Nicolas Pieper Model AD
Etablissements Nicolas Pieper · Pistol · Discontinued
Also known as: Pieper Modele A.D., N. Pieper Model AD
Overview
The Nicolas Pieper Model AD is a blowback-operated semi-automatic pocket pistol built in Liege, Belgium by Etablissements Nicolas Pieper. It belongs to Pieper's lettered family of 'demontant' (hand-dismountable) and 'basculant' (tip-up barrel) automatic pistols (Models A, B, C, AD and D), whose barrels disengage from the frame to ease loading and cleaning. Like the related Model A it was offered chiefly in 7.65mm Browning (.32 ACP), with the smaller 6.35mm Browning (.25 ACP) also used across the range, feeding from a detachable box magazine and firing via a concealed striker. It is a scarce early-20th-century civilian self-defense pistol seldom documented outside specialist Belgian references.
Specifications
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Striker Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 275 m/s (902 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 175 J (129 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 25 m (27 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Slide Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 7.65x17mm Browning SR (.32 ACP) · primary — also known as .32 ACP, 7.65mm Browning
- .25 ACP — also known as 6.35x16mm Browning, 6.35mm Browning, .25 Auto
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety
- Features: Takedown Barrel, Concealed Striker, Fixed Sights, Pocket Pistol
Service history
Operators
- Civilian
Production
Limited production; part of Nicolas Pieper's lettered pocket-pistol series, rarely encountered today
Origin
Country of origin: Belgium
Designer: Nicolas Pieper
Notes
Part of the lettered 'demontant/basculant' series of Nicolas Pieper automatic pistols (A, B, C, AD, D) documented by the littlegun.be Liege gunmaker archive. Detailed dimensions for the Model AD specifically are not recorded in accessible references and are left null rather than estimated; the ballistic figures shown are for the 7.65mm Browning cartridge. Caliber attribution follows the closely related Model A, which is documented as a 7.65mm demontant pocket pistol.
Background
Nicolas Pieper, son of Liege arms magnate Henri Pieper, patented a family of 'take-apart' pocket automatics whose barrels either hinged up or pulled free by hand so a shooter could load and clean without tools - a selling point in an era when many buyers had never handled a self-loader before.