Third Reich Revolvers?

[K98_1942]

Hello, do any of you know of any revolvers used by the Third Reich? I would have to assume that they waffenamp'ed at least a couple models into use, or maybe even produced one themselves.

Thanks.

[Norman Hamilton]

I have a pistol which I bought from a vet in 1980. He said he took it from a German prisoner in the Ruhr valley. It is a Webley Mk Vl, .455 cal. It was carried in a cut, ersatz leather, German flare pistol holster. I bought it along with two full boxes of Remington-Peters .45 Auto-Rim cartridges. The cylinder was faced off to accept this cartridge. All of the proof marks are visible. The cylinder has some facing marks that are very light. It was not turned but, appears to have been lightly and uniformly abraded by an abrasive paper. This is one of my favorite pieces. I paid $35 for this. The revolver has a 1917 date stamped on the top of the barrel. The vet told me, at that time, the Germans carried anything that would fling a bullet. I am happy to be the caretaker of this piece. NH....

[Aave Johns]

This is a quote from "Germany's Infantry Weapons 1939-45" by Terry Gander. A very good overview of the weapons most commonly used by the German soldier, common, captured and otherwise.

"One factor has to be emphasized regarding German pistols. They were nearly all automatics, that is to say, self-loaders as opposed to revolvers. The ingenuity and talent of German small-arms designers made them leaders in the design of practical automatic pistols, so that in Germany the revolver was regarded as obsolete for military purposes as early as 1908, if not before."

I think this is a pretty accurate comment. Certainly anyone who has an interest in the equipment carried by the German soldier of the Wehrmacht would be hard pressed to find photos of revolvers being used by frontline troops. I really can't recall ever seeing one in use in any photos now that I think about it. That is not to say that they were not used, toward the end of the war some of the most unlikely of weapons where utilised from the vast stores of captured ordnance from the previous five years of war. It is however unlikely that any were officially marked and accepted into combat use in any significant numbers, with exception to Volksturm units.
As the example above indicates, this was a case of immediate use of a captured weapon due to shortfalls in supply or no allocation to that soldier in the first instance.

One revolver that might have been encountered in some numbers, at least in the first year or so in Russia, would have been the Soviet Nagant 7.62mm revolver, which was given the German designation of 7.62mm R 612(r).

Regards;

Johnsy

[jacobtowne]

I agree with the previous post. German Ordnance assigned 600-series designations to all sorts of foreign handguns. That said, it is likely most were used at the rear echelon. Procurement of ammunition alone would limit their use.
Here's a list, which may or may not be complete.


Foreign-Made Revolvers Classified by German Ordnance
<o =""></o>
<st1:country-region><st1 ="">FRANCE</st1></st1:country-region>
Revolver 634 (f) (ex "Revolver Eibar) Spanish copy of S&W M&P 8mm
Revolver 635 (f) Spanish made copy of S&W 8mm
Revolver 636 (f) French contract, Spanish copy of Colt revolver 8mm
Revolver 637 (f) French 1892 Ordnance revolver 8mm
Revolver 654 (f) French 1873 and 1874 revolvers, 11mm<o =""></o><o =""></o>
<st1:country-region><st1 ="">
GREAT BRITAIN</st1></st1:country-region> <o =""></o>
Revolver 646 (e) (ex British No. 2 Mk. I) caliber .38
Revolver 655 (e) (ex British Webley No. 1 Mk. VI) caliber .45<o =""></o>
<o =""></o>
<st1:country-region><st1 ="">GREECE</st1></st1:country-region> <o =""></o>
Revolver 612 (g) Greek Nagant 1895 7.62mm
Revolver 613 (g) Greek Nagant 1912 7.62mm
Revolver 648 (g) Greek contract Colt Official Police .38 spl
Revolver 649 (g) Greek contract S&W M&P .38 sp<o =""></o>
<o =""></o><st1:country-region><st1 ="">
ITALY</st1></st1:country-region><o =""></o>
Revolver 680 (i) Italian revolver Model 1889 10.35mm
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
<!--[endif]--><o =""></o><st1:country-region><st1 ="">NETHERLANDS</st1></st1:country-region><o =""></o>
Revolver 643 (h) Dutch service revolver Model 1912 9.4mm
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
<st1:country-region><st1 ="">NORWAY</st1></st1:country-region> <o =""></o>
Revolver 610 (n) Ex Norwegian M/1893 Nagant caliber 7.5mm<o =""></o><o =""></o>
<o =""></o><st1:country-region><st1 ="">
POLAND</st1></st1:country-region><o =""></o>
Revolver 612 (p) (ex Polish M95 Nagant revolver) caliber 7.62mm<o =""></o>
<o =""></o>
SOVIET <st1 ="">UNION</st1><o =""></o>
Revolver 612 (r) (ex Russian M95 Nagant revolver) caliber 7.62mm<o =""></o>
<o =""></o>
<st1:country-region><st1 ="">U.S.</st1></st1:country-region> <o =""></o>
Revolver 661 (a) (ex American Colt M1917) caliber .45
Revolver 662 (a) (ex American S & W M1917) caliber .45<o =""></o>
<o =""></o>
JT

How do I cha nge the color of t he type to white?

Got it.

[K98_1942]

So the Soviet Nagant 7.62mm revolver was indeed carried by troops late in the war in some small numbers then? Interesting... can I assume that these were not given acceptance stamps by the Germans?

[jacobtowne]

So the Soviet Nagant 7.62mm revolver was indeed carried by troops late in the war in some small numbers then? Interesting... can I assume that these were not given acceptance stamps by the Germans?

I doubt that many German troops carried Nagant revolvers in WWII. WWI perhaps, battlefield pickups. On the other hand, it's possible that some German enlisted men on the Eastern Front acquired some and carried them, but that is speculation.

The Nagant, to the best of my knowledge (which is always subject to review), would not have been given an Ordnance acceptance, or WaA, stamp.

I cannot say why the Heereswaffenamt felt compelled to assign a 600 designation to every foreign made military handgun used in Europe.

JT

[Bill Grist]

Revolvers

Here is a French M92 Revolver brought home by a 101st.. Abn. Vet.. There is also a picture of a German Guard at Colditz Prison with one of the French M92 Revolvers on his belt.. BIll

[Bill Grist]

Colditz

Colditz NCO Guard with M92 French Revolver.............

[Bill Grist]

Webley and Enfield

The Germans also put to use Captured Enfield and Webley Revolvers in .380 Revolver cal.. They even modified 9mm Luger rounds to be shot in the Captured revolvers...BILL

[SvenWittnebel]

Kennblätter fremden Geräts, Heft 1, Handwaffen, 20.3.41, D50/1

Page 8, examples for the designations of foreign weapons and other prizes:


French chemical protection suit M38:

Gasanzug 351 (f) (dreiteilig) - 351 38 (f) (as prize), 351 38 fCh (as piece used by the WH)
Jacke 351 38 (f) 1
Hose 351 38 (f) 2
Handschuhe 351 38 (f) 3

15,5 cm Kanone 418 (f) - 418 05 (f)/418 05 fA
---frz. GPF---
Rohr mit Verschlu******223; 418 05 (f) 1
Rohr 418 05 (f) 2
Verschlu******223; 418 05 (f) 3


Kennbl******228;tter fremden Ger******228;ts:

D 50/1 Handwaffen
D 50/2 Maschinengewehre
D 50/3 Werfer
D 50/4 Leichte Gesch******252;tze
D 50/5 Schwere Gesch******252;tze
D 50/6 Schwerste Gesch******252;tze
D 50/7 Beobachtungs- und Vermessungsger******228;t
D 50/8a Munition bis 3,6cm
D 50 8b Munition ab 3,7 cm
D 50/9 Nahkampf-, Spreng- und Z******252;ndmittel und Tarnmittel
D 50/10 Gasschutzger******228;t
D 50/11 Allgemeines Heeresger******228;t
D 50/12 Kraftfahrzeuge
D 50/13 Nachrichtenger******228;t
D 50/14 Pionierger******228;t
D 50/15 Eisenbahnpionierger******228;t

I got only the first one:

...GREAT BRITAIN
...
Revolver 655 (e) (ex British Webley No. 1 Mk. VI) caliber .45...

Revolver No 1, Mk VI - Revolver 665 (e), Patronen Englische Revolverpatrone Kaliber 0,455 inch

...I cannot say why the Heereswaffenamt felt compelled to assign a 600 designation to every foreign made military handgun used in Europe...

[JoeW]

The RSHA experimented with silencers on the Nagant revolver. In additions, quantities of Allied revolvers were acquired by the RSHA from compromised drops made to the Underground in Holland and France. These weapons were stored in the RSHA Arsenal at Rauscha.

[Mauser HSc]

Herman Goerring was carrying a revolver when he was captured in 1945. You can see it on the BBC series World At War.

Heinz Hohne's book "History of the SS" describes revolvers being used in the killing of Ernst Roehm and by Otto Skorzeny during the Nazi staged coup d'etat in Hungary.

[K98_1942]

Now the only question is what models were they? Any idea?