My 1938 Bring Back
 

This is my 1938 S/42 that my dad brought back from WWII. My apologies for the poor pictures, I am not very good with a camera. I would like to learn anything I can about this gun including the approximate value with holster and capture papers. NO, I am not looking to sell just curious about the value. It has a great deal of sentimental value and will be passed down in the family.

I'm not seeing anything that scares me away on it, but as you admit the pictures aren't the greatest. W. A. G. would be in the $2k range with holster, spare mag, papers, etc. Holster appears a bit rough and the spare mag is from a different war.
A very nice quality Luger with the added value of family sentiment.
dju

I wonder why Capt. Claude Harper included the fact that the Luger had a "single barrel" in the capture papers?

And, like most I have seen, .38 caliber.
dju

Per my dad, the paperwork was completed by a Naval officer prior to boarding the ship to come home. The Navy only references calibers so a 38 cal. is closest to 9MM.

I've noticed that on almost every capture paper .38 for a 9mm P.08.
Mike Z.

Hi:

Strangely enough, either Remington or Winchester (or both) marketed 9mm Luger ammo under the name ".38 Luger" for some time in the 1920s and 1930s (check your vintage Sears and Robuck catalogue).

Perhaps this is why I have seen so many certificates with ".38" referring to a Luger.

By the way, the Luger's groove is 9.1 mm or .358!!!

Sieger

And '38 Special' is .357"-.358"...While 9mm is .354"-.355"...

I use '38 Special' and '9mm' bullets interchangeably in my reloading...My handguns don't know the difference... ;)

It's also interesting that 7.65mm Parabellum is still sold here as '30 Luger'... :D

When I was a wee lad my father and his best friend each had a "Belgian 38". I remember looking but being too young to handle them. About 40 years later I realized they had P 35 High Powers. They always called them Belgian 38s.

Hi:

Watch loading for a vintage Luger with anything larger than about .3565. The chamber has a step in it that assists in the sealing of the cartridge case to the chamber walls upon firing. I've tried both .357 and .358 in my Lugers, but neither will chamber properly (all the way in) upon normal firing.

Sieger