My P08 Erfurt

[Ferdinand W.]

I wanted to show you 1 of my German pistols for comments and review.
I received this small-arm some 25 years ago from a farmer in the Luxembourg Ardennes.
It was left behind by a German officer in the tiny village of Schleif,
only a small grouping of 3 houses, 1 railroad station and a mill.
During the Battle of The Bulge, the little village and the woods around it were
occupied by all kinds of units, LW-Pioniere, LW-ground troops included.
Also Waffen-SS troops were in the lines and in the railroad-tunnels.
The pistol was lying in this mill, well hidden under the roof.
Now my questions :

-was it reblued between the 2 WW ?
-can it be determined which unit the officer belonged to, just by looking at the pistol´s markings !?
-is it probable that the pistol is from the Battle of The Bulge or could it have been placed there before WWII !?
The date(s) on the pistol show however that it cannot have been left there in WWI 1914-1918.

Thanks a lot in advance for any comments !

Ferdinand

[Ferdinand W.]

P08

#3 & #4

[Ferdinand W.]

P08

#5 & #6

[Ferdinand W.]

P08

#7 & #8

[Ferdinand W.]

P08

#9 & #10

[Ferdinand W.]

P08

#11 & #12

[Ferdinand W.]

P08

#13& #14

[Ferdinand W.]

P08

#15 & #16
the brown holster........

[Ferdinand W.]

P08

#17 & #18
holster

and also last pictures.

Thanks a lot in advance for your interest !


Ferdinand

[Johnny Peppers]

I would think the chances are very good that your P.08 has been reblued. It has had a hold open added, and the pin is blued over. The sear bar has also been altered, and quite possibly done at the same time the hold open was added. The 1920 is a Reichswehr era property stamp, and it appears to have been polished over.

The front grip strap markings date to pre-WWI, WWI or could be Reichswehr era, so that would not give any information as to issue during WWII. Can you make out the first part of the grip strap markings?

The left side stock marking, and the 27 top receiver marking are unusual, but I have no idea what they represent at this time. Nice holster. Is it marked under the flap in any way?

[Ferdinand W.]

I would think the chances are very good that your P.08 has been reblued. It has had a hold open added, and the pin is blued over. The sear bar has also been altered, and quite possibly done at the same time the hold open was added. The 1920 is a Reichswehr era property stamp, and it appears to have been polished over.

The front grip strap markings date to pre-WWI, WWI or could be Reichswehr era, so that would not give any information as to issue during WWII. Can you make out the first part of the grip strap markings?

The left side stock marking, and the 27 top receiver marking are unusual, but I have no idea what they represent at this time. Nice holster. Is it marked under the flap in any way?

Many thanks for your information ! If it was not issued during WWII, could it be that the officer always had it since WWI !?

I cannot make out the first letters or digits on the front grip strap.
I didn´t notice the markings under the flap, thanks for telling me to look there !

Here are 2 additional pictures.

Thanks again,


Ferdinand

[nolle47]

Ferdinand,

First that is a very nice Luger with History.
The 1920 mark means it has been used in the Weimar period.
If I where you I would post it on http://luger.gunboards.com/forum.php
There are some people there with a lot of Knowledge about lugers.

Brgds,

Nolle

[Johnny Peppers]

The 1920 is a Reichswehr property mark. At the end of WWI so many weapons had been stolen that the Reichswehr issued a new law in 1920 that all Germans had to turn in military weapons stolen during the war. The weapons were then marked with 1920 indicating they were the property of the Reichswehr, and if you were found with one so marked it was proof that it had been stolen. The 1920 property continued to be used after the year 1920 as some 1921 dated pistols also have the 1920 property stamp.

[nomadr]

I agree, post this on Jan's site. I would be very interested what the experts say about the lanyard? Original ones are very rare.

Johnny, what do you think?

Great rig with lots of history. Just the way I like to see them. Thanks for showing.

Bob

[ValhallaMilitaria]

This is the first time I have seen the lanyard mounted-great photos too.