Haenel 55R pistol project now finished at last

[ccdjg]

About three months ago I started a build project on the Haenel 55R air pistol, for the simple reason that I wanted one for my collection and they are so rare that a copy would be the best I could ever hope for. For those of you who have never heard of this pistol an example (one of only three in existence) is shown in Danny’s Airgun Gallery here https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....rt-modell-55r/

After three months of ups and downs I have now managed to finish the project it and this is a short account of how things went and my impressions of the pistol.

The inventor of the LP55R was Erich Leyh, employee of the state owned East German company ETW, which took over manufacture of Haenel air guns after the war, and the design was patented in 1954. The pistol almost went into production twice, once in 1955 and again in the early 1960’s but for some reason in both instances it never quite made it and only a few test examples were made, of which just three examples seem to have survived. However, recently a stash of component parts has been discovered languishing somewhere in a German warehouse.
The pistol is a repeating overlever spring air pistol designed in the Luger tradition, like the Haenel 28, and the repeating mechanism is based on Hugo Schmeisser’s system that was used in the pre-war bolt action Haenel 33 air rifle.


I had no idea if I would be able to bring the project to a successful conclusion as it was one of the most complicated I had tackled but nothing ventured nothing gained. The main features of the LP55R which needed to be included in my reproduction are summarised on the following patent drawing.




The original gun was made of steel and aluminium. The one-piece barrel /cylinder unit is made of steel, and the main frame of aluminium. These were the principal starting materials I used for the basic construction - 16mm thick aluminium slab, precision steel tubing, round and square mild steel bar.




By far the hardest part was surprisingly enough the cocking lever with its moulded shape and forked side arms. On the original gun it was made in one piece from pressed sheet steel but I had no way of duplicating this in the workshop. After a few aborted efforts I ended up making it in two parts. The top arm was milled from steel bar, and the side arms made from bent sheet steel, the two components being fixed together by a combination of brazing and riveting.






The forked cocking lever principle was also used on the Haenel IVM 50 air rifle (see the Gallery, https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....fle/#post-3614)


The piston also proved a bit tricky as for the repeater mechanism to work it has an air feed tube attached to the piston head which is a sliding fit within the barrel. Correct alignment of this exactly with the breech and with the pellet inlet is critical for pellet feed to work smoothly and to avoid air loss. Exactly the same air feed system was used in the Haenel 100 air pistol. Construction of the piston is shown in the following pictures with the Haenel 100 piston for comparison.




The LP55R shoots 4.4mm round shot only and the pellets are fed from a spring loaded magazine that clips below the frame. I was fortunate enough to be able to buy three original period Haenel magazines off eGun. As these are exactly what was used on the original pistols this added an air of authenticity to my project. In the following picture the smaller magazines hold 6 balls and the larger one holds 12. They are very easy to load with the ball shot, and the magazines can be clipped in and out of the pistol very quickly.






The front and rear sights are adjustable vertically. The rear sight was based on one of the Haenel rear sight designs used on their rifles and is adjustable by a knurled screw. I am indebted to Danny Garvin and John Atkins for providing me with pictures of Haenel rear sights so that I could make a suitable example for the pistol.






Lettering was put on the gun prior to bluing and makes it clear that this is a reproduction and not an original.





The pistol was finished by bluing the steel components and anodising the aluminium frame. I had the choice of dyeing the anodised frame black or leaving it silver, and both options would have been correct, as two of the known examples are silver and the third is black dyed. I rather liked the two- tone look so I opted for the silver finish. The grip plates were cut from a block of American walnut and chequered to match the pattern on the original pistols.

Unusually for me I decided to make a case for the pistol, mainly because a home was needed for the spare magazines, and also because I had put so much effort into this project I wanted to protect the pistol and indulge myself with a bit of bling at the same time So a cheap battered mahogany cutlery box was bought off the internet, sanded down, varnished and fitted out to take the gun and its accessories. Here are some pictures of the final pistol and its case:


















So how does it perform? All I can say is great! The power is a bit low (I get what the makers claimed, about 200 fps with 4.4mm lead ball), but this is made up for by the ease of cocking and the faultless, fast repeater mechanism. Definitely a fun plinker and you can get through an amazing amount of ammunition in a short time without realising it. Fortunately it can be recycled several times if you have a soft target.

The special features work well. For example the cocking lever can be flipped up from its catch straight into a position comfortable for cocking thanks to the eccentric lever pivot hole. The automatic anti-bear trap works fine, ensuring the trigger is disconnected from the sear at all positions of the cocking lever except when it is clipped back home. The indexed manual safety gives the extra security needed for all repeating guns.

It is hefty gun, larger even than the Haenel 28, but not too heavy thanks to the aluminium frame. I can only assume that it never made it into production because of the likely high cost of manufacture and the fact that it fired round ball shot only, meaning it could never be a contender as a serious target pistol. Nevertheless it is now one of my favourite fun shooters, and it looks good and feels great as well.

As a collection item, yes ,it is only a reproduction but it fits in nicely in with the rest of the Haenel family of Luger-type air pistols.
So all in all, a very difficult and challenging project, but now one of my firm favourites.

If anyone has any questions I would be very happy to try to answer them. And if anyone fancies making one of these pistols for themselves I would be happy to provide more details.

[Benelli B76]

Absolutely gorgeous, a real labour of love, if not art to us believers. You must have well equipped workshop. Don't worry about the power output, all the Haenel pistols I have worked on are the same, unimpressive. If fact I would say the cheaper 26 is the best performer of them all. The rifles are a different kettle of fish for power efficiency.

Baz

[45flint]

Amazing work, thanks for sharing all the detail.

[nige346]

WOW, Loved reading this and the finished item is simply stunning, you sir are a true craftsman,

[45flint]

I actually think these early makers got it right by not being that concerned about power. These were all just quality made short range fun pistols that felt like firearms. The quest for power ruins a lot of wonderful attributes these had.

[micky2]

What a great labour of love, you have my admiration for taking on a project like that. it must be so satisfying when at the end it all turns out just as you planed. but l must say l still prefair the 28 for looks.

[Garvin]

John that's a magnificent achievement! You should be very proud. Thanks for sharing the pics and description.

It's an attractive gun, and strangely fits well among these classic prewar Haenel pistols, even though they were designed in another age and place.

I can believe it's great fun to shoot!

[draitzer]

John, this is a true masterwork - your dedication and ability once again bowl me over. The fact that it actually works well is a testament to both you and the inventor. Congratulations indeed!

Don R.

[colin57]

That looks fantastic, you are indeed a true craftsman!

[Garvin]

Am I right in thinking the moving air feed tube sticking out of the piston imparts a forward momentum directly to the ball, with an air burst following on behind?

If so, where in the barrel is the ball when the air drives it forward, or does this all happen so fast it's viertually simultaneous?

[averageplinker]

Brilliant, just bloody brilliant!

[ccdjg]

Am I right in thinking the moving air feed tube sticking out of the piston imparts a forward momentum directly to the ball, with an air burst following on behind?

If so, where in the barrel is the ball when the air drives it forward, or does this all happen so fast it's viertually simultaneous?

An interesting tricky question Danny, and one that you can only really guess at. This is my take on it:

The repeater principle works as follows: In the cocked state there is a ball in the barrel held in place by the pressure of the ball behind it from the magazine. The ball is resting against the end of the air tube. When the gun is fired, the air tube pushes the ball past the ammo’ feed hole in the side of the barrel and seals the hole against air loss. The ball is then accelerated forward by the mechanical thrust of the air tube as the piston picks up speed. I imagine that the compressed air in the cylinder will not have built up enough pressure to have much effect on the ball until the piston is nearing the end of its stroke, when it will then rapidly accelerate the ball, which is already travelling as fast as the piston, along the rest of the barrel. So the two effects add together, but when the one effect takes over from the other is anyone’s guess.

I am currently experimenting with varying the internal diameter of the air tube and increasing the strength of the main spring to see what happens.

[Leonardj]

Awesome workmanship, John.
As has already been stated, truly a masterpiece.

[cinedux]

A scientist and an artist-a rare and wonderful combination!Trev

[dvd]

An interesting tricky question Danny, and one that you can only really guess at. This is my take on it:

The repeater principle works as follows: In the cocked state there is a ball in the barrel held in place by the pressure of the ball behind it from the magazine. The ball is resting against the end of the air tube. When the gun is fired, the air tube pushes the ball past the ammoÂ’ feed hole in the side of the barrel and seals the hole against air loss. The ball is then accelerated forward by the mechanical thrust of the air tube as the piston picks up speed. I imagine that the compressed air in the cylinder will not have built up enough pressure to have much effect on the ball until the piston is nearing the end of its stroke, when it will then rapidly accelerate the ball, which is already travelling as fast as the piston, along the rest of the barrel. So the two effects add together, but when the one effect takes over from the other is anyoneÂ’s guess.

I am currently experimenting with varying the internal diameter of the air tube and increasing the strength of the main spring to see what happens.

First of all, well done for the very good reproduction of what is undoubtedly one of the rarest airguns and one that is full of mechanical innovations while still managing to look really good.

I think that experimenting with the air tube might yield some interesting results .
If I understand the concept well, the internal volume of the hollow tube that pushes the ball forwards at piston speed is dead volume which drastically reduces the efficiency of the pressure raised by the piston seal. If that is the case, then most of the balls final velocity is imparted to it by the mechanical thrust of the spring driven air-tube.
So, decreasing the internal volume of the air tube should have the added benefit of increasing the velocity of the pressurised air behind the ball.
I do not consider balls as being very good at effecting a good seal with the bore because they do not flare into the rifling like waisted lead pellets. So that could also be a major limiting factor for ball shooting airguns.
But as has been said its not about the power they make, its more about the craft and thought that went into creating them.