UNSURE OF WW2 K.98 E/ MARKINGS

[HEY_LT]

Hello,

I had a question about markings: I have several wartime K.98 barrel bands all Waffenampt-marked. Two I had really I hard time figuring out were Eagle-over-1 and an Eagle-over-4.

I figured out that E/4 was for BSW according to various other bits of equipment similarly marked.
I'm still unsure about E/1, other than to believe it's a Luftwaffe acceptance, as I have on a Femaru holster and on an Mg.15 barrel vise. Other than that, I was unable to find anything on the net. Any ideas ?

Thank you in advance.

Lou

[ltong29]

It's not a Luftwaffe acceptance. E/1 was assigned to the Chemnitz area, mostly parts made by Astrawerke ("L" manufacturer mark, K98k part subcontractor). Parts were made by subcontractors and sent to a depot in Chemnitz were they were inspected. Each subcontractor had a letter assigned to them.
Astrawerke made receiver:

Astrawerke made bolt:

Front band:

Rear band:

Magazine floorplate:

While E/4 was used by BSW, it wasn't used by Gustloff, which was the successor to BSW (Assets from BSW were transferred to Gustloff in Weimar). Before the move, BSW would inspect the subcontracted parts in-house, resulting in the E/4 inspection mark in addition to the letter contractor mark. After the move, the subcontracted parts were inspected before being sent to Gustloff, resulting in the E/1 inspections in additions to Gustloff's (E/46, E/18, E/221, E/749, etc).

[HEY_LT]

WOW, That's a lot of info..

So, ASTRAWERKE was the main contractor, right ? But how do you mate an E/1 band to the proper K.98 ?
I have a guy interested in getting a couple of my bands and he was asking me about the E/1. I did not want to give him wrong info as I do not have the knowledge to ascertain.

[HEY_LT]

Personally I'd never heard of an " AstraWerke" K.98, or would a Gustloff-made or BSW receiver be "the" K.98 a E/1 would go to ?

[ltong29]

WOW, That's a lot of info..

So, ASTRAWERKE was the main contractor, right ? But how do you mate an E/1 band to the proper K.98 ?
I have a guy interested in getting a couple of my bands and he was asking me about the E/1. I did not want to give him wrong info as I do not have the knowledge to ascertain.

Astrawerke was a major K98k part subcontractor. It was part of a consortium of subcontractors known as the Saxon Group. Both BSW and Gustloff were more K98k assemblers, manufacturing some parts in house while also receiving parts from these subs. While BSW was in business, all the parts were inspected at BSW, hence having the E/4. It was eventually dissolved and Gustloff was established in Weimar since it was closer to the Chemnitz-Dusseldorf area where the Saxon Group was located. A waffenamt team (the people responsible for inspecting parts) was established in the Chemnitz area and parts were inspected now in Chemnitz as opposed to in Gustloff. The waffenamt for Chemnitz was E/1. E/1 is not necessarily the waffenamt inspection for Astrawerke exclusively, but the entire Chemnitz area. Astrawerke had a subcontractor code of "l" (Lowercase L). When the parts were manufactured, Astrawerke would stamp it's subcontractor code onto the parts and send them to a waffenamt station in Chemnitz. There they would be inspected and if they passed inspection, they would receive the E/1 mark.

While Gustloff was the biggest customer of Astrawerke parts, other manufacturers, such as JP Sauer, BLM, Mauser-Borsigwalde, Feima, and Steyr did receive Astrawerke receivers (and not other components) from time to time. A "l" and E/1 inspected band would most likely belong on a Gustloff rifle (337, BCD marked receiver).

Gustloff receiver inspection patterns are:
Supplier code, Chemnitz inspection, 3x Gustloff inspections
Pre-War Astrawerke-supplied Gustloff receiver ("l" E/1 E/46 E/46 E/46)

Early-War Astrawerke-supplied Gustloff receiver ("l" E/1 E/749 E/749 E/749)

i supplied, E/1 inspected rear sight

[Rogerbutthead]

If you wanted to ask the guys who wrote the Karabiner 98K books, you could inquire at this site - http://www.k98kforum.com/forumdispla...he-Nazi-Period

[HEY_LT]

Astrawerke was a major K98k part subcontractor. It was part of a consortium of subcontractors known as the Saxon Group. Both BSW and Gustloff were more K98k assemblers, manufacturing some parts in house while also receiving parts from these subs. While BSW was in business, all the parts were inspected at BSW, hence having the E/4. It was eventually dissolved and Gustloff was established in Weimar since it was closer to the Chemnitz-Dusseldorf area where the Saxon Group was located. A waffenamt team (the people responsible for inspecting parts) was established in the Chemnitz area and parts were inspected now in Chemnitz as opposed to in Gustloff. The waffenamt for Chemnitz was E/1. E/1 is not necessarily the waffenamt inspection for Astrawerke exclusively, but the entire Chemnitz area. Astrawerke had a subcontractor code of "l" (Lowercase L). When the parts were manufactured, Astrawerke would stamp it's subcontractor code onto the parts and send them to a waffenamt station in Chemnitz. There they would be inspected and if they passed inspection, they would receive the E/1 mark.

While Gustloff was the biggest customer of Astrawerke parts, other manufacturers, such as JP Sauer, BLM, Mauser-Borsigwalde, Feima, and Steyr did receive Astrawerke receivers (and not other components) from time to time. A "l" and E/1 inspected band would most likely belong on a Gustloff rifle (337, BCD marked receiver).

Gustloff receiver inspection patterns are:
Supplier code, Chemnitz inspection, 3x Gustloff inspections
Pre-War Astrawerke-supplied Gustloff receiver ("l" E/1 E/46 E/46 E/46)

Early-War Astrawerke-supplied Gustloff receiver ("l" E/1 E/749 E/749 E/749)

i supplied, E/1 inspected rear sight

Dang, THAT was thorough. Thank you very much !