![]() ![]() ![]() However it needed to be simple, cheap, and still reliable. Only about a dozen of these pistols left the factory, and only about 6 are known to still exist! Walther decided that they needed a locking system. This pistol had a very high weight, and recoil spring was difficult, and not reliable. The first unlocked military pistol was known as the Walther MP (militarpisole). The blowback design was the key, and was much cheaper to produce than any locking systems. Walther thought first that they simply needed to enlarge the dimensions of the PP in order to have a successful 9mm Parabellum design. This pistol was very successful it was a blowback action, with a double action trigger. Machine marks were evident, a cheap phosphate (Parkerized) finish was applied, stamped-steel grip panels were used, and other shortcuts were adopted to increase production.The first design in this series of pistols was the Walther PP. The Germans also provided limited quantities of P-38s to Italy, Croatia, and Hungary.The quality of late-war pistols deteriorated. The P-38 proved to be a rugged, reliable handgun, although it was never available in great enough numbers to replace the Luger P08, and it appears that higher ranking officers preferred the P08 or small 7.65mm pistols over the P-38. In addition, arms plants in the occupied countries-FN (Belgium), CZ/Brno (Czechoslovakia), and Steyr-Daimler-Puch (Austria)-made P-38 components. In 1941 a contract for additional P-38s was given to the Mauser firm, to be followed in 1943 with another to Spreewerk GmbH of Berlin. Wartime demands for handguns became enormous, and Walther was not capable of supplying enough P-38s. ![]() In 1939 the Swedish army adopted the Walther as the Pistole 39, but only about 1,500 were delivered before German army orders took precedence. As the barrel moves forward, the locking block is cammed back up by a ramp on the front of the frame, locking the barrel and slide together again. Dual recoil springs, located on either side of the frame, pull the slide forward, stripping the next round from the magazine and chambering it. The slide continues to the rear, extracting and ejecting the spent cartridge case. When the pistol is fired, the slide and barrel recoil together about 5/16 inch before a plunger at the rear of the barrel underlug impacts on the frame and forces the locking block down. The P-38's locking system consists of a pivoting locking block under the barrel that locks the action by means of two lugs that enter matching notches in the slide. Of all forged steel construction, the P-38 is, by today's standards, a hefty pistol. The eight-round, single-column magazine was retained by the traditional European heel-type catch. Grip panels were made of black or reddish brown plastic, and a prominent lanyard ring adorned the lower left grip frame. On the left side of the frame are slide stop and takedown levers. ![]()
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