1942 Coated Summitar Info help

[Denton]

Hi,
I purchased a very nice Summitar from a well-known Leica dealer. At the time, no comment was made about the lens. I bought it for a IIIG and love this combination. Anyway, the serial is 589783 indicating the lens is 1942. The coating is blue/purple in reflection. The distance scale is in meters and the f-stops are 2,2.2, 3.2, 4.5, 6.3, 9, 12.5 engraved. The iris has ten blades. My research indicates this is probably a lens intended for military use. Would anyone care to comment on the history of this year and whether it was coated later, or at the time of manufacture. I assume this is a collector's item, I get some pleasure shooting it thinking it has seen so much history.
Thanks!
Denton Hoyer

 

[enasniearth]

Summitar

Summitar

From,what I can remember lenses after the 585 xxx. We're produced after Germany's surrender in may 1945 . I have an uncoated summitar 5846xx
Delivered in may 1945 to us forces . I have a later coated one 58499x delivered in sept 1945 .
Any lens after 587 xxx was probably delivered in 1946 .
Leitz used up the older barrels with the wartime f stop markings untill they ran out .
You could try Jim lager with the serial number , summitars were not delivered in strict serial number sequence .
Your lens at 589 xxx is most likely postwar .
Lenses from 600xxx on had the modern f stop markings .

 

[Denton]

Well, there is still the discrepancy of the serial number with a post-war model. What is needed is a clearer history. Any experts?

 

[L David Tomei]

Your lens would appear to be fine based on the info you give. The serial number corresponds to a production in 1942. These lenses were produced with a soft blue coating that may look purple. This coating is easily damaged or removed by even light buffing. You might search "drip coating" which describes the coating process used then before the factory coating that became available after the War. The f stops and iris appear to be normal for versions produced before the end of the War.
Does your lens have click stops on the aperture?
As for use in the military, unless there is some engraving indicating such, then the lens was most likely part of normal civilian production.