Walther PP - Late War

An iconic handgun of the Second World War, the Walther Pistole Polizei remained in production until the factory in Zella-Mehlis was seized by advancing US troops in April of 1945.

The late-war Walther PP

Following the Great War Fritz Walther, who had inherited his father’s gun manufacturing business after Carl Walther’s death in 1915, continued with the company’s development of compact semi-automatic handguns. In a market crowded with compact handguns chambered in cartridges like 7.65mm (.32ACP), 6.35mm (.25ACP) and 9x17mm (.380 ACP), an innovative design would be needed to cement Walther as one of the world’s foremost pistol manufacturers. Walther thus pursued mating the double action mechanism popular with revolvers of the time with an automatic, needing to create a system that would allow for the pistol to manually cock the hammer for the first shot and then automatically do so with recoil afterwards as on conventional single action autoloaders.

A 7.65mm (.32ACP cartridge)

The result came in 1929, with the unveiling of the new Polizei Pistole, or PP, indicating its intended primary market. The pistol featured an exposed hammer, and a safety located on the left side of the slide also included a decocker. A pin above the hammer served as a loaded chamber indicator. The weapon had a fixed barrel, and used a simple direct blowback operating mechanism. The magazines used in the weapon contained eight 7.65mm cartridges, and featured a bakelite finger extension.

The new PP quickly became popular with German police forces as well as Army officers, and following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933 military contracts as well as large orders for the NSDAP (Nazi Party) began to come in for both the PP and its shorter stablemate, the PPK. These were popular sidearms for police as well as for officers, who used them for the duration of the conflict. As the war dragged on, shortages caused a gradual simplification of the design until we end up at the pistol seen here.

The left hand side of the pistol, with the safety visible

The high polish blue finish has been replaced with a much rougher finish, and the plastic grips have been replaced by wood, although on this example they still retain the Walther banner and checkering pattern. Milling marks appear on the metal finish, and the Walther scrollmark on the slide was deleted, with only the two letter code “ac” for Walther remaining to identify the pistol. The finger rest also disappeared from the magazine, although the example in the collection has an earlier magazine with the rest present. The loaded chamber indicator was also deleted to simplify production.

The safety in the fire position, with the hammer down and the trigger in the double action position

Production of the PP as well as other firearms continued even as the Third Reich collapsed in early 1945. Large numbers of slave laborers had been conscripted to work in the Walther factory at Zella-Mehlis, and they continued to churn out weapons for the disintegrating Wehrmacht. The town was occupied by the US 11th Armored Division on April 5, 1945, and the factory in turn secured and the laborers liberated.

The hammer cocked, showing the trigger in the single action position

Following this liberation, the American GIs, consummate souvenir hunters, quickly set about capturing weapons to take with them. A vast amount of components were available in the factory, and many of the prisoners there offered to assemble complete pistols in exchange for basic goods such as food or packs of cigarettes. The example seen here is one of those pistols, as evidenced by the mismatched serial numbers as well as the complete lack of proofmarks.

The sights of the PP, note also the lack of a loaded chamber indicator above the firing pin

Following the end of the war production of the PP continued under French control as the Manhurin, and to this day the PPK remains in production by Walther.

The example shown here belongs to the author’s father, and has an unmarked original holster. It bears the typical features seen on a 1945 “cigarette gun” assembled for a GI after the capture of the Walther factory, and is in excellent condition. The pistol is an excellent shooter, comfortable with the finger rest magazines, and has great sights. It is an great pistol to handle, and probably the finest shooting .32 the author has ever fired.

American soldiers pick through crates of handguns in a German factory, 1945

Observed Values and Frequency

Updated: February, 2024

AVERAGE VALUE (USD): $800 - $1,000

FREQUENCY: Rare

COLLECTOR’S NOTES: Slightly less valuable than earlier wartime and prewar models