Scottster,
German officers, of that period, were financially responsible for providing their own equipment, including such essentials as their own uniforms, boots and pistols. They were, indeed, required to pay for them. I've never heard of an instance where they could go outside of regular regulation issue items, accepted and proofed by the Army, for personal weaponry, as this would have caused a logistical nightmare. If this were not the case, then there should be vast numbers of civilian marked and proofed battlefield liberated Lugers out there. We know that this isn't true.
The red nine was used to identify just what was being shot through a particular Mauser C-96, as both the 7.63mm and 9mm variations were purchased by the Army for general troop usage. The only red nine Luger grips I've ever seen were on an LP-08, and I really don't know why they were so marked, as all of the Army issue LP-08s were in 9mm.
Sieger
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