Walther P38

Walther P38
Walther P38
	Spreewerk manufactured Walther P38
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1939–1945 (Nazi Germany) ; 1949–present (other countries)
Used by	See Users
Wars	World War II; Indochina War; Algerian War; Portuguese Colonial War; Vietnam War (limited); The Troubles; 1958 Lebanon crisis; Lebanese Civil War; War in Afghanistan; Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) (P1);
Production history
Designed	1938
Manufacturer	Carl Walther Waffenfabrik, Mauser Werke, Spreewerk
Unit cost	30 ℛ︁ℳ︁ (1943); equivalent to €120 in 2021
Produced	Walther P38 1939–1945; Pistole P1 1957–2000
No. built	c. 1,000,000
Variants	HP, P1, P38K, P38 SD, P4
Specifications
Mass	960 g (34 oz) (empty)
Length	216 mm (8.5 in)
Barrel length	125 mm (4.9 in)
Height	140 mm (5.5 in)
Cartridge	9×19mm Parabellum
Action	Short recoil, hinged locking piece assisted breechblock
Rate of fire	116 rpm (semi-automatic)
Muzzle velocity	1,050 ft/s (320 m/s)[full citation needed]
Effective firing range	Sights set for 50 metres (55 yd)
Feed system	8-round magazine
Sights	Rear notch and front blade post

The Walther P38 (originally written Walther P.38) 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.^[7]

^ ^a ^b Donald, David (1998). Bishop, Chris (ed.). Guns in Combat. Edison, NJ: Chartwell Books. ISBN 0-7858-0844-2.
^ ^a ^b "L'armement français en A.F.N." Gazette des Armes (in French). No. 220. March 1992. pp. 12–16.
^ Cite error: The named reference wwiiafterwwii was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Walter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Scarlata, Paul (25 October 2010). "The Walther P-38". Shooting Times.
^ ^a ^b Ludeke, Alexander (2007). Weapons of World War II. New York City: Parragon Books. ISBN 978-1-40549-489-2.
^ Grant, Neil (20 September 2018). The Luger. Weapon 64. Osprey Publishing. p. 51. ISBN 9781472819734.

[bishop1998-1] Donald, David (1998). Bishop, Chris (ed.). Guns in Combat. Edison, NJ: Chartwell Books. ISBN 0-7858-0844-2.

[Algeria-2] "L'armement français en A.F.N." Gazette des Armes (in French). No. 220. March 1992. pp. 12–16.

[wwiiafterwwii-3] Cite error: The named reference wwiiafterwwii was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Walter-4] Cite error: The named reference Walter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[5] Scarlata, Paul (25 October 2010). "The Walther P-38". Shooting Times.

[LudekeA-6] Ludeke, Alexander (2007). Weapons of World War II. New York City: Parragon Books. ISBN 978-1-40549-489-2.

[7] Grant, Neil (20 September 2018). The Luger. Weapon 64. Osprey Publishing. p. 51. ISBN 9781472819734.

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