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My Type 11


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>Do you feel that almost all, if not all Typr 11s were being backs?<

 

No. Probably very few were bringbacks due to the prohibtion by the dept of the army for bringing back MGs. This was due to the NFA 34. The prohibition was poorly enforced and amny MGs were vorught in but also, may were legally imported or registered whn brought back.

 

>There weren't any catalogues selling DEWAT Type 11s in bulk like many other machine guns in the 1950s and early 1960s, were there?<

 

No one offered any DEWATs “in bulk” really, but the largest importer, Sam Cummings outfit, certainly came close. Several importers offered T11s as DEWATs. Hy Hunter, a prodigious importer of every type of firearm he could find operated a large retail store in Burbank, CA. His store ceiling was covred with european folding trigger, pinfire, bulldog, small automatics and revovlers of every type. He was a clever and upscale promoter and had firearm catalogs with glossy covers listing many hundreds of guns. I got his catalogs as a young teenager, but could never afford to buy anyhting from him. A $3.00 gun was listed as in “horrible” condition! He published an MG brochure in 1957, ifI recall the date correctly, which I also got and he listed some interesting DEWATs, including T11s. He listed SIG Neuhausens, the Swiss MG51 that was their version of the MG42, FG42s, and a cluple other very unusual MGs, and his prices were high at the time compared to other retailers. I suspect he listed MGs that he did not have since there are no registered MG51s in the US that have ever been located or identified. He listed Russian 1910s as well, but there are only about 10 registered original 1910s in the NFRTR so he might have been responsible for several or more of those at the most. I know where half of the registered factory 1910s came from so Hunter probably sold the rest of them possibly as DEWATs.

The Ellner Co, also in CA, offered T11s and a variety of SMGs and belt guns.

It is not possible now to ever know how many of each type of MG the importer/retailers imported, DEWATed and sold. No doubt some types were represented by very few examples.

There were a fair number of individual MG importers that were not recognized dealers and sold by word of mouth within the nerwork of those interested in MGs. These independent importers accounted for quite a few unusual registered MGs and DEWATs as well.

Someone else may have some other ciews and info on those days as well.

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