Karab 98b

[1922 Springfield]

I saw the post Samiel made last Sunday of his nice "S28" 98b. I have a similar rifle and though I have posted about it on other forums I somehow never posted here, so here it is.



It is mostly all matching except Not The Bolt or the magazine follower. All else seems to match.
It is literally covered in Simson proof marks.

 

[1922 Springfield]

I am guessing this rifle started as an Army rifle as there is an "Eagle H" proof on the buttstock. The Eagle H is X'ed out though and next to it is an "Eagle P" which leads me to believe this rifle was switched over to police use
.

It is also unit marked with what I am guessing is a Schutzpolizei mark for some place that starts with the letter "B"; Berlin?, Bremen?, or some other place.

 

[1922 Springfield]

The other side of the stock is marked "1927" I am guessing this is a date but could be another property number?

 

[Wolfsburg]

Wow...you've got a neat one to say the least! I look forward to reading the input you get on this one!

 

[1922 Springfield]

Unlike Samiel's example nothing is marked S28. I also noticed on Samiel's example the Eagles next to the serial numbers look like DWM eagles while on mine they are Simson style eagles.

What exactly is the S28?; a code used by DWM/Mauser or Simson during the '20s like the S42 was used by Mauser During the 30's?

 

[chrisftk]

The S28s were a completely separate production of Kar98b style rifles. The timeline for their production isn't pinned down. Some evidence suggests that they predated the 98b. There's some discussion of what the S28 actually meant, but it's doubtful it has anything to do with the Nazi era coding system.
Here's a recent thread on them:

S28 to Karab98b Evolution - new insights

I have been working on additional data on this subject and information has come to light regarding the involvement of Mauser Oberndorf in the design of the Karab98b. I am assuming that the S28 clearly pre-dates the initial production at Simson and if so I believe we have a clearer picture of...

www.k98kforum.com

Great rifle by the way. The Army to Police changeover is neat. A bolt m/m 98b is still quite a find!

 

[Loewe]

I've studied the Kar.98b variations longer than most and I can say this is a near unique and unusual example, something rarely seen before. Off-hand, interestingly too, 9067 c also seems to have been diverted to the police, though the 1927 is not shown in this case.

Seems possibly part of a group diverted for police role? Not sure how many altogether but 1927 was a key year for German sovereignty and consequently change - many do not realize how important Germany played a role from 1927 on (like 1931), much like after WWII (1955) when Germany was needed for stability of Europe (The Korean War changed things for Germany...)

 

[Loewe]

BTW, 1927 is about the right range for this rifles mfg, extrapolating known dated ranges to intervals in production, but this is as scientific as "climate change" "research" calculation, which means it is guessing but in this case my livelihood doesn't depend on my speculation so it might be considered "honest" in comparison

Do more photographs!

** I agree the S28 is unrated to this rifle but possibly fall in the same era, but less is known about the S28 production methods.

 

[1922 Springfield]

Thank you to chrisftk and Loewe for your insights and kind words. What other photographs would you like?

 

[1922 Springfield]

A few more photos ...

 

[chrisftk]

A few more photos ...
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The crossed out SN using **** is pretty cool. I have a couple rifles with similar style crossed out buttplates..both are out of Cassel/Kassel reworks oddly.

 

[Loewe]

Another two (consecutive in the database, maybe these group and are more common??)

9137/d (pictures attached)

9292/d (Joe Steen report, though what I have from doesn't state this, BobT confirms this was the case):

Paul: The k98b with the Sch P Bn marking and 1927 on the opposite side of the stock disc is very close to the 9292d that Joe had. Both have the H cancelled and P replacing it and the organizational marking is close. I can’t make out full serial but wonder if it isn’t in the ‘c’ range as Joe’s 1928 was in the ‘d’? Very interesting

 

[Loewe]

My time is limited by power and time restraints but I will try to check the e-block next, c-d I have examined in the database and these are t, but to be frank, few have original stocks and fewer still show details... typically the later the range the more common matched stocks, plus the further from 1927 the more bold the Germans were and a higher survival rate. C-block and before are rare in anything approaching factory or issued states.

 

[chrisftk]

Here are two rifles that I mentioned yesterday-- check out the cancelled numbers on the buttplate. I was misremembering--the first has asterisks like yours, the other uses X'es.