secret services were also interested in the GB, including the Ministry for State Security of the DDR, which procured around 100 pieces from the USA. The West German Federal Office for Defense Technology and Procurement (predecessor of Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support) also bought 10 pieces. However, none of these smaller contracts were able to compensate for failing to procure the Austrian and US military contracts. Steyr GB, Legacy While much appreciated by users trained in and familiar with the weapon, and well received by customers who understood the mechanism, which was intended to result in a robust, accurate, reliable, and functional weapon when used with standard military (full metal jacket) ammunition, the anticipated civilian sales remained low while major official (police) sales never materialized: between the American military's selection of the Beretta 92F, coupled with European military and police forces' selection of the competing SIG-Sauer (P226 full-size and P228 compact high-capacity pistols—the latter adopted by the US Army as the M11) led to a cessation of manufacture of the Steyr GB in November 25, 1988 after a total production of between 15,000 and 20,000 pistols—most of them commercial models. In the firearms book Schützenwaffen, its collaborative writers arrive to the following conclusion about Steyr GB: The case of "Steyr GB" shows that it is not just the performance that determines the success of a weapon. Time of launch, negative as well as positive side effects, political and economic context as well as inadequacies in marketing are more likely to determine whether a weapon is successful on the market or not. 937 of the military models were exported to the United States. Users : Police forces : Police forces See also Arsenal P-M02—another pistol using the Barnitzke system Heckler & Koch P7—another pistol using the Barnitzke system Walther CCP-another pistol using the Barnitzke system Grossfuss Sturmgewehr—using the Horn system, more efficient than Barnitzke's References 9mm Parabellum semi-automatic pistols Semi-automatic pistols of Austria Steyr semi-automatic pistols Gas-delayed blowback firearms