1945 Presentation H. Krieghoff

This is the legendary 1945 Dated Krieghoff, one of two hundred believed made at the Suhl plant at the very end of the war. This was the last of the wartime Nazi Lugers and the fine quality of Krieghoff is still evident. This is a Chamber Dated 1945 Krieghoff, made for the German Luftwaffe from over-run parts based on the 10,000 gun contract that was ostensively finished in 1938 with the shipment of the last 50 guns. These were the very last of the war time Lugers before the plant was occupied by the American troops in Suhl. This is a 1908 Model, 9mm with a 4" (100mm) Barrel. (1565)

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In 1934 the Luftwaffe announced it was seeking bids for military pistols. It is assumed that Krieghoff had acquired the old Erfurt Luger tooling from Simpson to enable it to contract for only 10,000 Lugers in 9mm. The chamber date places the assembly as an example of the original military contract.

Reichmarshall Hermann Göering as Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) was directly involved in the contract with Heinrich Krieghoff as the corporate head of Reichwerke Hermann Göering which let Luftwaffe contracts.

Göering entered the army in 1914 as an Infantry Lieutenant, before being transferred to the air force as a combat pilot. The last Commander in 1918 of the Richthofen Fighter Squadron, Göering distinguished himself as an air ace, credited with shooting down twenty-two Allied aircraft. Awarded the Pour le Merite and the Iron Cross (First Class), he ended the war as a much decorated pilot and war hero.


This is one of the super-rare 1945 Krieghoff's, its picture appears on pages 199-213 of Gibson's *The Krieghoff Parabellum.* Although adopting the black plastic late war "122" E37 magazine the bottom is pinned and represents a higher quality than those found on the similar Mauser models. This Luger is in marvelous shape and can only be thought of as a presentation gun that late in the war.



The front sight is the full blade inverted "v" mounted on the 150mm barrel. The finish is the deep salt blue that is applied to a finely polished surface and it gives the gun the fine quality of a sporting arm that Krieghoff is famous for. The grips went from maroon to black after 1939 and the magazines were nickel-plated roll based until the 6000 serial number range when they became blued Haenel Schmeisser extruded magazines until the late production when the reverted to the 122 code or blank sleeved magazines were utilized. Commercial magazines in the Series I were plated, rolled and extruded; as commercial guns were made for attractiveness for sale.



This is an all-matching gun with the last two digits of the serial number throughout the Parabellum and the parts. There are Stage I and Stage II proof marks . The late Stage II (stylized) begin in the 1940's and help us verify the date of these parts.

Above you can see the early Eagle 6 and the later Stage II proofing on the same piece with the star. Undoubtedly this was an early rejection piece and it was picked up and re-inspected receiving the Stage II (Late). The small stars were the rejection marks from the first inspection; Krieghoff had a rejection rate of less than 10% while Mauser ran in the 40% range.

The firing pin and follower have the early Eagle 6 while the side plate has a star and the late Stage 2 proof with the original serial number under the side plate and below shows where it was then stamped on the outside for the engraved presentation.




Here we can see the "hold open" on the Left above and the last two digits of the serial number. Above right we see the extensive engraving is extended to the grip screws and it has the correct "122" magazine for the 1945 Model.

Here is the right side of the Krieghoff with the Krieghoff Logo that had experienced slight changes over the year. Some collectors hold that these guns were produced in one lot in 1944 and delivered later, others link the proofs and inspector marks to two different production lots. In any case if you believe the date of production or the date of delivery dictated the head stamp date this gun clear is dated 1945 is clearly a "P" code presentation gun with the civilian Eagle proof.

The very early Series I "P" code is denoted by the "foot" on the "P". There were no serial numbers on the barrel at this stage, however the gauge markings and the wartime commercial Eagle N proof is visible. By the end of the war Krieghoff was adopting the H/S Blank or E122 magazines. The matching serial number on the frame and the commercial Eagle proof on the barrel.


The Above With the grip removed 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" with the inside of this Luger in Very Good condition. Someone recognized the value of this gun and it has been well cared for over the last 67 years.
Above Left: The engraved grips feature the traditional German Oak Leave Engraving as show in the Gibson Book the *Krieghoff Luger.*
	Above you can see the Geladen or Loaded which was unique to the Luger in that you could both see it and feel it when there was a round in the chamber. The grips are the very early Ritzmann variations of the fine diamond variation and are prized by the collectors due to limited number of Krieghoffs they were applied to.

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 13158 (known) 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 Krieghoff logo represents the Die Type B-2 which is the version is found only on the low "S" series dated 1936 Krieghoff's. The blade is symmetrical and the word Suhl slants to the right with the "U" having the square bottom. The very low serial number and "P" Code in line with the serial number and a foot on the "P" means this gun was produced in the very early lot and was later assembled in 1945 as a presentation piece which was found in the factory by the veteran who retrieved it. We will never know of its destination.

Serial number placement is in the military ("exposed") style. Gibson reported just 200 dated 1945 Lugers were finished before the factory was overrun by units of the American 11th Armored Division. This is fine, well struck example. Since these guns are so rare, (we have only seen four in 35 years) we have included some more detail pictures for your enjoyment.

The thumb safety is marked "Gesichert" and safe is in the down position. The extractor is marked "Geladen." This Luger has all matching numbers. The barrel is not numbered yet proofed as was standard for 1945. There are extensive LWaA 1st & 2nd acceptance proofs throughout the gun. Clean and finely struck.

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This extremely rare Presentation 1945 dated 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.