REME245 Posted 16 December , 2010 Share Posted 16 December , 2010 Can anyone confirm please if these markings on this WW1 German Rifle identify the unit it was used by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenchtrotter Posted 16 December , 2010 Share Posted 16 December , 2010 Possibly 3rd Company or 3rd Kurassiers? Is it a G98 or K98? TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 16 December , 2010 Share Posted 16 December , 2010 Which part of the rifle is it on? Is it the magazine floorplate or Buttplate? I think the crown is likely to be an inspection stamp rather than an ownership mark. Member GEWEHR 98 can probably help. It is a bit out of my area of knowledge but my German rifles have unit marks on the front barrel band (GEW88) and on the stock disk (Kar98a and GEW98) Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 16 December , 2010 Share Posted 16 December , 2010 Agreed, the lower crown mark is definitely an inspection 'fraktur', so perhaps the other marks are a production or model designation. The letter K could indicate Karabiner for carbine.? From my limited understanding the markings are not in the expected format to be a unit or regimental identifier. Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garron Posted 16 December , 2010 Share Posted 16 December , 2010 I think its the buttplate the magazine floor plate would have a a small slither of wood each side For some reason depot or field depot markings marking is my idea, I read that a number stamped on the buttplate corresponded to a depot or field repair depot. Its somewhere might be gunboards.com though I might be confusing things though. I could be completely wrong. Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gew98 Posted 18 December , 2010 Share Posted 18 December , 2010 Some years back A group of imperial collectors conversed openly about these odd sort of random applied numbers and markings. We surmised it had soemthing to do with depot inventory. When Storz's excellent work came out on the gew98 rifle he explained it even better... these were indeed 'depot' and arsenal markings but not for inventory control but to show what facility did the repair/salvage work on said arm.In Storz's book he has put together a partial list of known depot marks. The large Number 3 pictured on the buttplate is referenced to Spandau , the K denoting the individual signing off on it's work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REME245 Posted 20 December , 2010 Author Share Posted 20 December , 2010 The markings are on the Butt Plate and it is the normal long rifle K98? Thank you for replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gew98 Posted 22 December , 2010 Share Posted 22 December , 2010 The markings are on the Butt Plate and it is the normal long rifle K98? Thank you for replies. Well ; these marks applied to a gew98 or a kar98a during the great war simply denote which regional depot did repair and or salvage work on that rifle. These are commonly encountered as the rate of wear and tear and the german penchant for salvage of damaged arms was very great indeed. These add nothing to value , just a step in it's history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deerhunter Posted 28 December , 2010 Share Posted 28 December , 2010 Can anyone assist with a similar query, please? I have very recently obtained a 1909-dated, Spandau-produced G98. It has a butt disk on the RHS of the butt, with K.G.287 on it. The lettering is in the normal style encountered with unit-marked arms and bayonets, etc. Can anyone suggest the designation, please? Rgds Deerhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 28 December , 2010 Share Posted 28 December , 2010 Others will know better but the only obvious abbreviation I can think of for KG is "Kampfgruppe" but I usually associate that abbreviation with WWII. If that is correct KG 287 would be Kampfgruppe 287, a quick google only turns up a WWII reference to "Flak Kampfgruppe 287" and I suppose it is entirely possible an anti-aircraft unit be armed with older style rifles. I could of course be barking up the wrong tree entirely! Pics of the said rifle? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deerhunter Posted 28 December , 2010 Share Posted 28 December , 2010 I'll post pictures tomorrow, but the lettering does not suggest later(WW2), it is, if you like, the imperial "curly" lettering stamps common of regimental markings on bayonets, etc. I'm aware of the KG = Kampfgruppe expansion, but don't think that's the case here. Kampfgruppen were ad-hoc, operationally-determined formations, and not something to have a permanent designation attached to them were they not? (genuine question). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 28 December , 2010 Share Posted 28 December , 2010 Kampfgruppen were ad-hoc, operationally-determined formations, and not something to have a permanent designation attached to them were they not? (genuine question). Frankly, I have no idea... you are probably correct, certainly sounds right as the most commonly referred to ones are "KG Ost" etc As you say, operationally defined. This well beyond my area of knowledge so I'll await others input and look forward to the pics. Chris EDIT: HERE is a reasonable listing of Imperial unit markings and reading them - no obvious candidates This one (German Police Markings) includes several Ks including Kg (Koenigsberg district - Prussian Police 1932) edited to add links Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 24 April , 2015 Share Posted 24 April , 2015 I have very recently obtained a 1909-dated, Spandau-produced G98. It has a butt disk on the RHS of the butt, with K.G.287 on it. The lettering is in the normal style encountered with unit-marked arms and bayonets, etc. Can anyone suggest the designation, please? Just for the record I haven't recorded a 'K.G.' marking in any of the Vorschriften that I have been able to see... So, it's not a regular German marking - although I suppose it could just be 'Kommando Gwiustichkeit(!)' or something similar with a 'G'... Whatever, if a regular unit I would have expected the letters to be followed by a company and a weapon number... - but I would not claim any specific expertise in these markings. Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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