A closer look at what will be three videos showing this Walther designed and Spreewerk manufactured P38 9mm pistol and how what was the standard sidearm of the Wehrmacht has influenced the recently retired US service pistol, the Beretta M9 (92FS).
This particular example is a February of 1943 production from the Spreewerk “Werk Grottau” factory in occupied Czechoslovakia. This factory is notorious for use of forced labor and has a reputation for diminished quality compared to examples from Walther or Mauser.
Spreewerk produced the fewest P38s of the three manufacturers with only about 280,000 being finished before production halted. Being one of the first 11,000 to leave the factory, this example shows significantly better craftsmanship and attention to detail than the majority of the “cyq” code Spreewerk pistols which suffered in fit and finish as the factory coped with the ever more sparse resources associated with losing a world war.
At the end of World War II it found itself in Soviet hands and had the typical “Russian dip blue” finish applied during the rearsenal process. It ultimately was imported to the United States as surplus following the fall of the Soviet Union.
The pistol is still fully functional and has new recoil springs from Wolff Gunsprings to prevent damage and preserve this fascinating piece of history for future generations.
4 ноя 2023
