BYF 42 with Asterix or starburst

Dwight Gruber · 03-16-2013, 03:17 PM

I have come across a reference to a similar marking in Dietert Storr's Rifle and Carbine 98. A starburst marking was used in Gew98 production at the Spandau, Erfurt, and Dresden Imperial Rifle Factories to indicate that "foreign parts"--that is, parts manufactured outside the factory--were usede in assemby of the weapon. The mark does not appear on rifles made after 1917, but it is unknown whether the use of foreign parts was discontinued or the instruction ws rescinded.

Whether this mark on Third Reich production of P08s and P38s (and others??) might be a return to the Imperial-era instruction is only the most speculative of guesswork.

--Dwight

03-16-2013, 03:17 PM	#7
Dwight Gruber User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,908 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1,330 Times in 435 Posts	I have come across a reference to a similar marking in Dietert Storr's Rifle and Carbine 98. A starburst marking was used in Gew98 production at the Spandau, Erfurt, and Dresden Imperial Rifle Factories to indicate that "foreign parts"--that is, parts manufactured outside the factory--were usede in assemby of the weapon. The mark does not appear on rifles made after 1917, but it is unknown whether the use of foreign parts was discontinued or the instruction ws rescinded. Whether this mark on Third Reich production of P08s and P38s (and others??) might be a return to the Imperial-era instruction is only the most speculative of guesswork. --Dwight