P-38 of General Gerhard von Schwerin, 90th Pzr-Gren Div

[bigschuss]

sneakered, I just reread the thread and spotted that Litchfield was in the 86th.

I got home from work and went through some of my files I still have from when I produced the film. Litchfield definitely has quite a resume in regards to skiing, the 10th Mountain, and ski history. He was on the Olympic Downhill Ski Team in the late 30's. He is mentioned by name and interviewed in Charles Sanders' The Boys of Winter: Life and Death in the US Ski Troops During the Second World War. I thought I might have his signature on one of the many entry forms for the downhill ski races in New England during the late 30's and 40's. But I couldn't find anything. All of his classmates are there. But he doesn't show up. Perhaps he was injured or perhaps the Olympic team didn't want him racing in these State and Eastern Championships. The only picture I have of him is in this 1938 Dartmouth Downhill Ski Team photo. He is pictured in good company.

First row: Dick Durrance, Warren Chivers, Tig Chamberlain, Jack Durrance

Standing: Ed Wells, Ed Meservey, Ted Hunter, Roland Chivers, Howie Chivers, Walter Prager, John Litchfield, and Harold Hillman

D. Durrance, W. Chivers, Hunter, and your man, Litchfield were all Olympic skiers.

[bigschuss]

Here's a close up. John Litchfield is the guy in the middle. The guy to the left is the coach, Walter Prager. The guy to the right is Harold Hillman. Hillman has a trail on Mt. Washington's Tuckerman's Ravine named after him (Hillman's Highway).

[bigschuss]

Prager also ended up in the 10th and besides also being a distinguished WWII vet and leader in the post-war ski industry out West, found himself on this famous Life Magazine cover.

[bigschuss]

That's an awesome pistol and a great story. As a 10th fanatic myself, I'm sitting here drooling in envy that you got to not only meet Litchfield, but purchase these pistols from him. I wouldn't care if that P-38 came from a private. The fact that you got it from a guy like this is just amazing!

If you're friendly enough with him to ask, I'd be curious to know if he ever skied or raced on the Thunderbolt Ski Trail on Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts. He'll know what it is.

Lastly, others may disagree, but I really hope you're going to shoot at least one clip through that P-38!

Best,
Blair

[sneakerd]

Blair,
I appreciate your contribution and interest. As to your questions and points. The mags seem perfectly strong on both the AC41 and the byf43. All four were FULLY loaded with Nazi-issue 9mm. According to Litchfield, they have been loaded since before he "captured" them! I have no doubt that they will feed and function perfectly. As to shooting it, I'll start by giving you an idea of my attitude. I have a 3rd-gen Colt SAA in 44-40 that I bought new about 12? years ago. For the first 2-3 years I was afraid to cock it or turn the cylinder. Then I read a long article in some gun rag about Elmer Keith's six-shooters. Soon thereafter I picked up a Colt catalog and was looking thru it. Found in the SAA section the words "Cocking and/or firing this gun may degrade it's value". I thought, "What would Elmer Keith think of this?". I went straight to the gun safe, grabbed that as-yet unturned 44-40 and proceeded to spin the cylinder and work the action. I have now put about 1,000 rounds thru that gun. It shoots perfectly to point of aim at the range. I was thinking of putting a few hundred rounds thru the AC41. Since I'm pretty sure the last man to fire it was Schwerin! The byf43 is just too new to use it. I just took a SVW46 to the range a couple of weeks ago. Put 200 rounds thru it, amazing accuracy. Easy bullseyes at 25-35 feet. I'm sure this one will do the same. As to holster storage. I think that is completely dependent on the tanning process. Cheap holsters probably bleed dye and/or moisture. These holsters were not flattened or crushed in any way, and I doubt that Litchfield took the time to store the pistols seperately and then make sure the holsters were carefully stored, etc. I didn't ask him how they were stored, but he did say that they had been in his closet, in a box, since the war. Something else about holsters, I not too long ago bought a cherry-mint Femaru P37 with 2 matching mags. Probably unfired. I also bought a original new condition Luft Akah drop holster for it, that had never had a pistol in it. I oiled that Femaru and put the pistol in the holster, wrapped it up tight and left it that way for a week or 2, to fit the holster to the gun. Now I can see in that once perfect blue where it was in the holster, as the blue very slightly dulled where it was in contact with the leather. So it really depends on the tanning/curing process IMHO.

[james m]

Ah The Thunderbolt! I was born and raised in North Adams and hiked up Mt Greylock to ski it when I was a teenager. You had to access the Thunderbolt thru the Notch as I remember? Also skied Tuckermans Ravine around the same time. However I spent most of my time sking at Dutch Hill. I used to post the carving from the Bascom Lodge,which sits atop of Mt. Greylock, fireplace mantle on another forum as my signature line. " As we journey thru life let us live along the way".

As far as firing these pistols I'd suggest the following procedure. Field strip,inspect and clean both of them before attempting to fire them. Leave the existing magazines as is as they are part of the history of the two pistols and buy or borrow two replacement magazines. Use current manufactured ammo which may or may not function well in these pistols. I have a P38 that runs fine with current 9mm but my Browning High Power will have none of it.
Jim

[robertdmountfor]

The photo on page 111 of Third Reich Lugers depicts Guderian (c. 1943) out in the field, equipped with a P.08.

A. Hitler's choice of personal sidearm was indeed the P38.

[bigschuss]

sneakered, thanks for the reply. Yes, I agree, storage, humidity, tanning quality, and other local factors all affect the condition. I'm glad you're going to shoot it. We are of like mind in that regard.

James, I'm from Adams. I, too, learned to ski at Dutch Hill. After the military and college, I found myself getting into backcountry skiing, taught myself to tele-mark, and having been skiing on the Thunderbolt every chance I get. I live in Savoy now.

You might like the film I produced. It's called Purple Mountain Majesty: A History of the Thunderbolt Ski Run. It's about an hour long, has old 8mm footage of the races in the 30's and 40's, interviews with the guys who raced back then and who then went on to fight in the 10th, and modern ski scenes. As a side note, more men from Adams enlisted in the 10th, per capita, than any other town in the U.S. during WWII. And the guy who wrote the book I mentioned earlier, saw my film and decided to write his book as a biography of one of the main 10th vets in my film (Rudy Konieczny). He later expanded it to include the biographies of three 10th Mountain boys from across the county. One of them, Jake Nunnenmacher, was also John Litchfields classmate at Dartmouth. He unfortunately was KIA in Italy. It was a small community of skiers/soldiers back then. No wonder why, to this day, they are a tight, but ever shrinking, group.

Sorry to hi-jack the thread a little, sneakered.

[sneakerd]

Schuss,
No worries. Now, I think he might get a kick out me asking him a few Q's for you about skiing. It might be a week or 2 before I would call him again, I don't want him to think I'm badgering him. But if I do, you should give me a couple of related questions for me to ask him, if he sounds interested in your initail question about that trail or run or whatever it was you mentioned already. Make sense?

[sneakerd]

Robert, I've never heard of a P38 being mentioned even in the same chapter of any book as Hitler. My understanding is that his personal pistol was a Walther PP.

[bigschuss]

Hello sneakered. From my experience with the 10th guys I interviewed, they all loved to talk about skiing in the 30's and the military. If he remembers the Thunderbolt Ski Run, I have a feeling he might like to talk. If so, I think I would only ask him if he ever raced on it. And if not, why? I don't see his name anywhere on the race entry lists, yet I see all of his classmates, even his fellow Olympians like Chivers and Durrance. And that blows my theory about the Olympic committee not wanting these guys to risk injury racing in these local amateur races.

If he'd like a copy of my film, I'd be happy to send a copy out to you. There's all kinds of footage of his classmates racing on the Thunderbolt. There's a neat story about our local farmboys from Adams whose goal it was to beat the "blue-bloods" from Dartmouth. Our local boys taught themselves to ski on the TB when they weren't working in the mills or on the farm. They formed a team and in 1939, led by the aforementioned Rudy Konieczny, they actually beat Dartmouth for the team trophy. They did it again in 1940. It makes for great local history....a bunch of high-school drop-out farm boys beating the "blue-blood" Olympians from Dartmouth.

I also address the role of the 10th during WWII in my film, so he might like that.

Let me know. And thanks for the offer to at least ask him.

Best,
Blair

[bigschuss]

One more anecdote that connects 10th Mountain, my home town of Adams, MA, and Colorado.

Bill Linscott was one of our hometown skiers who went on to serve in the 10th. He was shot in Italy after the Riva Ridge assault, and was stripped of all his gear by the medics. Fast forward 40 years. The 10th Mountain vets are in Italy for a 40th anniversary reunion. A few buddies of Linscott's are in the hills of an Italian village close to the battlefields they fought on, and they see an old Italian woman feeding her chickens with a U.S. issue GI canteen cup. They approach her and asked her to look at it. They turn it upside down, and inscribed on the bottom is "Bill Linscott."

The woman ended up giving it to the men, and that night his buddies called him up on stage and gave a big story about how the government was going to charge him a penalty fee for 40 years of unreturned US equipment. And they then gave him a box and he opened it and found the cup that he lost 40 years ago.

The story made the NY Times and Ripley's Believe it Or Not. And I'm pretty sure that cup is now on display at either the Denver Public Library or the Colorado Ski Museum. I'd love to see it sometime.

Like all of these 10th men, Bill was quite an impressive man. He won the Massachusetts Downhill Championship in 1942 at the age of 16. Sadly, like so many of these vets who we hold in high esteem, Bill passed away 4 years ago.

[sneakerd]

No problem at all, Blair. I have a feeling he'll be very interested in some of the stuff you brought up. Who knows, I may be able to get you 2 in contact direct, without me as the middleman!