Larry, I don't think your quote is crystal clear on who made the tubes. Most gunmakers finished up tubes supplied by others. Krupp, Whitworth , etc could go through several hands.
Me thinks Mr. Hallquist is spot on here and that for the most part a weapons maker received either a rough bored tube or a tube closer to the final state and that the go-between betwixt the drop forge hammer along with drill and grinding wheel and the weapons maker was the tube knitter, who was an outsource worker. Larger concerns like Pieper & Sauer more than likely had all under one umbrella but this was not the norm.
Kind Regards,
Raimey
rse
