The Walther P38 was an iconic German, 9-mm, self-loading pistol used by the Wehrmacht during World War II. Together with the PP model, it was the standard service handgun carried by German Army and Luftwaffe's officers. This semi-automatic pistol was a new revolutionary design, which had new technical innovations, such as the double-action and single-action trigger. The P38 was chambered for the 9x19-mm Parabellum cartridge, which was more powerful than the round used by the PP and PPK. Therefore, it was fitted with a short-recoil, locked breech mechanism. There was also a long-barreled variant of the pistol.
The Walther P38 was designed and developed by Carl Walther from the HP model, which had been presented to the German Army for evaluation in 1937. Since the Wehrmacht officers were not satisfied with this model, it was modified, producing the P38, which was accepted by the German Army in 1938. The main differences between it and the HP, apart from the markings on the slide, were the checkered wooden grips, the rectangular firing pin, and a concealed extractor, making parts non-interchangeable. The safety lever was located on left-hand side. Production of the P38 stopped in 1945, at the end of the war. However, it would be resumed in 1957 for the Bundeswehr for another ten years.
The first series of the Walther P38 had serial numbers beginning with '0', and the first 1,500 P38s had the rectangular firing pin. The pistol would be massively produced by Walther GmbH, Mauser, and Spreewerk. The codes used on the pistols to conceal the producers from the Allies were as follow: Walther ('480'); Mauser ('bfy' and 'svw'); Spreewerk ('cyq'). There was also a version of the P38 manufactured by the Belgium firm FN (Fabrique Nationale). One important characteristic of this German pistol was that it could be assembled and fired without the locking block. This means that the weapon functioned as a blow-back one.
Specifications
Type: self-loading pistol
Caliber: 9-mm
Cartridge: 9x19-mm Parabellum
Length: 21.6 cm
Barrel Length: 12.5 cm
Mechanism: short-recoil, locked breech
Muzzle Velocity: 320 m/s
Feed System: 8-round detachable magazine
Sights: iron, with rear 'notch' and front blade post.
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| Above, left side of the Walther P38. |
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| Right-hand view of the German pistol. |
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| The field-stripped components of the P38. |
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| Above, a P38 produced by the firm Spreewerk around 1942, with the 'cyq' code. |
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| The long-barrel version of the pistol with the AC41 marking code. |