HNZaThn4 Thorn bcd 42 depot build

This one started as an 'i' block bcd 42 sn 335
Somewhere, someplace, it suffered catastrophic damage and was completely rebuilt by HNZa Thorn (Now present day Toruń, Poland)
There it was given a new serial number '5709' and another firing proof. To the right side of the bcd rollmark is a single ‘5’ stamped, which I believe corresponds to the first digit of the serial number on these thorn reworks/builds

Barrel & rear sight
• The barrel was replaced and is marked Geco 465 39 Ru E/26 x3 with 0,2 on its shoulder
• The rear sight sleeve is E/4 x3
• The rear sight ramp is salvaged and E/26 with old SN# 8027 & New SN# 5709
• The rear sight leaf is salvaged and E/26 with old SN# 8027 & New SN# 3709 (numbering error)
• The rear sight slider is salvaged and E/26 with old SN #8027 & new SN# 3709 (numbering error)
• The rear sight lock is salvaged and E/26 with old SN# 27
Bands
• The rear band is salvaged E/6 with old SN# X'd out & new SN #5709
• The front band is salvaged S92 with old SN# X'd out & new SN #5709
Bolt, follower, ejector
The original serial number of the bolt was 4180
• The bolt body is salvaged E/655 with the old SN #4180 ground off and the new SN #5709 applied
• The bolt shroud is salvaged E/37 with the old SN ground off & new SN #09
• The cocking piece is salvaged E/655 with the old SN #4180 X'd out & new SN #09
• The firing pin is salvaged E/655 with the old SN #4180 present
• The safety is not WaA marked & has new SN #09
• The extractor is salvaged E/655 with the old SN #80
• The ejector is salvaged E/26 with the old SN#27 X'd out & new SN #09
• The follower is salvaged E/63 with the old SN X'd out & new SN #09
Triggerguard & floorplate
• The triggerguard is salvaged E/26 with the old SN #8027 X'd out & new SN #3709 (numbering error)
• The floorplate is salvaged with the old SN X'd out & the new SN #09
• Rear triggerguard screw unmarked
• Front triggerguard screw is salvaged E/37 with SN# 39
Stock, Buttplate, Handguard, cleaning rod
• The stock is salvaged. It appears to be off a Waffenwerke Brunn Bystrica (dou) rifle. It is numbered #5709 on the heel, proofed HNZaThn4 on the wrist, along with other related in-house depot identifiers.
• The handguard is salvaged
• The cleaning rod is 12.5" and unmarked
• The buttplate is salvaged with new SN #5709

This rifle is a perfect representation of what lengths the Germans went to be able to have functioning rifles. There are salvaged parts from at least 9 different rifles used to complete just this one.
I date this depot build late 1942 & later.

more pictures

last pictures

Fantastic rifle and great photos should be pic-stickied in my opinion, this is really something special.

What a cool rifle! Remarkable lengths indeed. Germany is smaller than Montana. That fanatical devotion to detail gave most of the planet a hot foot.

Don’t see these everyday. Thanks for sharing and excellent photos.

Good analysis, it is one of the busiest wartime jobs I've seen, - really a salvage more than a rework... reminds me of my first girlfriend, very well used but still in nice shape...

***it is rare for this much force matching, but looks real

I agree in that I've never seen this level of rework/renumbering and even the added FP is cool. Definitely not something you see and a very interesting variant. Looks legit to me as well. Congrats!

Nice rework! Congrats

It's just semantics, but I don't know if I would really call this a rework. Its more of a depot build using a salvaged receiver. Probably explains the X'd out receiver number. The depot kept track of the number they built and numbered them sequentially. They would have just used the original SN for a repair.

These are less common but you do see them. I have one just like this using a badly pitted Erma receiver. These were probably guns salvaged after battles that were too far gone for a normal repair.

If I knew how to put it in the "Picture Reference Index, I'd do it right now.

That is a very cool rifle! A lot going on there!

RyanE said:

It's just semantics, but I don't know if I would really call this a rework. Its more of a depot build using a salvaged receiver. Probably explains the X'd out receiver number. The depot kept track of the number they built and numbered them sequentially. They would have just used the original SN for a repair.

These are less common but you do see them. I have one just like this using a badly pitted Erma receiver. These were probably guns salvaged after battles that were too far gone for a normal repair.

Click to expand...

I think you nailed it. I've said often that semantics matter. The shear number of different parts from different guns suggest 'depot build'. Looking again I think only the barrel, RSB and safety are new spares.

What a wicked cool rifle! Not a common depot to find either from experience, congrats on picking that up.

RyanE said:

It's just semantics, but I don't know if I would really call this a rework. Its more of a depot build using a salvaged receiver. Probably explains the X'd out receiver number. The depot kept track of the number they built and numbered them sequentially. They would have just used the original SN for a repair.

These are less common but you do see them. I have one just like this using a badly pitted Erma receiver. These were probably guns salvaged after battles that were too far gone for a normal repair.

Click to expand...

I agree. A “depot build” is more appropriate to classify this one. I edited my original posts terminology.

RyanE said:

It's just semantics, but I don't know if I would really call this a rework. Its more of a depot build using a salvaged receiver. Probably explains the X'd out receiver number. The depot kept track of the number they built and numbered them sequentially. They would have just used the original SN for a repair.

These are less common but you do see them. I have one just like this using a badly pitted Erma receiver. These were probably guns salvaged after battles that were too far gone for a normal repair.

Click to expand...

I think this is an important distinction and I completely agree. The depot ‘builds’ are very neat.

However, its interesting to see how different depots did/did not make that distinction in their choice to repair or build rifles. I have a Posen depot ‘repair’ that was still basically rebuilt from the receiver up, but it retained its original serial number.

heavy_mech said:

I think you nailed it. I've said often that semantics matter. The shear number of different parts from different guns suggest 'depot build'. Looking again I think only the barrel, RSB and safety are new spares.

Click to expand...

That's a really nice depot build, congrats!

I agree with you, Ryan nailed it and you are totally right, semantics matter. This applies to several things and it is even more important to distinguish between the terms "rifle" and "carbine". Unfortunately I can't find it, but I think you were the one who once described the difference very well.

Stephan98k said:

That's a really nice depot build, congrats!

I agree with you, Ryan nailed it and you are totally right, semantics matter. This applies to several things and it is even more important to distinguish between the terms "rifle" and "carbine". Unfortunately I can't find it, but I think you were the one who once described the difference very well.

Click to expand...

Thank you, but unfortunately I'm one of those offenders who call carbines rifles. Habit? Laziness? Or just expediency?

On the front edge or the receiver, next to the firing proof you can see a flat spot. Perhaps this is part of the original damage, im sure the depot removed the damage the best they could. The only thing I can think of that would cause an entire rifle to be rebuilt like this is shrapnel damage?

I picked this one up off Gunbroker this last March from Allans Armory. The BIN price was more than reasonable.

I have a few other cool depot reworks I plan to share in the future. I havent been sharing many rifles lately because I rarely have the time these days to pull them out of the safe, photograph, edit, resize and upload.

I havent seen to many Thorn depot builds. Perhaps they get misidentified, or they just arent that common? I can assume alot went east and stayed there.

Wow..that is a very interesting piece!