German P-38

D

Deadeyeontarget

Inactive
I have a German P-38. On the left side of the slide it has stamped P 38, the letters ac over the number 43, the number 2361 followed by the letter a. The right side of the slide has what appears to be an eagle or airplane wings with the number 359 under it stamped two times with a smaller emblem between the two which I cannot make out. The left side of the frame has the number 2361 followed by the letter a and 359 under the eagle. The left side of the frame also has the letter B near the hammer. Under the front of the barrel is the number 2631 with the letter a underneath. The grips are dark brown bakelite with P1529 7 in a circle inside one grip and P 1528 6 in a circle in the other grip. The block which will move up and down under the barrel has 361 K stamped on it and on one side of the block is the eagle or airplane wings with 359 under it. The other side has what appears to be an eagle. The magazine has P 38 on the left side and the back of the slide has the emblem with 359 under it. If anyone out there can help me determine what I have it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks Deadeyeontarget
 
You've got a P-38 made by Walther (code ac) in 1943, and it was the 12360th P-38 made by Walther that year (9999 + 2361). All of the other stamps and codes are inspector's marks, showing that the pistol was passed through various quality-control tests.
 
FWIW, the "wings" are the Nazi eagle inspection stamps. The WaA 359 is the marking of the Heeres Waffenamt (Army Weapons Office) officer #359 who was in charge of the Army inspection team at Walther*. The two identical eagles are the inspection stamps for the slide alone and for the assembled gun. The other eagle with the swastika is the proof and final acceptance stamp for the gun.

The markings inside the grips are the maker's mold pattern numbers. (Walther sub-contracted the grips.)

Quality at Walther was good through 1943. Although polishing and finishing were being neglected somewhat, fit and overall quality were still excellent. The gun should be a good one.

*The actual identity of the men behind those numbers is not known except for a few who later identified themselves.

Jim
 
You might try the p38forum.com page, those guys have a wealth of info about these guns. Sounds like a nice pistol. mine loves reloads in 115 gr. TMJ bullets. ;)
 
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