Walther P38, “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”, S/N 122283
Official wording
Walther, Model P38, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., cal. 9mm Parabellum, S/N 122283, with accompanying shoulder stock.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESConfigured as the ATF wording states: “with accompanying shoulder stock”
- ATF REQUIRESYour serial number is one ATF listsATF: “S/N 122283”
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1939–1968.
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
GermanyBasis: no citation - Manufacturer
- Carl Walther (modified for MGM television)Basis: outside reference ¹
- Type
- PistolBasis: outside reference ⁴
- Action
- Semi-autoBasis: no citation
- Caliber
- 9mm ParabellumBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- Listed serial only · c. 1939–1968production; ATF states no dateBasis: estimate ²
- Service
- Commercial
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section III · PDF p. 45 ↗ · 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. shootingillustrated.com ↗, maker: MGM prop masters borrowed Walther P38 pistols and built the U.N.C.L.E. gun from them
- 2. Wikipedia, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” ↗, years (estimate: derived from related facts): the series ran September 1964 – January 1968, which limits the prop conversion; the base pistol cannot predate the P38's introduction for the Wehrmacht at the start of WWII (1939); S/N 122283's own year is unknown
- 3. Wikipedia, “Walther P38” ↗, reference article: base pistol
- 4. Wikipedia, “Walther P38” ↗, type: the Walther P38 "is a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol"; ATF names the base Model P38, and every P38 is a pistol
- 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
- 1 change · see below
Correction history
- Evidence passEditorial confidence: Low → Medium. Re-rated after supporting references were added or re-checked.
Historical context
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.