1941 P08 Mauser Found

josef · 09-10-2004, 10:54 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by minigun:
So what happened to the wood grips to it? Did they corrode very badly?

It's hard to believe that this Luger was smoothered in greese and it still corroded. How can that be? How did the moisture get past the greese?

Also, I'd be interested to know too on how you find a sight to search? Do you research the place first or do you know by living in the area where things could be?

Thanks<hr /></blockquote>Good question about the grips, I will ask Jan. I suspect he is attempting to clean them properly. I do not know how it got corroded so badly, it should have been better preserved I thought also.
About the finds, well, my family live in the area where Schorner's 9th Army surrendered en masse in the last days of the war, on the long journey to reach the American lines west of Prague. There was fighting in those last several weeks, along with literally thousands of sodiers (Heer, SS and Luftwaffe, as well as civilians) fleeing approaching Red Army troops. Many members of my family remember those days, photographic evidence still exists of the surrenders, ect. My Uncle has shown Jan and I areas on our property where the Germans stayed on their last days or in captivity.
About this Luger find, I suspect Jan had spoken to a local.
My Uncle and I spoke to a man, who remembered as a young boy, seeing transport trucks pull off a side road, off unloaded numerous German soldiers, who stripped off their decorations and placed them into a small box. An officer then took the box and dumped these medals into the ditch, then the transports headed west. Almost 60 years later, we took this information, found the spot within a few minutes, and I spent the next several days (and subsequent years in the same area) digging. I recovered over 35 close combat clasps, over a dozen general assault badges, and numerous other insignia and such. The best of these items now are in a display case on my wall, remarkably well preserved, some show no evidence of being in the ground. In the nearby lake where several hundred German soldiers were instructed to surrender over the last few weeks, we found more badges, as well as my P08 and P38. I also recovered a Getsapo Disc in near excellent condition (this was hand inspected by Don Bible in 2000 and authenticated by him). My collection pales in comparison to Jan's, however. His finds are more numerous and miraculous. I suppose research and word of mouth are the most common ways of finding sites to dig. But you can go along almost any ditch, forest or park in the area and find something interesting. I can honestly say I have NEVER dug a grave or battlefield, nor has Jan, and that every area we search has been either private property owned by our family or we have been given permission to search. My Luger, and I suspect Jan's also, are likely the greatest finds we have had, and I feel fortunate to have it right next to my other Lugers. Thanks to you all for listening to me ramble and to show Jan's timepiece. Take care,
Joe

09-10-2004, 10:54 AM	#21
josef User Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: CANADA Posts: 194 Thanks: 4 Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts	</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by minigun: <strong>So what happened to the wood grips to it? Did they corrode very badly? It's hard to believe that this Luger was smoothered in greese and it still corroded. How can that be? How did the moisture get past the greese? Also, I'd be interested to know too on how you find a sight to search? Do you research the place first or do you know by living in the area where things could be? Thanks</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Good question about the grips, I will ask Jan. I suspect he is attempting to clean them properly. I do not know how it got corroded so badly, it should have been better preserved I thought also. About the finds, well, my family live in the area where Schorner's 9th Army surrendered en masse in the last days of the war, on the long journey to reach the American lines west of Prague. There was fighting in those last several weeks, along with literally thousands of sodiers (Heer, SS and Luftwaffe, as well as civilians) fleeing approaching Red Army troops. Many members of my family remember those days, photographic evidence still exists of the surrenders, ect. My Uncle has shown Jan and I areas on our property where the Germans stayed on their last days or in captivity. About this Luger find, I suspect Jan had spoken to a local. My Uncle and I spoke to a man, who remembered as a young boy, seeing transport trucks pull off a side road, off unloaded numerous German soldiers, who stripped off their decorations and placed them into a small box. An officer then took the box and dumped these medals into the ditch, then the transports headed west. Almost 60 years later, we took this information, found the spot within a few minutes, and I spent the next several days (and subsequent years in the same area) digging. I recovered over 35 close combat clasps, over a dozen general assault badges, and numerous other insignia and such. The best of these items now are in a display case on my wall, remarkably well preserved, some show no evidence of being in the ground. In the nearby lake where several hundred German soldiers were instructed to surrender over the last few weeks, we found more badges, as well as my P08 and P38. I also recovered a Getsapo Disc in near excellent condition (this was hand inspected by Don Bible in 2000 and authenticated by him). My collection pales in comparison to Jan's, however. His finds are more numerous and miraculous. I suppose research and word of mouth are the most common ways of finding sites to dig. But you can go along almost any ditch, forest or park in the area and find something interesting. I can honestly say I have NEVER dug a grave or battlefield, nor has Jan, and that every area we search has been either private property owned by our family or we have been given permission to search. My Luger, and I suspect Jan's also, are likely the greatest finds we have had, and I feel fortunate to have it right next to my other Lugers. Thanks to you all for listening to me ramble and to show Jan's timepiece. Take care, Joe