POP quiz! What is this rifle?

[Claven2]

Ok, let me start by saying it's now mine and it's the subject of an ongoing thread on another forum. If you've read that other thread, please don't participate as you'll ruin it for everyone else

What does these markings on a K98k mean? I'll give you a hint. It's WW2 German and the Receiver Waffenampt is Eagle-WaA359 (only one of them) and the receiver ring was NEVER stamped with a factory code and year. That's it! No more hints! (BBOTW will be no help - time to separate the men from the boys! [or girls])

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[Skippy]

I'm a complete ameture, but I'd guess that it's an orbendorf due to the 359.
Perhaps the funky eagle waffenampt denotes pre war manufacture, and the lack of a manufacturer and date codes are a measure used to hide the rifle from the Versailles inspectors?

How close am I?

[Claven2]

Hi Skippy, those are goo guesses that are unfortunately wrong. The depicted proof is not a Weimar eagle as fond on typical pre-1939 K98k's. It's also NOT an Oberndorf - has nothing to do with that factory, actually.

Keep guessing!

[Andy]

I know nothing much about K98's, and this is a WAG, but at the risk of learning something, I will say that the font looks a lot like the Finn capture font (although I don't see an "SA" there). Am I even warm?

[Claven2]

Sorry Andy, not even close...

OK, here's a another hint. The eagle is a "LuftAmpt" meaning this rifle was inspected at MANUFACTURE by Luftwaffe inspectors, not the HeeresWaffenAmpt which normally inspected rifles at all the major factories. Even K98k's made at major factories destined for the Luftwaffe are typically HeeresWaffenAmpt inspected and only marked with an "L" on the buttstock. This rifle does NOT follow that pattern, making it a very different animal altogether...

OK, that's enough of a hint for now... lol. As one more freebie hint, there is a picture of a rifle almost identical to this one in BBOTW, but Law wrote next to nothing about it and most of what he did write has since been proven wrong. You can find it lumped in with his section on 1939 production, though the rifle was actually made in 1941...

Keep the guesses coming!

[Claven2]

PS: this is an EXCEEDINGLY rare rifle and will be featured in an upcoming MKL entry despite the mismatched bolt

[Skippy]

It's not a Klappschaft(sp?) is it?

[Claven2]

Nope. Other than what makes it special, it's a standard configuration K98k made in 1941.

Allright, here are some more hints... two varieties of these exist. One variety has a single WaA 359 on the receiver ring along the woodline on the bolt handle side, the other variety has a small bsw logo in the same location. Neither has markings on top of the receiver. Neither rifle was assembled at one of the major K98k factories (including bsw), but rather at a company better known for their Luger production... virtually all of them have 1939 made Geco barrels. These guns were made (obviously) for the Luftwaffe for a very specific reason by an EXTREMELY uncommon K98k maker...

Keep the gueses coming!

[sdh1911]

I think the "E" denotes H. Kohler, AG Maschinenfabric, Altenberg Thuringen. But it also kinda looks like a concentration camp marking I saw years ago. I just can't wake up the right brain cell-SDH

[Claven2]

Nope - the e is just the serial suffix, though that brings me to another hint: ALL known rifles of this type are in the "e" block, and this rifle has the distinct honor of being the highest recorded serial number for a likely produciton of under 7000 units. Also, it's NOT a russian capture - though most assuredly some rifles of this type WERE captured by the Russians.

Here's part of the answer since clearly most of you guys are stumped. The Manufacturer was Krieghoff. Now why might you ask was Krieghoff making a short run of K98k's in 1941 using leftover bsw receivers and Walther supplied receiver "blanks" like this one? (FYI, WaA359 in 1941 was assigned to Walther and LuftAmpt 4 was assigned to Krieghoff...)