Jump to content

1907 Savage Pistol Bring Back


WWIIBuff1945
 Share

Recommended Posts

WWIIBuff1945

Bought this 1907 Savage pistol today. A bring back from Benjamin H. Moore. This one has been difficult to research so far. Unfortunately, the service number was not on the paper. A search of the National Archives revealed 5 Benjamin H. Moore's so no luck pinpointing him there. This may be one I just may not be able to get a lot of information on. If he was a member of the 333rd Harbor Craft Company like the signing officer was then maybe I have a shot at finding him. Matt did find some info on the signing officer Captain McKee. I have included info on him. Gunbroker has other 1907 Savage pistols for sale and some have the letters from the company with details on the specific pistol. I may send for the letter on this one. Thanks for checking out my latest acquisition.

post-158759-0-55296800-1557455806_thumb.jpgpost-158759-0-10583600-1557455825_thumb.jpgpost-158759-0-69413100-1557455843_thumb.jpgpost-158759-0-06833200-1557455876_thumb.jpgpost-158759-0-65887300-1557455892_thumb.jpgpost-158759-0-02843100-1557455911_thumb.jpgpost-158759-0-03128100-1557455929_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WWIIBuff1945

Description:

WWII Capture Paper - War Trophy Certificate Dated Oct 2, 1945 RARE: Issued to a Captain in the 333rd Harbor Craft Company For "One P-38 Automatic Pistol, Cal. 9mm Serial Number 1604"

 

Capture Papers remain one of the more scarce veteran documents from WWII as most were discarded after return to the US. This one is extremely rare because these capture papers were only required to be issued to enlisted Men, they were not required for officers to bring back war trophies, but on occasion, an officer did get a certificate just to be sure. This was issued to a Captain in the 333rd Harbor Craft Company. These Harbor Companies are quite rare, far more so than Field Artillery, Anti-Aircraft Artillery or Signals units, and this is one of the only documents I have ever seen signed by the same captain who was bringing back the pistol. These were always signed by an officer when issued to an enlisted man, or by a superior officer on the rare ones issued to an officer. It is a standard issue capture document, and is the preferred type with all of the information completely filled in, and all info was typed in.

 

post-158759-0-55171400-1557456133_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WWIIBuff1945

If Benjamin H. Moore belonged to the 333rd Harbor Craft Company, that unit only had about 100 men total in it. It may be possible to locate a roster.

.

Story on a member of the 333rd: Lavezzo and his company — 333 Harbor Craft Company, comprised of about 100 men — soon boarded a ship and sailed to Europe. They landed in England, where they would stay for a long while as they prepared to “get tug boats going,” he said.

 

That’s what they were doing on June 6, 1944 — D-Day. That morning, Lavezzo and his company were summoned from their tugboats and taken to a hotel. “We couldn’t even go to the window,” he said. “All we could do was sit on our bunks.” On and off throughout the day and night, the sounds of sirens filled the room as ships brought in casualties from the Normandy invasion.

 

More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion nearly 66 years ago. About 160,000 Allied troops landed on a long stretch of the French coastline in the first major push to take down Nazi Germany.

 

That day, more than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded. Lavezzo said he and the men in his company were lucky. They were kept in their hotel room for two weeks — it was called “being sealed.”

 

About 30 days after the Normandy landing, Lavezzo and his company moved to France, where they were to play a vital role in moving supplies to the front lines. Their tugboats — which measured about 50 feet and had “big propellers,” Lavezzo said — carried in food, fuel and other necessaries from the United States. They unloaded the supplies and the supplies were taken to the front lines, he said.

 

Some of the time, he and his company lived on the tugboats, which had under-cover living spaces. Lavezzo remembers hearing the buzzing sounds of U.S. Air Force planes cutting through the night air on their way to bombing raids over Germany.

 

Though he never saw battle first-hand, he said, things “could have gotten dangerous at any time.”

 

Lavezzo remained in France until the end of his enlistment, which was over in late 1945 or early 1946, he said.

 

And then he got to go home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WWIIBuff1945

I just received the pistol and was excited to see that it came with 2 bring back papers plus what I believe to be a period leather holster. I could find no markings on it and I hope someone will be kind enough to identify it for me. Duplicate bring back papers is a first for my collection. I just sent in a letter requesting information on it. There is no charge that I'm aware of. Here are some pics of the holster.

 

post-158759-0-15361600-1557765631_thumb.jpgpost-158759-0-12593600-1557765664_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just curious, but why would a US made pistol require a bring back paper? Are saying this pistol was a captured enemy pistol? If it was a personal weapon of a US service man, it woudl not require a bring back paper.

Also, that 1st paper looks like a photocopy. I would be suspicious of that outfit.

Not trying to be a downer, but it doesn't add up. Ron

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WWIIBuff1945

Ron,

 

The bring back paper I posted in the original thread is a photocopy. The seller was waiting on the man who he bought it from, to bring the original paperwork into the shop. Once he did, I was notified and bought the gun. I have the paperwork in hand and it is original. I have over 20 in my collection now and it looks, feels and smells like my other originals. How the gun made it to Europe will be near impossible to find out. This was not a US military issued weapon. Savage lost out on trials to the Colt 1911. France purchased 40 thousand of them during WW1 and since this example was made in 1918 maybe it was one of them. The guns were sold commercially so it could of ended up overseas a number of ways. Today, I requested a letter from Savage Historical Dept to find any info on it. Did the GI find in in a farm in France or did he take it off a German soldier I'd love to know. Was it a private purchase and the soldier just wanted to cover his bases and have official paperwork if he was questioned? There are so may possibilities. Not many bring backs have the complete story on how they were acquired. I only have the story on one of my bring backs and I have the photo evidence to back it up. From what I have learned about bring backs is that paperwork was officially required to bring back weapons and US issued weapons were not allowed as they were US property. Were some smuggled back in duffel bags sure!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for the follow up. If researching was easy, then that would take all the fun out of it:)

From what i have seen i have been impressed by the Savage letters.

I do hope it will yield some info for you. Take care, Ron

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WWIIBuff1945

No problem Ron. I heard it takes 4-6 weeks for a letter response. Hopefully something interesting will turn up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WWIIBuff1945

Picked up a great book on Savage pistols by Bailey Brower JR. Found it on eBay for only $28. Most are $120 plus. Its a nice book with spectacular pictures. It turns out my pistol was made between 1917 & 1919 and was one of only 1000 produced. It also has a painted finish and its rare to find one that still has its original finish still intact. Most were refinished by the factory due to owner complaints.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
WWIIBuff1945

Got the letter from Savage yesterday and they want $65 to research the pistol. I'm not sure if I'm going to do it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't know they were that high. Colt letters are 75.00. I do letter my US Property pistols/revolvers as I like the history.

Maybe 65.00 will be worth it. It might turn up some interesting history. Do they have a clause if nothing found, they won't charge?

Ron

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WWIIBuff1945

I didn't know they were that high. Colt letters are 75.00. I do letter my US Property pistols/revolvers as I like the history.

Maybe 65.00 will be worth it. It might turn up some interesting history. Do they have a clause if nothing found, they won't charge?

Ron

 

Not sure Ron. I'm still deciding what to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spend the money on the letter. Its a fairly small portion of the overall cost of the pistol and may shed considerable light on its life story. And, the costs will probably never get any less expensive if you wait. Good luck on it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...