WW II bring back

CAP Black · 11-20-2010, 09:55 PM

I just finishing cleaning a WW II bring back for a friend. His older brother gave it to him several years ago when he didn't have long to live. It had been put away and not played with, etc. for perhaps all of these 65 years. His brother captured a German tank and it's crew and took the Luger from the tank commander.
It had some residue from being fired but not a great amount. But it had a whole lot of brown, hardened cakes of gunk in the workings. The chamber was over-whelmed by powder residue and the guey brown substance and wouldn't have taken a cartridge. The barrel was entirely clogged with the brown, guey substance and took at least 20 minutes of concentrated efforts to clean out. My guess is that where it had a light coat, it dried solid and in the barrel it was so tightly packed that it hadn't totally dried (even in 65 years) and was just very guey, slimely.
Anyone have any ideas of what the substance may have been? It wasn't noticeable on the exterior of the gun. The barrel and all of the interior is in great shape but also is the exterior. It's a fine specimen of a 1939 S/42. The bluing only has a few very small places of holster rub. Sitting in the holster for 65 years didn't seem to cause it any harm. The holster and gun appeared to be covered by the dirt and grime from the battlefield. The stitching on the top (the lid) of the holster is coming out but is the only problem with the holster. The surface of the holster shows signs of being used for the entire 6 year period, to the end of the war. It came from France, I think.
Since it's my first encounter with what I presume is an untouhed weapon of 1945 I just wondered if the man might have been coached on preserving it for the future generations or perhaps just had the insight.
Whatever it was it didn't harm anything that I could tell.
thanks,
Jack

rolandtg · 11-21-2010, 02:20 AM

Sounds like old cosmoline.

azlaw · 11-24-2010, 11:33 PM

Photos please?

H

CAP Black · 11-25-2010, 10:01 AM

Ha, Ha. I can't send pictures of dirt which I have cleaned away and disposed of now, can I?
Thanks anyway.
Jack

GerColctor · 11-28-2010, 01:04 PM

Jack

If that is old cosmoline in the Luger, then I doublt the "dirt & grime" came from the battlefield. Cosmoline has been used extensively on military guns, around the world, to protect them when they were being stored away. It was obiviously added after the Luger was "captured".

Joe

11-20-2010, 09:55 PM	#1
CAP Black User Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Fairmont, WV Right here in Mountaineer country and God's country Posts: 767 Thanks: 100 Thanked 168 Times in 96 Posts	WW II bring back I just finishing cleaning a WW II bring back for a friend. His older brother gave it to him several years ago when he didn't have long to live. It had been put away and not played with, etc. for perhaps all of these 65 years. His brother captured a German tank and it's crew and took the Luger from the tank commander. It had some residue from being fired but not a great amount. But it had a whole lot of brown, hardened cakes of gunk in the workings. The chamber was over-whelmed by powder residue and the guey brown substance and wouldn't have taken a cartridge. The barrel was entirely clogged with the brown, guey substance and took at least 20 minutes of concentrated efforts to clean out. My guess is that where it had a light coat, it dried solid and in the barrel it was so tightly packed that it hadn't totally dried (even in 65 years) and was just very guey, slimely. Anyone have any ideas of what the substance may have been? It wasn't noticeable on the exterior of the gun. The barrel and all of the interior is in great shape but also is the exterior. It's a fine specimen of a 1939 S/42. The bluing only has a few very small places of holster rub. Sitting in the holster for 65 years didn't seem to cause it any harm. The holster and gun appeared to be covered by the dirt and grime from the battlefield. The stitching on the top (the lid) of the holster is coming out but is the only problem with the holster. The surface of the holster shows signs of being used for the entire 6 year period, to the end of the war. It came from France, I think. Since it's my first encounter with what I presume is an untouhed weapon of 1945 I just wondered if the man might have been coached on preserving it for the future generations or perhaps just had the insight. Whatever it was it didn't harm anything that I could tell. thanks, Jack

11-28-2010, 01:04 PM	#5
GerColctor User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: CT & FL Posts: 308 Thanks: 2 Thanked 40 Times in 27 Posts	Jack If that is old cosmoline in the Luger, then I doublt the "dirt & grime" came from the battlefield. Cosmoline has been used extensively on military guns, around the world, to protect them when they were being stored away. It was obiviously added after the Luger was "captured". Joe __________________ It is better to have lived a day as a tiger, then a thousand years as a lamb.

11-21-2010, 02:20 AM	#2
rolandtg User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Hill Country Posts: 472 Thanks: 363 Thanked 255 Times in 111 Posts	Sounds like old cosmoline.

11-24-2010, 11:33 PM	#3
azlaw User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 204 Thanks: 1 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Photos please? H

11-25-2010, 10:01 AM	#4
CAP Black User Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Fairmont, WV Right here in Mountaineer country and God's country Posts: 767 Thanks: 100 Thanked 168 Times in 96 Posts	Ha, Ha. I can't send pictures of dirt which I have cleaned away and disposed of now, can I? Thanks anyway. Jack