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98k BNZ 43 S...any idea what the S is for?
gary wray
Member Posts: 4,663
Been going through my 98k collection and have a BNZ 43 S and the "S" is throwing me. It is not the SS rune but a regular S under the serial number. Notice in Blue Book that the BNZ S is double value compared to regular 98k's. Any expert know what the S is for? I am thinking it is SS but not being a rune is strange. Concentration camp made? Suggestions?
Comments
http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=81181
Bore Diameter?
No, its the usual 8x57. I did check "Backbone..." and it says that 8k single S were made and they were made outside the Steyr factory so I am thinking they were assembled in a camp...but just a WAG.
Take these facts to the bank: The sig "rune" & the serial number's suffix ("s", in this case) are 2 different marking issues. The rune is applied to receiver ring @ TDC, while the s/n suffix is stamped under the rifle's 1-to-5 digit s/n.
Bore dia will always run .323" minimum on a K98k.
Re: " .. a regular S under the serial number.":
It's the s/n suffix, found on each block of 9,999 rifles produced AFTER the 1st, or "null block". They run from the "null" (no suffix at all) block followed by letter blocks a thru z, & then roll-over to aa, bb, cc, etc. blocks (for those armories with higher production figures).
BBOGV is useless for WW2 German weapons values.
BBOTW is vastly better but very dated/flawed.
Q: "Any expert know what the S is for? I am thinking it is SS but not being a rune is strange. Concentration camp made? Suggestions?"
A: Not necessarily true. There's nothing unusual about a sans-rune bnz 43. If produced w/ a rune marking LOCATED BETWEEN "bnz" & the 43 date, it was manufactured by, intended & destined for issue to an SS-oriented unit. In other words: produced for SS consumption, under SS direction. Of course, slave labor was heavily involved here.
Gents,
Take these facts to the bank: The sig "rune" & the serial number's suffix ("s", in this case) are 2 different marking issues. The rune is applied to receiver ring @ TDC, while the s/n suffix is stamped under the rifle's 1-to-5 digit s/n.
Bore dia will always run .323" minimum on a K98k.
Re: " .. a regular S under the serial number.":
It's the s/n suffix, found on each block of 9,999 rifles produced AFTER the 1st, or "null block". They run from the "null" (no suffix at all) block followed by letter blocks a thru z, & then roll-over to aa, bb, cc, etc. blocks (for those armories with higher production figures).
BBOGV is useless for WW2 German weapons values.
BBOTW is vastly better but very dated/flawed.
Q: "Any expert know what the S is for? I am thinking it is SS but not being a rune is strange. Concentration camp made? Suggestions?"
A: Not necessarily true. There's nothing unusual about a sans-rune bnz 43. If produced w/ a rune marking LOCATED BETWEEN "bnz" & the 43 date, it was manufactured by, intended & destined for issue to an SS-oriented unit. In other words: produced for SS consumption, under SS direction. Of course, slave labor was heavily involved here.
b0400879......thanks for your feedback. Very helpful. [:)]
.... what does "BBOTW" stand for?
Backbone of the Wehrmacht (The German K98k Rifle, 1934 - 1945)
by Richard D Law
Collector Grade Publications
Author's Revised Edition, 1993
384 pages, 478 illustrations