Walther P38, wartime & pre-1947

What this entry covers

ATF lists "German, P38 pistols, cal. 9mm Parabellum, mfd. prior to 1947."¹ It names no maker, so the wording is not limited to Walther. Its one date condition is "prior to 1947", which is the date shown on this page¹.

Several related pistols have their own lines. One reads "Mauser, P 38, pistols cal. 9mm, marked SVW46."⁶ Others cover Walther P38s bearing the Norwegian Army Ordnance crest in a stated serial range, and "post World War II production Model P38- and P1-type semiautomatic pistols made for or issued to a military force, police agency, or other government agency or entity."⁷ A broader line covers "Walther, pistols, mfd. at Zel1a-Mehlis (Thur) prior to 1946, all models, all cal.’s."⁷ Section III lists the Model 1937 "Armee Pistole" with its shoulder stock and "Walther, Model P38, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., cal. 9mm Parabellum, S/N 122283, with accompanying shoulder stock."⁸

Identifying it

During the war, Germany replaced makers' names with letter codes to hide where arms were made. On P38s the codes are "ac" for Walther, "byf" for Mauser and "cyq" for Spreewerk³. A Rock Island Auction catalogue describes a 1940 Walther pistol marked "P.38 ac" with no date and a 1941 pistol marked "ac/41". It notes that the date was added to the code after about 2,570 undated pistols⁴. The same catalogue records "Eagle/359" acceptance proofs on several parts, and a serial number with a letter suffix⁴.

Common confusions

• Post-war pistols. West Germany adopted the design again in 1957 as the P1, with an aluminium frame^2,5. Modern Firearms adds that most post-war commercial P38s also had aluminium frames⁵. These were made long after 1946 and are covered, if at all, by the separate post-war line quoted above⁷.
• French post-war production. Right after the war the French made a number of P38s that collectors call "gray ghosts", with a Parkerized finish and sheet-metal grips². Whether a particular one fits this entry depends on its date and the ATF wording above^1,6.
• Predecessors. Small numbers of Walther's earlier HP, short for Heeres Pistole, were bought by Sweden before the German army adopted the pistol⁵. The entry names "P38 pistols"¹.

History

Germany wanted a pistol that was easier to make than the P08 Luger, and Walther's locked-breech, double-action design was adopted in 1938 as the Pistole 38^3,5. Walther could not meet wartime demand alone, so Mauser and Spreewerk also made the pistol³. Sources put wartime production at about one million² or more than one million³. German wartime production ended with the war, and many pistols came home with American soldiers as souvenirs³.

Further reading

• American Rifleman's "I Have This Old Gun" segment² gives an overview from the HP to the P1.
• The Rock Island catalogue⁴ shows how early "ac" markings are described and cites Warren Buxton's The P.38 Pistol for production figures.
• Modern Firearms⁵ covers the mechanism and the post-war P1, P4 and P38K.