A pin located above the hammer acts as a loaded chamber indicator. The safety can be left down, which blocks movement of both the trigger and hammer, or moved up allowing the first shot to be fired in DA mode. As the lever reaches the bottom it trips the sear allowing the hammer to travel forward. The P-38's safety/hammer drop mechanism is very simple: if the hammer is cocked rotating the safety lever, on the left rear of the slide, downwards will lock the firing pin in place. After that the hammer remains cocked and subsequent shots are fired in SA mode. When the hammer is forward pulling the trigger will cock the hammer, by means of a draw bar on the right side of the frame, and fire the first round much like a DA revolver. The P-38 was the first DA/SA pistol adopted by a major power. P-38 pistols were issued to officers, paratroopers, machine gunners, armored vehicle crewman and other specialty troops. After a few minor modifications to the safety system the Wehrmacht adopted the Walther in 1938 as the Pistole 38, or as it is more commonly known, the P-38. The design was suitably modified and renamed the Model HP (Heeres Pistole - Service Pistol). The Wehrmacht expressed interest with one proviso - they wanted an external hammer. Two years later they announced the 9mm Model AP (Armee Pistole), a hammerless, DA/SA pistol. You can read more about the PP and PPK HERE.

In this they were correct as the PP, and soon to follow compact PPK, became the most popular police pistols in Europe, a position they were to hold well into the 1980s. In 1929 Walther took the handgun world into the next generation by introducing the first successful double action/single action (DA/SA) pistol - the Polizei Pistole, or simply PP - whose name clearly indicates the market Walther foresaw for their new product.

32-caliber single action (SA), blowback semi-auto pistols which proved quite popular with European police forces and civilians. In 1908 they introduced their first semi-auto pistol, known quite appropriately as the Model 1 and for the next twenty-one years produced a line of. (Nathan Reynolds photo)Р”В¬arl Walther Waffenfabrik was one of Germany's best known firearms manufacturers. In 1934 the Wehrmacht announced that it was in the market for a new service pistol - just what the Carl Walther Waffenfabrik had been waiting for! The P-38 was a modern double-action design intended to replace the P.08 Luger. These were characteristics which did not endear it to either combat soldiers or bureaucrats watching the fiscal purse strings. Slow and expensive to produce, notoriously ammunition sensitive and not overly reliable once it got dirty. While elegantly made of the finest materials, the Luger was a 19th century anachronism.

But to my way of thinking, the pistol that has earned almost unanimous respect is the Walther P-38.Р”Вuring the 1930s, German industry began a crash program to rearm the Wehrmacht with modern weapons and it was agreed that a replacement must be found for the P.08 Luger pistol. VI Webley and FN Hi-Power, the latter category is represented by such as the Type 94 Nambu, M1895 Nagant and the Mo. While the former includes the M1911A1, Mk. The history of combat handguns is replete with examples of weapons that have earned either praise or condemnation. 25 ACP cartridge.Р”Р„ Walther Model 9 carried by US Colonel Mickey Marcus is on display at the West Point Museum.OctoBy Paul Scarlata, Historic Arms Editor The Model 9 is similar in size and function to the Baby Browning pistol which is only slightly larger. It has a 6 round detachable box magazine. This can be avoided by not keeping the pistol cocked when not in use. If the striker spring is compressed for extended periods of time it can weaken and not have enough force to ignite the primer causing a miss-fire. that of an internal hammer like on the Walther Model 8 was to reduce overall size of the gun, but sacrificed reliability. The Walther Model 9 was a striker fired semi-automatic pistol produced by Carl Walther CmbH and chambered in. A Walther Model 9 pistol with a loaded magazine and a 2 Euro coin

Carl walther p1 9mm