Useful excerpts about soldiers disassembling K98k's, Waffenmeisters & field reworks

[Stephan98k]

You are very welcome!

@tsmgguy
The German Wehrmacht and the US armed forces was similar in many areas, they also set up huge depots and nearly everything was well organized at the beginning of the war, but from 1944 the conditions changed a lot.
But already at the beginning of the war, problems arose, in that case because of the rapid advance of the combat troops. The rear army and supply troops should be armed at least with rifles but there was a shortage of weapons. Often the unarmed troops came into areas that had not been completely cleared and they had to use Beutewaffen in such a emergency case to fight against the enemy. For example I have a complaint about this topic from the 31. Infanterie Division from July 22, 1940.

 

[Stephan98k]

Shortage of spare parts for Gewehr 98 & M.P. 38/40

Again a document about shortage of spare parts, in this case for Gewehr 98 & M.P. 38/40. Keep in mind post #76: Shortage of spare parts for Pistole 08 & Pistole 38


Generalkommando Mellenthin Abt.Qu., Tgb.Nr. 678/44 geh. - K.Gef.St., November 9, 1944

Generalkommando Mellenthin
Abt.Qu., Tgb.Nr. 678/44 geh.

K.Gef.St., November 9, 1944.

Special orders for the supply No. 25

I didn't translate this and the following paragraphs

VI.) Weapons and equipment.

2.) There will be no deliveries in the supply from now on:

a) for Gewehr 98:
Front sight leaf J 12
Stock J 71
Rear band retaining spring J 79
Rifle sling J 101
Rivet pin J 128

b) for M.P. 38 / 40:
Magazine pouch, right J 53 009
Grip J 53 033
Stock, complete J 53 083
Brace, left J 53 095
Brace, right J 53 096
Magazine J 53 184
Magazine holder, complete J 53 222
Coil spring for magazine catch J 53 224
Rivet for magazine holder J 53 231
Sight base J 53 225

 

[Stephan98k]

Beutewaffen - War booty report

As we all know, the Wehrmacht was in a desperate position in 1944. Nevertheless, the bureaucracy still worked and the orders had to be respected. The Divisions had to submit a war booty report to the superior services, here are two examples from October 1944.

227. Infanterie Division


281. Infanterie Division



The 227. Infanterie Division captured some Russian rifles, some machine pistols and one light machine gun. All weapon was unserviceable and the Division send them back to the Div.G.S.St. (Division equipment collecting point). I guess the light machine gun was a M.G. 120 (r), the Russian Degtjarjow DP-28.

The 281. Infanterie Division captured not only Russian weapons, also German ones and the war booty report is quite interesting. They kept all the serviceable German weapons in their Division to use them, in addition a lot of the Russian weapons. Keep in mind post #74: Beutewaffen ammunition from June 14, 1944.

Gen.St.d.H /Gen.Qu announced that the supply of ammunition is no longer guaranteed for these weapons and after consumption of the existing ammunition, the weapons are to be pulled out of the deployment and delivered to the equipment depot. But especially there was a lack of machine guns in the German units and therefore they kept so many M.G. 120 (r). Of course this was an emergency solution due to the supply problem with the Russian ammunition. Therefore the Wehrmacht wanted to solve the problem in a different way, soon I will report about it.

 

[Stephan98k]

Status report and stockpiling - Weapons and equipment

A important order by the Commanding General of the L.A.K. about the status report and stockpiling of weapons and equipment.

Generalkommando L.A.K. Der Kommandierende General Qu. Nr. 1829/44 geh. - K.Gef.Std., November 11, 1944

Generalkommando L.A.K.
Der Kommandierende General
Qu. Nr. 1829/44 geh.

Secret

K.Gef.Std., November 11, 1944

Subject: Status report and stockpiling.
Reference to: The Supreme Commander of the 16. Army,
O.Qu./Qu.1 from September 5, 1944.



The OKH has repeatedly stated that during evasive maneuver have lost large amounts of valuable and irreplaceable supplies because:

a) the stocks of ammunition, food and supplies were often larger than indicated in the report,

b) inventories of supplies were hoarded.

Heavy losses of equipment, weapons and valuable supplies have again been lost during last month's withdrawal movements, as the troop, in spite of sharp prohibitions, has accumulated supplies of all kinds that could not be cleared in the event of suddenly necessary withdrawal or hostile breakthroughs due to lack of column space.

The limited home production because of air strikes can not create a full replacement for these losses. In addition, part of the losses benefit the enemy.

The overall supply requires the most economical management of all supplies and recording of all reserves.

For this purpose, it is ordered:

1.) Checking the correctness of all stock reports of the troop in the Qu.-area by the actually available stock.

2.) All supplies, in particular weapons, equipment, motor vehicles, spare parts, clothing and horses, which are in excess of the ordered equipment or are laying in storage and repair facilities, must be returned immediately to the nearest Army-storage.
It is explicitly pointed to the order L.A.K./Qu./W.u.G. Nr. 594 / 44 geh. from November 3, 1944.

3.) An accumulation of supplies, weapons and equipment that can not be repaired within a short time, and of unusable equipment is to be stopped by all means.

4.) "Special storage" of the Divisions and the troops in the rear area are to be dissolved and the stocks to be forwarded to the nearest Army-storage.
In the home country existing troop stocks (for example, in locations or former refreshment rooms) are to be identified and reported.

5.) In view of the tense situation in all supply areas, every stockpiling and false report must be dealt with by a court martial.

6.) For the 28th of every month, the Division Commanders and independent commanders of the Corps and Army troops report that
a) the stocks of ammunition, food and supplies are not greater than those stated in the notifications,
b) stocks of supplies are not hoarded so as it hamper their mobility.



<signature: Friedrich Jobst Guido Otto Volckamer von Kirchensittenbach>
Commanding General L.A.K.

 

[mike radford]

Wow, what a thread. Thanks to all.

 

[Warrior1354]

You are very welcome!

@tsmgguy
The German Wehrmacht and the US armed forces was similar in many areas, they also set up huge depots and nearly everything was well organized at the beginning of the war, but from 1944 the conditions changed a lot.
But already at the beginning of the war, problems arose, in that case because of the rapid advance of the combat troops. The rear army and supply troops should be armed at least with rifles but there was a shortage of weapons. Often the unarmed troops came into areas that had not been completely cleared and they had to use Beutewaffen in such a emergency case to fight against the enemy. For example I have a complaint about this topic from the 31. Infanterie Division from July 22, 1940.

You know I have a picture of Patton at a U.S weapons depot close too the front. I'll have too find it. Found that picture in a pile of pictures at a show.

Stephen is there any mention of the SVT40 rifle being pressed more in to service? Just curious I know these rifles were quite popular on the Eastern front.

 

[Stephan98k]

Jordan, sounds nice and I would like to see the picture of General Patton.

It's good that you mention the SVT40 rifle, yesterday I thought about it. I was surprised because they were quite popular on the Eastern front and you can see them in many pictures, but I couldn't find a single one in the stock list (in 1944) and I was checking some Divisions.
In "D 50/1 Kennblätter fremden Geräts" from March 20, 1941 it's listed. The SVT40 has the German name "Selbstladegewehr 259 (r)" and with scope "Selbstlade-Zielfernrohrgewehr 260 (r). I have a order from the General Army Communications May 7, 1942 and there they describe how to zero in the rifle and which ammunition they had to use. If you are interested, then I could translate it in the next weeks.

 

[Warrior1354]

I appreciate that Stephen be very interesting too see what you turn up. The Patton picture is interesting. He's standing over a table of battlefield pickup Garands and Carbines with a shocked expression on his face. The weapons themselves are all still covered in dirt, grime, etc. Sadly we all know where those rifles came from.

 

[mike radford]

Jordan, sounds nice and I would like to see the picture of General Patton.

It's good that you mention the SVT40 rifle, yesterday I thought about it. I was surprised because they were quite popular on the Eastern front and you can see them in many pictures, but I couldn't find a single one in the stock list (in 1944) and I was checking some Divisions.
In "D 50/1 Kennblätter fremden Geräts" from March 20, 1941 it's listed. The SVT40 has the German name "Selbstladegewehr 259 (r)" and with scope "Selbstlade-Zielfernrohrgewehr 260 (r). I have a order from the General Army Communications May 7, 1942 and there they describe how to zero in the rifle and which ammunition they had to use. If you are interested, then I could translate it in the next weeks.

I would love to see the translations related to the scoped SVT, whenever you have the time. Thank you.

 

[Stephan98k]

I would love to see the translations related to the scoped SVT, whenever you have the time. Thank you.

I'm sorry, I said it in a unclear way. Unfortunately I just have the order for the 259 (r) and not the scoped 260 (r). But I'll show it anyway and if I get the order for the scoped SVT40, I'll show it too. By the way, I also have some interesting sniper documents.

This thread is usually about disassembling K98k's, Waffenmeisters & field reworks, nevertheless I will continue to collect here useful informations about various topics. In the future I will split and sort everything. Yesterday I found evidence of unusual Beutewaffen on the Eastern front, which I rather would expect on the Western front. The 5. Jäger-Division has used American machine pistols on the Eastern front.

 

[chasdev]

In years past the question of which individual rifle was issued to which individual soldier was determined to be un-knowable and would never be available to modern collectors due to destruction of the records.
To me the information you are translating and posting is on the that same level, just fantastic, and I for one never expected to learn any of this in my lifetime.

 

[Stephan98k]

In years past the question of which individual rifle was issued to which individual soldier was determined to be un-knowable and would never be available to modern collectors due to destruction of the records.
To me the information you are translating and posting is on the that same level, just fantastic, and I for one never expected to learn any of this in my lifetime.

It is nice that we all can learn something new, then my work really makes sense. With these documents we get a glimpse into the history and maybe together we can solve some mystery, every little part is another part of this huge puzzle.

By the way, sometimes you have luck and you get to know which individual rifle was issued to which individual soldier. Joachim Wilde was literally born in my neighborhood and he served in Waffen SS regiment "Germania". He got issued the Sauer & Sohn "147 1938" with the serial number "5286 k". Maybe you want to look at the interesting thread by Peter U: SS Germania officer Soldbuch

 

[Stephan98k]

Beutewaffen - Zeroing in the SVT-40 -

Here is the order from the General Army Communications about zeroing in the Russian SVT-40 rifle. The rifle is listed in "D 50/1 Kennblätter fremden Geräts" from March 20, 1941 as "Selbstladegewehr 259 (r)".


Tokarew SVT-40

General Army Communications published by the Army High Command - Berlin, May 7, 1942
Zeroing in the Russian self-loading rifle “Tokarew” (Mod. 1940).




Tokarew SVT-40 (shortened version)

In "D 50/1 Kennblätter fremden Geräts" is listed a shortened version of the SVT-40 as "Selbstladegewehr 259/2 (r)".




Tokarew SVT-40 (with scope)

The scoped SVT-40 got the German designation "Selbstlade-Zielfernrohrgewehr 260 (r)".

 

[Bavarian Joe]

I'm sorry, I said it in a unclear way. Unfortunately I just have the order for the 259 (r) and not the scoped 260 (r). But I'll show it anyway and if I get the order for the scoped SVT40, I'll show it too. By the way, I also have some interesting sniper documents.

This thread is usually about disassembling K98k's, Waffenmeisters & field reworks, nevertheless I will continue to collect here useful informations about various topics. In the future I will split and sort everything. Yesterday I found evidence of unusual Beutewaffen on the Eastern front, which I rather would expect on the Western front. The 5. Jäger-Division has used American machine pistols on the Eastern front.

Thompsons? They may have acquired them from US armored vehicles supplied to the Russians. Small arms were part of the equipment package.

 

[mike radford]

Here is the order from the General Army Communications about zeroing in the Russian SVT-40 rifle. The rifle is listed in "D 50/1 Kennblätter fremden Geräts" from March 20, 1941 as "Selbstladegewehr 259 (r)".




Tokarew SVT-40

General Army Communications published by the Army High Command - Berlin, May 7, 1942
Zeroing in the Russian self-loading rifle “Tokarew” (Mod. 1940).

View attachment 176645 View attachment 176646 View attachment 176647


Tokarew SVT-40 (shortened version)

In "D 50/1 Kennblätter fremden Geräts" is listed a shortened version of the SVT-40 as "Selbstladegewehr 259/2 (r)".

View attachment 176654


Tokarew SVT-40 (with scope)

The scoped SVT-40 got the German designation "Selbstlade-Zielfernrohrgewehr 260 (r)".

View attachment 176655

Amazing information. Thank you. The middle rifle is of course not the shortened SVT but the SVT 38.

Any sniper info you have will be most appreciated by myself and Matt, among others.

I have always wondered if Sepp A. used a PU or a PEM before he was issued a German sniper, likely a HT, after he completed official sniper training.

The Soviet sniper rifles were quite capable as most Germans discovered.

Thank you.

 

[Stephan98k]

Thompsons? They may have acquired them from US armored vehicles supplied to the Russians. Small arms were part of the equipment package.

Yes, I think the 5. Jäger-Division used captured Thompsons. Russia got some through the U.S. Lend-Lease program. The supply of .45 ACP ammunition was certainly very deficient at the Eastern front, so I'm surprised they used the American machine pistol.

 

[Stephan98k]

Amazing information. Thank you. The middle rifle is of course not the shortened SVT but the SVT 38.

You are very welcome!

It isn't a SVT-38, basically the rifle is a shortened SVT-40 and they produced only a few of the carbine version, it's called SKT-40.
Here you can compare it:



1. SVT-38 - Selbstladegewehr 258 (r)
2. SVT-40 - Selbstladegewehr 259 (r)
3. SKT-40 - Selbstladegewehr 259/2 (r)

 

[Stephan98k]

Any sniper info you have will be most appreciated by myself and Matt, among others.

I have always wondered if Sepp A. used a PU or a PEM before he was issued a German sniper, likely a HT, after he completed official sniper training.

The Soviet sniper rifles were quite capable as most Germans discovered.

Thank you.

I will work on the sniper documents in the next days, you and some other members here are the experts and I hope the informations are useful.


I'm not sure if Sepp Allerberger used a PEM or PU scope. I have his book, "Im Auge des Jägers", and here are a few excerpts:

Sniper training school near city Judenburg in Austria at the military training ground "Seetaleralpe"

"On a table was laying four rifles with scope, three K98k and one Gewehr 43. The Gewehr 43 had a scope "Modell 4" with side mount from the company Voigtländer. The first K98k had a ZF41. The second K98k had a 6x scope (Zielsechs) with side rail mount from the company Zeiss. The third K98k had a Dialytan scope from the company Hensoldt, it was on a very solid pivot mount on top of the receiver."

"On Monday of the second week was a big day for the participants, because in the morning came a truck with large boxes, they was marked with the manufacturer code "byf". The boxes contained brand new K98k with 4x scope on a turret pivot mount and every participant got one rifle. Each participant who passed the course was allowed to keep the rifle and take it to the front."

 

[capt14k]

You are very welcome!

It isn't a SVT-38, basically the rifle is a shortened SVT-40 and they produced only a few of the carbine version, it's called SKT-40.
Here you can compare it:

View attachment 176789

1. SVT-38 - Selbstladegewehr 258 (r)
2. SVT-40 - Selbstladegewehr 259 (r)
3. SKT-40 - Selbstladegewehr 259/2 (r)

Who made the shortened SVT-40? Germans? My understanding has always been that the shortened SVT-40 was attempted, but was a failure and never produced. All the ones I have ever seen here were made in Canada or Upstate NY. That is the first time I have seen the German info sheet. Thank you for the info.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Stephan98k]

Who made the shortened SVT-40? Germans? My understanding has always been that the shortened SVT-40 was attempted, but was a failure and never produced. All the ones I have ever seen here were made in Canada or Upstate NY. That is the first time I have seen the German info sheet. Thank you for the info.

The Russians made the shortened version, but I have no idea how many got produced. Certainly the German army captured a few and therefore the entry in the "Kennblätter fremden Geräts". I think I had a German capture report from 1941/1942 but I can't find it anymore in the thousands of documents.