Mystery P-38
 

Enclosed picts of a P-38 I bought in the early 1970's, when I decided that I would start collecting P-38's. It was one of the first P-38's I bought. Have been trying since then to establish what the heck it is. It must be one-of-a-kind because over the years I've dicussed it with most of the giants in the collecting world. Most common answer received...Swiss rework. Marking looks as close to present-day Swiss, which may be the pre-war Swiss mark with an added loop...? The mark appears in 3 places: slide, under left grip panel(with the year? "44"), and on barrel block which is the lightest stamping.Gun has been refinished,with original markings faint, and "new" markings sharp.
Anyway, just thought it would make an interesting discussion.
Charlie.

Charlie,

Have you posted this on the P.38 Forum?

Ron

Ron,
Tried, but my picts are too big, so "drbuster" suggested to post here...most P-38 guys also read this forum, according to him.
Charlie.

Charlie, I once had a CZ70, similarily marked. Not sure, but reputed to be South African Police markings. TH

Yikes !!
More confusion, Tom.
C U in KC ?? Was going to bring gun to show, but without knowledge of origin......
Anyway, will look into the South African connection...Thanx, Tom.
Charlie.

Charlie, I be in KC in the small "bump out" room off the front of the hall, since Chuck is using my regular wall tables for displays. Tom

Charlie, when you first described this marking to me, it sounded like a "Bernerprobe". But after actually seeing it, it is definitely NOT a Bernerprobe. The backwards first letter should be a "B". This mark is a backwards small case "d" fused to a normal small cased "b". I have no idea what this mark means, but it is safe to say it's NOT Swiss.

Looks from here to be a "d" fused to a "p"... :confused:

Yes... I also see it as an upper-case "p" and lower-case "d" fused with the vertical line common to both.Had sent picts to Sam Costanza a while ago and he told me that he had seen a few guns in France with similar markings, that were from the WW2 era (?).
Anyone know of a site showing firearms markings from all countries ?
Thanx again for all input....Charlie.

dr....
What I had postulated was that this mark was a "special" Swiss mark used pre- and during WW2. Just as most countries' markings changed after the war....the swiss added a new upper left loop.
This mystery mark is so close to the modern Swiss mark....it seems probable. Books on gunmarks -I have a few- almost always show a country's different markings from pre-war/wartime to postwar. Could it be a mark used only on foreign/captured/reworked guns...?
So this mystery will go unsolved for another 35 years...?
Thanx again for the replies. Charlie.

Okay, someone removed the "P.38" stamp from the slide. That's weird.