1906 Portugese army crest removed

[Mauser720]

Hi Pete -

Very interesting. Thank you.

Okay, I can see from the photographs of your Portuguese Luger and your description of the markings and proofs, that even without the crest, this is still a Portuguese Luger.

So I am still wondering why would it be necessary or even desirable to remove the crest? Since Portugal is Spain's neighbor, and since Spain went through a bloody civil war, I was wondering if there might be some connection between this defaced Luger and the Spanish Civil War. Now take a look at what I found on the internet:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/SPportugal.htm

"On the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War the Portuguese government of Antonio Salazar immediately supported the Nationalists in the struggle against the Popular Front government in Spain. Salazar feared that if the Republicans won the war his own authoritarian government would be under threat.

"Salazar, concerned about the effect the events in Spain would have on his country, established a new militia that could serve as an auxiliary police. This new police force arrested dissidents and removed politically unreliable people from educational and governmental institutions.

"Leaders of the Nationalist Army were allowed to negotiate with representatives from Nazi Germany in Portugal. After the signing of the Non-Intervention Agreement in September 1936, Salazar agreed that Germany could disguise the aid that it was giving by sending men, planes, tanks, and munitions via Lisbon.

"Salazar's police also arrested supporters of the Popular Front government living in Portugal. He also sealed off the Portuguese frontier to Republicans.

"Although he came under considerable pressure from Britain and France, Salazar refused to allow international observers being stationed on the Portugal-Spain border. Officially he claimed that it would be a violation of Portugal sovereignty while in reality he did not want the world to know about the large amounts of military aid that was crossing into Spain."

I think the possibility that this Luger may be a remnant of Portugal's clandestine aid to the Nationalist forces may be just as plausible as the notion that some people wanted to show their disdain for a previous monarch.

Just a thought.

Mauser720 - Ron