German P38

T

Tarraagon54

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I'm new to this website but it seemed like a good place to start. I've inherited a P-38 from my father. He got it off of a deceased German Officer. It is a CYQ model. From what I have been able to find out through my research it be worth
2 or 3 hundred, maybe. What seems unique to this pistol, however, because I haven't been able to find any others like it, is that it is chrome plated with black plastic handle. Does this make it any more or less valuable? I have the gun, holster and spare clip. I tried to upload some pics. but they exceeded the max. allowable mb's
 
These are the factors (and realities) of P.38s now: The West Germans have sold off thousands of surplus guns in the last ten years and these have been sold at very low prices, typically less than $300.00 for a gun in near new condition with a holster and two mags. This took care of the shooter's market.

Wartime P.38s have escalated somewhat, although not nearly as much as Lugers except for some very rare examples.

In general, collectors want condition, condition, condition. Sadly, someone has had the gun plated in its history sometime after the war, as no general issue P.38s were ever issued in anything other than blue. This brings the value of the pistol down to shooter level, basically.

Now, not to denigrate your father, but it is highly unlikely that he took it off a dead officer. More than likely, it was taken from a dead (or otherwise) non-com, as larger pistols were generally only issued to such. There has been a long standing joke that if the Wehrmacht had as many officers as there were pistols taken from officers, there would have been no enlisted men.

So... The bottom line here is generally per your assessment. The value might be around $300.00, but, because it has been plated, it's only value, as I said, would be for a shooter. Obviously, the sentimental value exceeds all else; It is a souvenir and memento of your father.
 
No P.38's were factory plated, and none were issued with black grips. (Check the inside of the grips; you might find the trademark "Franzite", indicating an American made copy.)

Jim
 
I had forgotten to mention the grips, but Jim is probably right: Franzite was an outfit that made replacement grips of mediocre quality starting sometime after WWII.

It is also possible that your grips were taken off a byf (Mauser) gun, or they could be post WWII W. German replacements.
 
That's right the grips may have been from a post war P1. If I had that gun I would take it to a good gunsmith & get that chrome off of it. I have two post war P1's. A 1963 & a 1982. I would love to have a all steel frame P38. I take mine to the range a shoot them but most of the time shoot the 63. My 82 is mint & I think I only shot it once. I put all new spring's in the 63 because I did not know how many rounds where in it & they are cheep & easy to get. I did put really nice wood grips on the 82 it loos great.
 
He could have the plating stripped, but that still leaves the problem of rebluing it and it still won't have any value.
 
There is actually a decent-sized collector sect out there that collects the plated trophy pistols. Not my taste, but an interesting niche.
 
I have the gun, holster and spare clip.
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Check that holster! if it is the correct original Nazi issue with the right markings, it could be worth more than the refinished pistol!

For the couple of decades after WW II, the military weapons of the other side were not thought of as collector items. They were common, and sold dirt cheap. New grips, trigger jobs, chrome plating them, and other mods were common, and even increased the value of the piece, sometimes...

NOW, its just the opposite.
 
I'm not going to doubt Granddad's tale of liberating the pistol from a Wehrmacht officer who didn't need it anymore, the little Mausers and such were given to Majors and higher ranking field officers, Captains and Lieutenants had standard issue pistols. They were more likely to use them in combat than field-grade officers, so they got the standard to keep the logistics simpler.

I sold a Luger holster, bought at a yard sale for ten bucks, for $400 some years back. Having the name of a German soldier in ink on the flap helped that price. It was joined with the names of the next two GIs who had possession of it, a Corporal and a Sergeant.
 
The WWII German infantry unit had more pistols than the equivalent U.S. unit. For example, a German WWII rifle squad was typically 1 NCO and 9 men. Unlike the U.S. rifle squad, which used the BAR for support, the German squad was built to support a light machinegun, with three men serving it. The machine gunner and first assistant machinegunner carried pistols (P.38 or P.08). The officer carried a pistol or, more commonly, a submachine gun. The others carried rifles, usually the K.98k.

The U.S. infantry of WWI had a lot more pistols, but in WWII, most of those had been replaced by the arguably more effective M1 carbine.

Jim
 
German officers were not issued their handguns. They bought their own guns and uniforms usually, mass tailored, and the handguns had no WaA markings.

Common lore makes 99% of Nazi guns captured from officers:D.
 
JamesK,

The machinegunners did not have pistols. They had the machinegun, the Ladeschütze had a K98k usually. That is what my dad told me and if you look at his photo from the Ostfront you will see no pistol on the MG Schütze.
Winterfeldzug.jpg
 
Assuming that a good number of Landsers carried cross-draw holsters on their left hip, I don't think you can say that the guys in the pic don't have pistols.
 
I went by the German TO&E on the pistols. Of course, there were many different organizations and tables, but they generally show a squad with a MG gunner and two assistants. The gunner and assistant were issued (or at least authorized) pistols, the second assistant a K.98k. The reason is that in case the primary weapon failed, the gunners would have a means, however inadequate, of self defense. The U.S. did the same thing.

I am not sure of the dividing line, but lower ranking officers were sometimes issued pistols, based on their duties; I think field grade and above bought their own, and I know general officers did. Of course, in almost any army, generals did about what they pleased, witness Patton. Rommel was often pictured with a standard K.98k, not a pistol at all.

Jim
 
Assuming that a good number of Landsers carried cross-draw holsters on their left hip, I don't think you can say that the guys in the pic don't have pistols.
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I will not assume anything; neither should you. The pistols on the Eastern Front were carried as it was put forth in the Dienstvorschrift, not in any other way. I was taught what "uniform" means, long after WWII but from seargeants that had served in the Wehrmacht.

And I am exactly saying that my father was not carrying a pistol. This is not assumed, either.
 
Several references I have (in English, I don't have the original German) state the infantry squad was
Squad Commander 9mm MP38 or 40
#1 MG gunner 7.92mm MG 34 plus 9mm Pistole 08 (or P.38)
#2 MG assistant 9mm Pistole 08 (P.38)
#3-9 riflemen 7.92mm Gewehr 98k

substitutions were possible, I know of one documented case where the MG gunner had a Mauser Schnellfeur as a sidearm.

Local supply situation often counted more than what the "book" called for.
 
I've also seen several photos of German troops with captured GI .45 pistols, no troop will lose an opportunity to get a last-ditch weapon or a souvenir.
 
There is a picture kicking around somewhere of a P.38 being carried in a shoulder holster by an American tank crewman - it probably was not in the TO&E for the First Armored Division.

Jim
 
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