Walther P38

P38
File:Walter HP Speerwerke 1428.jpg P38
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1939-Present
Used by	See Users
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designed	1938
Manufacturer	Carl Walther Waffenfabrik, Mauser Werke, Spreewerke
Produced	Walther P38 1939-1945 Pistole P1 1957-2000
Variants	P1, P38K, P38 SD, P4
Specifications
Mass	800 g (1 lb 12 oz)
Length	216 mm (8.5 in)
Barrel length	125 mm (4.9 in)
Cartridge	9x19mm Parabellum
Action	Short recoil, locked breech
Muzzle velocity	365 m/s (1,200 ft/s)
Effective firing range	Sights set for 25 m (82 ft)
Maximum firing range	50 m (164 ft) effective range
Feed system	8-round detachable single-stack magazine
Sights	Rear notch and front blade post

The Walther P38 is a 9 mm pistol that was developed by Walther as the service pistol of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II. It was intended to replace the costly Luger P08, the production of which was scheduled to end in 1942.

Development

File:Walther Model AP 1 AdamsGuns.jpg

The P38 was developed from the Walther AP (Armee Pistole).

The P38 concept was accepted by the German military in 1938 but production of actual prototype ("Test") pistols did not start until late 1939. Walther began manufacture at their plant in Zella-Mehlis and produced three series of "Test" pistols, designated by a "0" prefix to the serial number. The third series satisfied the previous problems and production for the Heer (German Army) began in mid-1940, using Walther's military production identification code "480". After a few thousand pistols the Heer changed all codes from numbers to letters and Walther was given the "ac" code. All production was performed at the Walther plant until mid- to late 1942 when additional production began at the Mauser plant in Oberndorf (code "byf" until early 1945, then "svw") and at the Spreewerk plant in Hradek and Nisou, Czechoslovakia ("cyq"). Production continued until the end of the war and into the post war period. The early Walthers, until late 1941, were made to almost commercial standards of fit and finish. As the pressures of war required increased production the exterior finish declined but the operating components of the P38 remained remarkably well-made throughout the war, especially at Mauser.

P38 made by Mauser, coded "byf 44" with matching prestoff and leather holster

Three firms made components for P38 production:

• Fabrique Nationale-- slides, frames and locking blocks (M or M1)
• Ceska Zbrojovka, CZ (Böhmische Waffenfabrik)-- barrels (fnh)
• Erste Nordböhmische Metallwarenfabrik -- magazines (jvd)

The French manufactured P38 pistols from captured parts at the Mauser factory from May or June 1945 until 1946. These are identifiable by the presence of a five-pointed star stamped on the slide. Total German production is estimated at more than 1,200,000 pistols. Production of the P38 resumed at a new Walther factory in Ulm, West Germany under the name Pistole 1 (P1) in 1958 for West German Police and the Bundeswehr. It remained in Walther production, in several revised iterations, until the early 1990s.

Design

The P38 was the first locked-breech pistol to use a double-action trigger. The shooter could load a round into the chamber, use the de-cocking lever to safely lower the hammer without firing the round, and carry the weapon loaded with the hammer down. A pull of the trigger, with the hammer down, fired the first shot and the operation of the pistol ejected the fired round and reloaded a fresh round into the chamber, all features found in many modern day handguns.

The first designs submitted to the German Army featured a locked breech and a hidden hammer, but the German Army requested that it be redesigned with an external hammer. This led to the subsequent adoption of the P38 in 1940. Several experimental versions were later created in .45 ACP, and .38 Super, but these were never mass-produced. In addition to the 9 mm Parabellum version, some 7.65x22mm Parabellum and some .22 Long Rifle versions were also created and sold.

The barrel-locking mechanism operates by use of a wedge-shaped locking block underneath the breech. When the pistol is fired both the barrel and slide recoil for a short distance together, where the locking block drives down, disengaging the slide and arresting further rearward movement of the barrel. The slide however continues its rearward movement on the frame, ejecting the spent case and cocking the hammer before reaching the end of travel. Two return springs located on either side of the frame and below the slide, having been compressed by the slide's rearward movement, drive the slide forward, stripping a new round from the magazine, driving it into the breech and, in the process, re-engages the barrel; ending its return travel with a fresh round chambered, hammer cocked and ready to repeat the process.

The P38 uses a double action trigger design similar to the earlier Walther PPKs, and a loaded chamber indicator is also incorporated.

Variants

A slightly modified version of the P38 called the P1 was adopted by the Bundeswehr in 1957 and remained in service until the early 1990s. The P1 had a receiver made of aluminum alloy, instead of steel to reduce weight. There was also a short-barreled version of the P1 called the P4.

An improved version of the P38, the Walther P5, was developed in the late 1970s and was adopted by the police forces of Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg.

Users

• Austria
• Chile
• France
• Germany
• Nazi Germany
• Norway
• Portugal
• West Germany

External links

• Walther P38 instruction manual
• Walther P38 spare parts drawing
• Walther Handgun Owners Group
• P38 history, owners manual, diagrams & stripping guide
• Modern Firearms
• Walther P1 article (translated from German)
• Walther P38 History, manuals, pictures, drawings etc.