Couple Matching Pistols

[mauser9]

Great looking pair of pistols. Would love to have a P-38 and P-08 together. Thanks for showing.

[Red Devil]

Thank you all for the comments and feedback. The lack of strawing was a concern but on the other hand the overall wear appears consistent with use and for the price of the pair was too good to pass up. Was there ever WWII-era rebluing of Lugers or was this always a postwar change? I am learning as much as I can and I appreciate the knowledge shared here!

[Dean]

I'm super envious! I almost got one of each of these pistols recently... . I am still on the hunt, though.
These look very nice. Thanks for sharing.
Dean.

[Wagriff]

Here are some awful photos of the Spreewerke P38 with the serial numbered magazine I mentioned. It was recovered from an overturned truck by a friend of mine in Germany in 1945. He always insisted that it was from the body of an SS Sargent. I have only his word on this bit, but I see no reason to doubt it. At any rate, it is still in it's proper leather flap holster marked "clg 44" under the flap for the leather goods producer of Ernst Melzig in Leignitz Poland and gives the manufacture date as being 1944. Many people misread this marking as "ctg", but there was no such letter designation. The spare clip has no markings other than a microscopic Waffen mark which is unphotographicable(Is that a word?). The numbered magazine is properly marked with "jvd" but is near impossible to get a decent photo of the marking. JVD stands for the Erste Nordbohimische Metallwaren Fabrik in Sudetenland from 1942-45. Perfectly normal, seeing as how the gun was Also made in Czechoslovakia. The serial number "3282" is stamped on the floor plate. The serial number of the Gun is "3282 r" which corresponds to a manufacture date of July 1944. You can clearly see it is, indeed, a late war made piece by the Spreewerke signature machining marks which were never polished off along with the apparent lack of bluing on the grip strap. If it ever Did have bluing, it must have been thin and is long since faded. It's certainly not from Use, as my friend kept it for 20+ years in his trunk and never fired it. At any rate, here is one that is Not in the books...

[Red Devil]

Here are some awful photos of the Spreewerke P38 with the serial numbered magazine I mentioned. It was recovered from an overturned truck by a friend of mine in Germany in 1945. He always insisted that it was from the body of an SS Sargent. I have only his word on this bit, but I see no reason to doubt it. At any rate, it is still in it's proper leather flap holster marked "clg 44" under the flap for the leather goods producer of Ernst Melzig in Leignitz Poland and gives the manufacture date as being 1944. Many people misread this marking as "ctg", but there was no such letter designation. The spare clip has no markings other than a microscopic Waffen mark which is unphotographicable(Is that a word?). The numbered magazine is properly marked with "jvd" but is near impossible to get a decent photo of the marking. JVD stands for the Erste Nordbohimische Metallwaren Fabrik in Sudetenland from 1942-45. Perfectly normal, seeing as how the gun was Also made in Czechoslovakia. The serial number "3282" is stamped on the floor plate. The serial number of the Gun is "3282 r" which corresponds to a manufacture date of July 1944. You can clearly see it is, indeed, a late war made piece by the Spreewerke signature machining marks which were never polished off along with the apparent lack of bluing on the grip strap. If it ever Did have bluing, it must have been thin and is long since faded. It's certainly not from Use, as my friend kept it for 20+ years in his trunk and never fired it. At any rate, here is one that is Not in the books...

Very nice pistol!!!

[habicht]

I'll stick with Warren Buxton.

[Wagriff]

An actual example of a matching serial numbered vet bring back Spreewerke isn't good enough? Okey, habicht....interesting mentality...you stick with Warren Buxton....

[BillinVA]

I'm certainly no RKI, but why is the font on the magazine floor plate so radically different from the font used on the slide?
Just a WAG, but since the Germans renewed their serial numbers every ten thousand, moving to another letter suffix is it possible this magazine came from a 1942 or earlier magazine? Or from a byf or ac P.38 with the same serial number? Certainly this is an issue of concern among Luger collectors.

[Wagriff]

Well, Bill...The font on the magazine would be different than the slide, as Spreewerke used parts made by a considerable amount of different companies. The magazine, for example,was made like I said by JVD which was the Erste Nordbohimische Metallwaren Fabrik in Sudetenland from 1942-45. Spreewerke did not make all of their parts like some of the others like Walther, etc, but did assemble them and mark the finished pistol with their "cyq" stamping. Many other companies made parts for the P38 and supplied the grips, magazines,barrels, etc. For many years, it was not even possible to Date the Spreewerke pistols by their serial numbers, but in the last several years now, it has finally been established.

[Wagriff]

Here is a good chart showing the production of the P38 by various manufacturers-including the Spreewerke. As you can see, the serial numbers changed by adding a letter suffix or a prefix.
http://www.pistole38.nl/tech/P38ProductionDates.pdf