Thread: Imperial proofs
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Unread 03-04-2012, 07:24 PM   #8
Dwight Gruber
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Proof eagles do not "belong to" a specific manufacture. Proofing officers--and inspectors--were assigned out of the Spandau arsenal. Each officer carried his own, personally-assigned stamp. The proofing officer assigned to DWM had a stamp with a different character from the proofing officer assigned to Erfurt; however, both stamps fell within the design requirements--"an heraldic eagle, displayed"--and both stamps indicated and certified the same thing.

An individual proofing officer, of course, could not personally proof and certify the hundreds of thousands of pistols which underwent proofing. These officers had staff underlings who were also trained in the proofing process, and they used the stamp of their officer to certify proof; the officer bore ultimete personal responsibility.

DWM was a private contractor, responsible to deliver P08s which entirely met specifications. the Royal Erfurt rifle factory was a government arms manufacturer, and the 1910 marking instructions were created to guide their imspection and acceptance of the P08 in detail.

The 1910 marking instructions require each part to be inspected and certified with the inspector's stamp. All Erfurt-manufactured parts bear this mark. No LP08 barrels which bear the proof stamp of the Erfurt proof officer also have Erfurt inspection marks, which indicate that they were not made at Erfurt. Stamping of the proof was the next-to-last stage in pistol acceptance, done well after the pistol was completely assembled, so proof stamps would not have been applied to the individual parts in any case.

The presence of the Erfurt-style proof on some DWM barrels and breechbocks suggests that a member of the Erfurt proof officer's staff was assigned to DWM to assist in proofing and stamping DWM-manufactured Lugers.

--Dwight
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