This is probably one of the rarest WW2 small arms we have had, a German WW2 Depot marked and re-issued SVT-38 in excellent matching condition. Very likely captured in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa, the rifle is Eagle/kru1 (Krakow Depot) marked on the bottom of the pistol grip indicating that it went through Nazi inspection at Krakow….the reason why was likely the replacement of the trigger group which is un-numbered. After this the rifle was certainly re-issued to a German unit and was a US WW2 vet bringback.
Even before this capture this was an extremely scarce and rarely seen Soviet RED ARMY Tula Arsenal Factory No.314, November,1939 Production SVT-38 Tokarev Semi Auto Service Rifle. The SVT-38 was in service with the Red Army throughout WW2 but was only in production for about 6 months, until it was replaced with the lighter SVT-40 beginning in 1940. The 1939 dated Tula cartouche is still visible on the stock. The bore is excellent as well and the impossible to locate if missing side mounted cleaning rod is still there. There are very few examples of the SVT-38 rifle in the US; most of them were captured by the Finnish Army during WW2 and are clearly SA marked denoting Finnish re-issue. This rifle is not Finnish marked and was certainly a German capture and re-issue.
These rifles were highly prized by the Germans and were widely used by them on all fronts; they were even commonly used by the Afrika Corps in the Mediterranean Theater. This is a very significant rifle for collectors and they are highly sought after and prized. They first saw combat against Finland and were in front line use from that time on till the end of the war. They were in front line when the Germans invaded and they were captured and turned on their former owners. These rifles are legendary and highly sought after and we are glad to have obtained this top example which is one of the few known to have a German provenance.
