19'41' Mauser byf Black Widow SS Rig  SOLD

PHOENIX INVESTMENT ARMS - PREMIUM COLLECTOR LUGERS

This is a 1941 Chamber dated "41" Mauser byf built by contract for the German Schutzstaffel SS after the contract for the P-38 was in production. The SS had their own procurement system.   This Parabellum is 9mm with a 4" (100mm) barrel that is proofed and serial numbered to the gun.  Serial number placement is in the military ("exposed") style. The thumb safety is marked "Gesichert" and extractor "Geladen."  This example has all matching numbers. This is a complete rig as taken from the battlefield with the gun, holster, 2nd magazine, loading tool, belt & buckle. (1452)

This Parabellum has a stock lug, is all blued (as post 1937 Lugers were with Mauser) and a hold open. Late in 1941 the Waffen amt inspector "E/655" was replaced by "E/135" and so began the new proofs.  In November 1942 formal production of the Luger stopped but there were still orders to fill and so up until 1942 Mauser Lugers were being assembled from existing stocks of parts.

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The Waffen-SS, formed in 1940, was the true military formation of the larger SS, and as such, it is the main focus of this section. Formed from the SS-Verfungstruppe after the Campaign in France in 1940, the Waffen-SS would become an elite military formation of nearly 600,000 men by the time WWII was over. Its units would spearhead some of the most crucial battles of WWII while its men would shoulder some of the most difficult and daunting combat operations of all the units in the German military. The Waffen-SS is sometimes thought of as the 4th branch of the German Wehrmacht (Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine) as in the field it came under the direct tactical control of the OKW, although this notion is technically incorrect as strategic control remained within the hands of the SS. To this day the actions of the Waffen-SS and its former members are vilified for ultimately being a part of the larger structure of the political Allgemeine-SS, regardless of the fact that the Waffen-SS was a front line combat organization.

The Waffen-SS training stressed individuality and there was no fostered division between the officers and enlisted men.  Mission training built cohesive units with special training and tough fighting skills. They were taught to live-off-the-land and their weapons were based more on availability rather than standard issue.  When the Wehrmacht was converting to the P38 the SS retained the Luger as their sidearm.

 

Mauser-Werke and Berliner-Karlsruher Industrie-Werke (BKIW), [BKIW was the successor to DWM (Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken)] had common ownership.  In 1930 the machinery, technicians and supplies were moved from Berlin-Wittenau to Oberndorf and BKIW's interest in the Parabellum ceased.  There is a "V" notched rear sight and stock lug.

To conceal production a series of alphabetical dates were assigned in addition to the code on the toggle byf (issued to Mauser in February 1941).  ''41" dates are representative of the Luger accepted by the German military in 1941. This Luger has a deep blue, almost commercial color to it.  It is in very clean condition and an exceptionally fine piece.

The gun is all matching with the serial number on the barrel, the frame and comes with two FXO black bottom magazines. These were the prescribed issue for the black Bakelite grips.

There is a  proofed loading tool and two FXO black based Type III magazines. The fxo on the magazine tells us that it was manufactured by C. G. Haenel Waffen-U-Fahrradfrabrik in the city of Suhl. The Eagle 37 is the German military acceptance stamp used at the Haenel Factory commonly called the Waffenamt. Proof. These magazines were salt blued/black with extruded steel, black plastic bottoms and a new zig-zag spring with the P.08 markings. These magazines were supplied for mostly Mauser Lugers bearing the Code 42 or byf on the toggles and are exceptionally durable magazine.

 

The SS was established in 1925 as a personal guard unit for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler ("Die Schutz-Staffel der NSDAP" [Shield Squadron of the NSDAP]). Under the leadership of Heinrich Himmler between 1929 and 1945, the SS grew from a small paramilitary formation to become one of the largest and most powerful organizations in Nazi Germany. The Nazis regarded the SS as an elite unit, the party's "Praetorian Guard," with all SS personnel (originally) selected on the principles of racial purity and unconditional loyalty to the Nazi Party.

Wehrmacht Soldier Receive Iron Cross

Above Left a Luger armed soldier being awarded the Iron Cross. Above Right: A recruiting post for the Waffen-SS.

In contrast to the black-uniformed Allgemeine-SS, the political wing of the SS, the military wing, the Waffen-SS evolved into a second German army aside the regular one, the Wehrmacht, operating in tandem with them. The Waffen-SS were encouraged to use confiscated weapons and individual initiative was rewarded.  These were committed troops with high loyalty and honor.

 

Here is the back of the holster with the "41" date and the P08 stamp along with the Waffen amt acceptance proof.  We strive to provide pictures so you can judge for yourself if the gun meets your criteria. The leather is in very good condition with all the stitching intact. All parts of the holster are still pliable and functional.  This rig comes with the all-matching Luger, a loading tool, an extra matching magazine, a period belt and Nazi SS belt buckle.  This SS buckle was worn by an enlisted man with his field uniform. What a wonderful WWII battlefield bring-back.

Offered with this 41 Mauser byf all matching Parabellum is furnished with a 1941 dated holster, two FXO magazines, a loading tool and period holster with an SS Buckle. In 1941 it was ordered that the Luger and the holster be marked with the P.08 designation. There does not appear to be a special reason for this unless the fact the original hard-shell P-38 holsters were originally marked that way but that is a superficial answer to a question no one has yet answered.

  

The SS motto was "Meine Ehre heißt Treue" ("My honor is Loyalty.") The SS rank system was unique in that it did not copy the terms and ranks used by the Wehrmacht's branches (army, air force, navy), but instead used the ranks established by the post-WWI Freikorps and taken over by the SA.

 

The issue of these "black" appearing Parabellums to mostly police and Gestapo units and their use of as props in era war movies gave them the "sinister" connotation associating  the Luger and the Nazi's.  Ralph Shattuck, the former world renowned Luger collector for over 40 years, is credited with applying the term "Black Widow" to these pistols of the 41-42 era with black plastic grips and magazines. Aptly applied the term has stuck with collectors the world over.

Above Left: You can see the last proofs at Mauser for the Luger, the Eagle 135 (and below), on the right is the extractor marked GELADEN (Loaded) which rises up to signal the shooter that a round is chambered and which of course that one can feel in the dark. Below you can see the Waffenamt test proof which is found on the 1939-42 Parabellums.

Serial number placement is in the military ("exposed") style.   The serial number appears on the front of the frame, on the side of the locking bolt, on the trigger, on the bottom of the barrel, the side plate,  the left side of the receiver, the safety bar, the sear bar, the rear connecting pin, and on the extractor. Note on the barrel is an Eagle 135 indicating a newly made barrel that was proofed.

 

The Waffen-SS (German for "Armed SS", literally "Weapons SS") was the combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron") or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside the Wehrmacht Heer regular army, but was never formally part of it. It was Adolf Hitler's will that the Waffen-SS never be integrated into the army: it was to remain the armed wing of the Party and to become an elite police force once the war was over.

 

This picture shows Hitler holding the “Blood Flag,” the flag carried during the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, probably the most “sacred” relic of the Nazi Party. The Blutfahne (Blood flag) was a Nazi Swastika flag which was used in the attempted Nazi Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, Germany on 9 November 1923 and one of the most revered objects of the German Nazi Party.  The flag was actually that of the 5th SA Sturm that was covered in blood from members of the Nazi Party who had been shot by the Munich Police. The flag was thereafter treated as a sacred object by the Nazi Party, and it was c2arried by SS Sturmbannführer Jakob Grimminger at various Nazi party ceremonies. One of the most visible uses of the flag was by Adolf Hitler, who at the annual party rallies at Nuremberg, touched other Nazi banners with the Blutfahne, thus 'sanctifying' the new flags with the old.

This is a good clean example of the Mauser 41. It has shows the Mauser deep blue and displays minor holster wear. There appears to be no pitting or damage to the surface and represents a fine example of that period Luger. This Luger has been cared for over the years and shows well both inside and out. The barrel is strong with distinctive lands and grooves.  Below you can see the last two digits of the serial number on the thumb safety and 1st and 2nd toggle links.

Above Right:  Here you see the Parabellum in full recoil and you can see the last two digits of the serial number on the rear main axel pin.  In 1932 the Reichswehrministerium issued an order that the rear connecting pin be serial numbered to the gun which was required by order in 1933. The Mauser manufactured "hump" at the rear of the frame this is the classic Model 1934 as manufactured for German Military Acceptance as witnessed by the various Eagle 135 Waffen Amt proofs. Here you can see all the parts marked with the last two digits of the serial number plus the Geladen (Loaded) on the Extractor and the Gesichert (Safe) on the thumb safety.

Above Left: Note the Extractor marked Geladen (Loaded) protruding from the breach block of the gun.  Not only was there the visual sign the gun was loaded but also at night one could feel the extractor and know a round was in the chamber. Above Right: An anti-communist poster indicating Germany's role to free Europe of the Bolshevik Communists.

The pistol shows the minor honest wear of war with shiny points at the high ridges where it came in contact with the holster.  This gun and holster's condition suggest it was more for parades and special occasions rather than combat duty.

This is a very clean weapon, holster and belt. The answer to where this was captured is lost in time but the components are from the same period.  The holster has the white stitching and all parts are in excellent condtion.

 

Adolf Hitler reviewing the SS (Schutzstaffel) along with Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (right with lapel open) who was a German Waffen-SS general, an SS-Oberstgruppenführer, and one of the men closest to Adolf Hitler. For his wartime services, he was one of only 27 men to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds.

 

It is entirely subjective to give any Luger a rating of excellent or fine, just as it is to declare it xx% blued or strawed. Few Lugers are out of the box new and these are premium priced. Bluing percentages is like Beauty, in the eye of the beholder. We would rather answer your questions and provide you with photographs than ship guns back and forth.

This battlefield pickup comes with an all matching P08 41 Mauser byf, a 1941 holster plus matching magazine in minty condition and a loading tool proofed to the gun. Questions concerning this offering to josef@www.phoenixinvestmentarms.com   We reserve the right to sell any internet offerings to a direct sale and do not warrant the availability of any firearm that does not have a cash deposit. This 1941 Mauser Black Widow Rig is offered for $3,895.00 over the counter and is already discounted for cash.

 

LAYAWAYS:  Sometimes our "significant other" doesn't understand the beauty, craftsmanship and investment potential of one of these investor grade weapons.  In these circumstances where discretion becomes the better part of valor we will accept layaways of up to one year with at least 20% down and some activity occurring monthly to insure that after one year the sale is completed.  Cancellations of layaways forfeit 33% if done within two months, otherwise 100%. You can transfer a layaway to a consignment sale at any time. See "Legal" for exact terms.

 

See Credits, Bibliography, Notices and Disclaimers.

3 Day Return Policy

We honor a three day return policy. We will answer any questions, send you any pictures, as detailed as you want, to insure that what we are showing you is what you want to see, before you buy it.  See Legal.

FIRING ANY WEAPON NEGATES ANY CHANCE OF RETURN!

WARNING: We do not represent these guns as safe to fire. They are not test fired before sale; they are sold as collectibles only. Prior to firing you should have it inspected by a qualified individual and abide by all safety requirements.

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