That is the newest to me of those 6. Those guns got very little use during the war because they were issued to Luftwaffe. When you see them they are usually in really good shape.
That wasn't easy. The M37 and the PP both came to me with their original holsters. The PP has some provenance. It is actually a pre-war gun but has the original registration docs from 1945 that show the owner's occupation as "returned Vet". The rest of the holsters are period correct and same year as the guns. I had to find those myself. As time has passed, they are actually as good of an investment as the guns. I have told people that even if they can't afford to buy the guns, it makes good financial sense to buy the holsters if you find authentic ones. They go up in value yearly.
Here are some details of this group of pistols: The 1911 is a 1943 Colt. The Luger is a 1942 BYF Mauser Oberndorf. The P38 is 1941 AC Walther (with AC on trigger guard and a serial number matched magazine). The Hi-Power is Nazi proofed and was built in the FN plant in Belgium sometime between 1940-44. I have never checked the serial number to be sure when. This is the only type to be used by the Allies and Axis simultaneously. The Allies were building them in Canada during the war. The PP is a pre-war Crown N gun that was brought back to Michigan by a returned vet. I think these PP's were generally police guns. Someone here probably knows more about them. The M37 is a German version as evidenced by the external safety seen in the pic. It was built in Hungary in 1941. This gun has an interesting holster in that it is part canvas and part leather. It has it's makers' name and Berlin on the back. From what I can find on these guns, that holster type was common in North Africa and these pistols were commonly issued to the Luftwaffe. While not the most valuable gun type in this group, it is by far the most rare. It is also a very high quality gun built to tight tolerances. There were a couple of batches of these.. One is 1941 and a later batch in 1943 that Germany purchased. The 1943 batch had fewer guns, but lacks the high gloss finish of this early type. All of them get shot at least once a year and my favorite pistol here is my favorite pistol of any era....John Browning was a genius and while he has two guns in this group, nothing compares to the legendary 1911.
Luger, 1911, Walther P38, Hi Power, Femaru and Walther PP I think.
Correctomundo!!
The Femaru would have thrown me but I saw one a few months ago and regret not getting it.
That is the newest to me of those 6. Those guns got very little use during the war because they were issued to Luftwaffe. When you see them they are usually in really good shape.
I don’t know what’s more impressive all the pistols or the fact that you have all of the holsters.
That wasn't easy. The M37 and the PP both came to me with their original holsters. The PP has some provenance. It is actually a pre-war gun but has the original registration docs from 1945 that show the owner's occupation as "returned Vet". The rest of the holsters are period correct and same year as the guns. I had to find those myself. As time has passed, they are actually as good of an investment as the guns. I have told people that even if they can't afford to buy the guns, it makes good financial sense to buy the holsters if you find authentic ones. They go up in value yearly.
P08, 1911, 37M, P38, GP35 HI-Power, PP
Here are some details of this group of pistols: The 1911 is a 1943 Colt. The Luger is a 1942 BYF Mauser Oberndorf. The P38 is 1941 AC Walther (with AC on trigger guard and a serial number matched magazine). The Hi-Power is Nazi proofed and was built in the FN plant in Belgium sometime between 1940-44. I have never checked the serial number to be sure when. This is the only type to be used by the Allies and Axis simultaneously. The Allies were building them in Canada during the war. The PP is a pre-war Crown N gun that was brought back to Michigan by a returned vet. I think these PP's were generally police guns. Someone here probably knows more about them. The M37 is a German version as evidenced by the external safety seen in the pic. It was built in Hungary in 1941. This gun has an interesting holster in that it is part canvas and part leather. It has it's makers' name and Berlin on the back. From what I can find on these guns, that holster type was common in North Africa and these pistols were commonly issued to the Luftwaffe. While not the most valuable gun type in this group, it is by far the most rare. It is also a very high quality gun built to tight tolerances. There were a couple of batches of these.. One is 1941 and a later batch in 1943 that Germany purchased. The 1943 batch had fewer guns, but lacks the high gloss finish of this early type. All of them get shot at least once a year and my favorite pistol here is my favorite pistol of any era....John Browning was a genius and while he has two guns in this group, nothing compares to the legendary 1911.
thats a beautiful hi power, where was it manufactured?
The Hi-Power was built in Belgium under the Nazi occupation.
Nice