Skip to main content

Shooting World War II war trophies, Part 2

Marco Vorobiev was a member of the elite Soviet Spetsnaz in Afghanistan in the 1980s. He's a U.S. citizen now and conducts training courses that draw on his special forces training. He'll have a new installment every Wednesday.

Shooting World War II war trophies, Part 2

Just as it was for US GIs, capturing an enemy sidearm was considered a feat of prestige among the Soviet troops during World War II. German pistols of all models were captured in various engagements. Some were officially reissued to the troops, but most were unofficially allowed to remain in service with Soviet units.

The war was taking a heavy toll on Soviets, so they appreciated a little help that their enemy could provide by the way of captured guns. In fact reliable German handguns such as the Walther P.38 were welcomed addition to any front-line unit, especially reconnaissance troops. After the war, huge numbers of German guns were taken back to Soviet Union for indefinite storage.

The P.38 was among the trophy guns that I got to shoot during my recent trip to Russia. In spite of its appearance that cannot be mistaken for any other gun, it had a traits of a modern firearm from its automatic system to magazine to overall feel. It shot just like any modern full frame 9mm handgun would. The recoil was very controllable and accuracy exceeded my expectations.

Unlike the popular belief it was the P.38 and not the Luger that truly was mass produced. More than 1,180,000 P.38 pistols were produced during the war by several factories in Germany and abroad. Due to lack of capacity at Walther Waffenfabrik GmbH as war raged on the Eastern Front the drawings had to be transferred to several other plants such as German companies Mauser-Werke A. G. and Spreewerke GmbH.

At the same time several German and Foreign plants were producing components for P.38s. German C. G. Haenel Waffen und Fahrradfabrik AG and Czech Erste Nordbohmische Waffenfabrik plants were producing magazines, Belgian Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre and Czech Zbrojovka Brno were making frames and slides. For a whole lot more information on this, see Peter Kokalis' article in the SGN Treasury, No. 11.

The design and relative ease of production of the P.38 ensured that production continued well after the war. In fact, the commercial model of Walther P.38, the P1, was produced up until 2000.

As I continued to fire the P.38, some idiosyncrasies of the pistol's design started to pop up. For a single stack magazine, the pistol's grip was rather large and bulky. Although the skinny exposed barrel gives an impression of slim handgun, the slide and its frame make the P.38 rather wide. Nevertheless, 70 years ago this was the state-of-the-art sidearm. Today, though serviceable, the Walther P.38 belongs in someone's collection as an exhibit rather than in a hip holster as a viable sidearm.




GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Recommended Articles

Recent Videos

KelTec releases their PR57 pistol and SUB2000 rifle in 5.7x28mm as the demand grows for more firearms in this unique and...
Gear

Firearms News Gets the Rundown on Burris's New XTR-PS

KelTec releases their PR57 pistol and SUB2000 rifle in 5.7x28mm as the demand grows for more firearms in this unique and...
Guns

SDS Arms Releases New Tactical Shotgun Lineup

KelTec releases their PR57 pistol and SUB2000 rifle in 5.7x28mm as the demand grows for more firearms in this unique and...
Guns

New Hunting Shotguns Available in Mossy Oak and Realtree Camo

KelTec releases their PR57 pistol and SUB2000 rifle in 5.7x28mm as the demand grows for more firearms in this unique and...
Guns

Inglis MFG Launches New P35 Pistol

KelTec releases their PR57 pistol and SUB2000 rifle in 5.7x28mm as the demand grows for more firearms in this unique and...
Guns

MAC Firearms unveils New 5' Comp Barreled Double Stack 1911

KelTec releases their PR57 pistol and SUB2000 rifle in 5.7x28mm as the demand grows for more firearms in this unique and...
Gear

New Iron Lady Gun Safes from ATI

KelTec releases their PR57 pistol and SUB2000 rifle in 5.7x28mm as the demand grows for more firearms in this unique and...
Guns

American Tactical Releases GSG Anniversary 1911 Pistol

KelTec releases their PR57 pistol and SUB2000 rifle in 5.7x28mm as the demand grows for more firearms in this unique and...
Gear

First Look at ATI's new Rukx Rifle Case

KelTec releases their PR57 pistol and SUB2000 rifle in 5.7x28mm as the demand grows for more firearms in this unique and...
Guns

ATI Launches New Double and Triple Barreled Shotguns for 2025

KelTec releases their PR57 pistol and SUB2000 rifle in 5.7x28mm as the demand grows for more firearms in this unique and...
Guns

American Tactical Showcases their Latest GSG-16 22 LR Pistol and 410 Bull Dog Shotgun

KelTec releases their PR57 pistol and SUB2000 rifle in 5.7x28mm as the demand grows for more firearms in this unique and...
Gear

New Glock 17/19 18-Round Magazines Offered by Mec-Gar

KelTec releases their PR57 pistol and SUB2000 rifle in 5.7x28mm as the demand grows for more firearms in this unique and...
Guns

KelTec Launches PR57 Pistol: The Best and Lightest 5.7

Firearms News Magazine Covers Print and Tablet Versions

GET THE MAGAZINE Subscribe & Save

Digital Now Included!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Give a Gift   |   Subscriber Services

PREVIEW OUR CURRENT ISSUE

Buy Digital Single Issues

Magazine App Logo

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Get the Firearms News App apple store google play store

Other Magazines

See All Other Magazines

Special Interest Magazines

See All Special Interest Magazines

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Get the top Firearms News stories delivered right to your inbox.

Phone Icon

Get Digital Access.

All Firearms News subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.

To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine.

Get Digital Access

Not a Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Enjoying What You're Reading?

Get a Full Year
of Guns & Ammo
& Digital Access.

Offer only for new subscribers.

Subscribe Now

Never Miss a Thing.

Get the Newsletter

Get the top Firearms News stories delivered right to your inbox.

By signing up, I acknowledge that my email address is valid, and have read and accept the Terms of Use