Ludwig Loewe Was A Jew

If there is one good thing to not be, if one is to live in Germany, “Jew” would be it.  The Loewe family started off making sewing machines.  It might have been best for them to have stuck with them.

When the French armed some troops with smokeless powder small caliber rifles it was noticed across the border.  The Prussians set up a commission to develop a smokeless powder cartridge and a rifle for it.  Once the design was decided on the Loewe company won the contract to provide the machinery and in fact provided some of the rifles.  The rifles, commonly known as the “commission rifle,” was a conglomeration of design bits from other guns - mainly Mauser and Mannlicher.  The magazine system was pure Mannlicher.  It utilized an enbloc clip.  The bolt owed much to Mauser with some “improvements” via an arsenal worker.  Somewhat unique to the rifle was a barrel jacket - the theory being that not having the barrel in contact with the wooden stock would help accuracy.

The cartridge is now known as the “8mm Mauser.”  It’s neither 8mm nor Mauser.  As mentioned it was developed by the commission.  It’s in 7.92mm. 

The commission rifle.  Two of them in fact.  Both of these examples were made at the arsenal at Spandau.  Spandau was perhaps better known for making Maxim machine guns - commonly known to allied troops in WW1 as “Spandaus.”

The Mannlicher style magazine is obvious.  As are the barrel jackets.  The company owning the Mannlicher patents sued for patent infringement, successfully, and obtained rights to the Commission rifles.  Mauser didn’t sue over the bolt features as Mauser was, at that time, owned by Loewe.  Somewhat unfruitful to sue your parent company.

The unique barrel jacket is clear.  That wasn’t one of the more successful features.  Moisture gets in there and does bad things.

The action and bolt head.  The bolt head is a separate unit - another weak part of the design.  The clips, unlike Mannlichers, couldn’t be loaded upside down - it didn’t matter as they didn’t really have a “top” or “bottom.”  I should have dug one out.  When all 5 rounds are exhausted the clip drops out of the bottom of the rifle.

While I have some other commission rifles I used these two as their twins.  Both made at Spandau in 1890.  Serials are pretty close - likely made the same day. 

They’re all unit marked.  This one was with the Kaiser Alexander Regiment.  A guard regiment in Berlin.  Coincidences being a large part of my life I have an 1871/84 Mauser which served in that unit.  Given that I only have 1 of that model Mauser that is a coincidence.

If it’s German it’s assured to have lots of stamps.

As this was the first smokeless powder rifle the German adopted they had the expected teething problems.  The German press blamed those on Loewe.  He was a Jew after all.  The rifle was termed the “Judenflinte” in the press (loosely, Jewish rifle) and was blamed for all kinds of trouble.  In 1898 an actual Mauser was adopted instead and that quelled the press.  That Loewe owned Mauser was lost on them.  The Loewes were not unaware that they were Jews, and that being Jewish is probably the one thing that isn’t a good thing to be if one lives in Germany, so they consolidated their various interests into a new company with the name Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktien-Gesellschaf.  Better known as DWM.  German Weapons and Munitions Company.  Sounds nice and German.  

The “taint” added to the guns by the German press never wore off.  In spite of it they’re not a bad rifle.  I like them.  Then again I’m neither a German nor an antisemite.