S/42 1940 dated with X marking
 

Dear forum members!

Please take a look at this S42 ...

This one has all parts with numbers matched except the togge- there is double 00 wit X over and the same X marking under take down lever.

Any thoughts on what X is this? A sort of a Russian Capture may be?

Thanks in advance,
Best regards,


Alexander

Russian Capture "x"s are usually around the serial numbers. Is there anything just above the "x" as part of the same stamp? It looks like there may be a little downward pointing arrow or something similar?

It does have that "arsenal rebuild" look to it, but it may one of those pistols they hardly messed with after capture.

This is not an arrow but just similar looking scratch above the X.

I would toss my hat in the Russian Capture ring... it also looks a little like it might have been dip-blued without any surface prep... which they were known to do...

Replaced toggle? 1940 should be 42 not S/42.

Ken D

For sure that doesn't look like the so called "Russian Capture X mark" to me!

Sergio I agree that the "X" mark is:

in an unusual place,
may be horizontal instead of vertical,
but does look like a sloppy Russian "X" to me... especially with that mottled hazy blue finish...

It may have been one of the early Russian capture pistols that was processed for storage before they "standardized" how they would deal with them...

Just my $0.02

Agreed. The condition and material of the grips would tend to support that. Captured pistols in excellent shape would have been the first to be processed and stored.

I have seen a number of russian capture that people told me came in with the batches and they had NO 'X" / I personally do not think that every one was marked - if so, what is the reason? If at a certain arsenal, than that would tell me that many arsenals - there should be different markings? If they were checking a percentage, then that is possible?

But I think, just like export and import stampings, some slip through

Not every RC gun has X - there are many guns with no such markings. But X could be observed on almost every type of firearms that came through the former Soviets arsenals (mostly based in Ukraine: Shepetovka, Balakleya etc.) - MG34/42, MP44, MP38/40 etc.

To me this X could stand for "removed from inventory" - when the gun was sold/imported and its number was removed from arsenal's lists of gun that were on storage there.

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I was once told that the "X" marking was done because soldiers received a bounty payment for turning in captured weapons. The "X" prevented them from being returned to circulation, and then being turned in again for a subsequent bounty payment.

Marc