Bergmann Simplex
Produced by Bergmann
The Bergmann Simplex was a compact semi-automatic firearm produced in the early 1900s, utilizing innovations from the earlier Bergman Model 1896 and 1897 pistols, being essentially a down-scaled version of Model 1897. It was chambered for the proprietary Bergmann-Simplex 8mm cartridge, and did not have a locked breach. Although production began in 1897, the design itself was actually patented in 1901, with the gun beginning sales in 1901 as well. After a few copies were manufactured in Austria, its designs would be sold to an unidentified Belgian company in 1904. This Belgian company would manufacture 4,000 copies and would discontinue it, after the German aggression against Belgium in 1914. The Simplex proved popular in Spain, to a point it prompted local gunsmiths to start making counterfeit copies of the Simplex. The Simplex, while doing better commercially than its predecessor design, the Model 1896/1897 family, was still not a successful firearm. It was considered under-powered, cumbersome and developed a reputation for poor reliability. Additionally, it did not fare well against the other compact pistols in the market; particularly the FN-Browning designs.