First Luger

[Don M]

Russell,

On April 16, 1945, U.S. forces of the 87th ID occupied Plauen before driving on to the Czech border. I don't know how long they were there but it is plausible that this pistol was "liberated" by a GI from a Plauen Schupoman before the Russians took over and that it never was in German military or Russian hands. I'm no expert on Russian-captured weapons but I believe that most of them have an "X" marking on them. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable on this will comment.

On the other hand, the removal of the sear safety may indicate otherwise. Since only the police used these devices, it may have been removed as a result of being pressed into German military service. I believe the Russians also removed sear safeties from the P08s they captured. As tacfoley says, "Enjoy wondering."

From looking at these and the other photos you sent me, it appears that the front grip strap either was not ground or else someone did a very good job of it. One more test is to remove one of the grips and look at the inside surface of the front grip strap. If it is a bit "lumpy," it would suggest that there had been a mark stamped on the front.

I am convinced that this gun is a genuine 5-digit commercial DWM -- what Jan Still calls a "20 DWM" in Weimar Lugers, pp. 12-18. It was probably manufactured in 1920 and was sold to the Saxon police, who added military-style serial numbers to the small parts. It was also property-stamped "1920." This makes me feel that the other "1920 dated" pistols listed in my posting above were very likely similar and don't belong in the same category with the others listed. I do feel the "1921 dated" Lugers with serial numbers 8XXXX and 8XXXXa are anomalies and the puzzle is unsolved for them.