Erfurt Artillery Chamber Dates
 

To the best of my knowledge from what I've been able to read, the Artillery model was made by Erfurt only in 1914. One possible exception is reported in "Imperial Lugers" on page 92 at the bottom. A collector named McTague reported in 1990 having examined an Artillery Erfurt dated 1915 that he considered authentic. The serial number was 6939 and the pistol was accompanied by a matching stock.

This evening, browsing through Jone's "Luger Variations", I found a picture on page 138 of an Artillery Erfurt dated 1917! Using a magnifying glass, all serial numbers I was able to see were matching. This pistol is from the Arnold Padilla collection. I'm curious to know if anyone on this board has examined this pistol to verify it's originallity? Or, is it a parts gun? [img]confused.gif[/img]

Walker
The question of the 1917 Erfurt in Jones book came up years ago in AUTO MAG. It was claimed that the Luger was taken apart to photograph the top and mismatched on reassembly. In any case it appears to be mismatch.
Jan

Jan,

Thanks again. Considering the age of Jones' book, I was pretty sure the question had been asked before. Your answer was pretty much what I expected... a mismatch.