Third Party Press

Unusual G43

One other interesting thing to note which may give provenance to the whole "captured action put in random stock" theory.

I noticed this on the stock.

It looks like duct tape was on the stock at one time. Duct tape was invented in WW2.

Do you think a roll of tape was put around the barreled action and stock to hold everything together during shipping by the G.I. since the upper handguard is missing?




In 1942
 
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Maybe these rifles were assembled by left over parts late in the war. You don't have to buy a new bolt group - just a new firing pin.
 
I had a theory.

I wonder if Walther was making a separate serial run of g43 for Volkstrum use? Similar situation to Spreewerke with the zero series cyq. U stamps were used in place of nazi firing proofs and some acceptances.


 
So is it possible they were re-armouring previously rejected receivers as complete rifles for volkssturm? It was late war. And it did have a Volkssturmgewehr sling.

Guess its just reaching. But never know.

So just browsing previous auctions, whats on the market, photos on Google. The one from iCollector and mine are only 2 ive seen that have a "U"
 
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CanadianAR said:
I had a theory.

I wonder if Walther was making a separate serial run of g43 for Volkstrum use? Similar situation to Spreewerke with the zero series cyq. U stamps were used in place of nazi firing proofs and some acceptances.


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The serif 'U' on the rifle looks identical to that seen on the slides of the '00' prefix guns which strikes me as a little odd.Spreewerk 0047.jpg
 
What's the chance this rifle was assembled at KZ Neuengamme? They were known to use St. Etienne receivers. And they assembled P38 at the same location.
 
GunKraut said:
What's the chance this rifle was assembled at KZ Neuengamme? They were known to use St. Etienne receivers. And they assembled P38 at the same location.
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Very interesting!

"Work at the mother camp was centered on the production of bricks. This included the construction of a canal to transport the bricks to and from the site. Inmates had to excavate the heavy, peaty soil with inadequate tools and regardless of weather conditions or their health state.[9] From 1942, several armaments companies (e.g. Messap, Jastram, and Walther-Werke) established facilities right beside the Neuengamme concentration camp.[11] Walther used their camp facility to manufacture Gewehr 43 semi-automatic rifles."


Taken from Gunboards:

"If you read page 98 of Hitler's Garands, it states:

The author speculates that production at Neuengamme may have accounted for up to 25% of Walther's total G/K43 production for 1944 and 1945. The exact number will probably never be known as, according to a letter to the author dated October 28, 1998 from Leonie Guldenpfennig, of the KZ-Gedenstatte, Neuengamme,

...unfortunately you cannot tell if a certain gun was produced at Neuengamme, because they don't show an engraving [or marking] concerning the origin or where they were produced.

If W. Darrin Weaver was unable to find out how to tell if a rifle was made at Neuengamme, it is unlikely that anyone can find out."

But, if that "U" IS a connection?
 
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CanadianAR said:
The zero series I posted should have that same U on the slide but was missing.

There is a chance there's a connection.
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The first '0' series usually don't have the serif U on the slide, it's the non-serif version. Some of the 0s have an FP on the slide in addition to the non-serif U.
 
RyanE said:
The first '0' series usually don't have the serif U on the slide, it's the non-serif version. Some of the 0s have an FP on the slide in addition to the non-serif U.
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Ahhh ok. Finding these is hard enough, and then getting
People to post up good photos is a while other fight. Haha

Do you think there is a connection Ryan?
 
CanadianAR said:
Ahhh ok. Finding these is hard enough, and then getting
People to post up good photos is a while other fight. Haha

Do you think there is a connection Ryan?
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Possibly. It is a little weird that they both use the same stamp (maybe even the same die?) in apparently the same way.
 
I wouldn't concentrate on the "serif" vs. "no serif" aspect, die makers could send dies to anyone in the pipeline, so it's not a "tell" so to speak. But, I like the theory that the U could replace a firing proof on a Volkssturm issue assembly. There was a lot of odd things happening at the factories very late in the war- it could also indicate a failed component as I stated (I have issued swp45 rifles with "U" marked barrels, accepted by the Waffenamt).

There is probably no paperwork to back it up, but I honestly feel the rifle posted is as brought back, and maybe even as built by Walther for whatever reason - to the OP - don't shoot it. Find a parts rifle and put it to work. This one has some collector value even as a mismatch - it isn't a high dollar rare unicorn or anything, but you should probably sell it to someone who collects them. Or - if you want a shooter, find a collector willing to trade you a better example for shooting (maybe plus some cash). Then you could have the best of both worlds, and some K43 collector can have a weird oddball in his collection.
 
Don't Shoot

I bet it would headspace and shoot just fine. But I wouldn't it's a rifle to study and learn from. You can shoot any G43. But this one has a story to tell. It has more value as study project than a shooter.
 
I think Farb's advice is the best advice OP. I shoot my collection. Even the ones I am told I shouldn't, but I wouldn't shoot that specimen. So if I were you I would look to trade with a G43 collector for a nice shooter.

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capt14k said:
I think Farb's advice is the best advice OP. I shoot my collection. Even the ones I am told I shouldn't, but I wouldn't shoot that specimen. So if I were you I would look to trade with a G43 collector for a nice shooter.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
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What kind of value should I put on this? I don't think i'd sell it. Maybe trade it. But monetarily I would have to have some basis to work off of.
 
I have no idea how to price this, I'm not really up to speed on K43 prices.


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