Description
Most people think of the Luger P08 when the subject of Nazi hand guns comes up but the P-38 was the official side arm of the German armed forces during WW2.
The Walther P38 (originally written Walther P.38) was developed by Carl Walther GmbH as the service pistol of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II to replace the costly Luger P08, the production of which was scheduled to end in 1942. The P38 concept was accepted by the German military in 1938 but production of actual pistols did not begin until late 1939 at Waffenfabrik Walther.
In 1940 the German army decided to use secret codes on weapons to designate the manufacture. The Germans were afraid that the Allied forces could easily locate the German weapon production sites & bomb them when they knew the manufacturer. In June & July 1940 Walther used the secret code 480. The pistols produced in this period are therefore stamped with 480. The serial number was stamped on the slide. The secret code 480 for the Walther factory was already abandoned after two months use & replaced by a new code. This new code was AC & was introduced in August 1940. In addition to the secret code the last two digits of the year of production were also stamped on the slide. Most of the serial numbers also have a suffix letter.
This example was manufactured in October 1944, as seen by AC 44 on the slide & the serial number with the suffix ‘j’.
Two other manufacturers were required due to wartime demand, these being Spreewerk & Mauser. Neither of these manufacturers were able to build to the same standard of quality that Walther did, although they are collectable for their own reasons.
Along with being a collectable WW2 pistol due to its Nazi heritage, the P38 is famous for being the first modern double action semi auto pistol which featured a manual de-cock, allowing the pistol to be loaded with a round in the chamber & then safely ‘de-cocked’ without the need to release the hammer while pulling the trigger. This allowed it to be safely carried with a round in the chamber & the hammer forward. Being double action, the user could draw & pull the trigger making it a good service pistol for soldiers wanting to be safe but ready for action. This set the standard for service pistols going forward.
Original Walther manufactured P38’s are particularly desirable for collectors. This particular example is in excellent original condition & comes with the desirable dark brown Bakelite grips, as opposed to the black versions as usually seen on Mausers & Spreewerk variants. This is not a RC & was acquired locally, having been brought into the country in the immediate post war period by a Polish refugee who was part of the Polish ‘Home Army’ & survived the Warsaw uprising in late 1944, according to his grandson. Under what circumstances he obtained it would be a very interesting story! It has been in the family since then (naughty, naughty) & we purchased it as a deceased estate.
This is a must have for your WW2 handgun collections & ticks the box as an original Walther.
Please view all of the photos carefully as they form the main description & override all others so feel free to ask for more if desired.
Sold on consignment on behalf of a collector.
