Anyone who has looked at German arms and militaria from WWII and the years prior will be familiar with the 3-letter (or number) code system used to obscure where production was taking place. The more common codes are well known, but there are hundreds of smaller manufacturing companies or job shops that are much more difficult to identify. Well, not anymore. Michael Heidler of Germany has a book listing every one of these codes with its associated company and location (hundreds of pages worth):
Herr Heidler’s email address is ggbuch@web.de, and if you drop him a line he will be happy to get a copy of his book on its way to you. It’s written in both English and German, and if you focus on collecting German arms and equipment it’s a great resource!
There was an AAA production code? Those are my initials. What manufacturer was it and which guns does it appear on? Imagine being able to say, “Yes. This gun is mine. It has my initials”.
aaa was for a company called August Wagner, located in what is today Saxony. I have no idea what specifically they manufactured, though.
Dear,
Were codes also assigned to non-German manufacturing companies ? I am looking for the code of a company called Formica located in Tielt-Belgium and producing bottles for “Hautentgiftungssalbe”.
with kind regards
I’m not sure, but I don’t think those companies would have gotten codes. I did check in the book, and Formica is not listed.
I seriously doubt you’d still expect to get an answer here, but for other people watching these videos long after the fact and reading the comments (like me): there were codes for non-German manufacturers. For example, I have a French-made Mauser 98k bayonet with a “jwh” code at home, which was the code for MAC (Manufacture d’Armes Châtellerault).
Hello Mister Heidler!
Schreibe diese Mail vorerst in Deutsch.Englische Version folgt.
Bin Militärhistoriker Bereich “Funktion von Handfeuerwaffen.”
In Abformtechnik forme ich Originalwaffen ab und gieße diese
Formen mit Kunstharz aus.Diese Nachbildungen sind täuschend echt für Museen und Sammler.
Arbeite zur Zeit an folgenden Themen:
Beweglicher Schlagbolzen bei der Mpi 38 / 40.
Falsche Darstellung in der Bedienungsanleitung zur Mpi 40
Verlag Denckler -Berlin 1940.
Gasdruckverschluß beim Grossfuss Sturmgewehr.
Durch Gas Ableitung verzögerter Verschlußrücklauf beim VG 45 -Mauser Volkspistole und Grossfuss Sturmgewehr
Bitte mailen Sie mir,in welcher Sptache ich Ihnen für weitere Informationen schreiben darf
Mit freundlichem Gruß Achim Kossack der Waffenfreund
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