Third Party Press

NPEA Oranienstein School DSM Mauser

joe359

Junior Member
Thought I might share an interesting rifle and see if anyone knows more about how many of these were NPEA marked. I know there were only about 43 NPEA schools in total and each school marked the rifles with their letter code (Oranienstein was O). Anyone know any sources for information on how many rifles the schools had or anything on the history behind them? I did find some stuff listed in Wikipedia but was wondering if anyone ran across anything more. These do not seem to be that common, I've had it for quite some time but finally decided to see if I can learn more about it. Thanks!
Joe
 

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I don't have information regarding the rifle but can provide some details regarding NAPOLA Oranienstein. In 1942 Oranienstein had 251 students in eight classes. It was considered a medium size institution with one class graduation each year. NAPOLA class sizes was relatively small and could vary between 10 to 35 students depending on the facility and time of enrollment. By simple average (251 divided by eight) yields approximately 31 students per class. That number seems reasonable for a class undergoing small arm and/or range training although one might speculate that actual shooting was by smaller groups or in shifts. Regardless, it wouldn't seem that a large quantity of these rifles would be required. Hope this helps .....
 
Slash,
Thanks for the info, it is very helpful to know something more about the school. Never thought too much about these little trainers before but they certainly are a world of their own and quite interesting once you dig deeper.
 
Thanks for sharing Joe. Only recently started to get interested in trainers. This one seems in quite high condition. The school marking only enhances it IMO.
 
One could only guess at quantities, but certainly not a huge number since some of the schools would not have had shooting facilities on site. Subtract from that figure the rifles which did not survive, and yes, it is a rare item. Image is from Training Rifles of Third Reich Germany.

Steve

NPEA.jpg
 
Guys - Thanks for the additional comments. Yes the rifle is in very good condition, looks like I lucked out in finding it. At the time I bought it I didn't know what the NPEA was but got it since condition was there.
Thanks for the photo - very interesting. I'll have to get that book - looks like a wealth of information.
Would also be interesting to see if anyone else here on the forum has any school rifles that they wish to post photos of - interesting to see other school markings and what other makers besides Mauser were used.
 

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