Portuguese contract K98 serial numbers vs. manufacture dates

[stickhunter]

I have a couple of questions about the way serial numbers were allocated to the Portuguese contract K98 rifles.

I understand there are three blocks of serial numbers, denoted by letter: F, G, and H.

1) Do all three blocks have 1941 on their front receiver rings, even though the rifles were made over a period of years?

2) Were the rifles manufacturered in order of their letters? So all F-blocks made prior to G-blocks, and G-blocks made prior to H-blocks? If so, are there known dates for when each block was manufactured?

3) Were the serial numbers reused between blocks: e.g., there is an F2849 and an G2849?

4) Within a block (or across blocks if serial numbers were not shared), were the numbers contiguous and sequential by date of manufacture? E.g., if H2849 is a known rifle, then there would definitely be H0001-H2848 rifles?

5) Are there any known ranges for min/max serial numbers in each block beyond what's been reported in the Port K98 serial survey?

Thanks

 

[CanadianAR]

I believe that each block was 20,000 rifles. The initial contract was only for 50,000 but they had to extend the run because a certain amount of rifles were diverted to wehrmacht usage. This is proven by the high number of RC.
In each block they were suppposed to be sequential, and we know they reached the 20k mark in each one based on the serials gathered. Also there are documented cases of sequential rifles. Example, i have H907, a member here has bayo H908.
Also in 1941 M. O produced 336,000 K98s, thats 920 a day, so I would say that they were all made in 1941. Also the earlier 1937 contract is marked as so, 1937 on the ring.

 

[stickhunter]

Thanks for the info, CanadianAR, that helps fill in some holes for me. The production rate is impressive given the nature of what they were making.

Do you have any idea if letter blocks were made one-after-the-other or concurrently?

 

[CanadianAR]

I believe i read somewhere one after another. Look at the serial study at k98k forum. It a decent size.

336000 is nothing. in 1943 the estimated production was over a million a year!