Mauser K98k 'Deutsche Reichspost'

Description

THESE RARELY COME ON THE COLLECTOR MARKET! Offered for sale is this incredibly rare pre-WW2 Mauser Gewehr fur Deutsche Reichspost supposedly supplied to arm the security guards of the Postschutz (German Postal Protection Service) but destined for use by the Sturmabteilung (SA, also known as the Brownshirts) & Schutzstaffel (SS) as referenced on page 8-11 in 'Backbone of the Wehrmacht' by Richard D Law & 'Karabiner 98' Vol II. The 'Standard Modell' was Mausers' attempt to remain commercially viable & compete with their version of the 'Model 1924' being offered by Czech & Belgian manufacturers selling to China & South America & the forerunner to the famed Kar98k. In 1933, the Standard Modell had further improvements which made it identical to the K98k including the turndown bolt handle, which was the idea with the re-armament intentions of Nazi Germany commencing. As part of Hitler's rearmament program which started around this time, the Standard Modell was also ordered for official issue to the German Postal Service to 'guard postal offices & rail cars during riots'. The arming of the postal service was an official government Act, effectively arming them with the exact same rifles intended for the Wehrmacht. This was no coincidence & definitely the government preparing the German arms industry for mass production of the K98 with the added benefit of getting these rifles into the hands of the Nazi Party. Mauser were making Standard Modell rifles for export to China & South America plus secretly, the various regional High Commands of the SA. The SA was the Nazi Party's original paramilitary wing whose methods of violent intimidation played a key role in Adolf Hitler’s rise to power & who after the 'Night of the long knives' were replaced by the SS. As they were not able to source firearms through official procurement channels, SA district commanders purchased direct from Mauser Oberndorf to equip their members but often with some difficulty. Apparently, both the SA & SS were placing orders which angered the Army Ordnance Directorate no end as the official military was in demand of new rifles & expected to be the sole recipient in the build up of German forces under Hitler & the Nazi Party. The SA at that time outnumbered the official armed forces allowed by several million, but had no direct access through official channels so often acquired these rifles from the organisations who originally acquired them from Mauser. It must also be remembered that even though they were legitimately ordered by 'the government', the government was the NSDAP ( Nazi Party) who wanted their paramilitary organizations armed. In 'Backbone of the Wehrmacht' it is formally acknowledged after the war by former Mauser senior management that the Gewehr fur Deutsche Reichspost designation was a 'camouflage name' within Mauser for weapons being made to arm the SA & SS. Although the Gewehr fur Deutsche Reichspost Mausers were ordered for the Postal Service they were also issued to Zolldienst, (German Customs Service) & Deutsche Bahn (German National Railways System) & a smaller number to the military for field evaluations. These all has various stamps on the stock (D.R. for rail, Ch.d.A for military). Because of the later laminated stock, we will probably never know this rifles' history before it was refurbed & used in the defence of the Fatherland, most likely by the Waffen SS who were known to still be using reworks of these rifles until the end. The 'Gewehr fur Deutsche Reichspost' was produced for only a limited time before Hitler gave the world a surly display of two fingers, rejected the Treaty of Versailles altogether, geared up the war machine & gave up any effort at stealth. As on 21 June 1935, the Karabiner 98k was officially adopted to replace the Rifle 98 & Carbine 98b in the German Wehrmacht. It is known that many Gewehr fur Deutsche Reichspost rifles ended up with the military, mainly Waffen SS, as the SS continued to have conflict with the traditional military with regard to weapons acquisition. Despite being refurbished sometime during WW2, this rifle has matching numbers on the barrel, receiver, upper barrel band, floor plate, rear sight, stock & butt plate. As an arsenal or depot rework, the bolt unsurprisingly is not matching the rifle but matches itself. This particular rifle bears all of the correct commercial proof marks including the Crown over the U & the Crown on N, indicating it is Nitro proofed plus the post 1934 'diamond' mark. On the receiver ring is the classic commercial Mauser banner, leading to these also commonly being call the 'Banner Mauser'. Below this is marked 1934 & above the banner is a badly worn & mostly obscured marking we think connects it to its post war history. The mark in question is what we now believe to be an Iraqi Army property stamp. How it ended up there is something we may never know. It has qu

Specifications