Introduction of â??Police-Styleâ?� P08 Holsters?

[Don M]

I have for some time assumed that the vertical upstrap stud closure characteristic of Weimar- and Nazi-era police P08 holsters was introduced in the early 1920s. However, a number of facts and observations have led me to suspect that it may have been much later in the 20s. I am hoping that some members may have period documents or other reliable information that will shed more light on the question when this type of closure was introduced for police P08 holsters.

The facts/observations are:

â?¢ Many holsters with police-style stud closures are WWI-era holsters that were converted from military/commercial-style buckle closures. Several of them have police markings that were stamped on the outside of the cover before conversion.
â?¢ Several 1920s photos of police show them with holsters having buckle closures. Later photos from the early 1930s show stud closures. (Note â?? these observations are not the result of an extensive and systematic analysis of period photos.)
â?¢ Holsters manufactured in 1929 for the Prussian Landj�¤gerei have stud closures
â?¢ Holsters issued to the Hessian Police in late 1929 were originally commercial holsters with buckle closures that were converted to stud closures.
â?¢ The LP08 holsters used by the Prussian Landj�¤gerei during the 1920s would have had stud closures.
â?¢ Several holsters used by the police of Bremen/Bremerhaven were manufactured by K. Budde of Bremen, probably post-war, with buckle closures. These were later converted to stud closures.
â?¢ Other than the holsters for the Prussian Landj�¤gerei and possibly those for the Bremen police, I know of no other P08 holsters manufactured for police use before 1933.
â?¢ An order from the Prussian Interior Ministry dated March 29, 1933 (courtesy of Klaus Merzbach) stated that a survey of police weapons had determined that the majority of P08 holsters needed replacement with new ones. It further stated that the replacement would be spread over several years beginning with about 20% in fiscal year 1933 (April 1, 1933 to March 31, 1934). This order specifically omitted the Landj�¤gerei.

Considering the above, I speculate that police other than the Prussian Landj�¤gerei used holsters with buckle closures until the late 1920s. When the new Landj�¤gerei holsters were ordered, they retained the stud closure that the Landj�¤gerei had been accustomed to on their LP08 holsters. Perhaps this influenced the Schupo and other police to convert their old holsters at about that time since it is easier to release a stud closure than a buckle closure to draw the pistol. Very probably, it was understood that the new holsters mentioned in the 1933 order would have stud closures.

This is very tentative and I will be very receptive to any additional information that would either support or refute this theory.