Sauer & Sohn


J. P. Sauer und Sohn GmbH 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.

J. P. Sauer und Sohn

History

The first Sauer company was founded in 1751 by Lorenz Sauer in Suhl, Thuringia, Germany, 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.

Timeline (Highlights)

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' is becoming 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' is developed by C. G. Haenel in the Suhl, and a competing model by Walther. It will become the 'Maschinenpistole 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.

Sauer Modell 38H Pistol

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.

After World War II

At the end of World War II, the original Sauer company is located in what will become East Germany. In April 1945 the U.S. Army arrives in Suhl, in early July the area is ceded to the Soviets. The company assets were seized without compensation end of October. This is confirmed by Communists in 1948, Rolf Sauer will move to West Germany. Hans Sauer is deported by the Soviet occupational government and never heard from again, he probably dies in 1946. The machinery, as happened with most of the industrial companies that had been located in East Germany, was mostly dismantled and moved East. Beginning 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, along with other former weapons manufacturers like Greifelt & Compagnie and Gebrüder Merkel, were merged into a group called VVB MEWA Suhl, at first producing small machinery for the civilian market.

Nationalisation in East Germany

The former company C. G. Haenel is starting production again in 1948, by 1954 the Fortuna and 'Merkel' plant parts were attached to the 'Thälmann Works' as 'Produktionsbereiche'. Now hunting weapons, later also small calibre and sporting firearms and airguns are being manufactured again. The firm Simson & Co., first producing bicycles, then mopeds, motorbikes and also firearms, is included to 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 East Germany, e.g. to sell products abroad, until 1970 with the companies being united, the use of the trade names 'Sauer und Sohn ', 'Fortuna ', 'C. G. Haenel ', 'Gebr. Merkel ', and 'Simson ' were dropped.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and other Communist regimes in the Revolutions of 1989 the former East German companies like the Simson & Co. continued to manufacture products separately again, with changing ownerships, sometimes into the 2000s.

Sauer & Sohn in West Germany

In 1951, Rolf-Dietrich Sauer sold the rights of the name and trademark and formed a new enterprise with a partner in West Germany, first in Düsseldorf, and in 1952 the company was reestablished in Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein as J. P. Sauer & Sohn. Experienced workers from Suhl had joined, and the production of hunting firearms, and later pistols, was begun the same year. Export markets were a.o. Scandinavia and the US, Brasil and Pakistan. The company grew bigger soon, and employed over 400 people by the mid-1960s. In 1966 the Kompressorenfabrik Wilhelm Poppe in Kiel is taking over the 'J. P. Sauer & Sohn'. In 1968 'Wilhelm Poppe' merged with other companies into J. P. Sauer & Sohn Maschinenbau GmbH, mechanical engineering becoming a main branch of business. An independent company Sauer Getriebe KG is established in 1969 in Neumünster.
In 1972 Rolf-Dietrich Sauer died. In 1975 'Sauer Getriebe' took over plants in Aachen and Kiel from 'Sauer Maschinenbau', and in 1976 the 'J. P. Sauer & Sohn Maschinenbau' sold their hunting arms business in Eckernförde to the Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft, a company which had developed firearms from the 1860s onwards.

Sauer as Part of SIG

Swiss law of neutrality limits the ability of firearms manufacturers to export. Companies which wish to do so may be using a foreign partner. These restrictions prevented 'SIG' from exploiting a new design concept they had developed. The design resulted from the creation at that time of a new form of industrial production equipment, known as the "Automatic Screw Machine", which was introduced by the company. While 'SIG' had produced a very high quality handgun in their P210 model, it was also expensive to manufacture, required machining operations at high levels of precision. This produced a firearm that was known for its accuracy, but too expensive to be sold to a wider market.
Spurred by the necessity to partner with a foreign company in order to profit from their production machinery and the items it could produce 'SIG' chose the German firm of 'J. P. Sauer & Sohn'. In joining they also combined their expertise in firearms design. As a result, the SIG Sauer GmbH as small arms business was founded, the SAN SIG Arms AG as manufacturer being kept, and the SIG Sauer branch and brand name created. The declared goal was to expand market share and to be of international relevance in the small arms industry.
In 1985 the company SIGARMS, Inc. was established, to import and distribute firearms into the US market.
To satisfy the needs of Swiss military and police, a new handgun model was created by the SIG Sauer GmbH, which incorporated some features from the 'SIG P210' and 'Sauer Modell 38H', simplified for more efficient cost of construction on the new 'SIG' developed machinery. Result was a new type of action for a locked-breech semi-automatic pistol, with a new high quality smooth operating double/single-action trigger, a safe hammer lowering device, automatic firing pin block, and easy disassembly for cleaning. This new concept handgun was named SIG Sauer P220.
Prior to World War II, Sauer had been primarily a maker of shotguns and hunting rifles. During the war they produced a new handgun, the Sauer 38H, but afterwards withdraw from this market. The 'Sauer 38H' had been produced in competition with other German makers, such as 'Mauser' and 'Walther', at a time when new designs began to feature a double/single-action trigger.
With 'SIG' as their partner/owner, 'Sauer' returned to the business of manufacturing handguns. In 1975 the SIG Sauer line of handguns began with the SIG P220. The double-action trigger mechanism combined with advanced safety features, including the hammer lowering decocking lever, were contributed by 'Sauer' to the new P220 design.

Some Arms by SAN SIG Arms and SIG Sauer

The 'SIG' group originally operated diverse divisions, from packaging to railway cars, streetcars and bogies, automobiles to arms development and manufacturing. Their railway tech division was sold in 1995 to Fiat Ferroviaria, automation solutions and arms branches in 2000. Packaging technology is SIG's main business activity today.
In the late 1990s the Swiss arms industry as a whole faced a period of thorough restructuring. In the autumn of 2000 the firearms divisions of 'SIG', including their arms brand SIG Sauer, were sold to the Lüke & Ortmeier Gruppe. For some time renown names like 'Hämmerli', 'J. P. Sauer & Sohn', 'Blaser', 'Mauser' Jagdwaffen, and 'Kettner International GmbH' were consolidated under one roof by the 'Lüke & Ortmeier' holding.
The parts 'Lüke & Ortmeier' took over in 2000 from 'SIG' included:
Sauer & Sohn manufactured both handguns and long arms, including revolvers, semi-automatic pistols, rifles, and shotguns.
Firearms currently listed on the Sauer & Sohn German website:
Bolt-action Rifles:
Semi-Automatic Rifles
Double Rifles
Over/Under Shotguns
Side-by-Side Shotguns
The 'J. P. Sauer & Sohn GmbH' manufactured the Weatherby Mark V series of rifles.
The 'J. P. Sauer & Sohn Maschinenbau GmbH' produces high-pressure air and gas compressors.