Need help finding the identity of owner

[Josh Beckett]

I would like to find out the identity of a German soldier that my Grandpa got a rifle off him, do you have any suggestions as to where I should look? In any case it is a Dot 1944 sn 84922B.

[reidmuller]

Buy every soldbuch still in exitence and look through at the SN on the issue page if not there is no chance

[Josh Beckett]

Is there any records I could look through?

[Frank De Smedt]

Vince,

Honestly, it's a waste of time to look afther it.
The person would be at least 82 years old, with a little chance he still has his soldbuch an reading this message.

W k r

FRANK

[PZIV]

Good luck Josh, even if it does seem impossible!

[gew98]

Ok this may sound like a flame , but it's not. I know you are a beginner , but one of the many things you learn about german small arms in both workd wars was such records were not kept. Alot of this has to do with the german serial system and that when noted on some soldats papers the actual arsenal code was pretty much omitted. US veterans have remembered the serials of the weapons they used and it has been known that some guys actually found their former rifles at gunshops and such. About a decade ago or so a korean war veteran in the southwestern US went into a gunshop and lo and behold there was his Springfield M1 Garand he carried in the korean war. Slightly worse for wear and some south korean touches to it but it was the very same serielad rifle he had then. US military arms of a given type will not be found with duplicate serials - a much easier quest. Not so with german arms.

[r.blue]

Josh,
There are instances where handguns have been identified to a particular German individual. A rifle would almost be impossible.
R.Blue

[Josh Beckett]

Frank I dont think I could find the German soldat, because the rifle has battle damage and blood stains in the stock, and I have a picture of his body when my grandpa took it off of him, but I couldnt tell ya were he was at, I just know he fired an arty shell and it landed either on him or neer him, it has only a little chip in the stock but my grandpa used it for hunting after the war but luckily he was smart and didnt bubba it.