[Shelly]

This is a very late 1918 Erfurt; s/n 6320t with Erfurt-proofed magazine 7565t(+). There are some odd things about this gun: no eagle proofs on the barrel, right reciever, left side of toggle; no bore diameter on barrel (but the s/n is present as is an RC stamp over a c/letter inspector mark); forward two crowns on right frame have no inspector letters under them; right side of magazine release button has no proofmark. The side plate isn't quite rectangular - the top edge angles downward a bit back-to-front. Also the gun is not as roughly machined as most late Erfurts.


Download Attachment: Erfurt 1918 - R.gif
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Download Attachment: 1918 Erfurt - L.gif
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Download Attachment: Erfurt 1918 - R inspector marks.gif
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[Jan C Still]

Shelly
Because your 1918 Erfurt does not bear proofs or completed acceptance stamps or a barrel gauge; I would guess that it did not pass inspection toward the end of World War I production, went unproofed, and was set aside. Some time later it made its way out of the factory (Lunchbox special?).
Jan

 

[Shelly]

Jan:
I'm not sure about the processes of Luger manufacture but since I believe that Lugers are blued after the inspectors stamps are applied (no halo) then why would anyone blue the gun if it didn't pass inspection? Also, the grips are numbered and proofed and I would think they would be fitted at the end of the production process. Again, if the gun wasn't going to be used, why bother? I just got around to reading an old issue of AUTOMAG (8/03) and on page 184 I saw a photo of a Kl 1933 Erfurt with the same 2 empty crowns - but with the proof eagle present. Late 1918 was a tumultuous time in Germany. Were there any strikes or Sparticus vs. government street battles in Erfurt that could have disrupted production? I have no good answers but I do have the gun (and the late "t" block mag) which I'm happy with. That will have to be enough for now.
Shelly

 

[lugerlou]

Shelly

You wrote that you saw a picture of a 1933 kl Erfurt on page 184 of automag. The Erfurt plant was shut down by the allies after the first great war as the allied commission viewed the large Erfurt plant as a threat to rearmament.

Did you mean a DWM luger with only two proofs/acceptance marks

The term used by Jan Still "lunchbox special" is also called a "sneak luger" in that the luger was pulled of the assembly line to be exported out of the factory via the lunchbox and this could have happened as well as the potential to blue the firearm, no one actually knows all the possibilities that could have occured in that time.

 

[Shelly]

LugerLou:

The Kl was definately an Erfurt that was presumably put together from rejected parts that Simpson inherited from Erfurt.

As I understand it, the rust bluing process is multi-staged and not a thing that gets done quickly. If it was a theft/lunchbox situation presumably one of the "bluers" wasn't entirely honest.

It's just an odd situation with not enough facts. Nice gun though, and probably one of the last Erfurts made.

Shelly

 

[Vlim]

Hi,

Work in most DWM plants was halted after December 1918 and the company was down for a number of months, parts restarting in mid-1919. Since the shutdown of the plant meant unemployment for most workers, it's not hard to imagine that some workers left their workplace, taking some 'compensation' in the form of goods on hand with them.

I would not be surprised if a similar event took place at the Erfurt arsenal.