Key Takeaways:
- The Korth semi-automatic pistol was never a compromise design: From its materials to its locking system, the pistol reflects the same obsessive standards that defined Korth revolvers. It was engineered without regard for production efficiency, cost reduction, or institutional convenience, only mechanical integrity and longevity.
- Prototype No. 005 represents a complete, functional endpoint, not an experiment: Despite its prototype status, No. 005 underwent extensive testing, demonstrated exceptional durability, and showed virtually no measurable wear even after heavy use. Its performance suggests the design had already matured, even if broader adoption never followed.
- The pistol’s rarity is the result of philosophy, not failure: Delayed timelines, limited numbers, and eventual withdrawal from formal programs were outcomes of Korth’s refusal to dilute standards. In hindsight, this places the early Korth semi-automatic pistols in a narrow historical category: technically successful, commercially indifferent, and historically irreplaceable.
Willi Korth publicly presented his newly developed semi-automatic pistol at the International Weapons Exhibition (IWA) in Nuremberg in 1982. While the design generated interest at the time, commercial production did not commence until several years later, with the first series of pistols delivered by the successor company in 1989.
The mid-1970s had already established the technical foundation for the pistol. Precision-machined steel components intended for prototype construction were completed well in advance, and the core mechanical concepts had been finalized. Korth initially planned to submit the pistol for consideration in a German police and military service pistol program. Still, the first fully functional prototype was not completed within the required timeframe.
Design and Mechanical Concept
The pistol was conceived as a double-action/single-action semi-automatic firearm. Its locking system used a rigid barrel combined with a swinging locking-lug mechanism, setting it apart from the then-standard tilting-barrel designs. Particular emphasis was placed on mechanical simplicity; aside from springs, the trigger system used only a few moving parts.
Material selection followed the same uncompromising standards associated with Korth revolvers. High-grade steels were used throughout, and critical components underwent surface-hardening treatments that produced exceptional durability, high surface hardness, and significant tensile strength.
The barrel assembly, including chamber and transition geometry, was produced from a specialized steel blank using forging or cold-hammering methods. This process resulted in a highly compacted and polished chamber surface. Rather than incorporating a sharply defined transition cone, the projectile was guided directly into the rifling lands, minimizing gas loss at ignition. The barrel blank measured approximately 260 mm in length and had a diameter of about 23 mm in the barrel section.
Prototype No. 005
Among the earliest completed pistols were internal prototypes numbered 003, 004, and 005. These examples were photographed in early 1982 and served as visual material for exhibition and documentation purposes. Prototype 005 was the first fully completed pistol in the series and served as the reference example for subsequent development.
The pistol was chambered in 9×19 mm Parabellum and configured as a combat-oriented model with a 10-round magazine. Two barrel configurations existed: a standard-length barrel and an extended version produced later. The extended barrel had originally been intended for a different prototype and was not finished when it surfaced.
Sighting System
The standard configuration featured a front sight machined integrally with the barrel sleeve, while the extended barrel used a separate front sight attachment at the muzzle. The rear sight was mounted in the slide using a spring-loaded retention system and allowed only lateral adjustment. Vertical adjustment was not provided on the combat configuration.
This combat sight arrangement appeared only on a limited number of early prototypes and was not carried forward unchanged into later production pistols. A patent application covering elements of the sighting and locking system was filed in early 1982, published in 1983, and later withdrawn.
Markings and Grips
Manufacturer markings were etched on the left side of the slide. Unlike the round emblem used on Korth revolvers, the pistol emblem featured a flattened profile. The full manufacturer name was spelled out adjacent to the symbol, followed by the caliber designation. Minor inconsistencies in engraving quality are visible on early examples, consistent with prototype-level production.
Grip panels were made from oiled walnut and featured finely cut texturing. A separate walnut palm swell was inset at the rear of the grip frame to enhance handling and control.
Serial numbers were applied to the right side of the frame near the trigger guard, using a consistent format across the earliest prototypes of the series.
Testing, Performance, and Durability
Prototype 005 underwent extensive firing and endurance testing during development. Contemporary accounts indicate exceptionally high round counts were fired over short testing periods. Despite this, observable wear remained minimal. Light burnishing was visible on the grip frame in areas of repeated hand contact, while only slight polishing of locking surfaces could be detected under magnification.
Barrel wear was effectively negligible, with no measurable loss of accuracy or reliability. Even after extensive testing, the pistol exhibited a tight lock-up with virtually no detectable play. Based on these results, the design demonstrated exceptional durability, with service-life expectations extending well into the six-figure range.
Function testing showed reliable feeding from full magazines, including the initial cartridges, an area where many contemporary designs encountered difficulties. Minor sight adjustments were required due to differences in the sight heights between sport and combat.
Later History
Prototype 005 became the most frequently illustrated example in publications covering Korth pistols for many years. Even in later reference works published well after the prototype period, it was still shown as a representative example of Korth’s semi-automatic development.
An extended barrel associated with the early prototype program later surfaced among components retained from Willi Korth’s estate. Although originally intended for a different pistol, the owner ultimately fitted and finished it.
Legacy and Significance
Although the Korth semi-automatic pistol never achieved the commercial footprint of its revolvers, Prototype No. 005 stands as a clear expression of Willi Korth’s design philosophy at its most uncompromising. It was not conceived as a mass-service sidearm, nor as a cost-driven product, but as a technical exercise in durability, precision, and mechanical restraint.
The pistol’s delayed production, limited numbers, and prototype-heavy development history reflect the realities of its time rather than any design deficiency. In many respects, it was simply too exacting, too labor-intensive, and too indifferent to production economies to align with the procurement trends of the late Cold War era.
Today, the early Korth semi-automatic prototypes, particularly No. 005, occupy a unique place in firearms history. They bridge the gap between Korth’s legendary revolver craftsmanship and a largely unexplored semi-automatic lineage that might have been. As surviving artifacts, they offer rare insight into an alternative path of German precision gunmaking, one where longevity and mechanical integrity were pursued without compromise, even when practicality suggested otherwise.
In that sense, the Korth semi-automatic pistol remains not an unfinished project, but a complete statement, quiet, exacting, and unmistakably Korth.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Although it was initially intended for consideration in German police and military service trials, the first fully functional prototype was not completed within the required submission window. As a result, the pistol was never formally evaluated or adopted by any service branch.
Only a small number of early prototypes are documented, with internal designations including 003, 004, and 005. Among these, Prototype No. 005 is the most complete and best documented example, serving as the reference model for later development.
Although the design and many precision-machined components were completed earlier, the transition from prototype to series production was delayed due to organizational changes and the transfer of responsibilities to a successor company. Series pistols were not delivered until 1989.
Unlike the tilting-barrel systems standard at the time, the Korth pistol used a rigid barrel combined with a swinging locking-lug mechanism. This approach prioritized consistency in lock-up and long-term mechanical stability rather than ease of manufacture.
Willi Korth approached the pistol with the same philosophy used in his revolvers: durability was non-negotiable. High-grade steels and surface-hardening treatments were selected to minimize wear, maintain tight tolerances, and extend service life well beyond conventional expectations.
