Luger P-08 39/42

[Imperialgunner]

Hello - I'm looking for a little help or guidance. I recently came across what I consider a once in a lifetime find. It is a Mauser Luger P-08 39/42 - all matching serial numbers, 90%+, '39 dated correct holster and 2 serialized matching magazines. I'm trying to see if there is a place somewhere that does research...I'd like to see if I can find out who this gun may have been issued to. Does anyone know of any such service...you'd think that somewhere in Germany there are records of who the guns were issued to? Thanks in advance.

Rob F.

[bodes]

Hello - I'm looking for a little help or guidance. I recently came across what I consider a once in a lifetime find. It is a Mauser Luger P-08 39/42 - all matching serial numbers, 90%+, '39 dated correct holster and 2 serialized matching magazines. I'm trying to see if there is a place somewhere that does research...I'd like to see if I can find out who this gun may have been issued to. Does anyone know of any such service...you'd think that somewhere in Germany there are records of who the guns were issued to? Thanks in advance.

Rob F.

I doubt such a data base exists, but if your lucky to have an uncommon German name inked inside the holster....German soldiers would have had some information listed in their personal paperwork (i.e. Solduch) that would denote items they were issued....Generally this was vague and would list like P-08 with a four digit serial number....So right away one can see, pistols could have numerous hits w/o a letter suffix...Add to that, what are the chances you'd find a Soldbuch with your exact four digit serial entry?....So, I would say forget trying to find out who the pistol was issued out to...Bodes

[Imperialgunner]

I doubt such a data base exists, but if your lucky to have an uncommon German name inked inside the holster....German soldiers would have had some information listed in their personal paperwork (i.e. Solduch) that would denote items they were issued....Generally this was vague and would list like P-08 with a four digit serial number....So right away one can see, pistols could have numerous hits w/o a letter suffix...Add to that, what are the chances you'd find a Soldbuch with your exact four digit serial entry?....So, I would say forget trying to find out who the pistol was issued out to...Bodes

Hey Bodes thank you for the info. Nothing in the holster that we could see. I guess that kind of surprises me about the records. But thought it was worth asking. Oh well.

Rob F.

[bodes]

If any such list existed during the war, chances are good it was lost when Germany was being flattened by aerial bombing....Bodes

[phild]

As stated, unless there is a name (even that is difficult and maybe impossible) it is impossible to trace a German weapon to the soldier or officer who carried it. There never was a central record of this and even at the low unit level where issue was recorded, the weapon maker and year was not recorded and we all know that most serial numbers even with letter suffixes were used over many times so the serial number is NOT a unique identifier without maker and year. This is not a “German” problem as the same is true with US firearms. Generally a weapons card at unit level is the only record and these were made by the tens of millions over the decades and are not not retained much less archived.

[shootrj2003]

I have seen a list of weapons issued at what appeared to be squad level,however to find the right list would be a miracle,even in a fully functioning Germany,where record keeping was quite ,uh..forgive me-. anal? However in the wartorn bombed over wreckage after WW2 ?Any likely piece of paper was used either for cigarettes,hygienic purposes,or to start a fire if. Not already burned,way down last on the list was recordkeeping.