The SIG P210 (Swiss Army designation Pistole 49, the civilian model was known as SP47/8 prior to 1957) is a locked breech self loading, semi-automatic pistol designed and manufactured in Neuhausen am Rheinfall (Canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerland) by SIG from 1948 to 2006.
It is of all-steel construction chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum and 7.65×21mm Parabellum. It was used from 1949 to 1975 by the Swiss Army and police units. It was also adopted and is still in service with the Military of Denmark (as M/49 Neuhausen or simply Neuhausen), in 1951 by the German Bundespolizei and in shooting sports.
The pistols were decommissioned by the Swiss Army and replaced by the SIG Sauer P220 (Swiss Army designation Pistole 75) developed in 1975. Swiss production of the P210 continued until 2006. A new model, the P210 Legend, was introduced by SIG Sauer GMBH of Germany in 2010, and another, the P210A, was introduced by SIG Sauer Inc. of New Hampshire in the United States in 2017. In 2022, Sig Sauer released the P210 Carry originally debuted at the 2010 Shot Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The P210 Carry is a pistol chambered in 9x19 Parabellum with a capacity of 8+1. The P210 Carry is lighter and smaller than the original P210 featuring an alloy frame and a 4.1 inch barrel instead of the 4.7 inch barrel on the original P210. It also differs because it has new additions such as the front slide serrations, the Nitron finish, and the black Hogue G10 grips, for a more aggressive and modern look.
History
The design was derived from Charles Petter's Modèle 1935A pistol. In 1937, Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG) acquired a license for the Petter-Browning system from SACM in order to develop a replacement for the Luger Parabellum 06/29, which had been in service since 1900. Apparently not satisfied with the Petter Browning design or the changes they had made to it, SIG evaluated no fewer than 11 prototypes from 1942 through 1944. Selbstladepistole Neuhausen model 44/16 pistol production began in 1944. Some of the original Petter Browning features had been retained, specifically the self-contained firing and recoil systems. The Neuhausen 44/16 had a magazine capacity of 16 rounds.
Development was slowed by the Second World War. After testing various experimental models (such as the aforementioned 44/16 with a double-column magazine), the 47/8 model was adopted in Oct 1948 as the Pistole Modell 1949 (P49), and SP47/8 for civilian market. Some previous series were tested by Swedish sport shooters and by the Danish army (Danish Defence designation Pistol M/1949).
The 47/8 model supported the easy change of the barrels between 7.65 and 9mm Parabellum and a kit to convert to .22 caliber (see table below).
SIG M/1949 is the 47/8 model purchased for the Danish military and issued version for officers, military police, and special forces, chambered in 9mm Luger. Usually called only Neuhausen in Denmark, this model is stamped "P m/49", and also known as "P210-DK". First issued beginning in 1950 to the Danish Army Technical Corps (stamped "HTK"), this remained the standard sidearm in the Danish military throughout 60 years of continuous use, since the 2010s being replaced with the SIG Sauer P320 X-5 Carry.
In 1957, the civil designation (SP47/8) was definitively changed to P210 according to the company nomenclature policy. Model P210-1 in retrospect covers all models produced until 1965, the designation P210-2 refers to the standard model as produced from 1966 (beginning with serial nr. P 59071).
P210-3 was a police version produced from 1951 to 1964 (serial nrs. P 6791 to P 6840 and P 8001 to P 8893), produced in limited numbers for the cantonal police forces of Basel, Lausanne, and Glarus, with a handful sold on the private market. P210-4 was the model made for the German border guard (serial nrs. D 1 to D 6500). P210-5 and P210-6 were civilian target shooting models made in the 1980s and 1990s. P210-7 was a rarely produced .22lr rimfire model, made in the 1950s and 1960s.
SIG was renamed to SIG Sauer upon acquisition by Sauer & Sohn in the 1970s, and to Swiss Arms in 2000. Swiss Arms continued production of the P210 for private customers until 2006. From 2010, a new model, dubbed P210 Legend was made by SIG Sauer, GMBH of Eckernförde, Germany. This model was exported to the USA until 2017, when SIG Sauer Inc. of New Hampshire began production of its own model, dubbed P210A, made in Exeter, N.H., offered in two versions, Standard (210A-9-B) and Target (210A-9-TGT).