[Ron Wood]

John,

I don't know if DWM actually manufactured artillery barrels or not. I think they did because of the firing proof and the difference in machining. I would like to have these two artillerys side by side to look for other machining differences, perhaps in the front sight block, under the rear sight,etc. I would not be surprised that after Erfurt ceased production of artillery models, they also cut back on production of artillery barrels due to the press of producing other arms and armament, leaving DWM to make up additional barrels to meet demands.

Other than the nearly ubiquitous presence of Erfurt proofs on artillery barrels, I do not know of any documentation that positively states Erfurt was the sole producer. I think that the notion of exclusive production of artillery barrels by Erfurt grew out of the preponderance of evidence rather than documented records.