*SOLD* German P.38 9mm Black 5" *HISTORICAL WORLD WAR ERA SIDEARM*

Bryant Ridge's Analysis

The P38 (originally written Walther P.38) is a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol developed by Carl Walther GmbH 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. The first design was submitted to the German Army and featured a locked breech and a hidden hammer, but the Army requested that it should be redesigned with an external hammer. The P38 concept was accepted by the German military in 1938 but production of prototype ("Test") pistols did not begin 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 of pistols satisfactorily solved the previous problems for the German Army, and mass production began in mid-1940, using Walther's military production identification code "480".

During WWII, the P.38 was produced by three separate manufacturers: Walther, Mauser, and Spreewerk. To conceal manufacturer identities, each wartime manufacturer used a letter code: ac (Walther); byf (Mauser), and cyq (Spreewerk), followed by the date (e.g.: ac44: Walther 1944 production). Spreewerk did not mark production dates. Pistols were produced in blocks of 10,000 consecutively numbered pistols, with each block having a consecutive letter suffix, to conceal production volume. 1,277,680 P.38s were produced during WWII: 617,585 by Walther in Zella-Mehlis; 372,875 by Mauser in Oberndorf; 287,220 by Spreewerk Grottau.

Specifications

Manufacturer: German

Model: P.38

Serial: 4037H

Caliber: 9mm

Finish: Blue 

Barrel Length: 5"

Optics/Sights: Dovetail blade front with Fixed notch rear

Stock/Grips: Black ribbed grips

Action: Semi-Auto

Markings: Standard

Images