Enough to make a Collector Weep!

[james m]

[HENRY BUCKI]

seen this posted before. looks like he would have picked one up that didnt have a bent barrel ,did you notice the barrel?

[bodes]

Broomhandles, Lugers, and a snail drum for an artillery Luger.....That drum is one of the items I'd be grabbing....That pile appears to be ready to be melted down as none have their wood hardware still on.....Bodes

[1933 FORD NUT]

May as well grab the LP.08 directly above the word " and " in the top line at the level of his left foot . It doesn't look bent .

Broomhandles, Lugers, and a snail drum for an artillery Luger.....That drum is one of the items I'd be grabbing....That pile appears to be ready to be melted down as none have their wood hardware still on.....Bodes

[pitfighter]

My bad eyes can pick out two Reichsrevolver, too.

I have a feeling quite a few firearms were not handed over.

[MikeP]

Pic has been around for eons.
I believe they already were burnt-no wood in evidence..

I have a Drilling and a mint C96 rig from vets.
They were taken from German civilians on the way to hand them in as directed.

The pieces handed in and not taken by GIs were burnt and buried or scrapped.

The Germans were pretty docile at wars end.

[HENRY BUCKI]

so how old is this photo? ww1 or ww2

[ErichS]

I can't make out any Walther pistols in the pile.

[nomadr]

WWI for sure. I can even see a couple flare pistols. But no MGs?

Bob

[Coalhillbill]

Probably saving them for the next war

While in Germany in 55 to 57 I was in a Combat Engineer outfit. (Actually an expendable demolition outfit) Stationed in Regensburg. Our targets were the bridges and dams on the Danube between Regensburg and Passau. With our company detachments located in Straubing , Deggendorf and Passau.
At the time I was the company HQ Motorpool dispatcher and secondary parts orderer. Our Ordnance Parts Depot was located in Straubing. I averaged at least two runs a month to pick up parts.
One day, at the Depot ,while waiting to get my order filled one of the mechanics showed me a Chrome Plated P38 he had just picked up in town. It was about the worst beat up one I had ever seen. I could see where it had been really cleaned up before it was plated. Lots of deep pits still showing and grips were barely salvageable. I asked what the story was on it. Said it came up from the Danube river. Seems that at the end of the war the confiscated weapons were taken out on the bridge and dumped in. He said that for 20 DM's (At the time equal to $5 US) some of the local kids would dive down and bring you up a pistol . Mostly P38's or O8's.
So the in thing at the time was to get them cleaned up and Chrome plated for wall hangers.
I often wondered how many of the most desirable guns, turned in , ever got into the river. Or what might still be down there.

[ValhallaMilitaria]

While in Germany in 55 to 57 I was in a Combat Engineer outfit. (Actually an expendable demolition outfit) Stationed in Regensburg. Our targets were the bridges and dams on the Danube between Regensburg and Passau. With our company detachments located in Straubing , Deggendorf and Passau.
At the time I was the company HQ Motorpool dispatcher and secondary parts orderer. Our Ordnance Parts Depot was located in Straubing. I averaged at least two runs a month to pick up parts.
One day, at the Depot ,while waiting to get my order filled one of the mechanics showed me a Chrome Plated P38 he had just picked up in town. It was about the worst beat up one I had ever seen. I could see where it had been really cleaned up before it was plated. Lots of deep pits still showing and grips were barely salvageable. I asked what the story was on it. Said it came up from the Danube river. Seems that at the end of the war the confiscated weapons were taken out on the bridge and dumped in. He said that for 20 DM's (At the time equal to $5 US) some of the local kids would dive down and bring you up a pistol . Mostly P38's or O8's.
So the in thing at the time was to get them cleaned up and Chrome plated for wall hangers.
I often wondered how many of the most desirable guns, turned in , ever got into the river. Or what might still be down there.

Great story-thanks for sharing!

[bodes]

While in Germany in 55 to 57 I was in a Combat Engineer outfit. (Actually an expendable demolition outfit) Stationed in Regensburg. Our targets were the bridges and dams on the Danube between Regensburg and Passau. With our company detachments located in Straubing , Deggendorf and Passau.
At the time I was the company HQ Motorpool dispatcher and secondary parts orderer. Our Ordnance Parts Depot was located in Straubing. I averaged at least two runs a month to pick up parts.
One day, at the Depot ,while waiting to get my order filled one of the mechanics showed me a Chrome Plated P38 he had just picked up in town. It was about the worst beat up one I had ever seen. I could see where it had been really cleaned up before it was plated. Lots of deep pits still showing and grips were barely salvageable. I asked what the story was on it. Said it came up from the Danube river. Seems that at the end of the war the confiscated weapons were taken out on the bridge and dumped in. He said that for 20 DM's (At the time equal to $5 US) some of the local kids would dive down and bring you up a pistol . Mostly P38's or O8's.
So the in thing at the time was to get them cleaned up and Chrome plated for wall hangers.
I often wondered how many of the most desirable guns, turned in , ever got into the river. Or what might still be down there.

Yeah, I know a guy who was in the tail end of WW2 and did some occupation duty....He told me about the loads of German rifles also being dumped into the Danube river....He said it was both amazing and sad at the same time....Bodes

[Memyselfni]

Answer to Henry's question

so how old is this photo? ww1 or ww2

Caption says according to the Versailles Treaty.. That would make it WW1