Cold War Warriors: The Walther P1

Walther. For firearms enthusiasts, the name conjures up James Bond, World War II, and fine German engineering. Founded by Carl Walther in 1886, the company is one of the oldest firearms manufacturers in the world, and to this day makes some fine weapons. The P1 was one such weapon.

Pictured above: the Walther P1. This one has been upgraded with the "hex" frame reinforcing pin, which can be seen to the right of the takedown lever.

The P1's predecessor is the famous P.38. Though it needs no introduction, for the benefit of the uninitiated I'll go into some detail here. The P.38 has its roots in pre-war Nazi Germany. The Germans were looking for a military side arm to replace the legendary P.08 Luger pistol. See, the Luger, fine pistol and incredible example of Old World craftsmanship as it was, simply was too labor intensive and therefore too expensive to produce. And honestly, when it comes to winning battles and wars, pistols really have a small role to play (unless you’re Sergeant York , but he had balls the size of cantaloupes, and the marksmanship skills to go with them), so equipping your armed forces with hand-fitted, expensive pistols doesn’t make much sense. Especially when you’re gearing up to conquer Europe, and maybe the world (which thankfully didn't turn out so well), you’ve probably got better things on which you can spend money, materials, and machine time.

Accepted by Germany in 1938 (hence the designation), the P.38 offered some significant advantages over the old P.08 pistol, designed by the estimable Mr. Georg Luger.  First, it was cheaper to manufacture. Secondly, the P.38 was one of the first double-action semi-auto pistols fielded to a military force, and certainly the first in a high-pressure caliber. The DA/SA design meant that a soldier could carry the P.38 with a round in the chamber, hammer down, safely, and all he had to do to get the pistol into action was pull the trigger. Granted, it was a longer, heavier pull than the single action, but it was simple, and in a battlefield situation, simple is good. Of course, after the first double action pull, the pistol ejected the spent cartridge and loaded a fresh one from the magazine automatically, and the subsequent rounds were all fired single action. Like the Georg Luger's pistol, the P.38's magazine held eight cartridges, and fired his 9mm Luger cartridge. Though the P.38 never really replaced the P.08, the Germans sure tried, because they made over a million of them from 1939 to 1945 in three different factories.

Georg Luger, inventor of the P.08, and the 9mm Luger cartridge.

Thanks to the Allies, Germany went 0-2 in World Wars. By late 1945, Germany was beaten. Its infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities had been obliterated by the Allied bombing campaigns, and its territory was divided by the victors into east and west. Out of the ashes, with the help of the Marshall Plan, the Federal Republic of Germany (also known as West Germany) arose. By the mid- 1950s, the world was deep into the Cold War. Times had changed: where once the Soviets had been allies (of convenience), they were now the threat. West Germany, as an essentially new country, needed many things, and with the prospect of a billion Commies pouring through the Fulda Gap at a moment’s notice, a competent military force was near the top of the list. Somewhere on that list for equipping and fielding that military was the need for a new sidearm.

East German police clash with West German over a girl who dared cross the border into the West (left).  The West German officer up front has a P.38/P1. Notably, the Commies have AKs and PPSh guns.

With the rise of West Germany came the Walther P1. In a most un-German like move, instead of completely reinventing and over-engineering the wheel, the Germans went with what they already had. The Walther factory had been destroyed during the war, but the patents, know-how, and people were still around. The P.38 had served the Wehrmacht well, so why couldn’t it serve the new Bundeswehr equally as well? Walther retooled and modified the venerable warhorse, giving it a lighter (cheaper?) aluminum alloy frame vs. the all-steel frame of the P.38. This “new” pistol was given the moniker P1 in 1963. In addition to the alloy frame, the new P1 had better sights and a few other minor tweaks under the hood. The P1 was manufactured into the 1980s, with some additional upgrades along the way in the form of a beefier slide (known to collectors as the “fat slide”), and the installation of a strengthening “hex pin” where the pistol’s locking block engaged the frame. It's debatable that these upgrades were actually needed, but they certainly didn't hurt the pistol or design.

How did the P1 do? Pretty good, actually. It served for about 30 years, but according to internet lore, it wasn't universally loved. More than one German soldier made a joke about "8 warning shots and one well-aimed throw". As a Cold War Warrior, it was carried often, but seldom used in anger. Eventually, the German military surplussed the P1. Many were rebuilt and given the slide and hex pin upgrades, and have since found their way to US shores as “obsolete” firearms. That's a stretch to say the least. There’s another aluminum alloy, 9mm, double-action, semi-automatic pistol in service today that shares similarities with the P1/P.38. I feel that Germany’s loss is our gain, because today (circa 2010), you can own an excellent to like-new example of one of these Cold War Warriors for around $300-$350. Many of these are in arsenal refinished shape, or only show a slight bit of use. 

I purchased mine from http://www.aimsurplus.com/ in 2010. It was mechanically perfect, with a mirror bore, and with just a touch of finish wear on the high points. It came with a nice West German issue Flecktarn holster and two, eight round magazines stamped with NSNs. My particular pistol was made in October, 1979, a mere 2 years after I was born. The serial numbers all match, but the locking block appears to have been replaced and then renumbered once upon a time. After replacing the grips with new ones and oiling the phosphate finish, you'd have a hard time recognizing that this was a 30 year old weapon.



My Walther P1 in excellent+ condition...it's almost as old as I am.

Shooting the P1 is an interesting experience. The aluminum frame and steel slide makes it a little top heavy, and there’s some muzzle flip to be had, but it’s overall a very pleasant pistol to shoot. Unlike the Bundeswehr soldiers with their jokes, I rather like my P1. It has a decent trigger, and as mentioned the sights are quite good for a military pistol. Is it a target pistol? Nope, and it wasn't designed to be one. That said, if the shooter does his part and focuses on marksmanship fundamentals like sight alignment, trigger pull, and breathing, mine hits where you point it. If you don't do these things, you may find it to be an unforgiving handgun (interestingly enough, my Makarov PM, which is the Soviet Cold War counterpart to the P1, shoots better than I do…more to follow on that in next month’s entry).

Some folks say you shouldn’t shoot hi-powered 9mm loads through these guns, as they’re 1) used, surplus pistols, and 2) have aluminum alloy frames. This seems to be good advice, and there’s really no reason to shoot +P, high pressure self-defense ammo through these guns. If you want a 9mm that will handle abuse and come back for more, there are a dozen modern plastic fantastics that will fit the bill. If you want a piece of history you can shoot standard ammo through (Winchester “white box” or standard 124 gr 9mm ammo works fine), then the P1 is right up your alley. Loading your own ammo is even better, as you can really make some nice target loads that are easy on the gun.

The rumor is that Germany is destroying all remaining stocks of P1s as part of a UN arms agreement, and as such, no more will be exported. If true, this an absolute shame. It also means that prices will rise on these guns, so if you want one, get one now. They’re classified as Curios and Relics by the BATF, for those who have a FFL03 license, and frankly, they’re worth every penny at the asking price. If you’re thinking about buying one, don’t: buy two instead. You won’t regret it. If you do, you can sell one to me.