Where did "42" come from (in S/42 context)?

[GGG]

Hello,
that's an interesting theory. But it's wrong.

Under the Treaty of Versailles only a few companies were allowed to produce weapons, ammunition and equipment for the German Army and Police.

The only gun manufacturer was Simson & Co., located in Suhl/Thuringia.

To cover all the other illegal manufacturers, the government gave official letter codes to the legal companies, like "S" to Simsons (guns), "P" to Polte (ammunition), and so on.

The illegal companies used this letters to cover their production and added an secret number to them. So Mauser used the "S" for "Simson" and "42" as it's own number. The Allied controll commissions only noticed the "S" and thought that the manufacturer is Simson & Co.

With best wishes
Michael


Oh sorry, I haven't noticed the one post explaining the same ...