WW1 Artillery Luger Holster Converted to 4" Barrel for Weimar Use

An extremely rare P08 Artillery Luger Holster manufactured by F. W. Kinkel 1915 and converted during the Weimar period to accommodate the standard 4” barrel Luger.

These conversions were undertaken by Ingolstadt in Bavaria it is believed from about 1926 and marked the start of the re-militarizing of Germany for the Weimar Republic.

The evidence of its former life remains clear with the stitch holes for the closure strap and rear fitting evident along with those which once held the cleaning rod sleeve replaced during the conversion by the magazine pouch.

Overall condition of this piece is very good, the leather soft and without damage, the lift strap still in place and all stitching firm.

On the reverse is the Zeugamt Ingolstadt (The depot stamp for Ingolstadt) along with the abbreviation “zajt “, below which is a stylized stamp W7 which is believe to stand for Wehrkreis 7 ( Military district 7).

On the downside, on the reverse there is a large circular stamp for the Galizian SS along with an SS ink stamp in the closure flap. Whilst it is known that at least two of these converted holsters with genuine marks to the SS-VT, that was much earlier and, in my opinion, the Galizian stamp is a post war addition added in a naive attempt to increase the value of an already rare holster. It is therefore offered as such.