The Remarkable Redemption Journey of the Walther P-38 Pistol from World War 2

Sometimes pop culture shapes our perception in life.  This is true in the gun world as well.  This was especially true during World War II.  The prize bring back gun for U.S. GI soldiers was the Luger pistol.  Everyone wanted one.  Its fame had risen in World War I and the Germans used it as a status symbol among officers.  This has been perpetuated over the years in pop culture as often in films and video games the Luger is the standard issue side arm for Nazi Germany is the Luger.  However, this is not the case.  The Walther P38 was the sidearm that the Germans used the most.

The Walther company was tasked in 1938 to upgrade the armaments of the Wehrmacht as were many companies.  The ending of the First World War had heavily restricted what the Germans could make and produce for their military.  The Treaty of Versailles signed in 1919 after the capitulation of Germany, effectively barred German from having a military and from most forms of arms manufacturing.

When Hitler came to power in 1933 one of his first moves was to reinvigorate wartime industry.  To circumvent the Versailles Treaty, he ordered the purchasing of arms from various countries throughout Europe.  By the time he ordered Operation Himmler (the Invasion of Poland) in September of 1939, there was no need to keep German arms production hidden anymore.  In preparation for this, German high command put to requests for updated and modernized weaponry to support the German war machine.

Thus, the Walther P38 was born.  Chambered in the same 9x19mm cartridge that rose to fame with the Luger during WWI.  It featured a removable barrel and updated controls.  This was also the first to feature both the single action and double action feature in a locked-breech gun.  One of the unique quirks of this pistol is the shells eject to the left and not the right of the gun unlike most handguns today.

The German high command was impressed with its reliability and design and quickly adopted it in 1939.  They would rush the pistols out to both fronts, and it would see service on both fronts of the War.  This did make it one of the more available war trophies for GI soldiers due to their prevalence and ease to bring back from the war.  Since it is a pistol, it can easily be put inside a duffle bag on the return trip to the United States unlike a rifle or a larger weapon.               

Post war, the P38 would see new life as a police and military side arm in what would become known as West German all the way through the early 2000’s. It would be renamed the Walther P1 in 1963.  The renaming of the P38 was done to distance the association of the pistol with its Nazi history.  

More than 1,000,000 P38s and its variants would be produced up to this point.  This makes it one of the few weapons developed and used in the Second World War that are still in production, albeit by other companies, to this day.  It has served all over the world in various conflicts since its inception in 1938.

Guns like the Walther P38 are one of those unique time capsules of history that come through our shop.  A firearm that served on side of oppression during Hitler’s reign, and freedom during the Cold War.  It is a story of conflict and redemption.  It is one of the rare examples of a design that is still relevant and being used to this day.  We had the fortunate opportunity to cover this on our “From the Vault” series on Youtube.