Two World Wars: A Weimar Police C96 Mauser
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 มิ.ย. 2022
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In the aftermath of World War One, German police forces were responsible for maintaining social order is a very chaotic Germany. They were reequipped with small arms, and in particular needed pistols. The ideal sidearm would have been the P08 Luger, but the Treaty of Versailles caused Luger production at DWM and Erfurt to be shut down, and the Lugers allowed to remain in government possession were allocated to the Army. The police looked about for a suitable alternative, and found the Prussian "Red 9" C96 Mauser pistols.
The C96 was really more of a martial handgun than a police handgun, and the police proceeded to make a couple changes to bring the guns more in line with the police role. The barrels were cut down from 5.5 inches to 4 inches, and the 500m adjustable sights replaced with fixed notch sights. It is unclear exactly who made these alterations, but it was probably the Erfurt arsenal. The guns then saw active police use (generally without their shoulder stocks) into the 1930s, when German rearmament included expanded Luger production. At that point, some were recycled into Wehrmacht use, to see use in World War Two.
This particular example has two police markings. On is. "St. 140.", which is of unknown meaning. The other is "S. G. V. 39." which indicates the 39th item of the 5th command of the Gumbinnen Schutzpolizei. It was taken as a souvenir by an American soldier in April 1945, who mentioned it in a letter to his family at that time. Gumbinnen was in East Prussia at the time, and is now part of Poland.
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actually, Gumbinnen is nowadays not in Poland, but in the Russian Enclave of Kaliningrad (former Königsberg), which was Part of eastern Prussia until the Partition of Germany after WW2
Good. Soviets should've denazified all of germany
Гусев / Gussew / Gusev
Yikes
Rip Kooningburg
@@ehfoiwehfowjedioheoih4829 wouldnt say yikes ( aside from russias political agenda back then and now )atleast the russians restored the old city parts to how they used to look unlike others that deconstructed all the stuff resembling anything like ''gruenderzeit architectur'' aka buildings build in a style that came about directly after the proclamation of the german nation in 1871, because clearly stuff build in 1871 has deep connections to the nazis.
The city of Gumbinnen is part of Kaliningrad. The district of Gumbinnen was split between Kaliningrad, Lithuania, and Poland.
Clip-fed pistols with internal fixed magazines are a great way to troll people in gun discussions
"It has a clip", "no it doesn't, it has a magazine", "it has a clip *and* a magazine", confused screaming
I use a pair of my revolvers to troll fake experts. Moon clips are still clips.
@@AshleyPomeroy Some might even say a "clip fed magazine" 😅
*puts internal magazine inside grip
"take that California."
Because that's what the internet needs is another troll.
I've always loved the c96, and I've wanted a Red 9 for a long time. I need to not be broke.
I also love C96s. Several years ago I found one for sale with some nice modern features, like being in regular 9mm and also has removable magazines (a 10 round and a 20). It also didn't break the bank as a historical German gun because it was a Chinese copy from post-WW2. All matching serial numbers, including on the wooden stock, with great quality and construction, and it fires well. I don't mind shooting it as it's not an untouchable rare collectible, and it's fun when I bring it out and everyone loves it.
@@Ginrummy33 I've always wondered - is the barrel part of the C96's receiver, or can it be replaced when it wears out?
@@Ginrummy33
did you have problems with that little plate in the top getting bent? It always came up for me and the only replacements i could find for it were really cheap
I've got something that might interest you, stranger.
@@AshleyPomeroy the barrel and receiver are all of a piece. I used to have one.
Thank you, Ian. While many firearms are a "time machine" of sorts, others, like the C96 featured, really bring history alive....I'm sure it has many stories to tell...
@@jason200912 baaaahahahaha
It breaks my heart when I hear yet another story of a family not wanting things like that Mauser when a vet passes.
At least it went somewhere it's appreciated.
I honestly don't think it's bad to not keep certain things. When an older person passes away, they usually die owning a lot of stuff, often an entire house full of items they assembled throughout the decades. You cannot possibly keep all of it, nor should you probably.
When you inherit, you have to decide, which items are important and have value to you, and which don't. To some, that pistol gramps brought back from europe may be a very sentimental thing; others will care more about his medals, that old watch he always wore, or grandma's wedding dress.
Eh, when I pass, I hope my daughter keeps some of my firearms, but I certainly wouldn't expect her to keep *all* of them, even amongst the ones with "history".
@@bavarianpotato Very well put. I saved something my grandma made from being donated as we were pulling up to the donation center. I realized what it was and I immediately felt like I had to save it.
Be happy it's in a museum or sorts and not destroyed like some people do with grandpa's WW2 guns. It kills me a little inside people are that willing to destroy history.
You can't keep everything
My cousin sent in the care of my Grandfather in 1965 a large box of "stuff" from Vietnam; the early days of the war. My Grandfather didn't know what was inside the box and didn't care. He placed it up overhead in our garage and there it would sit until my Cousin came back from his stint in the Marines around DaNang. My brother and I were curious and we drilled two small holes 90° to each other to see into the box. We ended up seeing M-79 grenade launchers, pith helmets, the old German potato masher grenades, bayonets, AK-47s and other things captured and taken from the battlefield. It was a 4' by 4' box; very heavy. Back then one could do that sort of thing and I think if I am correct it ended around the Tet Offensive. My cousin was not in the Marines by that time. He came back picked up his box and went back home. We didn't hear from him again. If one can't bring back "war trophies" what good is fighting for some Yahoo government?
Nice! I think C96 was last produced in mid 1930s and it’s good to see you include this one in your content. Thank you for NOT forgetting this weapon sir!
Stellar title, genuinely. And C96’s are always nice to see!
A nice little tongue-in-cheek jab, for sure
I love baby ar15's
Ahh.. A choice of an avid gun collector it's a nice gun stranger
I scrolled too far to find this type of comment
Good old resident evil 4
I was looking for this comment.
I’d get one but the gun store would say “ not enough cash……..stranger “
AHHHH! I'll buy it as a high price!!
You gotta credit the dedication making sure that everyone is aware of the changed calibre. Some manufacturers these days could learn a thing or two from this.
If you buy a gun without knowing what caliber it uses then that's on you lol
bigger deal when 9x19 and 7.63 will both chamber but only one will work without exploding the gun
@@AsbestosMuffins Kind of like .300 Blackout and 5.56, then?
@@meklu Precisely!
Which american unit was stationed in Gumbinen,in eastern prussia,present day Kaliningrad,in 1945? That would be deep in the soviet zone,in fact the red army had overrun the eastern prussia after the vistula-oder operation in January. It seems more likely that the pistol entered again military service in WW2 and was captured somewhere in the us army area of operations,or that it was captured by a soviet soldier who traded it with an american.
The former seems most likely, or perhaps the owner was evacuated during operation Hannibal.
That was my question as well. What American units were that far east at the time? Possibly Soviet-captured and made its way west. Or, as itsconnorstime ponders, the owner fled west and made some much needed bucks selling it.
Ian's hanging around the back rooms with precious guns on his lap again, folks
Not yellow enough
@@MaDmanEXE back rooms, not Backrooms.
Excellent video! This is just the kind of history that I truly enjoy. Thank you for your dedication.
So the one in Resident Evil 4 is a real model and not an altered version to avoid copyright? Amazing!
The history of the C96 is always a treat to know about, it is undoubtedly one of the most iconic WW1 guns in history and a legendary collection piece for firearm enthusiasts.
Kudos to Ian for sitting in a room with all that ammo and controlling himself.
Magnificent piece, thank you for showing it off! Reminds me of the Luger you had on the channel some time ago, truly amazing how we're able to track historical events like this.
Btw that holster's condition is also amazing considering it's age.
This is absolutely my favorite kind of gun. A real veteran!
This is great! I have one of these, and was never able to figure out exactly what it was. But now I know! The only difference us mine doesn't have the 1920 marking, or the Police markings, but other than those it's exactly that. Thanks for helping me figure out what one of my favorite pieces is!
You’re right I love tracking the provenance of a piece, especially German stuff because it can have such a varied story after the wars. I have a Mauser 98K made in 43, that features has Soviet capture markings all over it, just without the defacing of the nazi logos, so it features a weird combination of things scratched into the gun but only a couple things being scratched out lol
My father had an early German K98 with a cheap hunting optic welded on top, at first it may sound bad but its story is fascinating. It was used by the nazi in Jugoslavia, then was captured by the partisans, after a while being in service with many other M48 was used in the Jugoslavian civil war(that's where it gets the optic) and was brought in my country by an officer of the NATO mission during the war in Kosovo. So much history in a single gun.
Really close there is the Israelian K98 with both markings. That was weird
I enjoyed this video.
I had read that the Treaty of Versailles limited pistol barrel length to 100 mm maximum--longer barrels were "war material" but the short barrels were appropriate for police and civilian pistols. It is interesting that war-surplus 9mm pistols were modified for police use. I'm not fully conversant on German police pistols between the two World Wars--I had the impression that most of those German police pistols were in 7.65mm Browning with army surplus 9mm pistols and obsolete revolvers in various calibers sometimes being issued. Weimar Republic Germany was not a peaceful place--in fact, rebellions of various kinds went on from 1919 to 1935. Germany had a lot of police and the reason the Gestapo was formed had to do with coordinated effort against revolutionaries instead of the failed state-by-state effort that the Nazi Party rode to power. Police armored cars with Maxim machine guns (Spandau?) were more than a cover for additional German army machine guns. It seems that political factors shaped police pistols more than did technology--if that police-issue C96 was modified to be Treaty of Versailles compliant and not just made about 40mm shorter to make the C96 more compact and lightweight.
Nice try, sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. XD
Ian, I really appreciate the time you spend doing the subtitles. It lets me improve my english, my "english's ear" and my knowledge about guns. You're the best, man. Brofists from Sevilla Southern Spain
I really wish someone would do an updated version of the C96. I know it's an ungainly weapon for these modern times of ours. It would make for a great range oddity. Definitely a conversation starter.
Well we stuck around long enough for someone to make a modern welrod. So here's hoping
I forgot who, but there were reproduction Broomhandle Mauser pistols made in the 1980's or 1990's and then there were some Chinese-made Mauser pistols that were imported about the same time. They may have been the same. Perhaps Ian's new book on Chinese-made warlord pistols has more details. Mauser pistols were used by the USSR in quantity but they're rare and may just have been leftovers from the days of the Czar. Many of the Chinese pistols were imported from Spain--Mauser knock-offs from Astra or Star or both.
Those were made up of full auto parts kits put in new Non full auto receivers and sold by Navy arms.@@alancranford3398
Just buy an original C 96 although they seem expensive they are cheaper than what a new made one would cost.
@@fg42t2 there does always seem to be one up at auction. Just gotta suck it up and buy once cry once. No cheaper version is waiting in the wings.
Broomhandles are always cool.
It may have been unwieldy and awkward to use... but the C96 still remains as one of the coolest and most important pieces of firearms history. It was the first (debatable) truly successful self-loading handgun ever made
Red 9, sick
Cheers Ian, enjoyed that
They recognized the lung-removing power of 9mm.
The government already had the blood eagle
Not enough cash, stranger.
I love metallurgical technology and history, so guns are of particular interest to me and I am a collector. This is the best channel on YT and I watch every day - Thank you, Ian for years and years of interesting and informative content!
Fascinating! Thank you so much for the wonderful commentary.
Ahh... A choice of an avid gun collector.
It's a nice gun, Stranger.
Love when you cover common myths as I sometimes fall for them myself and love to learn more
I am lucky to have one. The author of History Writ in Steel graciously ID the police district stamped on the grip frame. Obtained long ago, on the hunt for the holster. It made many range trips, shoots great. A tribute to it's quality of construction. Nice video.
I also really thought that German police agencies pretty much standardized on .32ACP caliber for pistols, with no significant use of 9x19mm handguns. Learning stuff with every FW videos!
In Interwar Germany 9 mm Parabellum was only allowed for the Schutzpolizei units. They had been organized in ,Hundertschaften' ( similar to companies) . They had been barracked . This units , similar to current ,Bereitschaftspolizei' had the task of riot police, crushing down uprisings of communists or nationalists, and support ordinary Ordnungspolizei or Kriminalpolizei ( Detectives) if a large number of policemen was necessary. The other handguns had been K98, Mp 18 ( 1 of 20 men) and few handgrenades, also few machineguns for use in armored ,Polizeisonderwagen'.
True. Look at the "St.140" markings. It meams "Staffel 140".
And then came the "Schutz Staffeln" or "Sonder Standarten" or just SS... Half police, half soldiers, and full criminals.
I don't know about the police, but the Germans pretty much loaded up every government organization that was exempt from treaty of Versailles with large caliber weapons or machine pistols. If you were a mailman, you might find yourself issued a 98 Mauser or mp10.
@@yumtig7444 id rather say the St means Stück(Piece/number) if the pistol is really from such a disctrict with much police i still dont believe it would have 140 individual units but more like that the guns were numerised in their arsenal
@@gregeoryl : Don' t tell nonsense. In ,Weimar Republik' only paramilitary police ( Schutzpolizei) of the different states had been allowed to own pistols in 9mm Parabellum and MP 18, in a Hundertschaft ( police equivalent to military Kompanie) only one of twenty men had a MP, for other police units or even Reichswehr MP had been forbidden by Versailles treaty! Rural police ( Gendarmerie/ Landjäger) of the states, Town police of larger towns and Kriminalpolizei ( detectives branch) had been armed with pistols in 7,65 Browning/.32 ACP, the detectives or other civilian dressed law enforcement often only 6,35 Browning/.25 ACP . May be rural police had some 8x57 IS rifles to fight poachers, and may be there had been some flare guns. Postal Protektion, railway police , customs service and central Bank / Reichsbank had been payed by German Gouvernement, but as far as i know, also no 9mm Pistole. Prison and Court guards i don' t know, and forrestry officials had rifles and Drillinge, but pistols as service weapons, i don' t know.
For Versailles reason, also the sabers had been regulated ( in late imperial/ early Weimar time not every german policeman / law enforce man had a baton/ truncheon). And Forrest officials had their traditional long ,Hirschfänger' knife.
In addition to regular police, the towns and villages had relicts of , medieval police': Town criers , field guards and sometimes very last nightwatchmen.
Ian, your channel comments section must be one of the most nicest comment section on all of TH-cam. It has to be the great vibe that you transmit.
the St.140 could mean Stück.140 (Stück meaning piece/number) as like a numbering in the police arsenal.
Or “staffel” meaning “series”.
Somewhere, there is probably a record….
Thanks for this. As an amateur WWII historian, I love these stories filling in little parts of the big picture. Thanks again.
"in a fairly organized manner" says Ian, of the Germans.
The fact that "Mauser" means "to molt" seems apt for this conversion. +1 Like
Paul Mauser is the namesake, I realize.
19,000 people, 1,400 cops -- we've found the twin town of Uvalde, Texas.
I'll add this C-96 to my Huge, Dream Collection of EVERY Variation of Broom Handled Mauser ever created Ian!!!
Sigh.
The St. 140 most likely means "staffel 140" since it is a police gun. Staffel is a german police term, something like a unit or a squadron and it can be seen shortened to St. in other places/texts
I love the video's where you read an old workhorses story from the markings. You did a similar one on a Luger.
Ian is so professional.
We wouldn't be able to guess that he is in front of the whole bear arms staff eating popcorns while watching him live.
"I got me a Mauser .38 automatic pistol"
Beautiful
Again thankyou Ian love your history storytelling bless you man
The guys remodeling these pistols must have been really skilled.
Thank you , Ian .
The Red 9 is like the original Grip Zone... If the Grip Zone was cool.
I would love to see you bringing this gun to the range!
Wouldn't mind having a couple of those boxes in the background...
My C96 is a rebored 9mm, but I have no idea where or when it was rebored.
Fantastic firearm, plus whoever stacked those boxes knew exactly what they were doing.
Yep. For sure. Wonder what’s in the boxes? Mauser stripper clips, 🤣
Ahh... A choice of an avid gun collector. It's a nice gun Stranger. The Merchant of RE4
Thank you. Beautiful example!
Thanks for the great content
A late friend of mine here in the UK who was a registered firearms dealer ( RFD) had a c96 Mauser in
his collection it looked as though it had been made yesterday such was it's condition
Great that this found a good home...I can't imagine selling something like this (then again: I like guns in general), it's a family heirloom after all (your grandfather or great-grandfather brought it back and you are selling it? Why? Unless you are starving without the money I wouldn't do it!)
Gun Jesus was just spotted visiting Radom factory, can't wait to see the video !
In addition to being used in two world wars, a modified version was also used by smugglers during the Galactic Rebellion.
There are still ongoing heated debates about whether they were used for preemptive attacks.
I recall one being used to shoot a green alien bounty hunter, poor guy never had time to react
@@lilwyvern4 this whole thread is 24karat gold
The gun's owner, named Solo, apologized to the owner of the cantina for the shooting, stating...
"Sorry for the mess."
Worst dialogue ever!
Ahhhh, the best pistol in RE4... we meet again
Thanks for the video.
I'll never get tired of Ian pulling guns out from his lap!
Love to see a range day with this one!
TIL Red 9 was an actual designation and not just Capcom making a 'legally distinct' version of the C96 for Resident Evil 4 lol
Yes, it's mainly to distingush between C96 chambered in 9mm and C96 chambered in 7.63mm Mauser.
Always wanted to peep inside of this !!!? I always thought of the front from the receiver to the barrel looked like a punch
it looks like a downscaled artillery piece which looks so badass
Aaaaaaah. I'll buy it at a high price!
👌
Aah! A choice of an avid gun collector. It's a nice gun stranger!
I knew someone was gonna say it xD
@@stupid90able You'll have to forgive me. I kind of have a thing for references.
I was drooling over the stash of ammo behind you lol
I soooo wish I had picked one of those up when I had the chance....
Ian's ammo stash ??
Appropriately timed.
I'm very distracted by the wall of ammo behind you. I need an accent wall like that!
One cop per 13-14 people? That's the police-iest police state I've heard of!
"Zere Vill Be ORDER!"
@@kmech3rd
Zen zer vill be ordure.....ordure happenz....
Kinda happens when you have 6 attempted coups in 3 years. most of those policofficers werent even used for normal policing duties like you imagine but were stationed in barracks untill ''bavarian soviet republic number 4 '' pops up and they roll out to shoot them. Also ironic hearing ''policiest police state'' when we all know what the NSA are doing . i'd say thats more policestate-y
St. 140 could be a police station number or code.. As in, stamped so you know this one was from 140th police station/department/County or whatever..
That's my best guess..👍
i would rather guess that St. is short für Stück meaning piece so its rather the numbering in the arsenal.
A novel centering around this gun could be cool, the gun as the main character and the 100+ years of people met and things it has seen. Milled from stock and being the hot new thing, then aging. being passed on and learning to know the owners by the snippets of time it was pulled out of it's box/holstered.
It would be the ballistic version of Red Violin
Being a German government modification, I half expected them to fill in the stock slot. 😆
After lusting to hold and shoot a C96 for as long as I can remember, last year I finally got to shoot one, still in Mauser calibre.
It was awkward and very unfriendly to use, but I am glad I got to use it.
Great video again Ian.
Winston Churchill writes of using a C96 while assigned in South Africa. during the Boer War. The 30 Mauser is not a bad cartridge, and almost identical to the 7.62x25mm Tokarev.
Is it unpleasant to shoot because of the high bore axis?
@@loboheeler Although you should not try to load/fire the Tokarev round in the Mauser.
Most people don't realize how easy it was to acquire guns until rather recently. You could order them out of the Sears and the Montgomery Ward catalogs. Half the pickups in the high school student parking lot had a rifle hanging in the back window. Nobody thought anything of it. It was part of life in a small Wyoming town in the 50's and 60's. You could also order fireworks out of magazines, and they were delivered by the Post Office. It was a far easier and laid back time to grow up in.
Thanks!
Hello, Ian. I´m a big fan of your work. I live in Czech republik, so I specially loved your videos from CZ group in Uherský Brod (and any other regarding czech weapons), however, it is always fascinating to watch a video of yours regarding any weapon.
I come with a little suggestion. Did you maybe consider upgrading your video equipment? Light conditions in this video felt little... pale? So I thought maybe that could be managed with some basic photo light (lamp). I thing it would be a improvement in your videos quality.
P.S.: Love C 96 pistols, would like to own one someday :)
Mauser pistols are so cool, I really enjoy them.
Another great study! Thanks much!
God bless all here.
"Ahhh, the choice of an avid gun collector. it's a nice gun, Stranger!"
Very interesting. Thanks ! :)
Super video.
The Prussian element of the German military didn't order the Red 9 during WWI. The German government did. Maruo Baudino talks about this on the Milsurp World Red 9 episode.
This is a nice bit of history to go with these ancestors of modern pistols😁
And here I thought the red 9 was a video game gun
Did the Germans issue old revolvers to the police first? Such as the venerable M1879 Reichsrevolver, or Reichs-Commissions-Revolver Modell 1879 and 1883 (having a 5" barrel), single-action service revolvers used by the German Army from 1879 to 1908, when they were superseded by the Luger. Or the Mauser C78 "zig-zag" revolver (later replaced by the Mauser C96 "broomhandle" pistol)? Post-WW1 Weimar Republic Germany didn't have cash to waste!
- Forgotten Weapons: Mauser "Zigzag" Revolver Patent Model and its Unique Cartridge th-cam.com/video/paOPpP4E_gM/w-d-xo.html
- Forgotten Weapons: Mauser Model 1878 "Zig-Zag" Revolver th-cam.com/video/UzSXvhGdfzo/w-d-xo.html
- FW: Model 1879 Reichsrevolver th-cam.com/video/jOI4557ioaA/w-d-xo.html and Shooting the 1883 th-cam.com/video/RB074qA-3EA/w-d-xo.html
- German Ordnance Reichs Revolver M1879 th-cam.com/video/I1gdgUDlvu4/w-d-xo.html
@forgotten weapons, good episode!
Ian, are you going to make a GROT review? Little birds twitter, that you visited Radom.
Thank you.
Racking up another RE4 classic!
As always a great vid and really interesting. Thankyou very much!
What bugs me a bit is the WW2 story of the gun. Is the Gumbinnen you mention the one in East Prussia? That town is today part of Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast).
Americans and Soviets met at the Elbe River on April 25th, 1945, more than 400 miles west of Gumbinnen. Even if the soldier's unit was a little further east than the "official" meeting point at the Elbe, I doubt they were anywhere near Gumbinnen.
I’m learning things 😂. Awesome!
Oh that’s the Sturm!
Ah, the choice of an avid gun collector! It's a nice gun, stranger.
Ian, If you ever want to see an early-production Japanese Type 99 that is a known GI bringback, I have one here in Arizona. It's not the prettiest thing anymore and missing some accessories (definitely saw some action), but it's mechanically in great shape.
Are you joking or very young perhaps?