Handed Down WW II Luger

[guns3545]

Originally Posted by wjb1tex

I know very little about the gun. I know it was taken from a dead German officer by my Uncle. Any comments or information appreciated.
On the top of the gun I see S/42 1938 and 97
On one side I see 7307 97 97 97
On the front of the frame I see 7307 and under that something that looks like a cursive f.
The 9 sometimes looks like 0 or even 8. Hard to tell.
On the other side I see some symbols that are very difficult for me to make out.
Any additional info appreciated.

Nice war souvenir.

The gun has what are called sweetheart grips on it. These were typically made from the Plexiglas of downed war planes. The sweetheart aspect comes from the fact that GIs used to put pictures of their sweetheart or family or favorite dog, etc. under the grip. Or they used pin-ups of the Hollywood Stars of the day like Betty Grable.

Not that uncommon. Carving these grips seems to have been a favorite past time of some GIs.

John