Trying to understand Waffenamts

[Brian5016]

WaA I know to be inspection marks and I understand that factories had specific WaA personnel assigned to them. I am trying to understand the sequence of the stamps as they appear on some of my collection. I am very familiar with US WW2 proofs, these Germans ones not so much....

Looking at the three examples: The 1938 147 has transitional WaA..1,2,3 are on the right side, these are inspections at various stages? Are the large WaA on the left side final inspections or firing proofs? Or? These are applied while the rifle is in the white and the rifle blued after all inspections done?

Looking at the BCD 4....There are faint blurred WaAs on the right side, the H and Eagle on the stock...so the H/Eagle on the stock represents acceptance by the Heer...These WaA 1 and 2 were for the inspection of the barrel and receiver? while the WaA by BCD is a firing proof? I am wrong or...

Then looking at one of my Spreewerk P38s....1,3, and 4 are E over 88, the Spreewerk WaA while 2 is E over swastika...so the E over swastika is the final firing proof? while the 88 WaAs is when that inspector checked the pistol at various stages?

 

[Bob in OHIO]

I think you basically have it... Parts and sub assemblies were inspected and accepted (like the receiver, right side). Guns were "fire" proofed with hot ammunition to insure integrity.... and the FP is on the barrel and receiver on the left side (and also on the bolt). Of course, there are exceptions... like dou, with FP on the barrel only.

In general, the wood and the top dead center of the receiver were given a "final" stamped acceptance that the rifle was accepted into military service... but again, plenty of exceptions too. (ie., dou never stamped their wood, bnz sometimes had no final on the top of the receiver, dot didn't stamp wood in 1943, but did in 1944, so there are some common exceptions).

On the P38 slide... I assume one is for part acceptance of the slide... one is for fitting a sub assembly, and the fire proof in the middle of the three stamps.

There will be spurious acceptance marks too, seemingly to indicate what once was not to spec, is now okay. s-block cyq, often have an extra E/88 on the right side.

Here's a link to also consider strange acceptance on 98s...

http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread.php?2948-Anomalous-Inspections&highlight=anomalous

 

[Brian5016]

I think you basically have it... Parts and sub assemblies were inspected and accepted (like the receiver, right side). Guns were "fire" proofed with hot ammunition to insure integrity.... and the FP is on the barrel and receiver on the left side (and also on the bolt). Of course, there are exceptions... like dou, with FP on the barrel only.

In general, the wood and the top dead center of the receiver were given a "final" stamped acceptance that the rifle was accepted into military service... but again, plenty of exceptions too. (ie., dou never stamped their wood, bnz sometimes had no final on the top of the receiver, dot didn't stamp wood in 1943, but did in 1944, so there are some common exceptions).

On the P38 slide... I assume one is for part acceptance of the slide... one is for fitting a sub assembly, and the fire proof in the middle of the three stamps.

There will be spurious acceptance marks too, seemingly to indicate what once was not to spec, is now okay. s-block cyq, often have an extra E/88 on the right side.

Here's a link to also consider strange acceptance on 98s...

http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread.php?2948-Anomalous-Inspections&highlight=anomalous

Thanks Bob. I had completed several searches seeking the answers and hadn't used the term ' inspection ' Kinda silly of me to miss that phrase