P38 question. S & F marks.

[P08]

Can P38 experts please let me know:


Did all P38s (and I mean ALL, Walther/Mauser/Spreewerke any year) have a white coloured S and a red coloured F in the slide behind the safety selector?


Yes or no?

[Undertaker]

I'd have to say No.

I have a CVQ 1945 version which has no colouring on the F or some white on the S. My AC44 P38 50## d hasn't any colouring on the F & S.

I'm fairly sure I've seen others with only white on the S but no red on the F.

Hope that helps

regards

[Jan Balcar]

I can answer your question only in Spreewerk production: Till the war ends all the pistols are painted with red & white. The girl who painted F and S letters is now age 84 and she lives in Hartau, Germany near Czech border some two miles from former Spreewerk factory in Grottau.

[P08]

Undertaker
Thanks, I too am inclined to believe that not all were coloured.

Jan
Thank you. I remember that you have worked hard to gain contact with all the previous workers from the Spreewerke P38 line. I really find that exciting and fascinating. You must have a ton of valuable notes from the former workers

[leondes]

Undertaker
Thanks, I too am inclined to believe that not all were coloured.

Hi P08,

Certainly, no one can know for sure about the painting of the "F" and "S" but here are my thoughts.

The German Military was very strict on it's requirements for firearms. I just can't believe that they would accept some with paint and some without. It just doesn't fit the picture I have of how firearms were made and inspected. Also, it is very easy to remove the paint with improper cleaning, especially when using strong solvents. I have done that myself.

Just food for thought.

Regards, Leon

[P08]

leondes

You have a point there. Actually it's my own P38 byf that made me wonder. It looks very original overall (matching numbers) and small damages here n there. Machining marks visible and all stamps very clear (byf stamp slightly double stamped by mistake). Blueing is quite similar all over. But the F & S are not coloured!

[R_Hessian]

Jan

I can answer your question only in Spreewerk production: Till the war ends all the pistols are painted with red & white. The girl who painted F and S letters is now age 84 and she lives in Hartau, Germany near Czech border some two miles from former Spreewerk factory in Grottau.

Jan,

You are a great member of this forum and are always more than willing to supply us with information unknown to many around the world.

Thank you for your hard work and time spent on Spreewerk production during the war.... have you considered writing a book?

Kind regards,
Robert

[Matt Weber]

First off, I don't believe this is a "yes" or "no" question.

Yes, I believe that the majority of P38s did originally have the S and F painted on them. Jan's statement certainly proves that Spreewerk did, and I'm sure Walther and Mauser most likely did the same.
After observing hundreds of P38s over the years, I would say the majority of them have this, or at least some traces of paint still in them.

However, I'm sure it is possible that some pistols were missed, and, as Leon stated, it's possible that the paint has been removed since the war, or even during the war.

Matt

[Bob in OH]

Personally, I think the original question (Were all F/S painted?) is just too inclusive and is tough to answer. As Leon said, who really knows. For example, what about all those mismatched ac45 guns that were assembled as cigarette guns (Did they get painted). I think a better question would be the more specific one: "Did my byf43 or byf44 most likely begin life with the F/S painted?". To that question, I think the answer is a resounding, Yes.

[P08]

Thanks for all your comments. Bob you're right, but I thought that maybe it was a general rule known by many, except by me. Thus the very narrow question.

So most likely my gun started life with painted S & F marks.

[paul a]

i have 3 mint unissued P38s ac42 painted number 6915e
cyq number4179j unpainted ac44 number5428 unpainted hope this helps but probably just confuses the issue more