Finishing trends on WMO 1915-1918 observations I came to the conclusion that the range for 1918 is very subjective and quite lower than originally believed, - or potentially...
SO far WMO/18 production was very shallow compared to prior years, which is no surprise because we know the G98 was being sidelined for firms to expand K98a, P08 and MG08 variations... the assumption, or at least my assumption is that WMO was kept on track with G98 to service Turkey and the lack of alternative needs (DWM made the MG variations and P08, they certainly were diverted from G98 production early in 1918) they had experience with... naturally they did have the T-Gewehr on line, but the marked declided is exceptional compared to 1917 and there was no "considerations" to explain the lack of obvious activity (labor unrest which hit Spandau and DWM so hard in the latter years, - probably Erfurt also considering the nature of the workforce)/
Anyway, enough of the context, I will work on the historical context in the primary thread... so the question:
WMO/1918 production is quite low by confirmable observations (rifles that have clear serial numbers and are especially low in the latter blocks when the Turkish contract apparently ended, - which seems to be the h-block, though I have found the crescent mark pretty unreliable as a sign of Turkinh service in 1918, and the crescent is only known or apparent on 1918 production.
Broadly speaking, by the e-block the Turkish contract ended, a few follw up to the h-block but quite erratic after the f-block, which is about 60-40, some have clear interwar ot NS service e-i blocks, almost all matter of fact (observations are limited naturally, and as they are the only facts to work with on such a topic, we have to be rather "flexible" on our assumptions...)
WMO/18 first block through the f-block are well populated, patterns are quite consistent, but as the g-block begins the number of confirmed observations plummet... only four rifle in the g-block, two in the h-block, on i-block and about another ten k-t block, but of these not a single one can be ascertained without question... there are several among these to-11 rifles that are intriguing, some showing considerable interwar or NS era work, none are clearly Turk possibilities... several are reports, most of dubious reliability, one q-block shows a clear q-suffix on the barrel but the receiver serial is obscured and it is common for such work to have the wrong suffix interpretation on the replaced barrel, it could easily be a g-block receiver for instance.
So, the nature or purpose of this thread is to see if we can generate some observations of WMO/18 rifles, specifically fro the g-block to the k block (assuming WMO went that high and they probably did), but naturally any WMO/18 at all, but the focus on g-t blocks, also any one that has a solid k-block so I can make comparisons, of the "TEN" (or so) three are either h-blocks or k blocks, but the suffixes are weakly defined in the photographs and there are no other variables too separate them.
*** Anyone with a wartime WMO should consider reporting their rifle to see if I have it recorded, in several cases I have inadequate data on rifles some here own, or owned, this is especially desired for those rifles with factory stocks and bolts where acceptance patterns can be confirmed. ALso those that may have rare stock variations (maple or TPS 2 piece), though my main interest here is determining the range for WMO/18, which formally I held at the t-block, but I have determined that range is not supported (one q, one r, two t blocks are reported or poorly imaged, but none to hang a hat upon)
SO far WMO/18 production was very shallow compared to prior years, which is no surprise because we know the G98 was being sidelined for firms to expand K98a, P08 and MG08 variations... the assumption, or at least my assumption is that WMO was kept on track with G98 to service Turkey and the lack of alternative needs (DWM made the MG variations and P08, they certainly were diverted from G98 production early in 1918) they had experience with... naturally they did have the T-Gewehr on line, but the marked declided is exceptional compared to 1917 and there was no "considerations" to explain the lack of obvious activity (labor unrest which hit Spandau and DWM so hard in the latter years, - probably Erfurt also considering the nature of the workforce)/
Anyway, enough of the context, I will work on the historical context in the primary thread... so the question:
WMO/1918 production is quite low by confirmable observations (rifles that have clear serial numbers and are especially low in the latter blocks when the Turkish contract apparently ended, - which seems to be the h-block, though I have found the crescent mark pretty unreliable as a sign of Turkinh service in 1918, and the crescent is only known or apparent on 1918 production.
Broadly speaking, by the e-block the Turkish contract ended, a few follw up to the h-block but quite erratic after the f-block, which is about 60-40, some have clear interwar ot NS service e-i blocks, almost all matter of fact (observations are limited naturally, and as they are the only facts to work with on such a topic, we have to be rather "flexible" on our assumptions...)
WMO/18 first block through the f-block are well populated, patterns are quite consistent, but as the g-block begins the number of confirmed observations plummet... only four rifle in the g-block, two in the h-block, on i-block and about another ten k-t block, but of these not a single one can be ascertained without question... there are several among these to-11 rifles that are intriguing, some showing considerable interwar or NS era work, none are clearly Turk possibilities... several are reports, most of dubious reliability, one q-block shows a clear q-suffix on the barrel but the receiver serial is obscured and it is common for such work to have the wrong suffix interpretation on the replaced barrel, it could easily be a g-block receiver for instance.
So, the nature or purpose of this thread is to see if we can generate some observations of WMO/18 rifles, specifically fro the g-block to the k block (assuming WMO went that high and they probably did), but naturally any WMO/18 at all, but the focus on g-t blocks, also any one that has a solid k-block so I can make comparisons, of the "TEN" (or so) three are either h-blocks or k blocks, but the suffixes are weakly defined in the photographs and there are no other variables too separate them.
*** Anyone with a wartime WMO should consider reporting their rifle to see if I have it recorded, in several cases I have inadequate data on rifles some here own, or owned, this is especially desired for those rifles with factory stocks and bolts where acceptance patterns can be confirmed. ALso those that may have rare stock variations (maple or TPS 2 piece), though my main interest here is determining the range for WMO/18, which formally I held at the t-block, but I have determined that range is not supported (one q, one r, two t blocks are reported or poorly imaged, but none to hang a hat upon)
