violently tilting downward as with the more common Browning action.Īlso retained were the double-action / single-action operation of the trigger. This system has proven to be reliable and it aids in recoil management as the mass of the barrel moves straight back into the shooters hand vs. The barrel moves straight back while a locking-block drops to unlock the barrel and slide. It's a simple yet robust system that would later be used by Beretta and the U.S. The locking mechanism of the P.38 was a carry over to the P5. Many of the functional aspects of the P.38 would be retained, with some being slightly modified, in the new Walther P5. The two locking systems side by side, Walther P.38 (top) and the Walther P5 (bottom). About the only thing the P.38 lacked was a double-stack magazine, opting instead for a single-stack 8-round mag. The P.38 took a number of popular ideas used in earlier handguns such as a hammer drop safety, double action / single action trigger, loaded chamber indicator, and rolled them into a very modern military pistol that would influence handgun designs for decades to come. The Walther P5 was an evolution of the Walther P.38, which made sense given the P.38 was one of the most forward thinking handguns of WWII. The P1 was nearly identical to the WWII P.38 with the biggest difference being the use of aluminum alloy in the construction of the frame whereas the P.38 had a steel frame. Initially they settled on a slightly modified P.38 known as the P1 around 1958. A comparison between the original Walther P.38 (top) and the later Walther P5 (bottom), the lineage is obvious.Īt the end of the war West Germany sought to adopt a handgun for both military and police use. However, the P.38 was a tremendous step forward not only in features and function but also in reliability when compared to the Luger. However, throughout the war Nazi Germany would continue to produce and field Lugers. 32 ACP) and 9mm Parabellum.ĭuring WWII the official sidearm of the Nazi military was the P.38 which was formally adopted in 1938. The most popular calibers used by the Germans at the time were 7.65 Browning (aka. When Nazi Germany took over a country, many times they would continue the production of indigenous firearms for use by both their military and police. This division would continue throughout the Cold War.ĭuring WWII Germany used a vast variety of handguns. Former allies had split the country in half with the eastern part of the nation falling behind the "iron curtain" while the western half was aligned with NATO and western powers. After WWII Germany was a country divided.