Welcome to ALPS
Information, photos, references, and trivia on the WW2 Walther P.38 and post-war P38 pistol. If you wish to link to this page, please link only to the main page, not sub-pages or documents. Please do not rip off my PDF files or pictures for your own site. Thanks.
Updated 20 Feb 2014 17:33 -0800
Quick Launch: [Jump to Pistols]Â Â Â [Jump to Information]Â Â Â [Jump to Catalogs]
Most Recent updates:
Two more "BTH12" pistols have been reported. See "BTH12" under "Pistols"
Added "When was my post-war pistol made?" to "Information"
Added another late date AC frame pistol to "Pistols"
Added some late war pistols to "Pistols"
|
Post-war volume I Post-war parts gun, two guns in .30 Luger, and a high-polish gun. |
Late date AC frame variation. Warren Buxton calls these the '"oddballs of oddballs." Who made these - and when? |
byf44 FN slide. |
Post-war volume II P38 surplus, P1 surplus, P38 commercial, and P4 surplus guns. |
| Consecutive serial number SVW-45s. | Consecutive serial number SVW-46s. | Post-war P38 in 7.65mm Parabellum. | East German P.38s. Reworked wartime ac40, ac44, and an East German manufactured gun. |
| Steel frame P38 from Earl's Repair Service. |
 |
Post-war
P.38 in 5.6mm
(.22 LR). Â |
A Zero series and "a" prefix Spreewerk reworked for use in post-war East Germany. |
| The Czechoslovakian Vz46. |
byf44 police issue
with British markings. Â |
Commemorative "100 Jahre" P38 marking the 100th year anniversary of Walther. | Unknown BTH12 marking on several P.38s. |
| Norwegian military surplus P38. | Mixmaster P.38 with WW2 German, East German, Czech, and British markings. | The ultra-rare "ac no-date" - and how to spot a fake. |
Some things you can
do to a P.38. Please don't! WARNING: disturbing! |
| French Mausers 1945 to 1946. | Gotterdammerung - some pistols from the last months of the war. | Another version of the late date AC frame pistol. | Â |
Pistol Information
An excellent article by Peter Kokalis on the wartime P.38 pistol can be found here, and another article on the post-war P38 here.
My post-war pistol has no date or date code - about when was it manufactured? You can get a rough estimate based upon these observed pistols.
Need to replace a broken WW2 slide part with a post-war part, and don't know if the new part will fit? Read the slide part compatibility guide. Note: this information is intended as a guide only. I am not a gunsmith. If you do not have working knowledge of the P.38 pistol, consult a competent gunsmith before attempting to effect repairs to your P.38.
Over the long term, will oil cause bakelite grips to deteriorate? An attempt to find out starts here. And continues after one year... and finally ends at three plus years.
Atarian's quick reference magazine guide. Helps to identify which magazine is correct for your pistol.
Atarian's post-war reproduction and aftermarket grip guide. Some of the currently available non-World War II grips for the P.38.
Can a "dipped" pistol be "un-dipped?" The answer is yes, and quite successfully. Take a look at zero series cyq serial number 030.
What's that 13 digit number on my pistol and/or magazine?
Drawings and Manuals
P38 Owner's Manual  (multilingual - 4.8 MB). P38 Owner's Manual v2 (multilingual - 6.2 MB). P38 Operating Instructions (multilingual - 1.2 MB, source: Walther Germany). P38 Owner's Manual (1 MB, source: Interarms(?)). P38 Owner's Manual (edited for clarity - Thanks to Quentin for providing this).
German military drawings of the 9mm Patrone: page 1, page 2, page 3, and page 4.
P.38 manual from 1940 (German) - Thanks to Johan and Ron Clarin for providing this.
P.38 illustrated parts breakdown (German - 95KB, source: Walther Germany).
Explanation of the markings on a post-war P38/P1 (source: Federal Foreign Office – Division 241, Germany).
Time Wasters
Test your P.38 knowledge with the P.38 quiz!
 |
one |
|
|
two |
|
|
three |
|
|
four (new!) |
Auction Antics - Fantastic stories and overpriced pistols:
|
|
Most expensive P.38 ever listed (this was a typo...) |
|
|
Second most expensive P.38 (...that this genius later referenced!) |
|
|
Best story/crappiest p.38 ever? |
Articles and Advertisements
Information on the P.38 from the 2008 Walther catalog.
The Defense Intelligence Agency's Small Caliber Ammunition Identification Guide. German ammunition section (213kb) or the entire document (10.1Mb).
Small arms section of the Handbook on German Military Forces.
1964 Luger parts list and prices.
1964 P38 parts list and prices.
Pricing of Stoeger's Mod HPs and Lugers (1948).
1970 Interarms P38 advertisement.
Stoeger's guide to World War II pistols circa 1948 (page 1, page 2).
Miscellaneous
A baker's dozen of Walther post-war slide legend variations (this is far from all-inclusive).
Here's what a P.38 frame looks like before the machining process begins.
Is Walther still making the P.38?
Information Exchange Pursuant to the OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons 2003, 2008, 2010. Note in 2002 the United States was by far the largest importer of German "Revolvers and Self-Loading Pistols" with 1,040,985 imported (of 1,082,797 - the balance of 41,812 or about 4% going to 20 other countries), while the Germans destroyed only 5,666 "surplus" pistols. In 2009 the US imported none and 17,520 surplus pistols were destroyed (none were exported to any country). See Annexes 2 and 3.
Patent Information
Fritz Walther's "automatic pistol," patent number 2135992 dated November 8, 1938 (English).
Fritz Walther's "automatic firearm," patent number 2145328 dated January 31, 1939 (English).
Walther pistol patents 1926 to 1942 (German).
 |
Patent | Date |
Page Number |
||||
| 433937 | Sept. 1926 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 664926 | Sept. 1938 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Â | Â | |
| 677094 | June 1939 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 678067 | July 1939 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Â | Â | |
| 706038 | May 1941 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Â | Â | |
| 715176 | Dec. 1941 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 721702 | June 1942 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 722332 | July 1942 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 726501 | Oct. 1942 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
Interarms was a long-time importer of products from Walther and many other manufacturers. Browse some of their catalogs here.
TRADITIONAL MEDIA (Top-Down) [Studios / Networks / Record Labels] │ ▼ Broadcast / Cable │ ▼ Passive Consumer VS. MODERN POPULAR MEDIA (Bottom-Up) [Creators / Algorithmic Feeds / Communities] │ ◄────────┴────────► │ │ ▼ ▼ Immersive Digital Real-World Streaming Activation 🎧 The Shifting Vectors of Digital Media Consumption
The early May box office landscape demonstrated an emerging fatigue toward repetitive franchise formulas. Audiences showed a growing appetite for self-aware, genre-blending properties. Studios responded by prioritizing standalone narratives, high-concept star pairings, and mid-budget prestige releases over sprawling cinematic universes.
The state of entertainment content and popular media on May 3, 2024, reflects a world that values speed, personalization, and community. As we look back, it is clear that the innovations of this day laid the groundwork for a more interactive and decentralized media future. Whether through a VR headset or a smartphone screen, the way we tell stories has been fundamentally transformed.
This guide provides a snapshot of the entertainment content and popular media landscape as of May 3, 2024. Keep in mind that trends and popularity can shift rapidly, and this guide may not be exhaustive or entirely up-to-date. cumpsters 24 05 03 isabel love 2nd visit xxx 10 best
: On May 3, 2024, the fashion and digital media industries reached a peak news cycle preparing for the 2024 Met Gala. Centered around the theme "The Garden of Time," the event demonstrated how high fashion now relies heavily on immediate, TikTok-native streaming content to maintain global relevance.
: Data suggested that Music remained the most popular personal interest globally, leading personal engagement charts in 21 out of 47 tracked markets.
Friday, May 3, served as the unofficial start of the summer movie season, notably featuring a non-Marvel title in a slot traditionally reserved for superhero blockbusters. The Fall Guy TRADITIONAL MEDIA (Top-Down) [Studios / Networks / Record
Today, the line between the creator and the consumer has almost entirely dissolved. We no longer just watch media; we live inside it. Popular media has transitioned from a shared hearth where we all gathered to watch the same broadcast, to a highly fragmented, algorithmic experience. This hyper-personalization offers us exactly what we want, but it often denies us the "cultural glue" that used to bind communities together. We are witnessing the rise of the "micro-celebrity" and the "niche blockbuster," where something can be the most important thing in the world to ten million people while remaining completely invisible to everyone else.
Regional content—particularly South Korean dramas, Spanish-language thrillers, and Japanese anime—ceased to be treated as foreign niches. Mainstream audiences consumed non-English content with subtitles or AI-dubbing at unprecedented rates, forcing Western studios to rethink localized production. Gaming as the Ultimate Social Square
Simultaneously, the rise of social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram has dismantled the traditional gatekeepers of fame. Historically, Hollywood studios and record labels decided who became a star. Today, popular media is largely defined by "user-generated content." The barrier to entry has lowered to the cost of a smartphone, allowing independent creators to reach millions without traditional backing. This has introduced a raw, unpolished aesthetic that audiences often prefer over high-production studio content. The rise of the "influencer" economy proves that parasocial relationships—where audiences feel a one-sided connection to media personalities—are the new currency of relevance. In this new paradigm, authenticity is often valued over talent, creating a feedback loop where reality blurs with performance. Whether through a VR headset or a smartphone
Amid the chaos of superhero fatigue, one quiet hit emerged on 24 05 03: a $20 million romantic comedy starring two actors you vaguely remember from a CW show ten years ago. It didn't top the charts, but it had the highest "completion rate" of the week.
The entertainment landscape on , marked a definitive shift from traditional, top-down media distribution to a decentralized, bottom-up digital culture . On this date, the intersection of algorithmic short-form video, direct-to-consumer creator economies, and heightened cultural friction on social platforms redefined how global audiences consume and interact with entertainment content. Popular media is no longer dictated solely by major Hollywood studios or cable networks; it is actively co-created, remixed, and distributed by online communities.
The success of gaming adaptations like The Last of Us and Fallout proved that video game lore was the new gold standard for Hollywood adaptation. Intellectual properties were no longer confined to a single medium. A consumer might play a game, watch its live-action adaptation on a streaming platform, purchase its vinyl soundtrack, and engage with its community on Reddit all within the same afternoon. Virtual Spaces as Social Networks
Streaming algorithms have evolved past simple recommendation engines into predictive content curation systems. Media platforms analyze real-time behavioral data—including watch duration, skip rates, and even the time of day—to build hyper-personalized user feeds.
During the late hours of May 3, 2024, and the immediate hours surrounding it, both artists bypassed traditional record label rollouts. They uploaded tracks directly to social media and streaming platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, and Spotify. Tracks like Lamar’s "6:16 in LA" (released on May 3) disrupted traditional media cycles.
