Third Party Press

German Flare Guns, Flares, and Accessories

pzjgr

EOD - bombs and bullets
I don't see much in here on German flare guns, flares, and accessories, so I thought I'd post something up that hopefully many can add to.

So first up, flare guns. Germany had a large variety of flare guns, and each service had their distinct models. I have the two most common Army type flare guns.

First up the Heeres Modell developed by Walther, built by several companies. This one is a 1937 ERMA produced gun. Like early 98k's there are a plethora of inspections on this one...

These came with a holster, shoulder strap and cleaning rod. This particular holster, though dated 1941, is an ersatz pressed paper type, although the hinge between the holster body and flap is leather, as is the bellows between front and back on the left side, and the securing strap. Maker marked in ink, bdq 41, with an E/170 WaA….

Shoulder strap that connects to the back via D-rings is leather with steel snap hooks. The cleaning rod is steel with an aluminum head, and has a leather tab with steel snap hook attached. It attaches to the holster by means of a cup the head fits into, and a small securing strap attached to the holster.

These pistols were made of anodized aluminum, were finely finished, and the holster, strap, and cleaning rod made it a fairly expensive pieces of equipment to produce.

In 1942 they introduced the much simplified Leucht Pistole 42, or LP 42 model. Made of zinc stampings and crudely finished, it did not have a holster, only a lanyard ring to dummy cord it to your belt or equipment. Usually seen tucked into the belt of the user.

Both were standard 26.5mm caliber, and fired a huge variety of flares...
 

Attachments

  • 20190824_134358.jpg
    20190824_134358.jpg
    254.9 KB · Views: 48
  • 20190824_134455.jpg
    20190824_134455.jpg
    230.4 KB · Views: 70
  • 20190824_134403.jpg
    20190824_134403.jpg
    181.4 KB · Views: 63
  • 20190824_134413.jpg
    20190824_134413.jpg
    207 KB · Views: 41
  • 20190824_134420.jpg
    20190824_134420.jpg
    163.8 KB · Views: 39
  • 20190824_134423.jpg
    20190824_134423.jpg
    192.8 KB · Views: 35
  • 20190824_134432.jpg
    20190824_134432.jpg
    175 KB · Views: 34
  • 20190824_134441.jpg
    20190824_134441.jpg
    125 KB · Views: 32
  • 20190824_134525.jpg
    20190824_134525.jpg
    254.7 KB · Views: 34
  • 20190824_134542.jpg
    20190824_134542.jpg
    214.5 KB · Views: 38
More pistol pics...
 

Attachments

  • 20190824_134549.jpg
    20190824_134549.jpg
    267.5 KB · Views: 29
  • 20190824_134625.jpg
    20190824_134625.jpg
    273.1 KB · Views: 29
  • 20190824_134709.jpg
    20190824_134709.jpg
    207 KB · Views: 27
  • 20190824_134716.jpg
    20190824_134716.jpg
    242.6 KB · Views: 29
  • 20190824_134747.jpg
    20190824_134747.jpg
    228.5 KB · Views: 23
  • 20190824_134813.jpg
    20190824_134813.jpg
    212.7 KB · Views: 20
  • 20190824_134908.jpg
    20190824_134908.jpg
    236.7 KB · Views: 19
  • 20190824_134913.jpg
    20190824_134913.jpg
    249.2 KB · Views: 21
  • 20190824_134932.jpg
    20190824_134932.jpg
    203.1 KB · Views: 20
LP 42...

Only two makers on these, wa, and euh….
 

Attachments

  • 20190824_134334.jpg
    20190824_134334.jpg
    265.3 KB · Views: 57
  • 20190824_134344.jpg
    20190824_134344.jpg
    230.8 KB · Views: 44
Pzjgr, that first rig is really nice! I've found the bulk of wartime manufactured flare gun holsters are presstoff
 
Now...flares...

There was a huge variety of flares, from simple single star or smoke, to multi star and smoke combos in multiple colors, gas alarm flares, whistle flares, and offensive "flares"

These are what I have...if these load in order they are, from first to last...Oops, 1 and 2 are switched...

1. Single white star

2. This one isn't actually for a flare gun, but for a trip flare booby trap to let guys know someone is trying to infiltrate their perimeter, this went into a special booby trap type device. Live

3. Single green star, live

4. Blue smoke/star combo

5. Single yellow smoke/star combo

6. Red smoke/star combo

7. This one is special, as it is a Kriegsmarine flare, made of brass to resist salt water (as opposed to the usual aluminum case), and has a KM acceptance on the head.

8. This is a multiple star cluster, in yellow, red and green

9. White multiple star cluster

10. Yellow smoke only

11. This one is a live whistle flare, when fired it let off a very loud whistling sound, used to either initiate an attack, or sound a gas alarm...

12. Finally a multi star cluster, red

Earlier flares had distinct patterns put into the rim of the head, some smooth, some notched halfway some notched all the way around, etc, plus colored patterns applied to the head, this was so that the user could tell what sort of flare it is while in the leather over the shoulder flare carriers, either during the day, or in the dark...

The Germans used flares extensively on the battlefield, and battle plans (METT-T stuff) had lists of various flare signals, for attack, for retreat, things like left flank press, or right flank press, all sorts of comms could be expressed by flares, day or night...imagine trying to remember all that!
 

Attachments

  • 20190824_141705.jpg
    20190824_141705.jpg
    131.5 KB · Views: 30
  • 20190824_141714.jpg
    20190824_141714.jpg
    194.3 KB · Views: 35
  • 20190824_141726.jpg
    20190824_141726.jpg
    218.7 KB · Views: 28
  • 20190824_141734.jpg
    20190824_141734.jpg
    233.7 KB · Views: 29
  • 20190824_141746.jpg
    20190824_141746.jpg
    175.2 KB · Views: 26
  • 20190824_141755.jpg
    20190824_141755.jpg
    178.6 KB · Views: 29
  • 20190824_141846.jpg
    20190824_141846.jpg
    146.4 KB · Views: 29
  • 20190824_141903.jpg
    20190824_141903.jpg
    209.8 KB · Views: 27
  • 20190824_141918.jpg
    20190824_141918.jpg
    162.3 KB · Views: 25
  • 20190824_141935.jpg
    20190824_141935.jpg
    190 KB · Views: 25
11 and 12, and other pics...

Live flares are hard to find, hell, even cases are hard to find now...I don't like empty cases so I "re-load" all my flares. They look better, and weigh more like a loaded flare...
 

Attachments

  • 20190824_141945.jpg
    20190824_141945.jpg
    238.7 KB · Views: 16
  • 20190824_141955.jpg
    20190824_141955.jpg
    186.5 KB · Views: 18
  • 20190824_142010.jpg
    20190824_142010.jpg
    257.1 KB · Views: 24
  • 20190824_142150.jpg
    20190824_142150.jpg
    239.2 KB · Views: 26
  • 20190824_142237.jpg
    20190824_142237.jpg
    144.5 KB · Views: 24
  • 20190824_142257.jpg
    20190824_142257.jpg
    240 KB · Views: 23
  • 20190824_142318.jpg
    20190824_142318.jpg
    141.1 KB · Views: 20
  • 20190824_142345.jpg
    20190824_142345.jpg
    180.3 KB · Views: 22
LP 42... Only two makers on these, wa, and euh….

Big fan of the LP42. Not sure that the only two maker assertion is correct however. The markings you describe are certainly the most common although these makers used alternate codes as well. HASAG Hugo Schneider AG, Leipzig was the largest producer with most examples bearing their wa code. There are also Schneider made pieces marked with their de code and a very few stamped with the HASAG logo. C. & W. Meinel-Scholer also produced large numbers of the LP42 most marked with their euh code. In very late 1944 they were assigned the code SWW and a few examples have been observed with this marking. The SWW serial numbers are sequential with euh. There are also the qyn coded examples from an unknown maker. They are generally found without serial numbering and with a WaA acceptance not assigned to the previous makers. There are also minute construction differences indicating a separate firm for production. Any of the codes other than euh and wa are quite scarce if not rare to encounter. My thoughts only ......
 
Very cool stuff Pzjgr, and thanks :happy0180: A LP.34 duv 41 rig Farb found for me. I've been looking for a duv 41 for some time, to go with my BLM rifles.
 

Attachments

  • LP.34 duv 41 (1).jpg
    LP.34 duv 41 (1).jpg
    121.5 KB · Views: 29
  • LP.34 duv 41 (2).jpg
    LP.34 duv 41 (2).jpg
    152.6 KB · Views: 29
  • LP.34 duv 41 (3).jpg
    LP.34 duv 41 (3).jpg
    144.8 KB · Views: 27
  • LP.34 duv 41 (6).jpg
    LP.34 duv 41 (6).jpg
    103.7 KB · Views: 22
  • LP.34 duv 41 (7).jpg
    LP.34 duv 41 (7).jpg
    243.8 KB · Views: 23
  • LP.34 duv 41 (8).jpg
    LP.34 duv 41 (8).jpg
    141.6 KB · Views: 23
  • LP.34 duv 41 (9).jpg
    LP.34 duv 41 (9).jpg
    133.9 KB · Views: 23
  • LP.34 duv 41 (11).jpg
    LP.34 duv 41 (11).jpg
    147.9 KB · Views: 24
Very nice presentation showing some examples in excellent condition. I got the FP "bug" a few years back. There is a flare pistol forum that can be informative, here's the link:

http://flaregunforum.com/index.php

This site from France is excellent but you have to do some interpretation on terms:

http://leuchtpistole.free.fr

Lastly, Mark (a frequent poster on several related forums) has an outstanding arms collection and shares it via his website. Here's the link to the section covering the FP.

http://p38guns.com/FPvariations.htm

G2
 
Very nice presentation showing some examples in excellent condition. I got the FP "bug" a few years back. There is a flare pistol forum that can be informative, here's the link:

http://flaregunforum.com/index.php

This site from France is excellent but you have to do some interpretation on terms:

http://leuchtpistole.free.fr

Lastly, Mark (a frequent poster on several related forums) has an outstanding arms collection and shares it via his website. Here's the link to the section covering the FP.

http://p38guns.com/FPvariations.htm

G2

Thanks, those are great links!

There are some good reference books out there, I have two...which I should have looked at before going with my old research of only wa and euh made LP-42's! :facepalm:

Here are the two I have, both seem to be excellent!
 

Attachments

  • 20190825_095155.jpg
    20190825_095155.jpg
    236 KB · Views: 31
  • 20190825_095238.jpg
    20190825_095238.jpg
    169.5 KB · Views: 30
Here are two of the 6 flare bakelite containers I have...one red star, one green star, the green star has faded from the label pretty good though. These containers used to be around, and dirt cheap, but like most all other things German, have disappeared, and are expensive when they do pop up...

Both are 1941 production, and the containers are well marked...
 

Attachments

  • 20190825_095626.jpg
    20190825_095626.jpg
    228.4 KB · Views: 27
  • 20190825_095643.jpg
    20190825_095643.jpg
    247.5 KB · Views: 20
  • 20190825_095711.jpg
    20190825_095711.jpg
    130.5 KB · Views: 18
Finally, I have one of the Wurfkorper 361 flare gun launched grenade.

This allowed a limited offensive weapon use of the regular flare gun. There was a specialized grenade launching flare gun, the Kampfpistole Z,which I am not lucky enough to own...perhaps someone onboard does and could post some pics...

The 361 was an adapter for a standard egg grenade, you unscrewed the grenade body from the adapter, inserted the shaft into the breech of the flare gun, and re-screwed the grenade onto it.

Then it was fired normally, the shaft and grenade flew towards the target, and the cartridge stub was ejected...

I am sure it would do in a pinch!

This just scratches the surface, hopefully more will add to this thread, and make it a good reference....This is just one off the web...
 

Attachments

  • 20190825_095729.jpg
    20190825_095729.jpg
    209.8 KB · Views: 30
  • 20190825_095742.jpg
    20190825_095742.jpg
    120 KB · Views: 27
  • 20190825_095748.jpg
    20190825_095748.jpg
    100.9 KB · Views: 26
  • IMG_4094.jpg
    IMG_4094.jpg
    108.9 KB · Views: 34
Last edited:
Great books, wish I took more German in college. There's a book coming out on FP's in Europe, I'm hoping for an english translation. The Z pistol stocks have some very good fakes so be wary. I'll probably settle for one as the originals have sold for many thousands.

I'll try to post some of my collection, might be a while as we are in the middle of moving.

G2
 
Nice flareguns and accessories! I agree with the threadstarter, there are too few post on flareguns here. Contributes with mine:
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0890.JPG
    IMG_0890.JPG
    127.1 KB · Views: 62
  • IMG_0915.JPG
    IMG_0915.JPG
    126.3 KB · Views: 54
  • mars%202011%20113.JPG
    mars%202011%20113.JPG
    121.8 KB · Views: 54
  • IMG_0767.JPG
    IMG_0767.JPG
    127.5 KB · Views: 55
  • IMG_0771.JPG
    IMG_0771.JPG
    124.8 KB · Views: 50
  • IMG_0819.JPG
    IMG_0819.JPG
    143.9 KB · Views: 49
  • IMG_0825.JPG
    IMG_0825.JPG
    127.8 KB · Views: 48
  • IMG_0023.JPG
    IMG_0023.JPG
    128.9 KB · Views: 46
  • IMG_0874.JPG
    IMG_0874.JPG
    73.7 KB · Views: 41
  • 9800068285_IMG_2599.jpg
    9800068285_IMG_2599.jpg
    59.2 KB · Views: 53
Last edited:
Pzjgr, very cool Wk.361. These are hard to find I take it? Wow, Rittmeister, nice stuff! Just what I needed, another collecting field to get lost in ;)
 
You can see a Kampfpistole in action against a Soviet tank in Manner gegen Panzer, appx. 13 minute mark. If you haven't watched this, and your into WW2 German anti tank infantry, it's awesome. One of my favorites.
 
Pzjgr, very cool Wk.361. These are hard to find I take it? Wow, Rittmeister, nice stuff! Just what I needed, another collecting field to get lost in ;)

Thanks Ham, it's an ok one, it appears to have been ground or water recovered, so there is a fair amount of pitting typical to that sort of thing...It certainly fills a niche until some time I might find a better one...when I could afford it!

I love your duv Heeres Modell, thanks for posting it!
 
Nice flareguns and accessories! I agree with the threadstarter, that there are too few post on flareguns here. Contributes with mine:

Seriously tremendous collection! I love the 18 flare leather shoulder carrier, and the crate!
 

Military Rifle Journal
Back
Top