Questions About ar 42 Marked Mauser

[Jdt]

Even with the Shellac/varnish stock it's still a very valuable and hard code for us K98K collectors to find, congrats on that snag. Looking forward to a full pic thread of your rifle when ya can!

 

[Cyrano4747]

I'm kind of curious what the material on the stock is. If it's a true shellac (which, frankly, I'd be surprised - you don't see that too much these days) it might be possible to remove it without damaging anything.

If it's a poly coat (which I suspect) that would be a lot more challenging and it might be better just left as is.

 

[Minnesota Belt Fed]

I'm kind of curious what the material on the stock is. If it's a true shellac (which, frankly, I'd be surprised - you don't see that too much these days) it might be possible to remove it without damaging anything.

If it's a poly coat (which I suspect) that would be a lot more challenging and it might be better just left as is.

So I tried removing some of it with finger nail polish remover and it started to come off fine. I didn’t do a lot, just enough to see. The laminate shows fine underneath and compared to Serb capture K98 with a laminate stock I have, it looks the same. May make for a good winter project

 

[Cyrano4747]

So I tried removing some of it with finger nail polish remover and it started to come off fine. I didn’t do a lot, just enough to see. The laminate shows fine underneath and compared to Serb capture K98 with a laminate stock I have, it looks the same. May make for a good winter project

FYI finger nail polish remover is usually just acetone with some extra stuff to not dry out skin quite as badly.

 

[Stephan98k]

Thanks for clarifying on Mauser Berlin production, I didn't know that they were considered a potential manufacturer of Gewehr 41(W)s and the use of dual codes being a result of that.

Your data on 1941 K98ks is quite interesting, I always thought that the low numbers of 41s in the US was a result of lower production totals that year and the Ostfront's beginning with the big drive to Moscow consuming a fair amount of them. I have to wonder if a majority of early 41 dated rifles ended up in occupied territories and remained there for the duration of the war and after (Norway, the Balkans, etc).

You are welcome. I don't know if this information with the G.41(W) has already been published somewhere and I would be curious to know what is written about it in the book "Rough Forged". Perhaps a G.41 or G.43 collector knows more.

There is a translated document in the K98k Volume II book in Chapter 1 on page 21. The document shows the date on which the decision with Mauser Berlin and the G.41(W) was communicated. It was during a meeting with Mauser director Holl and representatives of the Suhl group in May 1942. The first item on the agenda at this meeting was that the Sauer Group should manufacture the G.41(W) rifle. This item was removed from the agenda without further explanation after a telegram arrived from the Mauserwerke. Mauser Berlin is not mentioned directly in this document, you could only assume it - another Waffenamt document that is in the context of this document refers to Mauser Berlin and G.41(W) directly.
I may have expressed myself in a confusing way, the "Dual Codes" have no direct connection to the initially planned G.41(W) production.

There are always several reasons that led to this. Nevertheless, the data from the Norway K98k are very interesting and I have attached it for you, a lot 1941 production stayed in Norway.



By the way, Mauser Berlin "ar42" Sn. "5466k" was certainly not assembled in 1942, but in 1943. Early "k" block "ar42" have stock completion date codes of late January 1943.

 

[AN-94]

You are welcome. I don't know if this information with the G.41(W) has already been published somewhere and I would be curious to know what is written about it in the book "Rough Forged". Perhaps a G.41 or G.43 collector knows more.

There is a translated document in the K98k Volume II book in Chapter 1 on page 21. The document shows the date on which the decision with Mauser Berlin and the G.41(W) was communicated. It was during a meeting with Mauser director Holl and representatives of the Suhl group in May 1942. The first item on the agenda at this meeting was that the Sauer Group should manufacture the G.41(W) rifle. This item was removed from the agenda without further explanation after a telegram arrived from the Mauserwerke. Mauser Berlin is not mentioned directly in this document, you could only assume it - another Waffenamt document that is in the context of this document refers to Mauser Berlin and G.41(W) directly.
I may have expressed myself in a confusing way, the "Dual Codes" have no direct connection to the initially planned G.41(W) production.

There are always several reasons that led to this. Nevertheless, the data from the Norway K98k are very interesting and I have attached it for you, a lot 1941 production stayed in Norway.

View attachment 412426

By the way, Mauser Berlin "ar42" Sn. "5466k" was certainly not assembled in 1942, but in 1943. Early "k" block "ar42" have stock completion date codes of late January 1943.

There is mention in Rough Forged (new revision is nearly complete though, this is the original published version) on Page 230 to the document you are referring to, where Point 1 of the agenda being the investigation of the Sauer group producing the G41(W) was cancelled by Mauser director Holl in a telegram dated May 21, 1942. It doesn't go further into detail as to the rest of the memo and the interpretation I got from the text was that the cancellation was a maneuver by Mauser's Holl to deny the G41(W) the advantage of being subcontracted to Walther's immediate neighbors while Mauser Oberndorf was still struggling to produce the initial G41(M)s for troop trials out the door that month. The hinted at subcontext for G41W production is very interesting but I wonder if the possibility of MG42 production at Mauser Berlin and eventual production of the MG42 there is what ended up superseding the possible production of G41(W) production.

Thanks for posting the Norwegian K98k data, very interesting! The low number of 1942 examples certainly lends more credence to most 1942 dated rifles being sent east.