DID DWM/BKIW RESUME MANUFACTURING 9-MM PO8s IN THE LATE 1920s?

[Don M]

It is well-established that DWM was ordered by the IMKK in 1921 to cease manufacturing pistols with calibers of 8 mm or more or barrel lengths of 100 mm or more. As a consequence, subsequent DWM Parabellum deliveries were limited to “commercial” variations in 7.65-mm caliber with barrel lengths of 96 and 98 mm. For subsequent Parabellum purchases from DWM, the police routinely replaced the barrels, recoil and magazine springs of delivered 7.65-mm Parabellum pistols to create the desired 9-mm P08s. (See, for example, The Mauser Parabellum 1930 – 1946 by Don Hallock & Joop van de Kant, pp. 339-40.) Many collectors believe this arrangement persisted throughout the remainder of DWM/BKIW’s manufacture of Parabellums until the manufacturing equipment was transferred to Mauser in Oberndorf in the spring of 1930.

Although it has not been a topic of extensive research by me, over the last several years I have come to believe it is very likely that BKIW resumed the manufacture of 9-mm P08s following the withdrawal of the IMKK from Germany in 1927, even though the prohibition remained in effect. Not everyone agrees with me, including Dwight Gruber,, whose opinions I greatly respect. I hope replies to this thread may shed some light on this issue.

There are several reasons I have developed my opinion.

Dutch Navy Contracts – Hallock and van de Kant had access to handwritten notes from August Weiss (head of Parabellum production for DWM and Mauser from 1920 to 1946), correspondence between BKIW(DWM) and Mauser and Mauser inventory and sales records for 1930. Based on this information, the authors state that 1,484 9-mm P08s were delivered by BKIW (DWM) to the Dutch Navy in the period from 1928 to January 1930 (Ibid., p.386). They also conclude that BKIW transferred 815 finished 9-mm P08s and 9,526 finished and unfinished 9-mm P08 barrels to Mauser in February and March 1930 (Ibid., pp. 567-8). This strongly suggests that BKIW had resumed manufacturing 9-mm P08s by 1928 at the latest.

Rif Contract Pistols – Based on the notes of August Weiss, Hallock and van de Kant have also provided very strong evidence that the “blank toggle” or “sneak” DWM P08s were originally manufactured for the revolutionary Rif tribe in Morocco in about 1927 or 1928. These were not delivered to the Rif and were later sold to the German police (Ibid., p. 340). I know of no documentary evidence that these pistols were 9-mm caliber; however, the fact that they were intended for military use suggests they may have been.

Hessische Polizei (H.P.) Pistols – Based on their serial numbers in the upper part of the “u” and very low “v” suffix blocks, these apparently were the last pistols delivered by BKIW to the German police in late 1929 or early 1930. In preparing this post, I made a quick search of the LugerForum and Jan Still’s Forum to find any photos that might indicate whether these pistols were or were not originally 9-mm. Shown below are photos of five H.P. P08s which I have enhanced to try to determine whether the witness marks suggest they have their original barrels. Unfortunately, only the photo of 7428u is really adequate to form any firm conclusions and it strongly suggests this barrel has been replaced since there is no witness mark on the barrel. The other four photos appear to show aligned witness marks across the barrels and receivers but this is very speculative. There is however other evidence that may be significant. The barrels of the other four (7225u, 7291u, 7300u and 7563u) all have the suffix “u” stamped on them while that of 7428u does not. If the presence of the suffix is a characteristic of an original barrel and if the witness marks on these pistols are aligned, it is likely that the barrel of 7428u is a later replacement (not an immediate replacement of an original 7.65-mm barrel), indicating these pistols were originally manufactured in 9-mm.

The H.P. evidence is rather meager. I hope that more evidence can be collected that will more firmly establish whether or not BKIW manufactured 9-mm P08s for the German police in the 1927-29 period. Accordingly, I request that forum members submit photos similar to that of 7248u of DWM Parabellums with serial numbers in the “s”, “t” and “u” blocks, particularly those with H.P. property markings (including the four below with indistinct witness marks) and those with blank toggles. Although I am looking for evidence on 9-mm barrels, I would like similar information for pistols with 7.65-mm barrels for comparison.

If possible, the photos should be detailed, focused close-ups with high resolution and show the witness marks as well as the serial number and suffix (if present) on the bottom of the barrel. If they are too large to post, please email them to me rather than shrinking them to meet forum limits. In addition, please submit photos (preferred) or descriptions of any additional barrel or receiver markings such as crown/N proofs, Weimar proof eagle, eagle/WaA66, eagle/H, eagle/33, eagle/6, PTV/eagle or TP/eagle. Also, please include adequate information to identify the pistol such as any police markings or sear/mag safeties, caliber, barrel length, GERMANY stamp, etc.

Dwight Gruber has reviewed a draft of this post and is also very interested in resolving this issue. This request for information may be considered a joint request from both of us.