Need your Help

[Pre-64]

Had a buddy ask me to help him out today. He tore this old Pistol apart he has and could not get it back together. So I meet him at the gun club and proceed to get it operational again. Upon flipping the gun to check it out I notice the make: Waffenfabrik Mauser A-G Oberndorf A.N. Mauser is what is stamped on the slide. Oppisite side of the slide is stamped Cal. 7,65. So now I ask to see the old holster he pulled it out of. Scratched into the flap is M.W. Grube right above an Eagle with spread wings holding a Swastika. Obviously this is German War issue. Can anyone tell me anything about this Side Arm?

[Gil Martin]

It appears to be a .32 ACP double action semi-automatic pistol from WWII. I would suggest looking at "Small Arms of The World" for more information. All the best...
Gil

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Sounds as if it might be a Mauser Hsc....made in .32 ACP & .380 ACP

[Jack]

Without some pictures, it's going to be hard to identify for sure. Beyond my capability, at least.
Gil is correct that the 7.65 marking would indicate it's chambered for the 32 ACP cartridge.
The Mauser Hsc is a good guess, too. The Walther PP was also widely issued in 32 ACP, but I don't know if they were ever made in the Mauser factory.
The German army used a whole bunch of handguns- whatever they could lay their hands on, so that makes it a bit hard to be sure of the model without a picture.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Here is a pic of the Hsc:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Mauser_HSc_1849.jpg

[Jack]

I think Mr 16 Gauge hit it- that looks like a Mauser Hsc to me.

[Pre-64]

Actually it is a Mauser 1910 Pocket pistol. Did some web reserch and found it. They must not have been used much. All you ever heard of was the Luger.

[dovehunter]

The 1910 pocket pistol is the one I thought it was when I read the original post. If the documentaries on the History Channel, Military Channel, etc. are any indicators I'd say the pistols you see used most by the German WW2 military would be (by far the most) the Walther P-38 followed by (not too closely) the Mauser 1910. Once again, if you believe the History Channel, the only German units actually issued Lugers (P-08s) were the S.S.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Actually, it's my understanding that the Luger was no longer issued starting in 1942, due to manufacturing costs. Prior to that, all units were issued Lugers, but during the war the Walther P-38 became the 'standard' issue sidearm. Other sidearms were used, esp. later in the war, including (but not limited to) the Browning P-35 (Hi-power), Walther PP & PPk, Polish Radom, and Mauser Hsc. It is my understanding that the higher the rank, generally the smaller the pistol, so weapons such as the PP & Hsc were carried by higher ranking members.
Interestingly enough, if you watch a fair number of war movies, you will see that the Luger & the P-38 get switched around a fair amount......in one scene the Nazi is holding a Luger; in the next, a P-38 (or vice versa).;)

[Adam Helmer]

Mr. 16 gauge,

You got it right from the get go. Anyone carrying a 7.65 MM pistol is not going into the trenches. Small caliber pistols have traditionally been a badge of high ranking officers in Europe. Patton was the exception as he carried a .45 Colt SA or a S&W .357 Magnum in WWII. I like to think Patton wanted to use either on the Krauts.

Adam