The Walther P38 is a German semi-automatic pistol developed and produced by Carl Walther GmbH. It was developed during early World War II to succeed the Luger P08, which Wehrmacht considered to be too complex and expensive to produce, as the scope of the war expanded. Walther P38 therefore was a more streamlined (though still somewhat intricate by modern standards) and easier manufacture 9×19mm Parabellum service pistol to meet the requirements.
Although initially produced between 1939–1945 during Nazi Germany reign, the pistol would be produced by other firearms manufacturers following the end of the war. After restrictions were lifted, the Walther P38 was re-adopted by the West German army, as the P1.
Appearances[]
From Russia with Love (film)[]
In the film From Russia with Love a Soviet guard at the Russian consulate fires a P38 during the attack but Bond stops him in a small struggle.
Goldfinger (film)[]
In the film Goldfinger, when Bond first engages Goldfinger's men after the car chase, oddly he fires a P38 at them instead of his PPK. Several of Goldfinger's men are seen carrying them as their sidearms, of one of which Bond manages to steal after taking out the prison guard before handing it back over to Pussy Galore after she and Goldfinger's men caught him under Goldfinger's meeting room. One of the American mobsters in the meeting room also draws a P38.
For Your Eyes Only (film)[]
A Walther P38 appears in opening credits.
Licence to Kill (novelisation)[]
Although the Walther PPK appears in the the film version of Licence to Kill, author John Gardner took some liberties in adapting the story to fit the continuity of his Bond novels. Because in Gardner's novels, the Walther PPK is banned from MI6 use, Bond instead uses a Walther P38K (a compact variant) here.
Specifications[]
- Production: 1938-1963
- Type: Pistol
- Weight: 800 g (1 lb 12 oz)
- Length: 216 mm (8.5 in)
- Barrel length(s): 125 mm (4.9 in)
- Capacity: 8 rounds
- Fire Modes: Semi-Auto
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- There is a famous promo picture of Sean Connery's James Bond holding a long-barreled gun similar to a Walther P38. However, it is not a Walther P38, but a Walther LP53 air gun. Allegedly, the LP53 airgun that Connery has belonged to a photographer who volunteered his LP53 for Connery to use in the photoshoot, since there was no PPK available on the set.
- It is been used as a service pistol to the German armed forces or the Wehrmacht at the the beginning of the second World War.
- If you look closely at Bond's gun when he is shooting at Goldfinger's men after the car chase, you can see he's holding a P38 instead of his PPK. It's possibly a movie mistake.