WWII Krag (?)

[Kragrifle]

Just acquired this Model 1898 Krag. I’m always looking for unusual inspector marks. This appears to be reassembled rifle with a small ordnance crossed cannon stamp as well as an overstamped block P. These marks should be early 1940 or late 1939 (?) which suggests this rifle was still somewhere in service.

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[Dick Hosmer]

I have one with "HH" and have seen another, as well as "JJ". My "P" has not been overstruck. I do not know the reason.

[Sunray]

Might be a PI issued Krag. Apparently, Krags were still being issued to assorted Filipino Army units. None manufactured after 1904 though. Very much a WHAG.

[retread12345]

I am assuming the rifle is in original trim . Krags were sold or given to a few nations . Cuba, Phillipens,Haiti and even Mexico . There, now I am confused!

[lyman]

guessing they would have been flushed out of the National Guard Armories by then?

[Tuna]

Maybe used by one of the private military schools with their cadets? Maybe like VMI?

[Kragrifle]

Underneath the starry flag.....

[lyman]

Maybe used by one of the private military schools with their cadets? Maybe like VMI?

I don't think they would proof or put cartouches on any firearm,

My father was in the Army Reserves from the 60's till he retired in 97 or so, and serviced weapons in a lot of military schools in VA,
he never had to proof, or mark the firearms in any way, just fix them if they were broken
(replaced a lot of stocks)

[butlersrangers]

The Director of Civilian Marksmanship sold off much of the U.S. Army and National Guard 'inventory' of Krags by the early 1930's.

The 'Guards' at Cumberland Depot, (Pa.), were assigned to destroy thousands of Krags in the 1930's and recorded the serial numbers of destroyed arms. These numbers appear in SRS Data.

During the 1930's to 1960's, many VFW Posts had government provided Krags. Many of these were locally (unofficially) shortened and chrome-plated for parade and ceremonial use. Some had chambers 'augered-out' to handle non-.30-40 Blanks. A number of these VFW Krags were returned and sold by the CMP in recent years.

During WW2, some civilian owned Krags were donated back to the U.S. Government for the War Effort.

Apparently, there were Krags aboard some U.S. Ships during the WW2 era.

I personally suspect those 'Letter-Stamps' and 'Ordnance-Wheel' stock markings could be from the 1907 to 1918 period, when Krags were being refurbished and still considered useful as reserve arms or used in WW1 Training Camps.

IMHO - The late Krag stock markings have never been adequately researched, identified, or explained. I think it likely they date from before 1920.

[sdkrag]

There were still VFW Posts or Legions in South Dakota carrying Krags as late as 10 years ago.

[lyman]

There were still VFW Posts or Legions in South Dakota carrying Krags as late as 10 years ago.

CMP had a few for sale not too long ago from some such posts,,

[fgd135]

Were Krags issued to some of the US armed merchant ships in WW2 for sea mine destruction, etc.? Seems like I read that somewhere recently.

[Kragrifle]

Don’t know. My main interest in acquiring this rifle were the cross cannons and block P firing proof. These are much later than WW1, and we’re first used in other arms starting around 1940-but so far this is only observation as I have not been able to find any documentation .

[Griff Murphey]

A metal detector guy showed me some finds from the northernmost of the three WW-1 British-Canadian Royal Flying Corps Fields in Fort Worth, Texas. The British Canadian use ran from October 1917 to April 1, 1918, when the US Army Air Service took them over. The three fields operated a bit past Armistice Day. My point is the guy had some .30-40 (NOT .303) FA empties he had dug up. So I would suspect the Krags were used as secondary martial arms here in "Foat Wuth." The RFC probably had some rifles for guard duty but I have not seen any pictures of Enfields or Rosses. They had lots of Vickers and Lewis guns for Aerial Gunnery which in fact was the mission of that Northern Field. The Western (Benbrook, Texas) mission was reconnaissance, and the southernmost (Everman, Texas) field was for primary training and aerobatics.

[m1ashooter]

I recently saw a picture on another forum from life magazine captioned Guerrilla Warfare training, Concord Mass 1942. In the pictures are men wearing m1917 helmets and the blue denim fatigues that were worn around that time. The arms they had were a mixed lot to include a Krag and a potato digger machine gun. It was thought that the men were Mass State Militia.