1917 Erfurt "police" P 08 with interesting features

[Don M]

Don, I suspect this pistol was one of the surplus P08s that were issued to the Gemeindepolizei (municipal police) in late 1934 - early 1935. Although I haven't specifically studied them, my impression is that these pistols came from a cache that did not receive the 1920 property stamp. They do not have police markings from the 1920s suggesting they remained in storage during the Weimar era. Also, most if not all do not have later unit markings, either because the Gemeindepolizei were not under orders to mark them or it was already known that marking was to be terminated.

Courtesy of Don Hallock, I have a translation by Görtz and/or Bryans (HWIS Cited Ref. 10) of an order from the Prussian Interior Ministry dated 3 October 1934 entitled Arming of the Gemeindepolizei stating, in part: "Delivery of pistols 08 ordered by municipal police forces in pursuance of circular directive 12 February 1934 - II E 1460a/333 (Ministerial Gazette p. 220) has been delayed because the pistols have first to be refurbished and fitted with the new safeties by the Police Institute for Technology." Sadly, this translation was not included in their book German Small Arms Markings.

Your pistol was probably reworked as part of this program. It seems likely that there was enough concern about the mag safeties by the time this gun was refurbished that it was not added.