police. Even though there were no base specifications for the pistol, Steyr-Daimler-Puch - because of their relationship with Austrian armed forces - were well-informed of the properties that the army expected from a new service pistol. Thus, the company considered the pistol project as an “unofficial” development contract for the Austrian Armed Forces. The original design introduced numerous novel features never before combined in a handgun: double-action mechanism (without safety); a gas-bleed delayed-blowback system; fixed barrel (that theoretically yields greater accuracy); polygonal rifling; and a reduced number of working parts. During the development phase, the pistol was given the working designation "Pi 18", meant to refer to the magazine capacity of 18 rounds, which was above average for a handgun in the 1970s. When reintroduced in the 1980s, the name of the pistol was changed to the abbreviation "GB", from the term "GasBremse.“ The first working models were fielded by the Austrian armed forces in 1972. Although the military authorities were supportive of the pistol, the business negotiations fell short. The reason for this was due to Steyr simultaneously trying to market the MPi 69 submachine gun to the Austrian army, while also pushing the army to buy the stocks of Pi 18 alongside them. Steyr-Daimler-Puch and the Austrian army failed to reach an agreement and neither MPi 69 nor Pi 18 was purchased by the Austrian Army. This left both weapons in flux and discouraged Steyr from releasing the Pi 18 for the civilian market. The pistol received a handful of modifications before being reintroduced in 1981. Its trigger guard was altered to a more jagged look, with redesigned controls such as safety and slide release, as well as a Sterling-style crinkle-finish on the pistol frame. This was to make the pistol more contemporary for the 1980s markets and to differentiate it from Rogak P18, which closely followed the appearance of the original Pi 18. In certain markets, the pistol is also referred to as "GB-80". Plagiarism, ROGAK/L.E.S. P-18 In the mid-1970s, Steyr's then US representative Rogak, acquired the production documents for "Pi-18", the pre-series/prototype of the Steyr GB, from an unidentified Steyr manager. How, precisely, this was achieved remains undetermined. There was never an official licensing or related agreement for production between Rogak and Steyr. When asked about the matter by a trade journal in 1980, Steyr-Daimler-Puch said (quote) "at no time were there any agreements between Steyr