The Mauser Parabellum made under French Control

                                                     Extracted from the book : “The Parabellum is back! 1945 - 2000”

                                                                                                                                                       Co-Author Mauro Baudino Oberndorf and Mauser Under French Control The   war   ended   for   Oberndorf   am   Neckar   on   the   20th   of   April   1945.   On   the   19th   of   April   between   1am   and   2:30am   part   of   the   “9e   Regiment   de Chasseurs   d’Afrique   –   9   R.C.A.”   crossed   the   River   Rhine   at   the   French   town   of   Beinheim.   At   7:00am   they   reached   the   city   of   Kuppenheim,   where   they received   the   order   to   move   to   Freudenstadt   to   support   the   Division.   At   6:30pm   they   arrived   at   their   target   after   having   travelled   some   200km   without encountering   German   resistance.   Their   purpose   was   to   divide   the   German   forces   that   were   withdrawing   into   the   Black   Forest   area.   The   men   of   Col. Labarthe   were   ordered   to   occupy   the   town   of   Oberndorf   and   to   take   control   of   the   Mauser   Company.   On   the   20th   of   April   around   4:00pm   Oberndorf was   occupied   by   the   Jullien   and   Du   Crest   squadrons   under   the   command   of   Major   Jaleques.   Mauser   was   secured   by   the   troops   and   the   French   and the Polish prison labor camps were liberated. Five French NCOs lost their lives during the struggle and several soldiers were injured... Parabellum Made Under French Control In   June   1945,   now   under   French   control,   Mauser   started   producing   (or   rather,   assembling)   guns   for   the   French   army   again,   as   the   French   were   short on small arms. Mr. August Weiss , already employed by DWM and responsible for small arms production at Mauser (1930-45), was placed in   charge   of   the   new   production   under   French   control.   In   a   document   dated   1973,   Mr.   Weiss   answered   several   questions   by   Dr.   Gminder    about   the production under French control. He stated that until March 1946 the following guns were produced: 1. 47,696 K98k rifles 2. 6375 Mauser 45 en .22lr carbines 3. 35,000 P38 pistols 4. 20,000 Mauser HSc pistols 5. 2560 P08 pistols Mr.   Weiss   also   stated   that   the   availability   of   P08   receivers   was   really   limited.   Included   in   the   August   Weiss   files,   there   is   an   internal   Mauser   document dating from the 2nd of May, 1946 sent to Dr. Harnisch of Department 300. It related to the production in April 1946. ... French Variations An   analysis   of   the   pistols   reported   in   France   and   the   USA   allows   for   the   classification   of   five   different   French   variations.   This   classification   is   mainly based on the proof marks found on the pistols, the numbering rule, and so on. It is possible that in the future more variations could be found if more pistols are reported. Three   of   the   French   variations   are   based   upon   the   type   and   position   of   proof   marks,   the   first   one   on   the   re-use   of   military   receivers   and   the   last   one mainly on a different numbering position rule. The   serial   numbers,   without   a   letter,   are   consecutive   for   all   the   variations,   although   an   overlap   has   been   discovered   between   the   third   and   fourth variation. This is easily explainable because the difference between the third and the fourth variation is mainly the re-use of military dated receivers   (42   on   the   chamber)   instead   of   the   undated   one.   It   means   that   when   the   end   of   the   supply   of   undated   receivers   was   approaching,   for   a while both of them were used. The serial number without a letter is synonymous with a small production (less than 10.000 pieces). The   third   variation   is   characterized   also   by   a   sub-variation.   Some   of   the   pistols   had   been   sold   to   the   Austrian   Army   and   they   received   a   BH   property stamp (Bundesheer or ‘State army’) in the area under the takedown lever... The Artillery Luger made under French control The   Artillery   Luger   (Lange   Pistole   08   –   LP08)    is   one   of   the   most   collectable   Luger   models.   The   reintroduction   of   the   Artillery   Luger   by   Mauser   in 1945-1946   is   for   sure   intriguing.   What   is   important   to   highlight   is   that   Mauser   never   produced   long   barrels   for   the   Artillery   Luger,   they   came   from DWM.   In   the   inventory   date   26th   March   1930,   4726   LP08   barrels   were   available,   1000   blued,   the   remaining   in   white.   Some   of   the   long   barrels   were still   available   when   the   French   arrived   and   this   was   the   reason   why   they   asked   Mauser   to   assemble   what   is   today   considered   to   be   one   of   the   rarest Artillery   Luger   variations.   This   model   was   mainly   assembled   as   a   gift   for   officials   or   on   special   demand.   To   assemble   the   new   LP08s ,   the   Mauser engineers   used   the   frames   and   receivers   of   standard   P08   pistols,   reworking   the   receivers   by   introducing   the   small   step   in   the   front   upper   edge   of   the receiver clear to the back end of the barrel-mounted sight block. Readers   interested   in   a   complete   description   of   the   Mauser   Parabellum   production   from   the   Mauser   Company   archive   can   refer   to   the book “ The Parabellum is back! 1945 - 2000 ”. A description of the book and the purchase modality can be found in the web site: www.theparabellumisback.com