Mauser used S code first before S/42?

[guns3545]

Originally Posted by glock30

I read this excerpt from an old Gun Digest article, here it is as follows

"Mauser continued to use the old DWM trademark until late in 1934 but in that year secret code names were given to the major producers of war material, and Mauser was assigned the code name “S.” The “S” was replaced almost immediately by “S/42.” (These would be the gothic/script style K dates)? Thus prior to this just an "S" code existed?

so almost immediately? So first K dates were just a script S? anyone ever see one of these? or Just a Mauser marked S? And how immediately? Were any produced just bearing "S"?

Gene,

Well it is certainly true that a lot of games playing was going on in 1933 and 1934, prior to the abrogation of the Treaty of Versailles in 1935.

And it is certainly true that the government wanted the control commission to believe, or at least have cause to believe that their contract with Simson was being honored even though they had been put of out business in 1933.


All parts of the early 1934 K-dates had an S on them typical of Simson's practice of marking all parts. And maybe the specification of a toggle code that lead the control commission to believe that these were legitimate authorized production under the 100,000 piece order was the objective.

But I am NOT personally aware that the code assigned to Mauser was anything but S/42. In fact, the S/42 appears as early as serial number 4 on the K-dates.

Its also interesting to note that the Nazi government had a perverse sense of honesty/equity as they "honored", or at least, acknowledged the presence of the 15 year Simson contract until it officially expired in April 1939, at which time they dropped the S and the code became 42. Even though THEY had put the company out of business in 1933. Go figure!!

John