Walther PP

Walther PP
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Weimar Republic
Service history
In service	1935-present
Used by	See Users
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Carl Walther Waffenfabrik
Designed	1929
Manufacturer	Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen
Produced	1929–present
Variants	PPK, PPK-L, PPKS, PP-Super, PPK/E
Specifications
Weight	665 g (23.5 oz) (PP 9x17mm Short/.380 ACP) 660 g (23 oz) (PP 7.65x17mm Browning SR/.32 ACP) 675 g (23.8 oz) (PP .22 LR) 590 g (21 oz) (PPK 9x17mm Short/.380 ACP) 590 g (21 oz) (PPK 7.65x17mm Browning SR/.32 ACP) 560 g (20 oz) (PPK .22 LR) 635 g (22.4 oz) (PPK/S 9x17mm Short/.380 ACP) 630 g (22 oz) (PPK/S 7.65x17mm Browning SR/.32 ACP) 645 g (22.8 oz) (PPK/S .22 LR) 480 g (17 oz) (PPK-L 7.65x17mm Browning SR/.32 ACP) 450 g (16 oz) (PPK-L .22 LR) 780 g (28 oz) (PP-Super)
Length	170 mm (6.7 in) (PP) 155 mm (6.1 in) (PPK) 156 mm (6.1 in) (PPK/S) 165 mm (6.5 in) (PPK-L) 176 mm (6.9 in) (PP-Super)
Barrel length	98 mm (3.9 in) (PP) 83 mm (3.3 in) (PPK, PPK/S, PPK-L)) 92 mm (3.6 in) (PP-Super)
Width	30 mm (1.2 in) (PP, PPK/S, PPK-E) 25 mm (1.0 in) (PPK) 35 mm (1.4 in) (PP-Super)
Height	109 mm (4.3 in) (PP) 100 mm (3.9 in) (PPK) 110 mm (4.3 in) (PPK/S) 113 mm (4.4 in) (PPK-E) 124 mm (4.9 in) (PP-Super)
Cartridge	7.65x17mm Browning SR (.32 ACP) 9x17mm Short (.380 ACP) .22 Long Rifle 6.35x15mm Browning SR (.25 ACP) 9x18mm Ultra (PP-Super) 9x19mm Parabellum[citation needed]
Action	Straight blowback
Muzzle velocity	256 m/s (840 ft/s) (PP 9x17mm Short/.380 ACP) 320 m/s (1,049.9 ft/s) (PP 7.65x17mm Browning SR/.32 ACP) 305 m/s (1,000.7 ft/s) (PP .22 LR) 244 m/s (800.5 ft/s) (PPK/PPK/S 9x17mm Short/.380 ACP) 308 m/s (1,010.5 ft/s) (PPK/PPK/S/PPK-L 7.65x17mm Browning SR/.32 ACP) 280 m/s (918.6 ft/s) (PPK/PPK/S/PPK-L .22 LR) 325 m/s (1,066.3 ft/s) (PP-Super)
Feed system	Magazine capacity: PP: 10+1 (.22LR), 8+1 (.32 acp) 7+1 (.380) PPK: 8+1 (.22 LR), 7+1 (.32 acp) 6+1 (.380).
Sights	Fixed iron sights, rear notch and front blade

The Walther PP (police pistol) series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols.

They feature an exposed hammer, a traditional double-action trigger mechanism, a single-column magazine, and a fixed barrel which also acts as the guide rod for the recoil spring. The series includes the Walther PP, PPK, PPK/S, and PPK/E.

They are manufactured by Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen in Germany, Manurhin in France following World War II, and then in the United States by Interarms in Alexandria, Virginia and currently Smith & Wesson. All production has been under license from Walther.^[1]

Overview

The PP was released in 1929 and the PPK in 1931; both were popular with European police and civilians, for being reliable and concealable. During World War II they were issued to the German military and police, the Schutzstaffel, the Luftwaffe, and Nazi Party officials; Adolf Hitler shot and killed himself with his PPK (a 7.65mm/.32 ACP) in the Führerbunker in Berlin.^[2] Moreover, the Walther PPK (also a 7.65mm/.32 ACP) pistol is famous as fictional secret agent James Bond's signature gun in many of thefilms and novels. Ian Fleming's choice of the Walther PPK directly influenced its popularity and its notoriety.^[3][4]

The most common variant is the Walther PPK, the Polizeipistole Kriminalmodell (Police Pistol Detective Model), indicating it was more concealable than the original PP and hence better suited to plainclothes or undercover work.^[5] Sometimes, the namePolizeipistole Kurz (Short Police Pistol) is used, however the accuracy of that interpretation is unclear. The PPK is a smaller version of the PP (Polizeipistole) with a shorter grip and barrel and reduced magazine capacity.

The PP and the PPK were among the world's first successful double action semi-automatic pistols that were widely copied, but still made by Walther. The design inspired other pistols, among them the Soviet Makarov, the Hungarian FEG PA-63, theArgentinian Bersa Thunder 380, the Spanish Astra Constable, and the Czech CZ50. Although it was an excellent semi-automatic pistol, it had competitors in its time. The Mauser HSc pistol and the Sauer 38H pistol (a.k.a. model "H"), were successful in their own rights. Sauer pistol production ended at war's end, but the refined SIG P230 and the P232 owe much to the Sauer 38H.

[edit]Postwar manufacture

[edit]Europe

Walther's original factory was located in Zella-Mehlis in the state (Land) of Thuringia. As that part of Germany was occupied by the Soviet Union following World War II, Walther was forced to flee to West Germany, where they established a new factory inUlm. However, for several years following the war, the Allied powers forbade any manufacture of weapons in Germany. As a result, in 1952, Walther licensed production of the PP series pistols to a French company, Manufacture de Machines du Haut-Rhin, also known as Manurhin. The French company continued to manufacture the PP series until 1986. In fact, all postwar European-made PP series pistols manufactured until 1986 were manufactured by Manurhin, even though the pistol slide may bear the markings of the Walther factory in Ulm.^{[citation needed]}

A Walther PPK manufactured in 1968.

[edit]United States

In 1978, Ranger Manufacturing of Gadsden, Alabama was licensed to manufacture the PPK and PPK/S; this version was distributed by Interarms of Alexandria, Virginia. This license was eventually canceled. Starting in 2002, Smith & Wesson (S&W) began manufacturing the PPK and PPK/S under license. In February 2009, S&W issued a recall for PPKs it manufactured for a defect in the hammer block safety.^[6]

Walther has indicated that, with the exception of the PP and the new PPK/E model, S&W is the current sole source for new PPK-type pistols.^[7]

[edit]PPK versus PPK/S

ATF Form 4590 ("Factoring Criteria for Weapons").

The PPK/S was developed following the enactment of the Gun Control Act of 1968(GCA68) in the United States, the pistol's largest market (Hogg 1979:164). One of the provisions of GCA68 banned the importation of pistols and revolvers not meeting certain requirements of length, weight, and other "sporting" features into the U.S. The PPK failed the "Import Points" test of the GCA68 by a single point. (See image ofATF Form 4590 for the complete list of qualifying points.) Walther addressed this situation by combining the PP's frame with the PPK's barrel and slide to create a pistol that weighed slightly more than the PPK. The additional ounce or two of weight of the PPK/S compared to the PPK was sufficient to provide the extra needed import points.

Because U.S. law allowed domestic production (as opposed to importation) of the PPK, manufacture began under license in the U.S. in 1978; this version was distributed by Interarms. The version currently manufactured by Smith & Wesson has been modified by incorporating a longer grip tang, better protecting the shooter fromslide bite, i.e. the rearward-traveling slide's pinching the web between the index finger and thumb of the firing hand, which was a problem with the original design.

The PPK/S differs from the PPK as follows:

• Overall height: 104 mm (4.1 in)
• Weight: the PPK/S weighs 51 g (1.8 oz) more than the PPK
• The PPK/S magazine holds one additional round, in both calibers.

As of 2007, the PPK/S and the PPK are offered in the following calibers: .32 ACP (with capacities of 8+1 for PPK/S and 7+1 for PPK); or .380 ACP (PPK/S: 7+1, PPK: 6+1).

[edit]PPK-L

A Walther PPK-L manufactured in 1966.

In the 1950s, Walther produced the PPK-L which was a light-weight variant of the PPK. The PPK-L differed from the standard, all steel PPK in that it had an aluminium alloy frame. These were only chambered in 7.65mm Browning (.32 ACP) and .22 LR because of the increase in felt recoil from the lighter weight of the gun. All other features of the postwar production PPK/S (brown plastic grips with Walther banner, high polished blue finish, lanyard loop, loaded chamber indicator, 7+1 magazine capacity and overall length) were the same on the PPK-L. In the 1960s, Walther began stamping "Made in West Germany" on the frame of the pistol right below the magazine release button. The 1950s production pistols had the date of manufacture, designated as 'month/year', stamped on the right side of the slide. Starting in the 1960s, the production date, designated by the last two digits of the year, was stamped on the exposed part of the barrel which could be seen in the ejection port.

[edit]PP Super

First marketed in 1972, this was an all-steel variant of the PP chambered for the 9x18mm Ultra cartridge. Designed as a Police service pistol it was a blowback operated, double action pistol with an external slide-stop lever and a firing-pin safety. A manual decocker lever was on the left side of the slide; when pushed down, it locked the firing pin and released the hammer. When 9mm Parabellum was chosen as the standard service round by most of the German police forces, the experimental 9mm Ultra round fell into disuse. Only about 2,000 PP super pistols were sold to German police forces in the 1970s, and lack of sales caused the PP Super to be pulled from the Walther catalog in 1979.^[8]

[edit]PPK/E

A Walther PPK/E

At the 2000 Internationale Waffen-Ausstellung (IWA - International Weapons Exhibition) in Nuremberg, Walther announced a new PPK variant designated as the PPK/E.^[9][10] The PPK/E resembles the PPK/S and has a blue steel finish; it is manufactured under license by FEG inHungary. Despite the resemblance between the two, certain PP-PPK-PPK/S parts, such as magazines, will not interchange with the PPK/E. The official factory photographs do not refer to the pistol's Hungarian origins; instead, the traditional Walther legend ("Carl Walther Waffenfabrik Ulm/Do.") is stamped on the left side of the slide. The factory announcement mentions that the PPK/E is made with "new manufacturing technologies", presumably in an effort to reduce costs.

As of May 2008, the PPK/E bore a suggested retail price in Germany of 441 euros, almost 200 euros cheaper than the PPK and PPK/S models imported from the U.S.^[11] The PPK/E is offered in .22 LR, .32 ACP, and .380 ACP calibers.

Luger P08 pistol

Luger P08 (Parabellum)
P08 of the German Reichsmarine
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	German Empire
Service history
In service	Germany (1904–1945) Switzerland (1900–early 70s) Other countries (1900–present)
Used by	See Users
Wars	World War I, Spanish Civil War, World War II, Second Sino-Japanese War,Chinese Civil War, Others
Production history
Designer	Georg J. Luger
Manufacturer	Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken, Imperial Arsenals of Erfurt and Spandau, Simson, Krieghoff, Mauser, Vickers Ltd, Waffenfabrik Bern
Produced	1900–1945
Specifications
Weight	871 grams (1.92 lbs)
Length	222 mm (8.74")
Barrel length	95-200 mm (3.74-7.87")
Cartridge	7.65×21 mm Parabellum 9×19 mm Parabellum .45 ACP
Action	Toggle-locked, short recoil
Rate of fire	Semi-automatic
Muzzle velocity	350-400 m/s or 1148-1312 f/s (9 mm, 100 mm barrel)
Effective range	50 m (9 mm, 100 mm barrel; short barrel)
Feed system	8-round detachable box magazine, 32-round detachable drum
Sights	Iron sights

The Pistole Parabellum 1908 or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum) — popularly^[1] known as the Luger — is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The design was patented by Georg J. Luger in 1898 and produced by Germanarms manufacturer Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) starting in 1900; it was an evolution of the 1893 Hugo Borchardt designed C-93. It would be succeeded and partly replaced by the Walther P38.

The Luger is well known from its use by Germans during World War I and World War II, along with the interwar Weimar Republicand the post war East German Volkspolizei. Although the Luger pistol was first introduced in 7.65×21 mm Parabellum, it is notable for being the pistol for which the 9×19 mm Parabellum (also known as the 9 mm Luger) cartridge was developed.

Design details

Luger P08 cross sectional drawing.

A Luger with breech opened, showing the jointed arm in its most bent position.

A Rare Persian Long Luger mod1314 with holster

Persian Luger. "Iran Army, A gift to General Evans from Motorized Division training center" is etched on frame

Being one of the first semi-automatic pistols, the Luger was designed to use a toggle-lock action, which uses a jointed arm to lock, as opposed to the slide actions of almost every other semi-automatic pistol. After a round is fired, the barrel and toggle assembly (both locked together at this point) travel rearward due to recoil. After moving roughly 0.5 in (13 mm) rearward, the toggle strikes a cam built into the frame, causing the knee joint to hinge and the toggle and breech assembly to unlock. At this point the barrel impacts the frame and stops its rearward movement, but the toggle assembly continues moving (bending the knee joint) due to momentum, extracting the spent casing from the chamber and ejecting it. The toggle and breech assembly subsequently travel forward under spring tension and the next round from the magazine is loaded into the chamber. The entire sequence occurs in a fraction of a second. This mechanism works well for higher pressure cartridges, but cartridges loaded to a lower pressure can cause the pistol to malfunction because they do not generate enough recoil to work the action fully. This results in either the breech block not clearing the top cartridge of the magazine, or becoming jammed open on the cartridge's base.^[2]

In World War I, as submachine guns were found to be effective in trench warfare, experiments with converting various types of pistols to machine pistols(Reihenfeuerpistolen, literally "row-fire pistols" or "consecutive fire pistols") were conducted. Among those the Luger pistol (German Army designation Pistole 08) was examined; however, unlike the Mauser C96, which was later manufactured in a selective-fire version (Schnellfeuer) or Reihenfeuerpistolen, the Luger proved to have an excessive rate of fire in full-automatic mode.

The Luger pistol was manufactured to exacting standards and had a long service life. William "Bill" Ruger praised the Luger's 145° (55° for Americans) grip angle and duplicated it in his .22 LR pistol.

[edit]Service

The Swiss Army evaluated the Luger pistol in 7.65×21 mm Parabellum (.30 Luger in North America) and adopted it in 1900 as its standard side arm, designated Ordonnanzpistole 00 or OP00, in 1900. This model uses a 120 mm barrel.

The Luger pistol was accepted by the German Navy in 1904. The Navy model had a 150 mm barrel and a two position (100/200 metre) rear sight. This version is known as Pistole 04.

In 1908 the German Army adopted the Luger to replace the Reichsrevolver in front-line service. The Pistole 08 (or P.08) had a 100 mm barrel and was chambered in 9×19 mm Parabellum. The P.08 was the usual side arm for German Army personnel in both world wars, though it was being replaced by the Walther P38 starting in 1938. In 1930, Mauser took over manufacture of the P.08 (until 1943).^[3]

'Artillery Luger' Lange Pistole 08 with 32 round Trommel-Magazin 08 and removable stock.

A P-08, BYF-41, 1941, 9×19mm caliber Parabellum Luger Mauser pistol - with the safety on, and with breech opened, showing the jointed arm in its most bent and locked position

The Lange Pistole 08 (German: "Long Pistol 08") or Artillery Luger was a pistol carbine for use by German Army artillerymen as a sort of early Personal Defense Weapon. It had a 200 mm barrel, an 8-position tangent rear sight (calibrated to 800 metres) and a shoulder stock with holster. It was sometimes used with a 32-round drum magazine (Trommelmagazin 08). It was also available in various carbine versions with yet longer barrels.

The firm Armeria Belga of Santiago Chile, manufactured the Benke Thiemann retractable stock that could fold out from the grip section.

The United States evaluated several semi-automatic pistols in the late 19th century, including the Colt M1900, Steyr Mannlicher M1894, and an entry from Mauser. In 1900 the US purchased 1000 7.65 mm Lugers for field trials. Later, a small number were sampled in the then-new, more powerful 9 mm round. Field experience with .38 caliber revolvers in the Philippines and ballistic tests would result in a requirement for still-larger rounds.

The .45 ACP Luger and the Colt Model 1905, from a 1907 report on testing

In 1906 and 1907, the US Army held trials for a large-caliber semi-automatic. DWM provided two sample Luger pistols chambered in .45 ACPfor testing, with serial numbers 1 and 2. The fate of serial number 1 is unknown, as it was not returned. The serial number 2 Luger .45 passed the tests, and survived to be traded among collectors. Its rarity gives its value of around $1 million US dollars at the time the "Million Dollar Guns" episode of History Channel's "Tales of the Gun" was filmed^[4], recheck by Guns and Ammo Magazine as of 1994^[5] .

At least two pistols were manufactured later for possible commercial or military sales, and one is exhibited at the Norton Gallery, inShreveport, Louisiana. The other was sold in 2010 and remains in a private collection. After initial trials, DWM, Savage, and Colt were asked to provide further samples for evaluation. DWM withdrew for reasons that are still debated, though the Army did place an order for 200 more samples.

In 1941-42 Mauser switched from "straw finishing" to blueing the small parts and levers on their pistols. In combination with black plastic grip panels, these pistols were named the "Black Widow" model by a post-war US arms dealer as a marketing ploy.

[edit]Usage today

A recently made accurate reproduction of the later .45 Luger as manufactured by Mike Krause

Although outdated, the Luger is still sought after by collectors both for its sleek design and accuracy, and for its connection to Imperial andNazi Germany. Limited production of the P.08 by its original manufacturer resumed when Mauser refurbished a quantity of them in 1999 for the pistol's centennial. More recently, Krieghoff announced^[6] the continuation of its Parabellum Model 08 line with 200 examples at $17,545.00 apiece.

In 1923, Stoeger, Inc. obtained the American patent for the "Luger" name for the import of German-built parabellum pistols into the United States. The 1923 commercial models, in .30 Luger and 9mm, and with barrel lengths from 3 *" to 24" were the first pistols to bear the name "Luger", roll stamped on the right side of the receiver. Stoeger has retained the rights to the "Luger" name. Over the past seven decades, Stoeger imported a number of different handguns under the "Luger" mark, including an Erma-built .380 version and an American-manufacture .22 which only remotely resembled the original design.^[7]

In 1991, the Houston, Texas firm of Aimco, Inc. began making an all new remake of the original Georg Luger design. At that time Mitchell Arms, Inc., under the "Mitchell" name marketed Aimco’s "new" parabellum. Stoeger, Inc. bought the rights to market the Texas-built pistols in 1994, and since that time the "Luger" name again graces these fine toggle-action autoloaders.

Stoeger’s current offering is named the "American Eagle" model. This refers to the U.S. eagle roll-stamped above the chamber, closely resembling the eagle used to mark the original pistols designated for U.S. import. The "American Eagle" is available in 4" and 6" barrel lengths in 9mm Luger only.^[8]

The Luger was prized by Allied soldiers during both of the World Wars. Thousands were taken home during both wars, and are still in circulation today. Colonel David Hackworth mentions in his autobiography that it was still a sought-after sidearm in the Vietnam War. Recently the first serious study on the Post World War II Luger has been published (The Parabellum is Back! 1945 - 2000); it covers the Luger production from 1945 until 2000. In fact, in 1945 Mauser set up again the Luger production under the control of the French forces. In 1969, Mauser Werke in Oberndorf restarted the production until 1986 when the last commemorative model was produced.^[9]

[edit]Users

•  Bolivia^{[citation needed]}
•  Brazil^[10]
•  Bulgaria^[11]
•  Finland^[12]
•  Germany^[13]
  •  German Empire^[14]
  •  Weimar Republic^[14]
  •  Nazi Germany^[14]
•  Portugal^[15]
•  Switzerland^[12]