a consequence of the fact that the sight did not reach manufacturing level, but remained only prototyping status. I believe these are some of the first trials of light intensification technology for night firing. The following pictures are of the two other Sudicatis: This is the Studicatis in the Gortz book. This is the Studicatis in the Walters book. You can see that the Sudicatis in the picture is equal to the sight presented in the Walter’s book. Ciao Mauro

Photo Courtesy of Mauro Baudino