1941 P08 Mauser Found
 

In remarkably well-preserved state, by my good friend Jan. ALong with other items, this was in an MG ammunition box. Will post the P08 only here. No graves or battlefields were dug, found on private property. Thanks for looking.
http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/p1010010.jpg
http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/p1010011.jpg
http://www.lugerforum.com/
http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/p1010013.jpg

Hey Joseph....That is an interesting find.....how did it look once it was cleaned up??...

My friend is in the process of cleaning it as we speak. Wrapped in part of a zeltbahn. I know he has already removed the magazine with ease, it is a 1941 dated Luger with the Mauser Banner on the top. Ammunition was marked RM B 43. Hopefully more pics tonight, thanks for looking!
Joe

joesf, way too cool!

after pictures please mein herren!

Ed

...and a bit of the back story, too!!

--Dwight

That is amazing!!!!! josef, I'd love to see pics as your friend cleans it up - if that's possible? Also - pictures of all the items you have unearthed..

These are like a "time capsule" - and I'm fascinated... Simply outstanding!

John D.

Thanks Gentlemen! I am so glad to see my friend Jan has joined this great forum, so I am certain he will be posting soon. I will post my finds over the years in another topic, as this one belongs to Jan. I think his camera is pooched, so hopefully he can get some pics out soon. A true time capsule indeed! Thanks for looking Gentlemen.

Simply amazing josef... Congrats to Jan for his find.

I can't wait to see the photos of the gun cleaned up... if all that black stuff is grease or congealed oil as I suspect, the gun may be in remarkable condition after all these years...

Where was it found?

Thanks Gentlemen, Jan emailed me these pics this morning of the initial disassembly of the Luger, I forgot to ask if it is still coated in grease, but he will clean it up and send more pics.
http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/lugerfindjan2.jpg

And the next one.
http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/lugerfindjan1.jpg

It was found in the Czech Republic along with other items. Here is a portion of the email Jan has sent to me regarding the circumstances of the finds. "there were
totaly 4 boxes found - 2pcs found by my friend, 2pcs found by me. His
two boxes contained only ammo. I found at least 20 buttons and
that SS textile rank tab close to it and near the tree I found
Sachson brass belt buckle. At the beginning of the road (near the
field)my friend found Astra 600 pistol, SA sport badge and Police
belt buckle. Two or three hundred metres from that he found
P08 mag. And some SS ID tag was found by him here too. "
I hope he will be able to post here soon, he is a great guy, a true collector. I am so pleased to introduce him to this forum, where fellow collectors can just appreciate the historical relevance of such a great find! More pics to come soon, thanks again for the interest!

Whoa! Simply neat as can be.....

That has to be every Luger collectors dream!! I haven't found even one buried here in Phoenix! :) Actually, I would love to just soak in the history exploring old WWII battlegrounds... but, I would assume, as with most of the sites here in the states..it is all protected... Very neat find! Can't hardly wait to see whats under the grease! best to all! til...lat'r...GT

GT, when I was over there with the army in 1998/1999, I suddenly thought I should go wander around. Huge important battle sites are protected, but other ones are just out in the woods. I went out to several places outside of Aachen and found spent ammo, lots of pieces of metal, but nothing wonderful. I didn't try as hard as these guys do, but it is very interesting to do!

Ed

As we wait for the cleanup of the P08, here is a pic Jan sent me of the contents of the box. An SS tag was found in the very area. Look at the zeltbahn, does anyone recognize it?
http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/janzelt1.jpg
http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/janzelt.jpg

I think I would verrry careful with that old ammo?

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by Nomadr:
<strong>I think I would verrry careful with that old ammo?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">I am sure they are :)

Can't say about the Zeltban, but looks like MG 34/42 ammo belts, and possibly MP43/44 mags....?

You are correct Mimigun, thanks! The zeltbahn is an SS one, not army. Just wondering if anyone knows what pattern it was. Thanks for looking!

This story is exciting as it unfolds... I can hardly wait to see the P-08 cleaned up...

Thanks Gentlemen, here are the pics of it cleaned up, minus the grips. It is fully matching including magazine marked "1". Sadly water had entered tha ammunition can which had deteriorated the exterior of the Luger more than expected. Still I think very nice find, with an SS ID tag and wrapped in an SS zeltbahn, I think is pretty exciting also. Will post pics of the whole piece assembled soon! Thanks again for looking!
http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/janlugerg2.jpg
http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/janlugerg4.jpg
http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/janlugerg5.jpg
http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/janlugerg6.jpg
http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/janlugerg3.jpg

josef, What is the second photo? the trigger guard is bent and the front sight is missing... is this a different Luger that was found at the same time?

John, this was the photo for comparison how my first Luger looks like :) ) It was given to me by friend who dug it at the garden. It had some corrosion but frame and barrel looked much better outside. On the other hand it looks somebody was playing with the hammer - note the front side of the mag well...

Jan

What A SAGA wonderful find .I to find objects like these to be incredible pieces of history. It it legal for one to keep such a piece in the czech republic ? If not sure hope this wonderfu relic does not wind up in the melting pot.

Too bad that this Luger wasn't rescued about 10 years ago... I'll bet the water damage is less than 10 years old... Those old ammo cans are pretty decent air-tight storage unless they rust through...

What will happen to this gun josef? will your friend have to turn it in, or can he legally keep it?

...also what condition is the bore? Do you think it could be safely shot? Not that I would... I think I would mount this baby on a walnut plaque and retire it permanently as a reminder of WW2.

Josef, My guess would be that someone de-milled the Luger in the second photo. Rendering it unusable. You can't load it, and you can't fire it. BTW I envy your battlefield searches. One of my dreams since I was very young. We went "Boony Stompin'" on Guam, for war relics. We ran across a cache of corroded Japanese artillery shells. Got scared and quit.

Ron
To all members; I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to those I may have offended with my angry outburst on the forum the other day. Politics is not, and never will be my forte. I just have a tremendous amount of respect for John Kerry, for his service. Been there, done that. That is the only point I wanted to make. I am neither, flamming Liberal nor an ardent conservative. I am just an old loyal Vietnam Vet.
Enough said... Ron

I'm Shocked! Respect? Ron you surprise me. Jerry Burney

Jan and Josef....

This thread is absolutely AMAZING!!! Like Ron - this has always been a fantasy of mine. I don't think I'm alone in that... In the General Discussion area, so not to interrupt this thread - I'd really appreciate as to how you even begin to look at various areas? Do you have to do research, or is it "by chance" that you find these artifacts?

Again - my congratulation!

John D.
(BTW: Ron - it take a person with principles and pride to post an apology. I respect that and your doing so. My thanks for that... Now back to finding these time-capsules in history..!)

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by lugerholsterrepair:
<strong>....Ron you surprise me. J....</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Psssst?? Hey guys - not in this thread - PLEASE!!! If you'd like - you can start a new thread in the General area regarding VETS and such... Thanks..!!!!

John, No worries, we are friends. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

Ron

I have a couple of stories saved on my home hard drive about a couple of groups that have found items, if I remember, or you send me an e-mail, I will forward them to you. There are several Belgium guys that do this, have found US and German remains and have turned them over to the appropriate gov't for proper burial. Very interesting reading.

Ed

Looks like a pitted paperweight to me, no significant value whatsoever!!! .................Bruce

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by ratdog:
<strong>Looks like a pitted paperweight to me, no significant value whatsoever!!! .................Bruce</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">It is a peice of history! I would realy like to have found it for my collection. VERY SIGNIFICANT :cool:

Russ

Agree with russ a very significant piece of history. One that should be treasured. I sure wish it were in my
humble collection

Money / value isn't everything... But that is what is interesting about collecting, you and me like different things <img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by ratdog:
<strong>Looks like a pitted paperweight to me, no significant value whatsoever!!! .................Bruce</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Well - what is one person's trash is another person's treasure. If I did the research, dug this out of a hole in the ground - and knowing it hadn't been touched for 60 odd years - it would be my treasure as well... While I have a lot of Lugers that are not "trash" - this one would find a not-so-insignificant place in my collection. Ergo the difference in "collecting".

Some do it for the value of the paperweight, and can't see beyond the immediate return - while other's look at the "value" of what's invested in authoring what is written on the paper itself....

There are two ends of a telescope. I prefer to look at things from both ends.....

Not a flame - just my $0.0002.

John D.

It would have a place in my gunsafe ANYTIME...

I would love to trace the soldier whose identity disk was found nearby and see if he is still alive and if so, what the story was behind burying this gun and these ammo cans...

John D.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva"> There are two ends of a telescope. I prefer to look at things from both ends.....

</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">When you do that, do you just see yourself??? Is the telescope flexible?? Is it also called a binocular???

<img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

So what happened to the wood grips to it? Did they corrode very badly?

It's hard to believe that this Luger was smoothered in greese and it still corroded. How can that be? How did the moisture get past the greese?

Also, I'd be interested to know too on how you find a sight to search? Do you research the place first or do you know by living in the area where things could be?

Thanks

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by ratdog:
<strong>Looks like a pitted paperweight to me, no significant value whatsoever!!! .................Bruce</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Thanks Bruce for the honest comments, seriously. There are always those who cannot appreciate the historical significance of such a find, and cannot understand the feeling of having found such an item themselves. No flame here, but I feel fortunate to have handled such an item I have just recovered, knowing the last time it was likely touched or utilized was by the last original owner, a representative of one of our most greatest and tragic conficts of world history. That is what I hold in awe and respect; it is not a piece that has been through a thousand hands postwar, dealers, ect... but a direct link to the last owner. I appreciate your input and thank you for it nonetheless. :)
Joe