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Walther P38

The fact that the Walther P38 for several decades in use is already, confirms the high reputation of this durable handgun. As recoil operated weapons the pistol laid out in the caliber of 9 mm of Parabellum of Walther starting from 1938 in series, and the pistol 08 was produced should replace as new to the armed forces.

The Walther P38 was, after the Walther PP, one of the first weapons with really safe clamping departure mechanism. If the weapon is loaded, and a cartridge in the run is, can the firing pin secured (safeguard levers on position S) and the cock to be lowered. So the handgun can be carried surely and if it on it depends, been sufficient, owing to the double of act ion departure, a pressure on the departure and the shot one fires. Today most semiautomatic pistols use this principle. During the swiveling run bolting device the Walther P 38 decreases/goes back after firing, by the recoil, the run and the carriage first together, until the run engages and the carriage continues to run back alone. It pulls the case from the chamber and throws it upward out. If the carriage achieved the rear position and the firing pin spring strained and engaged, the next cartridge in the magazine has place and by the magazine feather/spring around some mm is upward pressed. If the carriage turns into now again for forward movement, it pushes this cartridge into the run and the weapon is again ready to fire. At the left magazine side is a small crossbeam, which is connected with the magazine feather/spring, so that always, if a shot is fired, this moves upward a small piece. Now if no more cartridges are in the magazine, then the crossbeam achieved and pushes its highest conditions against the catch lever, which prevents the carriage now with the last shot from the rash one. Now one needs to only change and the catch lever operate the magazine, the carriage snaps forward, leads a new cartridge and is again operational already the pistol. Exactly as with their ancestors, the PP and the PPK possess also the Walther P 38 a small pin over the cock, which indicates whether a cartridge in the chamber is. These security characteristics, which led to the fact, were probably main that the weapon was introduced 1938 by the armed forces. Walther offered first only a PP in the caliber of 9 x 19 mm to the army, these was however rejected. (The normal caliber of the PP amounted to 9 mm briefly (9 x 17 mm)). The Walther handgun P38 however until 1945 never completely replace at the troop fast at popularity.

There Walther in Zella Mehlis in Thuringia as a main manufacturer (war code: "AC" and year, for example AC 42) while the war not alone P38 in sufficient number of items manufacture could, still further manufacturing firms became assigned the production.

P1 - the Walther P38 with the German Federal Armed Forces
After the German Federal Armed Forces use still the Colt M1911A1 at the beginning of as gun, it looked for however already soon a handgun, which was held in the same caliber as their submachine guns (9 x 19 mm). And in such a way the handgun Walther P38 was used starting from 1957 again by German units, now under the new designation P 1. The most important difference to the original Walther P38, which now no more separate from steel of light alloy consist, which brought in a weight reduction of approximately 160 g for the weapon. Otherwise only small changes took place at firing pins and safety device. The weapon is today at several armies in use, beside Germany, where the P1 since center of the 1990er years by the P 8 by H&K one replaces, uses them among other things also the armed forces of Portugal, Norway and Chile. Since the pistol for a military weapon possesses good characteristics; very reliably, durably, well balances and precisely; one only at the beginning of the 90's came with the German Federal Armed Forces to the resolution to replace it. Their only disadvantages in the match with more modern handguns are a too small magazine capacity (8 shot compared with on the average 14 shot and more), in addition with the production no light and economical polymers are used. Nevertheless and remain the Walther P 38 are also further an object in demand of many collecting tanks and sport contactors.

Walther P5 is the latest development of the Walther P38 handgun series. Though internally much the same as the P38 with several parts being interchangeable, the P5 is externally very different. One of the points of difference is the very high level of safety of the P5. The firing pin of the P5 cannot be struck by hammer until the trigger is pulled to the end of its travel where it lifts the firing pin into the hammer's path. The trigger mechanism is not engaged until the slide is fully forward and locked, adding to the overall safety of the handgun. There is a decoking lever above the left grip that will lower the hammer safely on a loaded chamber. The end result of this design is a weapon that can be safely carried with the hammer down on a chambered round and put into action quickly by just pulling the trigger with no other safeties to be released.