Luger help

[rqs]

I visited my uncle this summer and he showed me his Luger he obtained in WWII and wondered if I could come up with any info on it and the holster. He was a bomber pilot and he traded 2 packs of cigarettes to an Arab for it so it does not come with any great "I took it off a dead German Officer story". I was not expecting to see it so I did not have a camera to take pictures, so I hope with my description you can tell me month/year, who made it and the same with the holster, or any info that can be obtained. He lives 2,000 miles away so I would not be able to go back and get any either for awhile. I would say that he took very good care of it and gun and holster rates at least 98-99% finish. So the Luger has these numbers and letters on it: 5795, 41, BYF, the #'s 655 under the eagle. All parts are marked with the correct #'s. It is a nice color blue with wood checkered grips. The holster is light brown color with these marks: cdq, 40, P08. Thank you for any info you can supply.

[Steve Flanagan]

Luger

Your Luger is a Mauser manufactured in 1941 and very desireable in condition stated. Hard to do better job without photos,,,Holster could add as much as $200 or more,,,one or two matching mags would add much more.

[Rylan]

It was made in 1941 by Mauser. "byf" is the code for Mauser. The 655 WaA (WaffenAmt) markings mean that it was probably made earlier in 1941, without knowing the suffix letter (the letter below the serial number on the frame) it is hard to say what month it was made.

That's about all I can tell you about the Luger without seeing pictures, sounds nice, any chance he may give it to you some day? Wish I had family member who had cool stuff like that to show me.

[Douglas Jr.]

Is there a spare magazine? If so and if both magazines are numbered to the gun (i.e. matching) then it would be a HIGHLY sought after collectable Luger.
But, as stated above, even if it does not, it is already a great Luger.

Douglas.

[rqs]

Thank you guys for your response's. There are two magazines, but I just cannot remember if they had serial numbers matching or if they had serial #'s at all. Just do not remember. I wrote all the numbers down and I do not remember a letter suffix being there, and I was aware that they could have one. Could this be correct, that it did not have one, or did I just miss it. The tool in the holster was there. Is there any info that can be obtained from the holster marks. I would think that the "40" meant made in 1940, and the P08 means Luger holster, but does the cdq tell who made it? Is the strap that hangs down inside the holster there to keep the barrel from hitting the bottom of the holster? Will I get it, I don't know. I have let him know I would be interested for about 40 years now. Never really saw it until this year. It could have been "buck fever", but it really was like brand new, both gun and holster. I may get back next year so I will definitely take a camera. Thank you again for your help.
One other thing. He had some of the original ammo and although I did not look at the headstamp, the bullet itself (projectile) was colored black. Does that have any significance to anything? Just wondering.

[Alan Smith]

Sounds like an interesting gun. You mention that your grandfather acquired it in trade from some Arabs. Thus, I assume he was flying out of North Africa? If so, then I think it would be fair to say that the pistol originated from the German AfrikaCorps.

What unit was your grandfather in? Where was he stationed when he acquired the P.08?

I've got a similar P.08 with AfrikaCorps history, having been found in a bombed out house in Tunisia by a P.40 pilot who was "exploring" the area around his temporary airfield out in the desert.

Just a suggstion: you ought to document your grandfather's service history and all details of the when, where and how he acquired the pistol, as such information will be meaningful to you in the future as well as to other collectors in acquire the gun after your time as custodian of it expires. Also, if I were you I would take some nice photos of your grandfather holding the gun.

Good luck!

[Douglas Jr.]

Is there any info that can be obtained from the holster marks. I would think that the "40" meant made in 1940, and the P08 means Luger holster, but does the cdq tell who made it? Is the strap that hangs down inside the holster there to keep the barrel from hitting the bottom of the holster? Will I get it, I don't know.

The "cdq" is the manufacturer code used by Theodor Bergmann u. Co., Waffen- u. Munitionsfabrik, Bernau plant, Berlin. 1940 is the holster's date of production.
You can check here: http://www.gunsworld.com/g_cod_c-e_us.html

The strap inside the holster is used to pull the pistol out of the holster but, if remember correctly, it lays in front of the trigger guard.

Greetings,

Douglas

[rqs]

Douglas thank you very much for the info and the link.

Alan yes he flew out of North Africa. B-26's and the unit escapes me right now, but he has everything documented. Still attends the reunions. Thanks for your suggestions. It was my uncle by the way, not my grandfather.