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Dear all,
I was hoping to use your collective wisdoms to help identify a Luger P.08 which we have found amongst my late grandfather’s stuff. My Grandfather was born in Ahar- Iran (1920) and moved to Tehran at some point in the late 1970’s before the revolution in Iran. Nobody in the family had any idea this thing even existed until sadly my Grandmother also passed away a few weeks ago and we came across this gun a week or so ago at the bottom of an old metal trunk.
I should mention that I have some limited experience with guns, mainly through being a member of a gun club near where I live in the UK but I am not that experienced with pistols as these are essentially outlawed in the UK. I’ve fired a few Glocks, Colts and Sigs etc. but this pistol looks nothing like any of those, so please excuse my ignorance when it inevitably is made evident by something silly I am bound to say/ask. I appreciate your patience in this.
I am aware that some Persian contract guns were produced for Iran (Persia) and carried Persian markings. This gun does not carry any Persian markings. The gun is very rusty and since its very existence totally freaks my relatives out I can’t get to it that often. But from what I’ve been able to figure out. It carries the serial number 7752 which matches numbers 52 stamped on all other parts. See photos. The letters ‘byf’ are stamped on top of the slide. I understand this means that the pistol was produced by Mauser sometime between 1940-1942 but other than that I can’t find any more information on this.
I really want to figure out how this gun ended up in my grandfather’s possession. At the moment, it’s a complete mystery since he is no longer with us and no one it seems (apart from my Gran) was aware he even had it. How the hell did this thing even make its way to Iran all the way from Germany?!?! Iran didn’t participate in WWII and was invaded by the allies as a pre-emptive measure before even a single shot was fired in anger.
The gun was not looked after very well and is covered in rust especially around the magazine port and the slide both of which are totally seized. The brown leather holster is also quite crusty and dry. I don't seem to be able to unsnap the button on the extra magazine compartment.
Some of the markings are covered in rust which make reading them rather difficult. Should I attempt to clean these up so I can read all the markings? If so what should I use? Apparently some chemicals damage the bluing.
I would like to release the magazine/slide also to ensure there are no rounds in the pistol. I was thinking WD-40 which I can get hold of here in Tehran but some of the more specialist liquids I’ve read about online would be difficult to find here. I’m in Tehran for 3 more days before I have to leave for the UK and I would love to make a start on solving this mystery on this visit. I would appreciate any and all help. thanks in advance.










image post
I was hoping to use your collective wisdoms to help identify a Luger P.08 which we have found amongst my late grandfather’s stuff. My Grandfather was born in Ahar- Iran (1920) and moved to Tehran at some point in the late 1970’s before the revolution in Iran. Nobody in the family had any idea this thing even existed until sadly my Grandmother also passed away a few weeks ago and we came across this gun a week or so ago at the bottom of an old metal trunk.
I should mention that I have some limited experience with guns, mainly through being a member of a gun club near where I live in the UK but I am not that experienced with pistols as these are essentially outlawed in the UK. I’ve fired a few Glocks, Colts and Sigs etc. but this pistol looks nothing like any of those, so please excuse my ignorance when it inevitably is made evident by something silly I am bound to say/ask. I appreciate your patience in this.
I am aware that some Persian contract guns were produced for Iran (Persia) and carried Persian markings. This gun does not carry any Persian markings. The gun is very rusty and since its very existence totally freaks my relatives out I can’t get to it that often. But from what I’ve been able to figure out. It carries the serial number 7752 which matches numbers 52 stamped on all other parts. See photos. The letters ‘byf’ are stamped on top of the slide. I understand this means that the pistol was produced by Mauser sometime between 1940-1942 but other than that I can’t find any more information on this.
I really want to figure out how this gun ended up in my grandfather’s possession. At the moment, it’s a complete mystery since he is no longer with us and no one it seems (apart from my Gran) was aware he even had it. How the hell did this thing even make its way to Iran all the way from Germany?!?! Iran didn’t participate in WWII and was invaded by the allies as a pre-emptive measure before even a single shot was fired in anger.
The gun was not looked after very well and is covered in rust especially around the magazine port and the slide both of which are totally seized. The brown leather holster is also quite crusty and dry. I don't seem to be able to unsnap the button on the extra magazine compartment.
Some of the markings are covered in rust which make reading them rather difficult. Should I attempt to clean these up so I can read all the markings? If so what should I use? Apparently some chemicals damage the bluing.
I would like to release the magazine/slide also to ensure there are no rounds in the pistol. I was thinking WD-40 which I can get hold of here in Tehran but some of the more specialist liquids I’ve read about online would be difficult to find here. I’m in Tehran for 3 more days before I have to leave for the UK and I would love to make a start on solving this mystery on this visit. I would appreciate any and all help. thanks in advance.










image post