Luger vs. P-38 historical preference ???

L

Lavan

New member
Does anyone know which pistol the Germans ...PREFERRED...if given a choice? Just curious as both were in service in WW2 and I was wondering which they preferred.
 
The P-38 was created due to the expense
and durability of the Luger. The Luger is
built like a Swiss watch, thus requiring
more machining, which is costly. Second,
the P-38 is far more robust than the Luger.
The Germans needed a pistol that could be
mass produced in large numbers.

------------------
Never do an enemy a minor injury. Machiavelli
"Stay alive with a 45"
 
Yanus....Thanks, but I know that info. I am curious as to whether the troops/officers using each had a preference.

You know...like our GI's swapping 1911A1's for carbines.

Would Heinrich rather carry a Luger or a Walther? Both were issued and carried in same places. Were they traded and which was preferred by the guys depending on them?
 
After watching "Tales of the Gun" on the history channel, if I was to choose a gun to USE, rather than collect, I'd take the P38. Its single action/double action (the Luger is single action on the first round), the P38 has fewer parts, and looked like a better pistol to pack if you needed to use it.

But if someone was giving them away today, I'd take a Luger.
 
Lavan,

I prefer the looks, handling, and accuracy of the P-38.
My dad, who was there, says he remembers seeing more German soldiers carrying Lugers.
He's always liked the P-08 better.
Ah, the 'war stories' that ol' man can still tell... :)

------------------
...defend the 2nd., it protects us all.
No fate but what we make...
 
Luger has fewer parts than a P38

NOTE a correction, to a mistaken statement above ...

The Luger actually has fewer parts ( about 16 fewer ) than the P38.

parts count : Luger = about 40

P38 = about 56

The Luger is also SIMPLER, to understand and field strip, all the way down to the firing pin, with NO TOOLS. You can see the entire action ( it's more linear ) of a Luger easily, ..... but the rotating parts and processes going on inside the frame of the P38 are actually more complicated.

But yes, the Luger is more complicated and costly to make, the price for that increased functional simplicity.
 
I am just guessing here, but given the German love of fine engineering I suspect the typical German soldier would have preferred the stylish and more precisely built P08 over the more utilitarian P38. Note that every GI wanted to bag a souvenir Luger while nobody complained that he hadn't found a Walther, yet. I suspect it was the same with the German grunts.

I, of course, have an example of each...


standard.jpg



standard.jpg
 
They lived in a communist dictatorship. They were not aloud to like anything they were not issued.
My guess would be officers would prefer the luger.
 
Would Heinrich rather carry a Luger or a Walther?
Click to expand...

You might have to ask Heinrich, and Florian, and Erich, et al. I'll bet no small number of G.I.s would have perferred a .38 revolver to the M1911A1, but nobody asked!
I've never even held a P-38, so can comment only on my dislike for DA/SA triggers, but the Luger is, contrary to what you hear, something of an ergonomic nightmare. I suspect the P-38 feels much more "modern" in the hand, due to the shape of the grip, but it has the same awful sights as the Luger. I'd chose MY Luger over any P-38, but would probably choose a P-38 if it were a choice of random examples of the two types.
I'd think most soldiers, cops, etc., would choose the gun that they have, if it works, over anything else with which they are not familiar.
 
Not all the Germans preferred either. The first handgun I ever owned, given to me when I was twelve by a family friend who had fought his way through North Africa and Italy, was a Walther PP he took off a Wehrmacht officer "who no longer needed it."

I've also read that some of the higher-ranking officers liked Smith & Wesson revolvers.
 
From what I've observed in photographs, German officers preferred neither. Most carried small caliber (.25 ACP, .32 ACP or .380 ACP, or the metric equivalents) Walther PP or Mauser M1910/M1934, plus it seems some preferred the Beretta M1934.

Bob Wright
 
German senior officers usually bought their own pistols, and could carry about anything that was on the market. Lower ranks, NCO's and others who carried pistols took what they were issued.

Obviously I never ran a survey of preferences, but a few German vets I did know had a sentimental attachment to the P.08, almost a symbol of Germany, but preferred the P.38 for practical reasons, much the same as American troops today sometimes express nostalgia for the "45" but have no problems with carrying and using the M9A1.

Some of the HP models made during the war were sold to servicemen who wanted a gun that would be supported by unit armorers yet would be private property and could be retained after final victory - a victory that never came, of course.

Jim
 
The cost comparison is interesting. In 1935, each P.08 cost the German military RM70. With mass production and some production shortcuts, the price in 1942 had fallen to RM45. But at the latter date, the P.38 was costing only RM32, enough of a saving to justify the decision to discontinue P.08 production and have Mauser tool up for P.38 production; little time was lost in the changeover, since Mauser was able to re-tool for P.38 production while still running its P.08 lines.

Jim
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top