P.08 Shoulder Holster

[John Winter]

Perhaps someone on the forum has encountered one of these, but this is one of only two marked WWII Luger shoulder holsters that I have owned. It came with a byf 41 that I purchased in 1996. I had two at the time, the other was black and had an RBN number impressed on the shoulder strap and I sold it to a dealer in the Chicago area. This holster has the usual shoulder and chest strap configuration with an aluminum roller buckle. The pistol retaining strap is secured with a brown snap and there is the usual extra mag pouch with a vertical pocket for the tool located beneath the forward pistol grip strap. The chest strap is made of the same stock as that of a K.98 rifle sling and like the shoulder strap, shows remnants of a gray coating on the underside. Color was originally a natural russet and has darkened. On the underside of the chest strap close to the holster body is a faint ink stamp reading VON WALDOW PRAG 1943. This was a known K.98 sling and holster manufacturer of that period. I can't find any other markings other than a handwritten R.S.M and the number 2317 at the top of the rear of the holster body. Overall, the holster was manufactured to very high standards. Does anyone have information as to what service these might have been issued? Thanks.

[Lugerdoc]

To the best of my knowledge, shoulder holsters were never a military contract issued item. If they were they would have been WaA inspected and so marked. These were a private purchase item and there is no standard pattern. TH

[John Winter]

TH,

In my experience, WWII German shoulder holsters have never been plentiful in spite of the fact that they were widely used and this scarcity especially applies to marked examples. I discussed their use with veterans of that era at my post and at shows after acquiring one and I probably should have asked more questions than I did back when there was an abundance of these men around. I do recall that they were not a popular war souvenir for practical reasons and after May 8th, became militarily obsolete. The last marked example that I observed had no manufacturer's name or code and an only an RBN number on one of the straps. I sold this to a collector/dealer from the Chicago suburbs at an OGCA show in about 1999. I have observed several with Gustav Genschow's trademark back in the 60's, but these were probably pre-war. The von Waldow example in my collection is of a compact design, so I suspect an aviation connection. I'll send pix to see if there are any more out there. This should be a fertile field for some research as many un-footnoted conclusions concerning them have appeared in print. I have heard that some of these were purchased by individual units, but have yet to see this documented. Thanks.

[Lugerdoc]

JFW, Akak also made some marked PP & PPK shoulder holsters for civilian sale as shown in Whittington Vol 3 pages 128 & 129. He does also picture some other marked models in same book. TH

[John Winter]

TH,

Do you mean AKAH? Albrecht Kindt (sp?) made many, as well. All German shoulder holsters I've encountered gave the appearance of being constructed to wear beneath outer garments, as opposed to ours, which are usually worn exposed. Considering the delicate nature of the Luger, I guess that isn't surprising. Most of the German models that I find anymore were made post-war for the occupation forces with the 1911A1. Wish we'd had this forum thirty years ago, when the guys from the big war were still alive and lucid. Over the years I've gotten to know some of the bigger dealers (both good and bad) and it's fun to bring something to a show that they've never seen before, or else have seen few of. Scott Meadows is a great resource and a sound researcher, wish he'd do something on the subject. As always, thanks for any info.

[LU1900]

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[John Winter]

Pat,
Many thanks for the info. I've seen similar examples but it's been awhile. Great pix of the Trommelmagazin Kasten, I've only seen them in pictures. For some reason, I was unable to view the holster pix. A German vet told me long ago that dive bomber crews definately carried P.08's in shoulder holsters throughout the war, but I haven't found any supporting documentation. The fact that they were official issue shouldn't be difficult to substantiate.