MP 40 with papers
 

I know it is not a Luger but I had the great luck of finding an MP40 with the capture papers and on a Treasury form 6 a while back so I decided I post a photo of the gun here.

Mark

Mark,
Wow, very nice fine. It doesn't get any better than that. Its what collectors dream about adding to their collections.

Best Regards,

Jeffrey

Mark, WOW! What a beauty. I have fired many rounds through one of these and they are a joy to shoot. Robust, accurate, never jam..you would think John Browning had a hand in designing them!
I would dearly love to find one of my own..

I have Russian capture parts from a parts kit for the bolt and recoil spring so I shoot it with the mismatched parts. I don't want to risk breaking a numbered part since the gun is all matched numbered. I figure you can't ruin the receiver and barrel shooting factory 115g rounds.

The gun was in the attic of a house since the vet brought it back so it was left alone for all those long years and in the exact configuration from the battle field. The sling was pretty dried out so I treated it with Connolly's Hide care but it is still not right. Too much high heat over the years which will never bring the leather back.

Mark

Mark..Yes..that's what I have shot..man hundred round boxes of Winchester white box! These are quite accurate offhand at 200 yards. I wouldn't want someone shooting at me with one! Fold out the stock and aim and at 400 yards they would make a squad dive for cover! The 9MM round is pretty effective shot out of an MP40.

What is the Form 6?
dju

A Treasury Form 6 was a pre 1968 form of Amnesty document. It was more than likely issued to the vet himself. I trust that you have transferred the MP40 from the Vet's estate to you via a current ATF/NFA Form 4.

Simply having the gun and the original form does not make your possesion legal.

You probably already know, but a Portuguese FBP bolt & recoil spring assembly will fit & work - Several other parts will work as well, although they might not look like MP40 parts [barrel]. The Parts Kits are fairly cheap on GB.

The gun is on a form 4 in my name. Originally they had only found the capture papers which is not an actual treasury form, then the form 6 dated 1946 turned up and I had no problem getting it on a form 4.

I wish I had known about the FBP kits before I bought my spare WWII parts!

Good News.

Yes, the following FBP parts are interchangeable with the MP40:
- Complete bolt and spring tube.
- Barrel w/two barrel half moon retainers
- Barrel Nut
- Barrel locking shim
- Front Sling mount
Sadly, the magazines are not interchangeable.
I made a suppressed barrel assembly for my MP40 once from a complete FBP unit.

The trunnion is the same also, but it is a bear to get apart from the receiver tube...It's brazed in place...

(The barrel in the pic is from a GB auction and shows a bayonet lug/sleeve on the barrel...most don't have the lug/sleeve)

My kit had no bayonet lug. The trunion is indeed similar, but as you said, difficult to make useful.
FBP kits were less than $50 dollars when they were first imported, until the MP40 spare parts connection was made. Today just the bolt and springtube can bring over $250-$300

Hmmm that's a little more than I paid for my bolt and spring tube :)

I wish we could have suppressed firearms in Massachusetts but they are not allowed. I suppose I should be happy we can own class 3 firearms with a special license issued by the State via the local PD. (That is in addition to having the form 4 approved by the chief)

Mark, cool, enough of a story for vol IV?

I am originally from WA state, no Class 3 is allowed...

Sure Ed!

I suppose we will never know how Major Kennedy got all the guns but the capture papers are dated 30 May 1945.

I have an Astra 900, P.38 and "Gestapo" pistol which is actually a Browning HP. They all have the same type capture papers.

Contact me via my private email and I'll send you 300 dpi photos.

Mark (at) P38guns (dot) com

Mark,
That's a nice find! Congratulations!
Impossible not to like the red-brownish bakelite handguard.
I still need to find one (for a good price) to pair with my M1A1 Thompson...
Douglas

I'm amazed that the Vet had the foresight to Amnesty a gun that was stuffed away in the trunk. All too many such weapons can never again see the light of day. A shame.
A very nice MP40!
dju

It looks like a mid war Erma or Haenel made MP40. Could you share the code and date from the back of the receiver?

It is an ayf43 with subcontracted parts.

The story from the vets wife was that Treasury agents visited his house after he returned from the war and spoke with Maj Kennedy. Since the form 6 is dated 1946 I suppose he registered the guns then? The form 6 is an application for the importation of firearms so it is a slightly different form from the 1968 amnesty registration. (My Thompson was on that form when I found it)

An Erma, (the original designers and manufacturers) made MP, produced in 1943.

You will often find parts made by fxo, (Haenel), cos, (Merz-Werke) and jvd, (Erste Nordbohemishe Metall) on any given MP40.

What's a bnz??? :confused:

Mark,

You are sure good with the camera.

BNZ>>>>>Mauser

Mark's prices for P-38 parts are quite reasonable as well. :D

bnz- Steyr-Daimler-Puch,AG Steyr,Austria, according to the code book.

Thanks guys ... here is another photo I took for the guys on the P38 Forum.

Check out the grip color on the P.38 and the MP40.

Correct. Mauser had nothing to do with MP40 production. Only 3 manufacturers were involved: Erma, Haenel and Steyr.

The phenolic grips on the P38 and the forend on the MP40 are essencially the same material. Really late war examples can even be seen with woodchip/sawdust filler in them to help stretch raw materials. The resting bar on your MP40 is a mid-late war pressed steel assembly, versus the early war fiber or aluminum units. Your MP40 also has a "type 2" two-slot barrel nut, versus the earlier six sided nut. I cannot see the top of the trunnion/chamber area, but I imagine there is a deep dimple, which is holding the trunnion into the receiver tube. There should be a corresponding dimple on the bottom of the tube as well.

The deep brown of your forend is from a different producer than the pistol grips. The difference in color does not seem to related to date, according to sources, but of who made the part. brown forends are common. Brown pistol grips are very rare. It is not unusual to see both colors on mid war guns, such as yours.

Did the pouches, belt and buckle come with the gun or are they reproductions? Too hard to tell from the photo.

No repros, they all came together, the sling was hard as a rock and all cracked so I didn't include it in the photo. The belt buckle was added for "window dressing" but is 100% original. The MP40 came with 7 mags, the pouches and loading tool with the sling.

Mark

Wasn't bnz also used by Mauser at one time?

Mauser used byf as their code during most of the war.

Mark, your extremely rare, matched, (left and right), tropical MP40 mag pouches are worth $800-$1,000 or more to today's collector. The magazines are going for $100-$150 each, depending on maker and condition. The mag loader, about $100.

I would personally buy a repro set of pouches, (about $30-$50 from several vendors) and put the originals away. Condition is everything to maintaining their value and keeping magazines in them will eventually wear through the bottom corners. The leather tabs and keepers will also suffer. Can you tell us the waaffenampt and maker code, which should be on the belt loops?

VERY nice find on a complete MP40 set.

If you still need an early resting bar, my friend Rich Urich is an MP40 Guru. I have sold many spare MP40 parts to Rich over the years and I know he has many spares of all types. Let me know if still interested.

Thanks Mark, that was what I was looking for with the MP40 and P.38 like that together. Very, very nice photo.