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Late war P.38 “mod P38” pistols

Tiger 2 Tank

Senior Member
Late war P.38 “Mod P38” pistols

Hello,
Besides collecting G/K.43 rifles, I also collect P.38’s. One area of P.38’s that really intrigues me is a little subgroup of late war commercial pistols called “Mod P38” guns. There was the late “Mod HP”, then the “Mod P38” pistols, then the ac45 “0 series”, which continued from the “Mod P38” pistol line.

So, what was Walther doing at such a late stage making commercial P.38’s? That’s some of the mystique of these pistols that make them attractive to me. Not to mention that a lot of them are in remarkably nice collecting condition. Some say that a lot of these got to Volkssturm units. Also, only qualified people could buy these (that had the money). That translates to me as Party officials, high ranking military officers, etc. Just makes these interesting.

So, one odd thing I have noticed on these “Mod P38” pistols is on the locking blocks. I have 4 “Mod P38” pistols in my collection at this time. On all of them, the last three serial number digits are on the locking blocks, but on the later three of them, also a “K” letter block was stamped on these. On my four, the earlier one does not have the “K”. For the longest time, I could not figure out why this was stamped on these. I’ve also seen this “K” letter block stamped on others I have seen for sale. This past Tulsa gun show, I met with an advanced P.38 collector; Dave Shike. Shike has written the book “The wartime P.38 Pistols, volume 3-1945 Military and Volkssturm Pistols”. I told him about these locking blocks. So, I think he has “unofficially” figured out what had happened and it makes a lot of sense. He stated that; quite simply, Walther had a lot of ac44 k block locking blocks left over and these excesses were moved over to the “Mod P38” assembly line. On ac44’s, the last block before ac45 was the “L” block. There are some ac44 P.38’s where the k block is over stamped with l (“L”).

So, another little mystery may be solved. At least for me it has been. Made a lot of sense anyway as Walther wasn’t discarding anything. Here’s photos of what I am talking about:

5AE331D2-794B-4806-81A4-AC1BE2409C36.jpg46FAF818-1343-44D4-A145-17046684A45E.jpg9EDB51A1-4F48-409B-9DFB-24001F8524E2.jpg8E4D07F7-3FC6-45C8-8B60-48910304F285.jpgFA8453E7-5903-461A-A881-B75D13565B5C.jpg2949FD78-9B97-4EFB-A2B7-CF1FB6E8E1EE.jpg

So, if you have one of these P.38’s, check and see if yours has this “K”.
 
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You should get a group pic of all four Mod P.38s assembled. Something very satisfying in seeing multiple of the same gun.
 
You should get a group pic of all four Mod P.38s assembled. Something very satisfying in seeing multiple of the same gun.

Yes, they look cool all lined up together. When I did these, I was getting photos for a request I had received. So, for information purposes, I thought I would share here what had been found out. I didn’t have time for a lined up shot this go around, so when I have more time I’ll get them all out again and do a line up. I think later on the p38forum, Dave Shike is going to do a thread on these, so that’s why I haven’t put this on there. Not sure on that, but just in case I didn’t want to steel any thunder there.
 
Checked my late Mod P38. Just the last three of the serial number; no K. I like these guns as well. Am also intrigued by the machining flaw or heavy grinding to the lower front strap observed on a number of pieces.
 

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Checked my late Mod P38. Just the last three of the serial number; no K. I like these guns as well. Am also intrigued by the machining flaw or heavy grinding to the lower front strap observed on a number of pieces.
I have one with that same machine flaw. I believe it's visible on some of the wartime P.38s as well, but I could be wrong. There must have been a bad batch and they must have deemed it not critical. I will have to check for the 'K' next week.
 
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Three of my later ones have the lower grip casting flaw. The earlier one doesn’t on mine. I also have a P.38 byf44 (I think it’s either a p block or q bock) that also has a minor machine flaw at the bottom like that. It’s not as bad as these though.
 
I like these

Lots of cool things about these. Here is mine...Mod HP
 

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At the risk of certain individuals trying to start previous shenanigans, I'll post my commercial marked SVW45 again:


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I checked, I have no 'K' marked locking blocks. The photography is awful, but here's my two. The opportunities arose and I ended up with two over time. Not sure I really need two, so if someone is interested in one, pm me.
 

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what is the cause of the reddish finish?

I’ve read some interesting threads about all sorts of pistols actually turning plum over time due to the steel makeup. When they were new they were probably perfectly finished. I think over time they will eventually lose all their color, not in our lifetime I would imagine. Some 1911’s made by someone have been turning plum, can’t recall the details. Funny thing, if they would have been kept oiled the finish would still be blue or so I’ve read.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I have no idea what the chemistry is or how that all works out, but the "talk" in the P.38 circles is the same as what mrfarb has said. Nice bluing at first, but over time, it starts turning reddish and or plumb color.
 
Interesting. Wonder if the same can be said for the reddish or plum appearance of some S84/98 bayonets beginning in 1942?
 

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