WWII Mauser Luger Mystery... Help me solve it!

[Sieger]

Originally Posted by mrerick

Hello and welcome to the forum.

We have an FAQ PDF document available free with quite a bit of reference information that you'll probably find helpful. Just follow the FAQ link at the top of the page.

"459" is probably not the complete Luger serial number, as most of them had a suffix letter.

Know that German officers did not normally carry Lugers because they were too big and bulky. Most of them had pocket pistols like the Walther PP/PPK or the Mauser M1914/M1934. That said, almost every GI captured pistol is reputed to come from "an officer".

Luger serial numbers are duplicated over time by the different manufacturers and even from the same manufacturer. Your Luger with a "S/42" toggle would be an earlier one (likely 1934-1938) shipped from Mauser.

About your only path to actually locate it is the one Patrick suggested.

mrerick,

I agree that most German senior (non combatant) officers may have chosen pocket pistols for their self protection (just as our senior officers may have chosen Browning 1903s).

For regular combat officers, ammo supply issues would have been a pain in the neck. Also, a 9mm Parabellum cartridge is much more effective combat cartridge than a 7.65acp.

Since Lugers were issued to NCOs at government expense, this may be where so many G.I.s picked up their captures.


Respectfully,


Sieger