Source: ATF P 5300.11 · Curios or Relics List · Jan 1972 – Apr 20253,573 entries · 4 sections
The C&R RegisterA finding aid to the ATF Curios or Relics List, for Type 03 collectors
C&R · II · 357

Mauser P38, SVW46

Section II: curio or relic, still subject to the Gun Control Act

Official wording

ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION II · VERBATIM · PDF P. 12 ↗

Mauser, P 38, pistols cal. 9mm, marked SVW46.

ATF lists cal. 9mm; this is the 9mm Parabellum (9×19mm) cartridge.

What this entry requires

  • ATF REQUIRESYour firearm carries the marking “marked SVW46”
  • INFOATF states no date; production was about 1946.

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
Germany
Manufacturer
Mauser-Werke, Oberndorf (French occupation)
Type
Pistol
Action
Semi-auto
Caliber
9mm Parabellum
Made
1946production; ATF states no date¹
Service
Military
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Source

Official wording
ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section II · PDF p. 12 ↗ · ATF original ↗
Entries
1 line
Verbatim check
Checked against the PDF text before every release
Editorial facts
Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
References
  1. Wikipedia, “Walther P38” ↗, years (estimate: range of the base model): 'From 1945 to 1946, several thousands of pistols were assembled for the French armed forces' (Mauser Oberndorf was a WWII P38 maker); 1946 lies within
Fact tags
  • ATF the ATF wording states it.
  • REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
  • ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
  • NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
Source checked
20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
Corrections
None

Historical context

Walther P38 (base model shown for Mauser P38, SVW46)
Shown: a Walther P38, not this SVW46-marked Mauser production.

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Walther P38 (6971798779).jpg” by Askild Antonsen, CC BY 2.0. Retrieved October 2026.

Summary: Wikipedia, “Walther P38”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The Walther P38 is a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol that was 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 comparatively complex and expensive to produce Luger P08. Moving the production lines to the more easily mass producible P38 once World War II started took longer than expected, leading to the P08 remaining in production until September 1942 and copies remained in service until the end of the war.