Absolut
Senior Member
Having the chance to be the first to take a look at a lot of probably 300-500 K98k (mainly, among them also some other stuff like G.24(t) or a small batch of Mosin Nagant PU snipers) which just had arrived from an arsenal from Albania to a dealer, I pulled out two rifles which feature the SS Double Claw scope bases. Remembering the rifle which was once pictured in Robert Spielauers book which is also SWP45 coded and featuring the SS Double Claw bases, I decided that I would buy both of them.
The rifle from Spielauers book was probably considered a fake by most readers. I was able to find out that the particular shown rifle in Spielauers book was once sold by ZIB Militaria in Germany, which is a dealer for deactivated rifles. And the shown rifle had been deactivated. Most I had asked considered the rifle a fake back then. I thought so too.
Now having two rifles in hand, which feature this base and in fact came straight from an arsenal, I think differently. Many if not most of the rifles were of Czech origin, meaning they were marked with DOT, SWP or other Czech manufacturers who made the K98k rifles. Hence I believe those rifles were sent as aid to Serbia/Albania from Czech Republic.
The two rifles are interesting in the way they both feature the very late type Kriegsmodell stock. While one is coded SWP45, the other rifle bears no receiver markings at all, also not on the side wall. The original Nazi markings on the SWP45 rifle had been overstamped, to make them unreadable.
Any guesses or ideas who made the overstamps? I had short phone discussions yesterday with Stan, Robert Spielauer and PPP on those rifles. To me now there would be three possibilities:
a) during the last days of WWII the SS depot where the SS sniper rifles were assembled was cut off from the supply of rifles made by Steyr. They then took what they were able to get and converted them to sniper rifles, which was a Czech manufactured K98k.
b) after WWII the Czech Army adopted or at least made trials of new sniper rifles, using the SS Double Claw sniper mount system.
c) made in Czech Republic post WWII for a foreign Army, like Israel.
While the first possiblity seems a bit unreal, especially since the rifles lack the SSZZA markings (and I don't assume they would had assembled the snipers directly in the factory), also possibility b is - according to Stan - not very realistic. He told me, that the only official post WWII sniper in Czech Republic was the K.43 rifle. And speaking of possibility c too, in case the rifles would had been de-nazified (by punching out the Swastikas) and then converted to sniper rifles, wouldn't they than had to be re-proofed, especially since this mount also requires milling straight through the locking area?
Attached to this post are pictures of the first rifle. Note that for taking pictures I decided to not have this rifle cleaned and show exactly the condition I bought it in. This rifle is lacking any manufacturer, year or model designation on the receiver and only carries a serial number.
Looking forward to opinions!
PS: as a small side note - among the rifles were also probably 10-15 rifles type G.33/40. Funnily two of the G.33/40 had an extended magazine by cutting down a K98k triggerguard (to the shorter length of the G.33/40 trigger guard), and welding to the floor another K98k trigger guard, but cutting off the front and rear end so that all was left was the magazine part.
PPS: the coolest "plain" K98k rifle I pulled out, was a Czech made K98k (DOT 1943 or something like this) which had the serial number 1 on the receiver - without suffix. So this means it was the first rifle made in that particular year. Unfortunately - like all (except for one single rifle) - it was not matching numbers.
The rifle from Spielauers book was probably considered a fake by most readers. I was able to find out that the particular shown rifle in Spielauers book was once sold by ZIB Militaria in Germany, which is a dealer for deactivated rifles. And the shown rifle had been deactivated. Most I had asked considered the rifle a fake back then. I thought so too.
Now having two rifles in hand, which feature this base and in fact came straight from an arsenal, I think differently. Many if not most of the rifles were of Czech origin, meaning they were marked with DOT, SWP or other Czech manufacturers who made the K98k rifles. Hence I believe those rifles were sent as aid to Serbia/Albania from Czech Republic.
The two rifles are interesting in the way they both feature the very late type Kriegsmodell stock. While one is coded SWP45, the other rifle bears no receiver markings at all, also not on the side wall. The original Nazi markings on the SWP45 rifle had been overstamped, to make them unreadable.
Any guesses or ideas who made the overstamps? I had short phone discussions yesterday with Stan, Robert Spielauer and PPP on those rifles. To me now there would be three possibilities:
a) during the last days of WWII the SS depot where the SS sniper rifles were assembled was cut off from the supply of rifles made by Steyr. They then took what they were able to get and converted them to sniper rifles, which was a Czech manufactured K98k.
b) after WWII the Czech Army adopted or at least made trials of new sniper rifles, using the SS Double Claw sniper mount system.
c) made in Czech Republic post WWII for a foreign Army, like Israel.
While the first possiblity seems a bit unreal, especially since the rifles lack the SSZZA markings (and I don't assume they would had assembled the snipers directly in the factory), also possibility b is - according to Stan - not very realistic. He told me, that the only official post WWII sniper in Czech Republic was the K.43 rifle. And speaking of possibility c too, in case the rifles would had been de-nazified (by punching out the Swastikas) and then converted to sniper rifles, wouldn't they than had to be re-proofed, especially since this mount also requires milling straight through the locking area?
Attached to this post are pictures of the first rifle. Note that for taking pictures I decided to not have this rifle cleaned and show exactly the condition I bought it in. This rifle is lacking any manufacturer, year or model designation on the receiver and only carries a serial number.
Looking forward to opinions!
PS: as a small side note - among the rifles were also probably 10-15 rifles type G.33/40. Funnily two of the G.33/40 had an extended magazine by cutting down a K98k triggerguard (to the shorter length of the G.33/40 trigger guard), and welding to the floor another K98k trigger guard, but cutting off the front and rear end so that all was left was the magazine part.
PPS: the coolest "plain" K98k rifle I pulled out, was a Czech made K98k (DOT 1943 or something like this) which had the serial number 1 on the receiver - without suffix. So this means it was the first rifle made in that particular year. Unfortunately - like all (except for one single rifle) - it was not matching numbers.
