1940 Slab Magazine Markings

[Govostes]

I just Received a MP40 Magazine,

An I,m trying to get some information on the Markings.

I ,ve look threw the (The Schmeisser Myth ) but didn,t find any info.

I didn,t know if anyone on the Forum might know.

There a Star on the number 8 ,I can,t find anything on.

Thank You

Edited August 14, 2022 by Govostes

[Maxim]

Unsure about the 'star', but one of these two may be of help: Magazines - Die Maschinenpistole 40 (mp40.nl) "claus.espeholt.dk"

[DARIVS]

Other than the "98E" indicating it was made in Steyr, Austria in "1940", I have no idea what the star means. It's probably not an original German marking. Perhaps it was used to indicate some other use after the war.

Edited August 14, 2022 by DARIVS

[TSMGguy]

The star indicates a mag body initially inspected, rejected, and sent back for additional work.

 

WaA815 is the typical inspector's stemple for Steyr-made magazines, loaders, and other small stamped MP40 parts such as the trigger. Your mag would have four WaA stemples if it was one of the slab-sided magazines later modified for easier feeding with pressed-in ribs on the mag body, Mags from early 1942 onwards originally had the ribs and typically reverted back to two inspector's stemples.

 

The 98E manufacturer's code changed to kur in early 1942. !942-produced 98E mags are fairly rare. The latest Steyr produced mag I've seen was kur 44 marked.

 

Pictured are three 98E 41 mags originally produced with smooth sides. Note the third and fourth stemples on each one, indicating inspection and acceptance after modification. The fourth stemple on the third mag is faint but present.

Edited August 14, 2022 by TSMGguy