Part 4 of 5
In 1921 the firearms company of Krieghoff, Suhl, purchased several thousand standard Parabellum pistols for resale into the commercial market, in direct competition with DWM’s own commercial sales. The total number of the sale is unknown. Various sources suggest that all or nearly all of the
i suffix production were sold to Krieghoff, but this is demonstrably not true. These pistols are identified by the stamps KRIEGHOFF SUHL located above the lanyard staple at the rear of the frame.
Most of the reports are of pistols in 7,65mm, but there are a few in 9mm. Many have GERMANY export marks, and they are proofed with the commercial c/N. Randall Gibson, in “The Krieghoff Parabellum”, notes that some are found with Suhl-pattern commercial proofs, but this is not reflected in the Commercial Database.
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Krieghoff back-frame marked Parabellum
sn 7045
i bears a 1921 chamber date.
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Krieghoff back-frame marked Parabellum
sn 7078
i has no date above the chamber.
The KRIEGHOFF SUHL stamps on the frame of these pistols are uncharacteristically sloppy and crude for such a fine quality firearms manufacturer as Krieghoff. There are actually two separate stamps involved. The KRIEGHOFF stamp has a broken O and the second horizontal of the F stamp is broken off; it is found stamped separately, sometimes near the expected letter location, and sometimes quite far away. Gibson reports it to occasionally be missing entirely. SUHL is stamped more heavily, and the two stamps are characteristically very poorly aligned,
The KRIEGHOFF SUHL stamps are always haloed, and the absence of halo is always symptomatic of a reblue. The stamps on
sn 7078
i (above) are haloed, but it is difficult to tell in the photograph.
With 54 reports, the Krieghoff back frame pistol is by far the most common i suffix variation in the Commercial Database. Almost a third of them are reported with 1921 dated chambers
Standard Parabellums in the
i suffix range appear to be in a minority. Of the 35 unspecified reports in the database, only four are reported with 1921 dated chambers. As the unspecified entries may simply reflect the lack of reported data, it is likely that most of them represent something more than a standard pistol.
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Standard Parabellum
sn 5869
i has a chamber dated 1921.
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Standard Parabellum
sn 9995
i is unremarkable in all ways. As it is five pistols from the end of the i suffix production range, it provides a fitting finish to this Alphabet Commercial i suffix survey.