I just picked up a luftwaffe 1 model mid issue from the son of a vet. His dad was a doctor in charge of giving pow’s with diseases they picked up in France shots of penicillin. This all done with a MP in the room, hand on his 45 in case Jerry did want to get the newly invented Antibiotics. Sound familiar? I even got a photo of the vet next to a minefield. In Germany. Very cool find. I’m in the middle of reading Siegfried the nazi’s last stance by Charles Whiting. It’s heavy on the Aachen story if anyone is interested.
Tom, thanks for this interesting video. Your mention of the battle that took place in Aachen was of special interest to me as a late uncle participated in that action. As a young boy, I was fascinated with all things WW Il and, although he talked little of his war time experiences, he gave me a Nazi swastika flag that he picked up there. Much smaller than your Kriegsmarine flag (it measures 28”x38”), I assume that it was likely one that was used for a window or office display. Thanks again for another great WW ll episode.
Really nice gun and story behind it. Historian Mark Felton should have RUclips video about the Battle of Aachen, he is really good at providing information.
Thanks Tom. Again, a really interesting pistol and an even more iteresting story to go with it. I am not a Walther expert, but I have to believe you sir are one, or at least a very knowledgable dealer/collector. If you say it probably original who would i be to argue? It looks right to me. And you are right. after the war these guns weren't brought home as an investment for the kids college fund, they were simply that, souviners. Nazi were defeat and hated the world over, why would they have ever suspected collectors would one day value these WWII items so highly.
See After The Battle, Issue 42 page 22 - "Before they left, Sergeant Padgett nabbed the prize souvenir of the occasion, the colonel's pistol". Maybe Davis won it from Padgett in a poker game. A good candidate, and the colonel in question is Oberst Gerhard Wilck who surrendered Aachen.
In one village mittenwald near Garmisch-Partenkirchen…if you had two cartons of cigarettes you were the richest man in the village right after the war.
My Dad was there. He brought back a postcard. I think I still have it somewhere. They used to advertise the resort with women skiing down the mountain in bikinis.
An interesting story and a rare pistol The fact that its all Historically checkable A Colonels pistol from the 1st ss pz leibstandarte makes it even more valuable!
That person who made the letter was probably not Mr Davis, it may be a relative to him or the buyer, and at the moment, they did not have the whole number, and it 2as filled in when some one who could see, got hold of the gun and filled the paper in.
@@dmg4415 it coulda, shoulda, woulda. The letter is sketchy and IMHO it brings zero provenance to the gun. I’m surprised that there wasn’t a comment on it. Plus it was made in 2017, clearly when it had passed the period in time that trading in Nazi collectibles was no longer as objectionable as it once was. Lastly, there is zero other connection to the story. It is sketchy as hell.
Do you have an email to contact you and send some photos? Just looking for a brief summary if you have time of a Mauser Werke marked pistol that looks like a Walther made gun. My great uncle brought it back (he was part of D Day into Germany), and unfortunately we know he was the one who had it nickeled right after returning home. He had an amazing collection of German war trophys (several were pistols) he collected off the battle field, and "won in poker games" like you said at the end of the war. Sadly a large portion of them were stolen in a burglary, but the photos we have of them it was some very remarkable items. This pistol happened to be at another relatives house at the time, is how it survived.
The 44 looks like a hard chrome finish The 40 / Paul Davis looks like nickel plating. Not saying either or neuter are original just an observation from this side of the internet
So just looking at that finish does it not look a little different from some other chrome finishes ? It looks way more professional cleaner and somehow it just seems to fit better than most nickel finishes. So just my eye test says yeah thats from the factory .
It may have been purchased by the SS officer, to have as a backup gun, inside his tunic, and chromed to let him of to clean and oil every evening as those guns was very exposed to salt from the sweat ozzing out during battle. His ordinary gun was probably stowed away and was used when doing business outside of a tank, and if he was a colonel in 1944, he probably may have been commissioned as an officer in 1940, and bought the gun then. Tanker do not want anything hindering them from going out from a tank very very fast, so having a gun after an evacuation from a tank during a battle was a wise move, even if it was only a .32, as always, better to have a mouse gun in hand than the P38 in the Tank, You just left burning.
Thanks for the interesting & most informative video! Just fyi: in german, "Liebe", pronounced "leebeh", means "love". "Leib", pronounced "l-eye-b", means "life". So, it's NOT the "love" Standarte ("stahndahrteh")--literally & figuratively--but instead, the "life" (as in "protecting Hitler's life") Standarte. I mean, if at this point in time, anyone really cares anymore... In german, "ie" is pronounced "ee" (as in english word "eel"), and "ei" is pronounced "eye".
Yep Nickel finish devalues the WW2 era gun considerably, thought they were mostly done postwar hard to prove it was done pre war, ironically this will probably preserve the gun much longer than if it had been left blued, it is supposed to be harder for the nickel finish to rust. Correct me if I am wrong about this.
that you are all the time Walter PPK and Walter PPK there are no other pistols or you are probably crazy On Walter PPK make a video about the Mauser hsc
Wow those are some amazing examples of vintage Walthers. I enjoyed the video and always fun to listen to your humor. 🤠👍🏼
That whole rig is absolutely gorgeous!
Wow the vercromt aluminium one is a stunner Tom! Great vids again this week 👍🏻
Tom that PPK is pretty darn cool!
I just picked up a luftwaffe 1 model mid issue from the son of a vet. His dad was a doctor in charge of giving pow’s with diseases they picked up in France shots of penicillin. This all done with a MP in the room, hand on his 45 in case Jerry did want to get the newly invented Antibiotics. Sound familiar? I even got a photo of the vet next to a minefield. In Germany. Very cool find. I’m in the middle of reading Siegfried the nazi’s last stance by Charles Whiting. It’s heavy on the Aachen story if anyone is interested.
Tom, thanks for this interesting video. Your mention of the battle that took place in Aachen was of special interest to me as a late uncle participated in that action. As a young boy, I was fascinated with all things WW Il and, although he talked little of his war time experiences, he gave me a Nazi swastika flag that he picked up there. Much smaller than your Kriegsmarine flag (it measures 28”x38”), I assume that it was likely one that was used for a window or office display. Thanks again for another great WW ll episode.
Great cool gun stories, too, Tom.
Really nice gun and story behind it. Historian Mark Felton should have RUclips video about the Battle of Aachen, he is really good at providing information.
Tom; Thank you for sharing with us your accumulated knowledge. (-:
Thank you for a very interesting / educational video.
Thanks Tom. Again, a really interesting pistol and an even more iteresting story to go with it. I am not a Walther expert, but I have to believe you sir are one, or at least a very knowledgable dealer/collector. If you say it probably original who would i be to argue? It looks right to me. And you are right. after the war these guns weren't brought home as an investment for the kids college fund, they were simply that, souviners. Nazi were defeat and hated the world over, why would they have ever suspected collectors would one day value these WWII items so highly.
See After The Battle, Issue 42 page 22 - "Before they left, Sergeant Padgett nabbed the prize souvenir of the occasion, the colonel's pistol". Maybe Davis won it from Padgett in a poker game. A good candidate, and the colonel in question is Oberst Gerhard Wilck who surrendered Aachen.
Interesting history. Nice addition to the video. Thanks so much
Oberst Gerhard Wilck was in the Heer and not a member of the Schultzstaffel.
Was Wilck in the tank battalion though? Pretty sure there could be more than one obrest wandering around in the area.
@@hudsondonnell444 exactly
Another great video…. Cool gun and great story…..;)
My thoughts exactly , Cool gun great story.
That was awesome !
I didn't know so many of does guns where bring back to USA and ended up in very good condition like that ...
Just amazing .....
70+ years in a box or foot locker think be rusty
Thank you!
~ Will this be on the website for sale soon?????
5:09 is Cologne, not Aachen.
In one village mittenwald near Garmisch-Partenkirchen…if you had two cartons of cigarettes you were the richest man in the village right after the war.
My Dad was there. He brought back a postcard. I think I still have it somewhere. They used to advertise the resort with women skiing down the mountain in bikinis.
An interesting story and a rare pistol The fact that its all Historically checkable A Colonels pistol from the 1st ss pz leibstandarte makes it even more valuable!
Great video
Always interesting
Nickel compared to chrome finish is night and day. Nickel finish can still tarnish green.
We're the logos on the slide, acid etched or roll stamped?
Acid etched
Great history!
What’s with the form letter? Makes no sense.
Yes, I wonder why the letter was made out with a blank spot for the remainder of the serial number. Looks like a good way to generate multiples.
Yeah, not sure what to make of that. Like the gun though
@@burnheretic3950 I made a letter like that when I was at school, with tea to make it old! 🤨
That person who made the letter was probably not Mr Davis, it may be a relative to him or the buyer, and at the moment, they did not have the whole number, and it 2as filled in when some one who could see, got hold of the gun and filled the paper in.
@@dmg4415 it coulda, shoulda, woulda. The letter is sketchy and IMHO it brings zero provenance to the gun. I’m surprised that there wasn’t a comment on it. Plus it was made in 2017, clearly when it had passed the period in time that trading in Nazi collectibles was no longer as objectionable as it once was. Lastly, there is zero other connection to the story. It is sketchy as hell.
Hey Tom Chrome....lol
I prefer Nicle plated !!!!!!!😎
Do you have an email to contact you and send some photos?
Just looking for a brief summary if you have time of a Mauser Werke marked pistol that looks like a Walther made gun. My great uncle brought it back (he was part of D Day into Germany), and unfortunately we know he was the one who had it nickeled right after returning home. He had an amazing collection of German war trophys (several were pistols) he collected off the battle field, and "won in poker games" like you said at the end of the war. Sadly a large portion of them were stolen in a burglary, but the photos we have of them it was some very remarkable items. This pistol happened to be at another relatives house at the time, is how it survived.
l have one of these little gun's.....But my gun is a PP 9mm/short....Thanks very much....!
watch mark feltons video on the battle of acchen. it was America's stalingrad
its just glorious
The 44 looks like a hard chrome finish
The 40 / Paul Davis looks like nickel plating. Not saying either or neuter are original just an observation from this side of the internet
Thanks
So just looking at that finish does it not look a little different from some other chrome finishes ? It looks way more professional cleaner and somehow it just seems to fit better than most nickel finishes. So just my eye test says yeah thats from the factory .
Post early war Germany probably the best finish you can get
It may have been purchased by the SS officer, to have as a backup gun, inside his tunic, and chromed to let him of to clean and oil every evening as those guns was very exposed to salt from the sweat ozzing out during battle. His ordinary gun was probably stowed away and was used when doing business outside of a tank, and if he was a colonel in 1944, he probably may have been commissioned as an officer in 1940, and bought the gun then. Tanker do not want anything hindering them from going out from a tank very very fast, so having a gun after an evacuation from a tank during a battle was a wise move, even if it was only a .32, as always, better to have a mouse gun in hand than the P38 in the Tank, You just left burning.
Thanks for the interesting & most informative video!
Just fyi: in german, "Liebe", pronounced "leebeh", means "love". "Leib", pronounced "l-eye-b", means "life". So, it's NOT the "love" Standarte ("stahndahrteh")--literally & figuratively--but instead, the "life" (as in "protecting Hitler's life") Standarte. I mean, if at this point in time, anyone really cares anymore...
In german, "ie" is pronounced "ee" (as in english word "eel"), and "ei" is pronounced "eye".
Chromed maybe?
Se echa de menos una traduccion al idioma hispano ( castellano)
awesome!!!!
👍
wooder and worsh - I'm from Baltimore
Thankyou for promoting our professional replicas Tom! Yhuan Ping from Schezuan province metalworks!
Yep Nickel finish devalues the WW2 era gun considerably, thought they were mostly done postwar hard to prove it was done pre war, ironically this will probably preserve the gun much longer than if it had been left blued, it is supposed to be harder for the nickel finish to rust. Correct me if I am wrong about this.
Always Tiger tanks. Always SS colonels.
😎👍🤝
that you are all the time Walter PPK and Walter PPK there are no other pistols or you are probably crazy On Walter PPK make a video about the Mauser hsc
Great video