1941 BNZ Kar-98... 2 strange markings...

R

roguetwelve12

New member
Hi all,

Love these forums, and now I get to contribute my own mystery to the lot! I have in my collection a nice Kar98 that I've been in posession of for a few years. I noted a few curious markings upon purchasing the rifle, but now I'm delving into their mysteries further, to no avail. So I'm turning to my FiringLine friends for help.

1) There is a capital "R", very neatly and clearly stamped on the RIGHT side of the receiver, located lateral to the BNZ 41 (but at a right angle to it). I can't seem to find anything on what this might mean, so I was hoping some of you might be able to enlighten me.

2) Here's a really interesting feature. On the LEFT lateral side of the receiver, just behind the serial number stamped there, there is a very clear "St.G" stamped. Again, I have very few ideas what this might be. I was told that it might mean "St. Gallen", which is a town from Switzerland, but I couldn't tell you how that would end up on a Germany-produced rifle.

I wish I had pictures, but I'm unfortunately away from home for the next month or so with, obviously, no gun in tow. I'm hoping you all can enlighten me a little bit on either of these points!

Thanks so much!
 
Have you checked the chambering? The rifle might have been repaired/rechambered/rebarreled in Switzerland sometime after the war, and as such, as customary in Europe, received a new proof.
 
Yessir I checked into it and it's the same chambering. No repairs/alterations. That was one of my first ideas, and seemed plausible at the time!
 
Germany was providing limited numbers of arms and even some aircraft and armor to Switzerland during the war. Setbacks in Russia ended most of the transfers in 1942 or 1943. Some of the sales were used to 'launder' Holocaust gold in an arrangment that put gold in Swiss banks, then pledged as loans to Swiss government, to purchase the arms in hard currency that went to Nazi coffers.

Don't know about rifles, but crew-served machine guns were definitely provided, in the small arms category.
 
bnz was the code marking for Steyr-Daimler-Puch, in Austria (then a part of Germany after the Anschluss).

Are there any other markings in conjunction with the "St.G"? It can also mean Stahlmantel Geschuss (Steel Jacket Bullet) as part of the old German commercial proof marks.

St. Gallen is certainly a town and canton in Switzerland, but I doubt we can go from the St.G marking to the Germans providing rifles to Switzerland (in the wrong caliber) during WWII. IIRC St. Gallen is also the name of a major Swiss arms and sporting goods company, a much more likely reason for a German WWII rifle to have that marking.

Jim
 
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