It was a locked-breech, double-action 9mm employing several very innovative features which would become common in later postwar 9mm pistols. In 1938 the Wehrmacht adopted a new Walther-designed pistol, designated Pistole 38.

It wasn’t particularly reliable and was vulnerable to stoppages from dirt and foreign matter. Difficult to manufacture, the Luger P08 needed extensive hand fitting and assembly by a highly skilled workforce. Machine marks were evident, a cheap phosphate (Parkerized) finish was applied, stamped-steel grip panels were used, and other shortcuts were adopted to increase production.Germany’s legendary Luger (Pistole Parabellum 1908) was never a great service pistol. The Germans also provided limited quantities of P-38s to Italy, Croatia, and Hungary.The quality of late-war pistols deteriorated. The P-38 proved to be a rugged, reliable handgun, although it was never available in great enough numbers to replace the Luger P08, and it appears that higher ranking officers preferred the P08 or small 7.65mm pistols over the P-38. In addition, arms plants in the occupied countries-FN (Belgium), CZ/Brno (Czechoslovakia), and Steyr-Daimler-Puch (Austria)-made P-38 components. In 1941 a contract for additional P-38s was given to the Mauser firm, to be followed in 1943 with another to Spreewerk GmbH of Berlin. Wartime demands for handguns became enormous, and Walther was not capable of supplying enough P-38s. In 1939 the Swedish army adopted the Walther as the Pistole 39, but only about 1,500 were delivered before German army orders took precedence.

As the barrel moves forward, the locking block is cammed back up by a ramp on the front of the frame, locking the barrel and slide together again. Dual recoil springs, located on either side of the frame, pull the slide forward, stripping the next round from the magazine and chambering it. The slide continues to the rear, extracting and ejecting the spent cartridge case. When the pistol is fired, the slide and barrel recoil together about 5/16 inch before a plunger at the rear of the barrel underlug impacts on the frame and forces the locking block down. The P-38's locking system consists of a pivoting locking block under the barrel that locks the action by means of two lugs that enter matching notches in the slide. Of all forged steel construction, the P-38 is, by today's standards, a hefty pistol. The eight-round, single-column magazine was retained by the traditional European heel-type catch. Grip panels were made of black or reddish brown plastic, and a prominent lanyard ring adorned the lower left grip frame. On the left side of the frame are slide stop and takedown levers.

Walther p38 history and markings