Here we have an excellent example of how “bubba”, in this case the IRS, gets the best ones. This pistol was deactivated shortly after the war by welding its muzzle shut and the sear under the grip. This pistol suffered from severe storage neglect after its deactivation but with careful cleaning it’s much better.
The info below I’ve gathered from online searches, mainly on this forum. I’d love any and all information you may be able to provide on this pistol, post war dewat practices etc.
This is a pre war 6.35mm (25 acp) Walther PPK, one of the rarest Walther variants. This one is solidly in the listed serial range for the 6.35. The very few I’ve seen at auction have sold between $10,000 and $23,000 in much better condition of course Note the 6.35 PPK unique magazine constructed of inserting a Walther model 8 6.35 magazine body inside the 7.35 PPK mag body. This can be seen clearly at the feed lips.
This PPK has a full complement of documentation to include its WWII capture certificate, dewat turn in receipt and completed dewat receipt. I have never seen a handgun with this documentation. I have spoken with other knowledgeable war trophy collectors and they think it was a local ordnance or intimidation encouraging the surrender and destruction of war trophies.
Note that the authority is the IRS Alcohol Tax Unit – the predecessor of the ATF according to cursory research.
To echo above - I would love to hear any insight you may have on this piece, especially if you’ve encountered similar post war dewat paperwork on things other than machine guns.
Also does anyone have information on the holster? It’s marked Deutsche Solvay Werke under the flap.
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Holster pics-
The info below I’ve gathered from online searches, mainly on this forum. I’d love any and all information you may be able to provide on this pistol, post war dewat practices etc.
This is a pre war 6.35mm (25 acp) Walther PPK, one of the rarest Walther variants. This one is solidly in the listed serial range for the 6.35. The very few I’ve seen at auction have sold between $10,000 and $23,000 in much better condition of course Note the 6.35 PPK unique magazine constructed of inserting a Walther model 8 6.35 magazine body inside the 7.35 PPK mag body. This can be seen clearly at the feed lips.
This PPK has a full complement of documentation to include its WWII capture certificate, dewat turn in receipt and completed dewat receipt. I have never seen a handgun with this documentation. I have spoken with other knowledgeable war trophy collectors and they think it was a local ordnance or intimidation encouraging the surrender and destruction of war trophies.
Note that the authority is the IRS Alcohol Tax Unit – the predecessor of the ATF according to cursory research.
To echo above - I would love to hear any insight you may have on this piece, especially if you’ve encountered similar post war dewat paperwork on things other than machine guns.
Also does anyone have information on the holster? It’s marked Deutsche Solvay Werke under the flap.
- - - Updated - - -
Holster pics-