Carl Wilhelm Freund Walther (1858-1915), a trained gunsmith, started his rifle-making and repair business at his parents’ home in Zella-Mehlis at the age of 28. The Walther plant at Zella-Mehlis, Germany has a long history. American forces too captured the plant during World War II and when it was partly air bomb, several other German firearm plants continued with the production of the P38.
The existing and well-known Walther firearm plant (Waffenfabrik) in Zella-Mehlis, Thuringia, Germany could not keep up with the demand in production. The Wehrmacht (German Army) adopted the weapon as one of the standard service pistols during World War II. The Walther P38 became increasingly popular.
The aligned barrel and slide locking block design provides good accuracy and stability that increases the reliability of the weapon even more. The pistol is not only known for its safety features but the detonating mechanism is capable of performing a single or a double action firing rate. An additional safety feature of the P38 is the metal rod indicator extended out of the top rear end of the slide when a round is in the chamber. The locked-breech in other words slows down the reloading process and prevents the risk of damaging the weapon or injuring the shooter while the pressure in the barrel is still high. The breech first opens once the existing bullet has left the barrel and the high pressure in the barrel has decreased. The locked-breech mechanism prevents the next round from entering the breechblock prematurely. The slide releases and forces the cartridge forward.
The recoil spring lifts the cartridge from the magazine into the breechblock or rear barrel. The upper slide or top cover moves over the hammer head and cock it. When firing the pistol, both the barrel and the slide recoil for a short distance together. The P38 was one of the first locked-breech pistols available at the time. Without any doubt the Walther P38 became one of the favourite pistols manufactured in Germany. German troops issued with the 9mm Walther P38 semi-automatic pistol during World War II found its decent crisp trigger action, comfortable grip, advance sighting device and balanced weight an enhancement for accuracy and reliability. The Walther P38 (P: abbreviation for Pistol)
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