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Walther PP

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Walther PP
File:Walther PP.jpg
Walther PP
TypeSemi-automatic pistol
Place of origin Weimar Republic
Service history
In service1935-present
Used bySee Users
WarsWorld War II
Production history
DesignerCarl Walther Waffenfabrik
Designed1929
ManufacturerCarl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen
Produced1929–present
VariantsPPK, PPK-L, PPK/S, PP-Super, PPK/E
Specifications
MassTemplate:G to oz (PP 9x17mm Short/.380 ACP)
660 g (23 oz) (PP 7.65x17mm Browning SR/.32 ACP)
675 g (23.8 oz) (PP .22 LR)
590 g (21 oz) (PPK 9x17mm Short/.380 ACP)
590 g (21 oz) (PPK 7.65x17mm Browning SR/.32 ACP)
560 g (20 oz) (PPK .22 LR)
635 g (22.4 oz) (PPK/S 9x17mm Short/.380 ACP)
630 g (22 oz) (PPK/S 7.65x17mm Browning SR/.32 ACP)
645 g (22.8 oz) (PPK/S .22 LR)
480 g (17 oz) (PPK-L 7.65x17mm Browning SR/.32 ACP)
450 g (16 oz) (PPK-L .22 LR)
780 g (28 oz) (PP-Super)
LengthTemplate:Mm to in (PP)
155 mm (6.1 in) (PPK)
156 mm (6.1 in) (PPK/S)
165 mm (6.5 in) (PPK-L)
176 mm (6.9 in) (PP-Super)
Barrel length98 mm (3.9 in) (PP)
83 mm (3.3 in) (PPK, PPK/S, PPK-L))
92 mm (3.6 in) (PP-Super)
Width30 mm (1.2 in) (PP, PPK/S, PPK-E)
25 mm (1.0 in) (PPK)
35 mm (1.4 in) (PP-Super)
Height109 mm (4.3 in) (PP)
100 mm (3.9 in) (PPK)
110 mm (4.3 in) (PPK/S)
113 mm (4.4 in) (PPK-E)
124 mm (4.9 in) (PP-Super)
Cartridge7.65x17mm Browning SR (.32 ACP)
9x17mm Short (.380 ACP)
.22 Long Rifle
6.35x15mm Browning SR (.25 ACP)
9x18mm Ultra (PP-Super)
9mm Parabellum
ActionStraight blowback
Muzzle velocity256 m/s (840 ft/s) (PP 9x17mm Short/.380 ACP)
320 m/s (1,049.9 ft/s) (PP 7.65x17mm Browning SR/.32 ACP)
305 m/s (1,000.7 ft/s) (PP .22 LR)
244 m/s (800.5 ft/s) (PPK/PPK/S 9x17mm Short/.380 ACP)
308 m/s (1,010.5 ft/s) (PPK/PPK/S/PPK-L 7.65x17mm Browning SR/.32 ACP)
280 m/s (918.6 ft/s) (PPK/PPK/S/PPK-L .22 LR)
325 m/s (1,066.3 ft/s) (PP-Super)
Feed systemMagazine capacity:
PP: 10+1 (.22LR), 8+1 (.32 acp)
7+1 (.380)
PPK: 8+1 (.22 LR), 7+1 (.32 acp)
6+1 (.380).
SightsFixed iron sights, rear notch and front blade

The Walther PP series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols.

They feature an exposed hammer, a double-action trigger mechanism, a single-column magazine, and a fixed barrel which also acts as the guide rod for the recoil spring. The series includes the Walther PP, PPK, PPK/S, and PPK/E.

They are manufactured by Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen in Germany, Manurhin in France following World War II, and then in the United States by Interarms in Alexandria, Virginia and currently Smith & Wesson. All production has been under license from Walther.[1]

Overview

The PP was released in 1929 and the PPK in 1931; both were popular with European police and civilians, for being reliable and concealable. During World War II they were issued to the German military and police, the Luftwaffe, and Nazi Party officials; Adolf Hitler shot and killed himself with his PPK in the Führerbunker in Berlin.[2] Moreover, the Walther PPK pistol is famous as fictional secret agent James Bond's signature gun in the films and most novels. Ian Fleming's choice of the Walther PPK directly influenced its popularity and its notoriety.[3][4]

The most common variant is the Walther PPK, the Polizeipistole Kriminalmodell (Police Pistol Detective Model), indicating it was more concealable than the original PP and hence better suited to plainclothes or undercover work.[5] Sometimes, the name Polizeipistole Kurz (Short Police Pistol) is used, however the accuracy of that interpretation is unclear. The PPK is a smaller version of the PP (Polizeipistole) with a shorter grip and barrel and reduced magazine capacity.

The PP and the PPK were among the world's first, successful double action semi-automatic pistols that were widely copied, but still made by Walther. The design inspired other pistols, among them the Soviet Makarov, the Hungarian FEG PA-63, and the Czech CZ50. Although it was an excellent semi-automatic pistol, it had competitors in its time. The Mauser HSc pistol and the Sauer 38H pistol (a.k.a. model "H"), were successful in their own rights. Sauer pistol production ended at war's end, but the refined SIG P230 and the P232, owe much to the Sauer 38H.

Postwar manufacture

Europe

Walther's original factory was located in Zella-Mehlis in the state (Land) of Thuringia. As that part of Germany was occupied by the Soviet Union following World War II, Walther was forced to flee to West Germany, where they established a new factory in Ulm. However, for several years following the war, the Allied powers forbade any manufacture of weapons in Germany. As a result, in 1952, Walther licensed production of the PP series pistols to a French company, Manufacture de Machines du Haut-Rhin, also known as Manurhin. The French company continued to manufacture the PP series until 1986. In fact, all postwar European-made PP series pistols manufactured until 1986 were manufactured by Manurhin, even though the pistol slide may bear the markings of the Walther factory in Ulm.[citation needed]

File:Walther PPK 1848.jpg
A Walther PPK manufactured in 1968.

United States

In 1978, Ranger Manufacturing of Gadsden, Alabama was licensed to manufacture the PPK and PPK/S; this version was distributed by Interarms of Alexandria, Virginia. This license was eventually canceled. Starting in 2002, Smith & Wesson (S&W) began manufacturing the PPK and PPK/S under license. In February 2009, S&W issued a recall for PPKs it manufactured for a defect in the hammer block safety.[6]

Walther has indicated that, with the exception of the PP and the new PPK/E model, S&W is the current sole source for new PPK-type pistols.[7]

PPK versus PPK/S

ATF Form 4590 ("Factoring Criteria for Weapons").

The PPK/S was developed following the enactment of the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA68) in the United States, the pistol's largest market (Hogg 1979:164). One of the provisions of GCA68 banned the importation of pistols and revolvers not meeting certain requirements of length, weight, and other "sporting" features into the U.S. The PPK failed the "Import Points" test of the GCA68 by a single point. (See image of ATF Form 4590 for the complete list of qualifying points). Walther addressed this situation by combining the PP's frame with the PPK's barrel and slide to create a pistol that weighed slightly more than the PPK. The additional ounce or two of weight of the PPK/S compared to the PPK was sufficient to provide the extra needed import points.

Because U.S. law allowed domestic production (as opposed to importation) of the PPK, manufacture began under license in the U.S. in 1978; this version was distributed by Interarms. The version currently manufactured by Smith & Wesson has been modified by incorporating a longer grip tang, better protecting the shooter from slide bite, i.e. the rearward-traveling slide's pinching the web between the index finger and thumb of the firing hand, which was a problem with the original design.

The PPK/S differs from the PPK as follows:

As of 2007, the PPK/S and the PPK are offered in the following calibers: .32 ACP (with capacities of 8+1 for PPK/S and 7+1 for PPK); or .380 ACP (PPK/S: 7+1, PPK: 6+1).

PPK-L

File:Walther PPK-L pic1.jpg
A Walther PPK-L manufactured in 1966.

In the 1950s, Walther produced the PPK-L which was a light-weight variant of the PPK. The PPK-L differed from the standard, all steel PPK in that it had an aluminium alloy frame. These were only chambered in 7.65mm Browning (.32 ACP) and .22 LR because of the increase in felt recoil from the lighter weight of the gun. All other features of the postwar production PPK/S (brown plastic grips with Walther banner, high polished blue finish, lanyard loop, loaded chamber indicator, 7+1 magazine capacity and overall length) were the same on the PPK-L. In the 1960s, Walther began stamping "Made in West Germany" on the frame of the pistol right below the magazine release button. The 1950s production pistols had the date of manufacture, designated as 'month/year', stamped on the right side of the slide. Starting in the 1960s, the production date, designated by the last two digits of the year, was stamped on the exposed part of the barrel which could be seen in the ejection port.

PP Super

First marketed in 1972, this was an all-steel variant of the PP chambered for the 9x18mm Ultra cartridge. Designed as a Police service pistol it was a blowback operated, double action pistol with an external slide-stop lever and a firing-pin safety. A manual decocker lever was on the left side of the slide; when pushed down, it locked the firing pin and released the hammer. When 9mm Parabellum was chosen as the standard service round by most of the German police forces, the experimental 9mm Ultra round fell into disuse. Only about 2,000 PP super pistols were sold to German police forces in the 1970s, and lack of sales caused the PP Super to be pulled from the Walther catalog in 1979.[8]

PPK/E

At the 2000 Internationale Waffen-Ausstellung (IWA - International Weapons Exhibition) in Nuremberg, Walther announced a new PPK variant designated as the PPK/E.[9][10] The PPK/E resembles the PPK/S and has a blue steel finish; it is manufactured under license by FEG in Hungary. Despite the resemblance between the two, certain PP-PPK-PPK/S parts, such as magazines, will not interchange with the PPK/E. The official factory photographs do not refer to the pistol's Hungarian origins; instead, the traditional Walther legend ("Carl Walther Waffenfabrik Ulm/Do.") is stamped on the left side of the slide. The factory announcement mentions that the PPK/E is made with "new manufacturing technologies," presumably in an effort to reduce costs.

As of May 2008, the PPK/E bore a suggested retail price in Germany of 441 euros, almost 200 euros cheaper than the PPK and PPK/S models imported from the U.S.[11] The PPK/E is offered in .22 LR, .32 ACP, and .380 ACP calibers.

Users

Notes

  1. ^ WaltherAmerica.com - customer support page
  2. ^ Fischer (2008) p. 47 "...Günsche stated he entered the study to inspect the bodies, and observed Hitler ...sat...sunken over, with blood dripping out of his right temple. He had shot himself with his own pistol, a PPK 7.65."
  3. ^ A.E. Hartink, The Complete Encyclopedia of Pistols and Revolvers, page 368
  4. ^ https://www.cia.gov/about-cia/cia-museum/spy-fi-archives/item19.html
  5. ^ The websites of Walther America and Walther GmbH feature its history, however, the origin of the Kriminalausführung name, synonymous for Kriminalmodell, is not explained.
  6. ^ Smith & Wesson recall
  7. ^ Walther's 2008 worldwide defense product catalog
  8. ^ http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg148-e.htm
  9. ^ "IWA2000". CyberShooters.org. Retrieved 2008-05-04. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ "If Reliability Counts...The New Walther PPK/E" (PDF). Carl Walther Sportwaffen GmbH. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
  11. ^ "PPK/E 9 mm short, blued". Carl Walther Sportwaffen GmbH. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
  13. ^ a b c d e f http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg13-e.htm
  14. ^ "Kopassus & Kopaska - Specijalne Postrojbe Republike Indonezije" (in Croatian). Hrvatski Vojnik Magazine. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
  15. ^ http://www.janes.com/articles/Janes-Infantry-Weapons/Walther-PP-and-PPK-self-loading-pistols-Germany.html
  16. ^ Marchington, James (2004). The Encyclopedia of Handheld Weapons. Lewis International, Inc. ISBN 1-930983-14-X.

See also

References

Fischer, Thomas (2008). Soldiers Of the Leibstandarte. J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-921991-91-5.

Hogg, Ian V. (1979). Guns and How They Work. New York: Everest House. ISBN 0-89696-023-4.

Josserand, M.H. (1972). Pistols, Revolvers, and Ammunition. New York: Bonanza Books (A division of Crown Publishers, Inc.). ISBN 0-517-16516-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

Henrotin, Gerard (2010). Walther Model 4 Explained, H&L Publishing, Belgium.

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