P.38 Automatic Pistol, the first 50 years by Gene Gangarosa, Jr. Stoeger Publishing Company, 1993, softcover 272 pages ISBN 0-88317-170-8 $16.95 review by Noel Tominack

Realizing that firearms development does not occur in a vacuum, Gangarosa takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of history and geography that not only explains the development of the P.38, but places it in the greater
context of world history both during and after World War Two.  Anything that has a connection to this pistol is covered in this book.  Vintage advertisements, historical photographs, and many detailed black-and-white
photographs of the guns help illustrate the author's narrative.

Our tour begins at the Carl Walther Waffenfabrik circa 1908 with the introduction of its first pistol, the Model 1.  From there the story progresses through several other designs, with some emphasis placed on the very innovative Models PP and PPK, up to the Heeres Pistole--the prewar commercial version of the P.38.

After a chapter examining the P.38 and its function in-depth, the story continues with the first actual appearance of a P.38 in the book at Chapter 4.  Over the next four chapters Gangarosa focuses solely on the
wartime pistols, weaving in the events of World War Two with the stories of how other factories began to produce P.38's.  Photographs tell the tale of sacrificing the traditional high quality fit and finish for increased
production, and each manufacturer's slide markings are represented with line drawings.

Barely halfway through this book, World War Two is over, but the tale of the P.38 goes on.  This history includes the continued production of "Grey Ghost" pistols manufactured by France in the captured Mauser factory; and
captured examples being pressed into service by nations once under Nazi occupation.  Gangarosa then goes on to discuss Walter's rejuvenated production with the help of Manurhin in France; and the adoption of the
P.38 in the postwar German military as the P.1.  Once again, line drawings of various slides and their markings abound.  This part of the tour ends almost where it began--with Walther offering a version of the P.38 for commercial sale.

Gangarosa then moves the emphasis to the successors to the P.38, including the P4, P5, P5C, and P38K (a short-barreled version of the venerable P.38 design).  He also brings us into the modern era of "wondernine" pistols by comparing Walther pistols with those of its counterparts from other factories.  Finally, the tour is completed with a brief primer on P.38 collecting and a chapter discussing how much the P.38 has influenced other later pistol designs, including the Beretta Model 92.

This book is a wonderful "entry level" book for crufflers.  It presents its information in a clear and easily assimilated format, and Gangarosa includes a copious amount of photographs, drawings, and charts that effectively amplify the text.  The book places great emphasis  on readability, and as such it makes for wonderful recreational as well as informational reading.  Indeed, part of what makes Gangarosa so successful is his writing style.  Clear and lucid, he manages to avoid excessive jargon and technospeak while still conveying rather esoteric historical and technical information.  An example can be found in his treatment of Manurhin produced Walthers:

In 1950, the Manufacture de Machines du Haut-Rhin (Manurhin) of Mulhouse, France, negotiated with Walther and won the exclusive European production license for PP and PPK pistols.  This agreement and subsequent production benefitted Walther in at least three ways:  it provided
Walther with a steady royalty income; it gave Walther's people continued experience in firearms manufacture, inspection, and quality control; and its licensed products kept the Walther name alive in the highly-competetive world of fireamrs sales.

Because the Manurhin people had to start from scratch, tooling up for the Walther pistols took several years.  The original machines and drawings used to manufacture PPs and PPKs had been lost to the Russians and threfore had to be recreated.  Manurhin began production of the PP in 1952, followed by production of the PPK in 1953...

In 1953 the Thalson Company of San Francisco, California, began to import Manurhin-made Walther PPs and PPKs into the U.S.  Maurhin marked these early pistols on the left slide surface with its own logo--a wheel with 'Manurhin' running through the center.  In front of the company mark was the legend 'MANUFACTURE DE MACHINES DU HAUT-RHIN' and after it was a slide inscription that read 'LIC. EXCL WALTHER MOD. PP (or PPK)' at the bottom.  The magazines were also marked with the company symbol...and the company only imported them for three years.

P.38 Automatic Pistol, the First 50 Years  is available  from Amazon.com.  Click on the image to order:
 
 

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