My DDR Firearms

[Roy Queen]

I thought that I would share with you a couple of handguns in my collection. One is a 1961 East German produced Makarov. The other is an East German produced P08 which began life as a 1936 Mauser produced P08.

Hope you enjoy the picture.

[byf]

Very nice pieces. I did not know that the DDR rebuilt Lugers. It makes sense. I always thought the East Germans were the best gun makers in the Warsaw Pact. Looks like you prove my point. Thanks for the pics.

byf

[Paul R]

Nice weapons, Roy! Were all of the P08's original markings removed?

I have also seen pics of the East German Border Guard armed with StG44s well into the 1950s!

I have a special interest in weapons that were re-issued to different nations. I remember seeing an Isreali K-98 with both Isreali and German WW2 markings both present. In my opinion, it only adds to the history of the piece. Wars did not end with the close of WW2, and these weapons relfect this fact. I still wish I would have bought that rifle as it was very inexpensive at the time.

I do have a Soviet SVT40 that is stamped with the Finnish capture mark of, "SA".

Regards

Paul

[Roy Queen]

Thank you for your kind words, guys! Paul, the WWII markings have been left intact on my P08, but since it was a 1936 piece, rather than having the nazi style waffenampt stamped on it, it has three Wiemar style eagles stamped on it. Actually, the give away to it being a DDR rebuild is the replacement barrel. It has an imperial style crown over N proof mark stamped directly underneath the barrel. Prior to WWII, I understand that this same stamp was also used by German arms manufacturers, but was dropped either by mid 1930s or early 1940s. As far as Luger barrels go, I understand that the original barrels were also stamped with the serial number, whereas the DDR replacement barrels were not.

Speaking about Finnish capture SVT-40 rifles, there was one sold in my area recently that fetched around $600.00. They, or for that matter, all military surplus arms are not getting any cheaper.

[David C]

Hi guys I'm kinda new around here so I hope that linking to another forum is ok.

Paul, if you want to see a DDR rework with 'some' markings on it check out mine posted on the WAF.

clicky

Cheers,

David.

EDIT: Ah I just noticed that you've already seen it - oh well.

Edited October 3, 2005 by David C

[Paul R]

Hi David!

Welcome to the forum! It is great to see you here.

You know, when I saw this thread I immediately thought of that P08 of yours! It is a true beauty! Do you still have it?

I look forward to seeing you around!!

Regards

Paul

[David C]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the welcome. It looks like I was a little slow finding this place but now I'm here I think I'll enjoy it. Yes I still have the P08 - I'm one of those collectors who just can't part with 'anything' - It's a curse I think I have a handle on now .

Cheers,

David.

[Paul R]

That was the same problem I had until recently. I swore that I would never part with anything.

Well... as a result of getting married soon, I have no extra funds to buy new things at this time. I have been coming across some really cool and rare items. The only way for me to get them was to sell of some of the items outside my primary fields of interest. Once I sold a few things... I realized it is kinda fun to watch what my items bring in. It is also a real plus to be able to get a few "once in a lifetime" items as well.