Walther's P.38: the most refined handgun of World War II? - Surplus Locker

Although the German military services officially adopted twenty seven different handgun models between 1914 and 1945, the Walther P.38 emerged as the dominant German handgun of World War II. Approximately, 1,200,000 P.38s were produced between 1938 and 1945 plus during the post war period, production of the P.38 resumed after it was officially adopted by the new West German Army, many police units and offered for commercial sale.

Next to the Luger P.08, the Walther P.38 was the most popular souvenir handgun in the European theater of World War II. Not only was it a souvenir, but it was also so good and so available that it was carried into combat by many GIs. So. many in fact, that during the Battle of the Bulge, it is reported that orders were given to German soldiers to execute any GI found with a P.38 in his possession.

New Pistol For A New Army

The P.38 was the product of Germany's rearmament during the 1930s. It was a period in which technological innovations coupled with mass production methods thoroughly modernized Germany's military. The Luger P.08 was considered a classic design, but it was complicated to manufacture and susceptible to malfunctions because of dirt. The Wehrmacht was looking for something better--a modern, double action, automatic pistol chambered for the 9mm Parabellum, and the Carl Walther firm had it.

Walther had already made inroads into the military and police forces in pre-war Germany with their earlier and very successful double action models, the PP and PPK. Designed by Carl's son, Fritz, the PP was introduced in 1929 and the PPK in 1931. It was the double action and safety features of the PP and PPK that were readily incorporated into and characterized the P.38.

Officially adopted by the Wehrmacht in 1938, the P.38 has had a profound impact on military pistol design in general. As the first military double-action pistol for the 9mm Parabellum, it firmly legitimized the concept of the DA automatic tot general armed service use--an influence we continue to see in most automatic pistol designs today. From an historical point of view, I think it's fair to say that the P.38 was the most advanced pistol design of World War II.

The safety of the P.38 is about as soldier proof as they come. Similar to the safety of the PP and PPK, the P.38 safety is actually a safety and decocking lever. When the lever is on "Safe," the hammer cannot be cocked by the trigger, by hand, or by pulling back the slide. In addition, the firing pin is securely locked in place and blocked from moving forward.

If the hammer is cocked and the safety is applied, the hammer is automatically and safely de-cocked. An additional safety or tactical feature is the P.38's loaded chamber indicator. When a cartridge is in the chamber, an indicator pin projects through the rear of the slide just above the hammer. It is both visible and can be easily felt with the thumb.

With the safety engaged, the R38 can be safety carried with a round in the chamber. Flicking the safety lever up with the thumb (which is a stretch for most thumbs!), the shooter can either squeeze the trigger and shoot the pistol double action or cock the hammer and shout it single action. The double-action trigger is a first generation design and it's a long haul. The trigger in single action mode is pleasantly light and crisp.

The P.38 is a recoil operated, locked-action pistol. The barrel is locked to the slide by a locking block that is easily seen when the piece is field stripped. Upon firing, the barrel and slide move rearward and a locking block operating pin cams the locking block out of battery. The slide continues rearward ejecting the case and cocking the hammer. It is returned to battery by two coil springs that ale mounted in channels on either side of the frame.

Walther has always made a sales point of the open, exposed character of the barrel as it's attached to the slide. Their point being that if the barrel is accidentally obstructed and bulged in combat, the P.38 will continue to function as opposed to other designs in which the barrel is totally enclosed within the slide and must pass through the end of the slide or through a barrel bushing.

Light And Accurate

Weighing 34 ounces, the P.38 has an overall length of 8.5 inches with a barrel length of 4.75 inches. It carries eight rounds in a detachable magazine secured by a release catch on the bottom of the butt. It's a very well balanced pistol and a natural pointer. The sights of the P.38 are exceptional for a World War II design. The sight picture is clean, very visible, and there's lots of white space on either side of the broad front sight when viewed through the squared off rear notch.

Accuracy of the typical P.38 at 25 yards with hardball or factory hollow-points averages 2.5 to 3.0 inches. I currently shoot a well fitted, post-war model P1, which is the P.38 with a duraluminum frame. It, too, averages about 2.5 inches, although it will shoot Federal Premium 124-grain Hydra-Shok into 2.0 inches. In the P.38, the feeding angle from the magazine to the chamber is unusually shallow. It is almost straight in-line, and my experience has been that the P.38 is very accommodating with a variety of ammunition.