German WW2 Ordnance Codes for Military Rifles

German WW2-era military rifles usually have markings on the receiver, barrel, rear sight, and stock, from which one can get some information about the history of the piece. The top of the receiver (that part of the barrel into which the bolt shoves the cartridge) usually has a 2- or 3letter code with a number below it. (Early codes were sometimes numerical or a combination of letters and numbers.) The code indicates the manufacturer of the receiver, and the number below the code is the year in which the part was made. Other markings are usually either proof marks (indicating that the barrel was test fired with cartridges loaded with a larger charge of gunpowder than normally used to ensure safety) or Waffenamt (ordnance department) markings, indicated by the symbol of an eagle with outstreached wings with the letters WaAxxx below, where xxx is a 2- or 3-digit number indicating which Waffenamt accepted the piece. The following table lists the ordnance codes found in Mauser Bolt Rifles by L. Olson (third edition, F. Brownell & Son, 1976, 12th printing 1991). They can be used to get some historical information about your particular rifle. These codes may apply to German pistols of the same era, but I have no information about that. As always, I'm not responsible for any inaccuracies in Olson's data, just for the transcription. Please report any errors to me. German WWII Rifle Ordnance Codes Code ar ax bcd Manufacturer Mauser-Werke AG, Werk Borsigwalde, Berlin-Borsigwalde, Eichborndamm Feinmechanische Werke GmbH, Erfurt, Altonaerstr. 25 Gustloff Werke, Werk Wiemar, Weimar

bcd/ar Dual code; denotes manufacture jointly by Gustloff Werke in Weimar, and Mauser-Werke AG, Berlin bnz byf ce dot dou duv svw swp S/27 Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG, Werk Steyr, Steyr, Austria Mauser-Werke AG, Oberndorf a./N J.P. Sauer & Sohn, Suhl Waffenwerke Bruenn AG, Brno, Czechoslovakia Waffenwerke Bruenn AG, Werk Bystrica Berlin-Luebecker Maschinenfabriken, Werk Luebeck Late code for Mauser-Werke AG, Oberndorf a./N Late code for Waffenwerke Bruenn AG, Brno, Czechoslovakia Erfurter Maschinenfabrik (ERMA); came under same management as Feinmechanische Werke GmbH

S/27G Erfurter Maschinenfabrik (ERMA); came under same management as Feinmechanische Werke GmbH S/42 Mauser-Werke AG, Oberndorf a./N, early code S/42G Mauser-Werke AG, Oberndorf a./N, production in 1935

S/42K Mauser-Werke AG, Oberndorf a./N, production in 1934 S/147 J.P. Sauer & Sohn, Suhl S/147G J.P. Sauer & Sohn, Suhl S/147K J.P. Sauer & Sohn, Suhl S/237 S243 27 42 147 237 243 337 660 945 Berlin-Luebecker Maschinenfabriken, Werk Luebeck Mauser-Werke AG, Werk Borsigwalde, Berlin-Borsigwalde, Eichborndamm Erfurter Maschinenfabrik (ERMA); came under same management as Feinmechanische Werke GmbH Mauser-Werke AG, Oberndorf a./N, early code J.P. Sauer & Sohn, Suhl Berlin-Luebecker Maschinenfabriken, Werk Luebeck Mauser-Werke AG, Werk Borsigwalde, Berlin-Borsigwalde, Eichborndamm Gustloff Werke, Werk Weimar, Weimar Steyr-Daimler Puch, Steyr, Austria Waffenwerke Bruenn AG, Brno, Czechoslovakia

S243G Mauser-Werke AG, Werk Borsigwalde, Berlin-Borsigwalde, Eichborndamm

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