I bought one about 25 years ago. It was a West German police trade in. Has the holster and a couple of mags. Don't think that I ever shot it and don't know why I really bought it.

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

I have a WWII Mauser produced byf44 P38, that I have shot occasionally. When I was a teenager, my dad had an FFL and ordered one of the Walther P1's, which is an alloy framed post war version of the P38. We took it to the range and the rear sight assembly popped off and hit be in the forehead after a magazine or two. We put it back together, but it popped back off, this time hitting me on the bridge of my nose just above my shooting glasses and causing a pretty good cut. Dad put it back together, boxed it up and sold it. Just keep this in mind and wear glasses if you plan to shoot your's.

Then it's not a P-38 , it's a P-1. The aluminum framed guns made for the West German police. I too bought one at an unbelievably low price ($159 w/holster and 2 mags) from Jovinos back then. Much to my surprise , I received one made by Manurhin in France. Sadly I traded it away.

Picked up this nice combo a few years ago.

Walther made many alloy framed P.38s after the war. The Germans redesignated them the P.1 well after the production run began, but they were interchanged in issue with the ones marked P.38. The post war alloy framed P.38s were also imported commercially, and so marked with the stag horn proof.

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Fuego

Here is my P38 made on 9/62. Came in the box in first picture with the holster and extra magazine. I shoot it and have not had any problems.

I have a WW II P-38 I bought back in March of 1976. Probably put a dozen mags through it. Haven't shot it in years. Good gun, though. -Ed.

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Shoot the CPU, not the monitor

I own a 'Spreewerke' P38 made during the last months of WWII.

The fit is ok, and function is perfect, but the exterior polish looks like it was done while Russian tanks were rolling down the factory driveway!!

An interesting piece. This P38 was made from parts right off the milling machine, without so much as a deburring. It all fits up nice, and reliably shoots bullets to point of aim as designed. Nowhere nearly as well polished as earlier Walther, Mauser, or Spreewerke made P38's. Just a cool, perfect shooting relic of the last days of the Third Reich.

The second military pistol I ever owned was a WWII Walther P.38, bought in a pawn shop when I was in the Army in 1962. The code on the slide indicates that it was made at the Walther factory in 1943. I found the mechanism fascinating, and learned to take it completely apart. I thought, and still do, that it was an ingenious design. Here's a pic of mine:



For more information on the P.38, and another pic of this particular pistol, you might want to see the article I wrote for the October, 2008 issue of Dillon's Blue Press magazine/catalog. The link below will take you to that issue; go to page 40.

http://www.bridleandbit.net/ebooks/b...files/main.swf

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

My Dad gave me his that he brought home from WWII, it was made in 1944.

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Roger

This is the same package that I got. My manufacture date is 7/61, I think.



It says P-38 on the gun as well as the box. So why do I really have a P-1?

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

Post war Walthers marked 'P1' were the West German Military (Bundeswehr) contact pieces.
Those marked 'P38', 'Mod.P38' or 'Model P38' were made for commercial and export sale. They were all the same pistol but for different exterior finishes applied at times.
Cals .22rf, 9mmLuger and 30Luger.
Slightly different slide legends and they changed that a couple of different times during production in themselves.
A few,,very few, made with steel frames after the war. The vast majority have aluminum frames,,both the P1 and the P38.

Commercial guns were bought and used by police forces in W Germany.
I believe some of the W German Gov't issue P1's were also surplused out to police forces over the years so any number of markings may be present on them. Most of the markings indicating W German Federal or local gov't ownership have been X'd out before surplus sale and export. Most all came to the USA.

You have an alloy frame P38.

About a year ago, I took 10 or 12 guns to the local shop for consignment sale. This byf 44 P.38 was the last of the lot. I dropped the price a couple of times, and it still sat unsold. Today I rescued it. It's kind of like getting a new gun, without the actual spending money part. I think I'll shoot it a little more and hold onto it this time.

Here's a picture of a P38 my Dad gave me for Christmas about 10 years ago. He picked it up right after WWII. Traded a type 94 pistol for it.

Beautiful Walther! A series '480' is a very desirable variation of the P38. If I remember correctly only about 6500/7000 were made with that marking. Mfg in 1940.
Your Dad sure made a nice deal for that Type 94!

Thanks, the pistol must have been really nice when my Dad first picked it up. He carried it in a holster under the seat of his pickup for a few years and later loaned it to my Uncle during some labor disputes. Who new back then that this stuff would be worth something one day.

I have only 1, a 1943 Walther that shoots well despite a pitted barrel.
There is a .22 conversion unit for the post war models, unfortunately it doesn't fit the Wehrmacht ones.

wait until Leighton gets in here...wow

Just one...

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"Onward thru the Fog"

Well thanks to twogunjay I now have two P1's I'll get some pics later but it's in real nice shape.

I have this early byf43 Mauser bringback. (I wasn't the one!)



AC

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SWCA 2082

I have a late production P1 with all the modifications to improve durability such as the steel hex bolt in the frame and the thicker receiver. These are post 1976 improvements if memory serves.

The US Army was very impressed with the P-38 during WW2 and this led S&W to develop their 9mm pistol, the model 39. The Army ultimately got their version of the P-38, the Beretta 92.

In the last few years, WW2 era P-38s have gone up dramatically in price here in SE PA. A fellow I know just paid $600 for one.

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I shoot, therefore I am.

I only have two: an svw 45 and an svw 46. Both are post WW II, made under French supervision. Oberndorf wound up in the French sector of occupation. The French found enough P 38 parts to build a whole bunch of them; if my memory is correct the number is around 60,000. A tribute to the effectiveness of our bombing of the German transportation system. They also found parts to build a lot of HSc's, and Kar 98K's, as well as a few Lugers and WTP-2s.

I have found my P-38 fits my hand very well.

Picked it up a couple days ago,I now have two P1's



Slide markings,it has a flower stamped onto the trigger guard on this side,told this means it was Berlin PD.



Really nice old P38/P1 and I like it very much,in fact I have it in a holster right now on me

I have a two-tone byf44 that was seized in Crazon France in Sept. of 1944 by a US serviceman. It is a great auto. Don't have the capture papers,but he signed and dated the inner flap of the holster.

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J. Mark McCarver