G Dated H. Krieghoff

This is the legendary and seldom seen G-Dated Krieghoff, one of two hundred believed made a the Suhl plant at the very beginning of the contract. This gun is identified in the Gibson book as a Krieghoff made gun with the serial number interspersed with the "S" dated guns with the fine quality of Krieghoff is evident. This is a Chamber G-Dated 1935 Krieghoff, made for the German Luftwaffe from the 10,000 gun contract that was believed finished in 1938 with the shipment of the last 50 guns. This is a 1908 Model, 9mm with a 4" (100mm) Barrel is believed to be one of fifty. (1376)

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This G-Date Krieghoff' is described on page 150 of Gibson's *The Krieghoff Parabellum.* The Stage I and Stage II proofs are very early. This is a 1908 Model, 9mm with a 4" (100mm) Barrel, wooden grips and came with the rolled nickel aluminum base. Being the 10th gun produced it is not surprising that a DWM 9mm barrel (Crown N) marked was used in these early models.


Coming from an old collection in the Mid-West this Krieghoff is still in minty condition. When we got the gun it was jammed with cosmoline that had hardened and the outside was covered in axel grease. After three days of soaking in Hoppe's this historical gun began to emerge.

Military Krieghoff Lugers bear serial numbers of one through five digits without any suffix. They began military production in 1935 with the "S" Code at serial number 1 and continued consecutively upward until approximately 13000 in early 1945. The serial numbers overlapped "variations" as defined by collectors and require some study to be certain the exact variation one is looking at.

The underside of slide shows the proofs on the barrel, receiver, toggles and other small parts.

Proofing is extensive on all the small parts of these early Krieghoff's; the majority of the inspection proofs were on the underside of the part. Above we see the Early Stage II proofs under the 1st toggle and on the coupling link. Below you can see the proofs on the side of the breach block and rear toggle. The last two digits of the serial number appear on the 1st and 2nd toggle links.





Luftwaffe (German Air Force) and Fallshirmjaeger (Paratroops) were the ones issued the Luger under the original and subsequent purchases from Krieghoff. Below: Generaloberst Kurt Student directed Operation Mercury (Unternehmen Merkur), the airborne invasion of the island of Crete in May 1941.


Below Left: The early Krieghoffs' had the wooden characterized by a "hump" in the middle; this one shows they were serial numbered to the gun. Below Right: You can see the extractor raised to read GELADEN (loaded) for when there is a round in the chamber. This was both a visual and physical notification to the shooter who in the dark could feel that there was a round in the chamber. Unlike the US .45 where you pulled the trigger or opened the slide for the round to drop out.


Here you can see the highly defined late Krieghoff logo; there are four categories of defining the logo and this is of course the early HK, Anchor with the SUHL slanted to the right with the "U" having the rounded bottom. This is only found on the very early toggles soon to be replaced with the Type C the restored the Krieghoff to the logo.




Here is the right side of the Krieghoff with the stage II proofs and the final Krieghoff Logo that had experienced slight changes over the year.

Above Right: The Stage II proof of the Krieghoff magazine makes this a correct magazine for the gun and it is serial numbered to the Luger. Above Left: The frame is numbered "10" and the gauge markings and the Stage II HK inspection proofs are shown with the Crown N which suggests that the barrel was one of those inherited by Krieghoff from DWM parts it had on hand. The Germans wasted nothing.


The inside of this Luger is in Very Good condition. There are marks of rusting under the grips which is a caution to all collectors that the wood grips retain moisture long after the oil on the gun has evaporated. On the left side one can see the British marks on the barrel, frame and receiver. At this early stage the Locking Bolt is marked on the outside. This was later changed to a hidden position.

Above the firing pin and the firing pin retainer are both marked with the Stage II proofs.




Above With the grip removed and magazine inserted one can clearly see the proofs and serial numbers on the parts. The thumb safety is marked "Gesichert" and safe is in the down position. The extractor is marked "Geladen."

The rarity of the G-Date Krieghoff makes it very difficult for the Krieghoff collector to complete a series collection. All matching serial numbers and the 10th Luger produced under the Luftwaffe contract it should be a prize in any collection.

A lot of collectors will wait for a better gun to come along but when applying this rule to the G-Date Krieghoff one's lifetime may transpire before another comes along.

This extremely rare "G" dated 1935 Krieghoff is the crowning jewel in most Krieghoff collector's collection. If there are any questions regarding this end of the war issue email josef@phoenixinvestmentarms.com .