German sidearms in WWII- Who got what?

[jar]

Interesting about that ! In the First WW France was short pistols and began to buy the "Ruby Type " pistols. I Have one made by Astra , it has the small "F" on the frame near right side of trigger guard that was French acceptance. The ones from the various Spanish manufacturers to get french acceptance had to take the "standard " magazine the French inspector had and function with it. Many didn't and they don't (normally) have the French acceptance F stamp. I found this out as I wanted to get another mag for mine and was warned to look for the F on the magazine to make sure it fit . It did !

Correct. But for the Brazillion other Rubys out there, Liberty Tree has a whole herd of magazines from almost every maker and based on the maker's mark on the left rear frame you can often buy the correct magazines even for civilian or reject Rubys

 

[Waveski]

You always hear about pistols that came home with our GIs but I wonder if there are a few us 1911s that stayed in german families hands. And Japanese for that matter. Granted our gun laws are much more relaxed than theirs (especially japan) but there has to be at least a few in germany, and japan.

Given the fanatical commitment required of Japanese soldiers , I think that the incidence of individual service members completing their tour and rotating home with a duffle bag of personal belongings (including war prizes) was quite low , almost unheard of.

 

[Mike OTDP]

It's my understanding that the German policy was to issue a sidearm to all personnel in uniform...and I've heard they included positions that we would consider civilian as "in uniform". Which made for a high demand. The Germans were not at all averse to keeping arms factories in conquered countries open to make guns for the Reich.

Troops that were likely to see ground combat got 9mm sidearms...and the pecking order seems to have been Lugers, then P-38s, then anything else in that caliber. Troops in Norway got Norwegian 1911s in .45...they had an ammo supply.

If you were a pilot, mechanic, sailor, etc....you were likely to get something in 7.65. The Germans tried to standardize calibers, at least. I've read that the Mauser HSc production went to their Navy. Party officials got Walthers by preference.

And all of this was a guide...if the supply officer had a Beretta 1934 in .380, you got that. There was a war on, after all...

 

[Ignition Override]

Just random, boring info here, so don't bother.
How many times do you hear that a Sauer 38H or such,
"was taken from a German nurse"? This happened with a 38H with which I'm "familiar". At least it's much more plausible than so many stories.

My late father-in-law, freshly graduated from Texas A&M, was a career Army Quartermaster, had volunteered in England to be attached to the 101st Airborne (was in town of Bastogne during the siege, etc).
* He was among the first officers in the house of Nazi Luftwaffe General Hermann Goering in Bavaria, and in that Haus he liberated a few of his handguns.

Old John couldn't remember which types of handguns, and even if he had Not given them away when he owed different people a favor after the war, there was No information to connect these guns to Goering, or anybody else.

 

[lsudave]

The German Army in WWII is noted for the vast assortment of handguns issued to its ranks. How was it determined who got what type- a "combat", like a P38 or P08, versus a "badge", like a PPK or HSc. I assume that the line combat forces would get more of the "combat" guns, with the staff officers and higher rank commanders with the "badge" guns, but where was the cutoff? SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, about as high ranking a person as you could get, supposedly wielded a P08 during his assassination attack (Operation Anthropoid) in 1942. Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Only thing I've got is a CZ 27 for the railroad service.

 

[Jonesy814]

A friend's grandfather brought back a P38, holster and the SS Officers wallet that he took the gun from. The story was that his grandfather's unit occupied a French town. People came and reported a small group of Nazis hiding in a basement. His grandfather took his squad and got them to surrender. The holster had a metal deaths head insignia on it

 

[Ignition Override]

Jonesy814: Imagine if those SS soldiers had been in a home's second story, instead of trapped in a basement (grenade fodder).

So nice for him to have the gun and owner's wallet, which had been 'befreit' (freed, liberated).

*Did you ever serve onboard a nuclear submarine, by chance, possibly traversing Thor's Twins?

 

[Jonesy814]

Jonesy814: Imagine if those SS soldiers had been in a home's second story, instead of trapped in a basement (grenade fodder).

So nice for him to have the gun and owner's wallet, which had been 'befreit' (freed, liberated).

*Did you ever serve onboard a nuclear submarine, by chance, possibly traversing Thor's Twins?

I told him I thought it would be interesting to try to track down the German, since the wallet had his ID in it
I never served on a submarine

 

[Ignition Override]

Jonesy814: True, and if other family members survived the war, it might not be super difficult, as so many Europeans remain in their native villages or Stadtkreis.
A German lady acquaintance in 1977 introduced me to her grandmother and grandfather, still in their original Haus, which had been accidentally damaged by US bombers trying to hit nearby Karlsruhe. This reminds me....my P6 needs a new layer of Seal One CLP...

Your nickname reminds me of the innovative USN crewmember in "The Hunt For Red October".
My active-duty career neighbor (LT or LTC) served on subs, but partly out of the chance of possible confusion (?) he won't answer any questions-even about what has been published in books etc for many years.