AKA : The Slide Action Luger, P1, Walther HP,
Caliber : 9x19mm Parabellum
Capacity : 8 Rounds
Weight : 2.1lbs or 950g
Length : 8.34in or 212mm
Action : Falling Block Locking, Double Action, Semi Automatic
Origin : Nazi Germany
The German military in the 20th century had always considered the role of the pistol as important, and thus companies like Deutsche Waffen und munitionsfabriken (DMW), Walther, Mauser and others spent much time, effort and money to produce new and innovative pistols for lucrative military contracts. In 1904 DMW won a contract to supply the German Navy and later in 1908 the German Army with the P.08 pistol more commonly known as the Luger. The Luger was a reasonably reliable weapon, despite the poorly informed claims American gun writers made about it during and after the first and second world war. The Luger was popular especially because of its ease of use and the 9mm cartridge it fired, a round we all know today. The Luger however did have some draw backs from the military analysts point of view. It was expensive and took a considerably long time to produce, interchangeability of parts between different manufacturers in some cases was an issue, complicated maintenance and some concerns about the toggle action. In short, it was becoming obsolete, especially compared with the likes of Colt 1911A1, Browning High Power and other pistols that were increasing arming nations around the world. Walther who had already won a contract in 1929/30 to supply the Luftwaffe (German Airforce) with PP Auto pistols was seeking to gain the pistol manufacturers domestic prize. In 1936 Walther approached the Wehrmacht and put forward their new prototype called the Armee-Pistole or AP. This pistol had a slide instead of a toggle joint, similar look to the Luger, was chambered in the same caliber and overall simpler pistol with an internal hammer. For safety reasons the Wehrmacht rejected it as they wished the pistol to have an external hammer, thus another advantage over the Luger, and a few other minor changes to the design.
In 1937 Walther was at it again, now with the revised pistol called the Heeres-Pistole or HP, now sporting and external hammer as requested. From there the P.38 was accepted by the Wehrmacht as the official replacement for the P.08 Luger. In 1939 with the outbreak of war all European Axis forces began to implement production codes for each manufacturer to hide the origins of all weapons to make it difficult for Allied forces to know which factories were producing what arms, Walther made weapons were marked AC and the year of production. At the same time the German military wanted to increase the manufacturing capability of the arms producers so blue prints were sent to other companies who qualified for contacts, Mauser was one of the major companies that started making the P.38 with the production code BYF marked on the slide of the pistol.
The P.38 was never as popular with officers as the Luger, even Allied troops who loved to have captured pistols as trophies preferred the P.08 over the P.38. That aside the P.38 gave excellent service due to its brilliant design. The Walther pistol utilized a double action mechanism, that allowed a round to chambered and carried safely with the hammer lowered, which was done by the safety switch which moved a blocking bar in front of the firing pin and safely lowered the hammer. So when the pistol was pulled from the holster all the firer needed to do is pull the trigger, a feature that was borrowed from the Walther PP. The 9mm cartridge used in the P.38 requires the use of a locking device so that when the pistol is fired the pressure being released from the cartridge can drop to a safe level before the chamber is opened. Walther engineers employed what is called a falling block, a wedge that holds the barrel and slide together as they move back a short distance in the initial recoiling sequence then the wedge cams down releasing the slide so that it may move back to complete the cycle. This method of locking is also used in the Beretta 92 series of pistols including the M9 the current U.S. Army pistol.
After the World War Two production of the Walther P.38 continued with some minor changes to become the P.1 the standard pistol of the West German Army in 1955, but they were not alone other nations including Chad, Finland, Norway, Macedonia and Portugal also purchased the P.1.
INTERESTING FACT : Saddam Hussien owned a gold plated Walther P.38, after Saddam's fall from power, the pistol was taken from his palace and who owns it now is anyone's guess. See below
PRO's : Easy to Maintain, Very Reliable, Double Action, Accurate
CON's : Some pistols safety devices are prone to breaking with age.
COOL FACTOR : 7/10
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