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My 9mm Luger is apparently quite the mystery. It was plucked by my grandfather during WWII. It's all stainless. Not a spot of blue. Standard barrel. It has the black eagle of the 3rd reich stamped on the right hand side of the receiver with the number 135, and the black eagle is again stamped on the barrel on the same side at the base. 42 is stamped on top of the outside of the chamber, and "byf" is stamped on the toggle. The Greek lowercase letter alpha is stamped below the serial number (under the barrel if looking at the muzzle), although it looks more like an English cursive "d", but not the Greek lowercase delta.
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Any ideas? I've never seen another like it, and everyone is shocked when they see it. -
I don't have a clue, but it does sound like you have something worth hanging on to!Comment
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Yeah there isn't a chance in hell of me letting this one go.Comment
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OK I checked out those Waffenamt codes and apparently it's Mauser production from 1942. But nothing to explain the stainless.Comment
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All I can find off the top of my head...
That would cover the byf production group.
byf Mauser-Werke KG, Oberndorf on the Neckar
THIS IS MY FAVORITE! byf is THE Mauser plant. That puts it from the Waffenfabrik Oberndorf!
Lucky dog.
I have a chart of codes for the Heereswaffenamt, and they have the groups covered by 135. That backs up the byf code. So they match.
135
-Karl Ackva, Lederfabrik, Rüdesheimerstrasse 27, Bad Kreuznach, Rheinland-Pfalz
-Hans Deuter, Koffer-, Rucksack-u. Lederwarenfabrik, Augsburg, Bayern
-Mauser Werke K.G., Berlin-Borsigwalde
-Mauser Werke K.G., Oberndorf-am-Neckar, Nordrhein-Westfalen
-Mauser Werke K.G., Oberndorf-am-Neckar, Nordrhein-Westfalen
-Mauser Werke K.G., Oberndorf-am-Neckar, Nordrhein-Westfalen
-Mauser Werke K.G., Oberndorf-am-Neckar, Nordrhein-Westfalen (under french control)
hjh
bmo
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S/42
byf
svw
svw mb
I have still found, in my books or links, or internet at large, a reference to stainless lugers of WWII. Could it have been coated later?
I think it tracks to manufacture in Feb. of 1941.Comment
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Only other thing I found referencing the 42...
42 Mauser-Werke AG, Oberndorf on the Neckar (replaced by 'byf'). Found on small arms
So 42 does not mean year. I have one chart that says baa-bzz is 1941, but that may be a different thing, still look some more. I have a broomhandle book I can't find with a bunch of this stuff in it.
Some of the numbers are pretty well documented, but some are a pain to research. The "42" has designations in tables for parts group, ammunition usage, and plant of origin. It is not year. The 135 is from the government registry. After all, somebody has to pay for all this, so meticulous records were kept.Comment
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There should be a code starting wit WaA on it somewhere. For an example to save time, I made one my avatar.Comment
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The "byf" is on the rear toggle link.Comment
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One more thing... Pretty much all military war models don't have serial numbers, just the 4-digit group numbers. The full group number is the one under the front of the barrel. Now it's not as much of a "security risk" than giving out a serial number, but I'm thinking the last two digits of that is "42". Please tell me if I'm right or wrong. The 4-digit number is not on all parts, but the last two digits should be on practically everything.
SO that's pretty much all the publicly available info on that. There's a book that could actually tell you the inspector that stamped it at the plant, but no records that route on who actually carried it in combat.Comment
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42 is printed above the chamber, 72 is the last 2 of the 4 digit on the front below the barrel, and is all over the gun.Comment
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