Erfurt Artillery

Doubs · 07-13-2019, 04:28 PM

It just doesn't seem right to me that there's no thread about Erfurt Artillery Lugers. They were only made in 1914 with approximately 23,000 produced. I purchased this one at an estate sale many years ago. All matching, even the mag, and it has an excellent bore. It's unit marked to the 51st Reserve Artillery Regiment which saw a lot of action on the Western Front. I also have a second Erfurt Artillery Luger unit marked to the same regiment but it has a couple of replaced parts and is British proofed. Of the two, this is the nicest.

DonVoigt · 07-13-2019, 04:56 PM

Nice Erfurt.
Now there is a thread.
Here are my two.

A "straight" 1914, and a 1914 with 1920 property stamp and Navy markings.

HerrKaiser · 07-13-2019, 07:23 PM

Well, might as well join the parade here and post mine since I got it about a month and a half ago from Don. It’s all matching sans the magazine, but was refinished and heavily buffed. Nonetheless, it makes for a good quality shooter and looks better than most other refinished Lugers that I have seen (except for those done by Thor, he just does magical refinishes on Lugers)

DavidJayUden · 07-13-2019, 07:49 PM

Interesting that only Don's has the broken crown.
dju

DonVoigt · 07-13-2019, 11:33 PM

We've discussed and speculated about the broken crown die before.

Seems obvious that Erfurt used more than one roll die for the mid link, and probably also replaced the dies when they noticed that they developed a defect. JMHO.

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to date they are observed.

Doubs · 07-14-2019, 02:06 AM

Of my two 1914 Erfurt Artillery Lugers, one has a perfect crown and the other a broken crown. They are both in the first block of production - no suffix letter - and approximately 4,600 numbers apart. The earlier one, serial # 2361, has the broken crown.

I have other Erfurt Lugers with both perfect and broken crowns from later years. As Don says, there seems to be no pattern to when they appear.

ithacaartist · 07-14-2019, 10:44 AM

Does the break always appear in the same part of the crown?

DonVoigt · 07-14-2019, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ithacaartist

Does the break always appear in the same part of the crown?

The ones I have seen or seen pictures of- yes.

Doubs · 07-15-2019, 12:20 AM

This may not show as clearly as I'd like but the right "leg" of the crown is not complete.

DonVoigt · 07-15-2019, 02:13 PM

My pictures , with the white in the markings, in post #2 clearly show the break in the right lobe of the crown.

Thor · 07-16-2019, 03:38 PM

Here's one from my work
http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthre...ht=1914+Erfurt

HerrKaiser · 07-16-2019, 04:04 PM

Thor,

By chance was that one you restored in your thread the same one I now have in my possession? I cant quite make out the SN on the one you posted but it looks similar to my numbers.

Thor · 07-16-2019, 05:46 PM

Here is the post made back in 2002 when I finished Mark's Artillery. He lives in Virginia I think. The small parts look like "79" but the SN digits are 2263 g from my records.
http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthre...ht=1914+Erfurt

I have worked on (7) 1914 Erfurts 1327a, 5519a, 1005b, 2263g, 1946 NS, 4324 NS (Double date 1914/1920), 9259 NS NS=No letter suffix

HerrKaiser · 07-16-2019, 06:37 PM

Thank you. Mine is 8019 a which explains why they looked similar in the post.

klaus 3338 · 07-26-2019, 02:47 AM

Acceptance stamps and numbers on the mag are more than questionable...

Doubs · 07-26-2019, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by klaus 3338

Acceptance stamps and numbers on the mag are more than questionable...

I image you're talking about my mag in the first post. I agree and have so stated before. It is the mag that came with the gun when I bought it and I've questioned it's originality from the beginning.

Below is the mag that came with my other Erfurt Artillery. What do you think of it? (It doesn't match the gun)

Curss · 08-18-2019, 05:38 PM

This is my favorite thread!

Maybe one day I will find an Erfurt Arty for myself!

Roadster 02 · 08-18-2019, 06:28 PM

Since everyone was posting such nice Erfurt's I figured I could show the other side of the fence. This one just shoots like a dream, is all matching except the sideplate, and mag which is only 7 numbers off. I'm not sure if it is chromed, or nickel. I've even got a chromed loading tool. I'm not sure if it could be restored or not. If anyone has some chromed or nickel parts they do not need, let me know. Ok, Erfurt lovers, try not to get wet eyes.

DavidJayUden · 08-19-2019, 12:27 AM

Hard to tell but I'm guessing chrome. A custom chrome plating shop could probably tell you for sure. You can bet there won't be another one just like it at the range...
dju

DonVoigt · 08-19-2019, 09:34 AM

I agree, likely chrome- not nickel.

Cool though, I "need" a chrome luger- everyone should have a least one to show
what our GIs though was a neat way to personalize their hard won souvenir.

07-13-2019, 04:28 PM	#1
Doubs User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Byron, Georgia Posts: 1,698 Thanks: 792 Thanked 1,687 Times in 554 Posts	Erfurt Artillery It just doesn't seem right to me that there's no thread about Erfurt Artillery Lugers. They were only made in 1914 with approximately 23,000 produced. I purchased this one at an estate sale many years ago. All matching, even the mag, and it has an excellent bore. It's unit marked to the 51st Reserve Artillery Regiment which saw a lot of action on the Western Front. I also have a second Erfurt Artillery Luger unit marked to the same regiment but it has a couple of replaced parts and is British proofed. Of the two, this is the nicest.

07-13-2019, 07:23 PM	#3
HerrKaiser User Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: South Carolina Posts: 848 Thanks: 784 Thanked 861 Times in 411 Posts	Well, might as well join the parade here and post mine since I got it about a month and a half ago from Don. It’s all matching sans the magazine, but was refinished and heavily buffed. Nonetheless, it makes for a good quality shooter and looks better than most other refinished Lugers that I have seen (except for those done by Thor, he just does magical refinishes on Lugers) Attached Thumbnails __________________ -QM Looking for Mauser S/42 toggle train #22

07-13-2019, 11:33 PM	#5
DonVoigt User Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: near Charlotte NC Posts: 4,681 Thanks: 1,441 Thanked 4,350 Times in 2,040 Posts	We've discussed and speculated about the broken crown die before. Seems obvious that Erfurt used more than one roll die for the mid link, and probably also replaced the dies when they noticed that they developed a defect. JMHO. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to date they are observed. __________________ 03man(Don Voigt); Luger student and collector. Looking for DWM side plate: 69 ; Dreyse 1907 pistol K.S. Gendarmerie

07-14-2019, 10:44 AM	#7
ithacaartist Twice a Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Atop the highest hill in Schuyler County NY Posts: 3,347 Thanks: 7,285 Thanked 2,579 Times in 1,366 Posts	Does the break always appear in the same part of the crown? __________________ "... Liberty is the seed and soil, the air and light, the dew and rain of progress, love and joy."-- Robert Greene Ingersoll 1894

07-15-2019, 02:13 PM	#10
DonVoigt User Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: near Charlotte NC Posts: 4,681 Thanks: 1,441 Thanked 4,350 Times in 2,040 Posts	My pictures , with the white in the markings, in post #2 clearly show the break in the right lobe of the crown. __________________ 03man(Don Voigt); Luger student and collector. Looking for DWM side plate: 69 ; Dreyse 1907 pistol K.S. Gendarmerie

07-13-2019, 04:56 PM	#2
DonVoigt User Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: near Charlotte NC Posts: 4,681 Thanks: 1,441 Thanked 4,350 Times in 2,040 Posts	Nice Erfurt. Now there is a thread. Here are my two. A "straight" 1914, and a 1914 with 1920 property stamp and Navy markings. Attached Thumbnails Attached Images __________________ 03man(Don Voigt); Luger student and collector. Looking for DWM side plate: 69 ; Dreyse 1907 pistol K.S. Gendarmerie

07-13-2019, 07:49 PM	#4
DavidJayUden Patron LugerForum Patron Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 4,047 Thanks: 578 Thanked 1,414 Times in 887 Posts	Interesting that only Don's has the broken crown. dju

07-14-2019, 02:06 AM	#6
Doubs User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Byron, Georgia Posts: 1,698 Thanks: 792 Thanked 1,687 Times in 554 Posts	Of my two 1914 Erfurt Artillery Lugers, one has a perfect crown and the other a broken crown. They are both in the first block of production - no suffix letter - and approximately 4,600 numbers apart. The earlier one, serial # 2361, has the broken crown. I have other Erfurt Lugers with both perfect and broken crowns from later years. As Don says, there seems to be no pattern to when they appear.

07-15-2019, 12:20 AM	#9
Doubs User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Byron, Georgia Posts: 1,698 Thanks: 792 Thanked 1,687 Times in 554 Posts	This may not show as clearly as I'd like but the right "leg" of the crown is not complete.

07-16-2019, 03:38 PM	#11
Thor User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Rio Rancho, New Mexico Posts: 4,583 Thanks: 958 Thanked 970 Times in 276 Posts	Here's one from my work http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthre...ht=1914+Erfurt __________________ Thor's Luger Clinic http://members.rennlist.com/lugerman/ Ted Green (Thor Yaller Boots) 725 Western Hills Dr SE, Rio Rancho, NM 87124 915-526-8925 Email [email protected] ----------------------------------- John3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

07-16-2019, 04:04 PM	#12
HerrKaiser User Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: South Carolina Posts: 848 Thanks: 784 Thanked 861 Times in 411 Posts	Thor, By chance was that one you restored in your thread the same one I now have in my possession? I cant quite make out the SN on the one you posted but it looks similar to my numbers. __________________ -QM Looking for Mauser S/42 toggle train #22

07-16-2019, 05:46 PM	#13
Thor User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Rio Rancho, New Mexico Posts: 4,583 Thanks: 958 Thanked 970 Times in 276 Posts	Here is the post made back in 2002 when I finished Mark's Artillery. He lives in Virginia I think. The small parts look like "79" but the SN digits are 2263 g from my records. http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthre...ht=1914+Erfurt I have worked on (7) 1914 Erfurts 1327a, 5519a, 1005b, 2263g, 1946 NS, 4324 NS (Double date 1914/1920), 9259 NS NS=No letter suffix __________________ Thor's Luger Clinic http://members.rennlist.com/lugerman/ Ted Green (Thor Yaller Boots) 725 Western Hills Dr SE, Rio Rancho, NM 87124 915-526-8925 Email [email protected] ----------------------------------- John3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

07-16-2019, 06:37 PM	#14
HerrKaiser User Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: South Carolina Posts: 848 Thanks: 784 Thanked 861 Times in 411 Posts	Thank you. Mine is 8019 a which explains why they looked similar in the post. __________________ -QM Looking for Mauser S/42 toggle train #22

07-26-2019, 02:47 AM	#15
klaus 3338 User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Germany Posts: 517 Thanks: 0 Thanked 411 Times in 160 Posts	Acceptance stamps and numbers on the mag are more than questionable...

08-18-2019, 05:38 PM	#17
Curss User Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 303 Thanks: 304 Thanked 98 Times in 75 Posts	This is my favorite thread! Maybe one day I will find an Erfurt Arty for myself! __________________ -Chris

08-18-2019, 06:28 PM	#18
Roadster 02 User Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Rocky Mountain High Posts: 313 Thanks: 173 Thanked 252 Times in 87 Posts	Spoiler Since everyone was posting such nice Erfurt's I figured I could show the other side of the fence. This one just shoots like a dream, is all matching except the sideplate, and mag which is only 7 numbers off. I'm not sure if it is chromed, or nickel. I've even got a chromed loading tool. I'm not sure if it could be restored or not. If anyone has some chromed or nickel parts they do not need, let me know. Ok, Erfurt lovers, try not to get wet eyes. Attached Thumbnails

08-19-2019, 12:27 AM	#19
DavidJayUden Patron LugerForum Patron Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 4,047 Thanks: 578 Thanked 1,414 Times in 887 Posts	Hard to tell but I'm guessing chrome. A custom chrome plating shop could probably tell you for sure. You can bet there won't be another one just like it at the range... dju

08-19-2019, 09:34 AM	#20
DonVoigt User Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: near Charlotte NC Posts: 4,681 Thanks: 1,441 Thanked 4,350 Times in 2,040 Posts	I agree, likely chrome- not nickel. Cool though, I "need" a chrome luger- everyone should have a least one to show what our GIs though was a neat way to personalize their hard won souvenir. __________________ 03man(Don Voigt); Luger student and collector. Looking for DWM side plate: 69 ; Dreyse 1907 pistol K.S. Gendarmerie