Crates of Lugers!
 

How many would like a time machine to go back and pick up just one of those crates?:(

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...9/DSC00702.jpg

:nono: Shame on you Doug!! Now I have drooled all over my keyboard!:crying:

It makes me cry - they were probably all destroyed.

How sad,
Albert

What a crime to destroy such beautiful pistols, but because many were destroyed thats why the ones left are so valuable today.

Has anyone ever done any research into exactly how many Lugers have been made, approximately how many have been destroyed, and how many may remain? Sort of like a historical demographics of the Luger. Then maybe plug in some geography too.

My eyes go immediately to the one he has in his left hand. I'd like to think that he had picked that one out for himself. Maybe it's sitting in the back of the top shelf of his bedroom closet, inside an old leather briefcase with broken straps, wrapped in an old t-shirt, and just waiting for his family to find it some day...

Hmmmmmmm.................

Stuff that dreams are made of....

JD

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN! :eek: and look at that guy, "I want this one, and this one and this one" Looks like the $5 DVD bin at Walmart:roflmao:

He appears to have an Artillery in his hand. The barrel is longer. In the second bin from the camera you can see what appears to be a P-38, with its barrel pointing to the right and slightly up...

Hey, I bet they were all taken off a dead German officer:D

Seen that picture before, believe it was one of the big importers back in the 50s/60s They were in the US at the time.

$25-$50. Was a lot of money, then.

I have often heard it joked that the photo is of Ralph Shattuck... but I don't believe that is true... I wish that any of those crates had been my Dad's footlocker on the way home!

Has anyone ever heard if it's true that GI's were able to purchase German pistols at the PX, either at the end and/or after the war?

Also, I'm under the impression that a German soldier didn't have to be an officers or dead for a GI to get a pistol off them.

The picture is in Johnson's book on war booty. It is of a GI, you can see his private strips.

GI's could buy lugers from the PX and in fact in the 1980's could buy them from the Rod and Gun club, I never was able to get one.

Germans could carry a pistol, much like a US soldier could, if he was a machine gunner, a motorcycle runner or courier, maybe an NCO, there were many reasons they were not an officer but carried a pistol.

It is very true that as officers went up in rank, they had smaller pistols, it was a status thing. It was also a status thing to have a newer pistol, so they might have a P38 instead of a luger. And, a soldier or officer at war would want something that punched, so they might have a P38 or Luger for battle and a PPK for normal carry in the rear.

Ed

Since German officers were required to purchase a pistol (or use a family hand me down) upon commissioning, these were generally smaller, cheaper ones than the luger or P38. These were used for dress parade and when not in combat. When in action, they would be issued a more powerful army issue weapon (my choice would be an MP40) which they would late turn in or pass on to their relief. TH