Colonel Johann Adolf Furrer-Kägi was a Swiss military officer and engineer. He was the director of the former Swiss state arsenal, W+F Bern.
Biography[]
Furrer was born in November 1873 in Zürich. He enlisted as an officer in the Swiss Army and rose to the rank of Colonel. In 1921 he was appointed as head of the state small arms factory, Waffenfabrik Bern. He also worked to a lesser extent with SIG.
Furrer designed much of the Swiss Army's arsenal during the first half of the 20th century, including the K31 rifle, the M25 light machine gun, and the MP41 submachine gun. The latter gun was plagued with production issues that caused a great amount of trouble for the Swiss Army; Furrer's reputation was damaged by the debacle, as he had invested a lot in marketing the weapon for military adoption.
Many of Furrer's designs incorporated the toggle-lock mechanism popularized by the Luger P08. Even into the 1930s and 40s, when the toggle-lock system had significantly declined in popularity and had been replaced by much simpler designs, Furrer continued to utilize the mechanism in his guns.
After World War II, Furrer retired. He died in 1958 in Minusio, aged 84.
Designs[]
- M1919 - Submachine gun, 1919
- Flieger-Doppelpistole - Submachine gun, 1919
- M21 - Automatic rifle, 1921
- M25 - Light machine gun, 1925
- K31 - Bolt-action rifle, 1931
- M1939 - Submachine gun, 1939
- MP41 - Submachine gun, 1941
- Tb 41 - Anti-tank rifle, 1941
Gallery[]
