The first-issue P38s in 1940 had serial numbers that ranged from 01 to 01000. However, 1943 models ranged from 1 to 9999n. Mauser and Spreewerke P38s changed their system from year to year, with each year being unique. To identify P38 serial numbers, reference a P38 serial number listing, such as the one found on the Ole' Army Joel. 'P.38' - '480' - serial number. Finish: Re-finished: Grips: black-brown Bakelit grips with horizontal lines: Serial number: 4-digit number left on frame. 4-digit number left on slide. 4-digit number on barrel. 3-digit number locking block. Acceptance stamp: E/359 left on frame. 2 x E/359 right on slide. E/359 left on barrel.
SOLD FOR: $1,00.01
Make: Spreewerke Factory at Berlin-Spandau
Model: Walther P38
Serial Number: 7595 Block S
Year of Manufacture: 1942-1945 (http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/uniforms_firearms/firearms/p38/p38index.htm)
Caliber: 9mm Parabellum
Action Type: Double Action/Single Action Semi-Auto with Removable Magazine. This pistol has a de-cocker lever.
Markings: The left side of the slide is marked 'P38', 'cyq' and '7595 S', which identifies this pistol as a Spreewerke Block S P38. The left side of frame is marked '7595 S' and with the 'Eagle 88' acceptance mark. The right side of the slide is marked with a '*', 2 'Eagle 88' acceptance marks, an Eagle holding a globe with Swastika and a smaller mark which appears to be a 'Starred 88'.
Barrel Length: 4.9'
Sights / Optics: The pistol is mounted with a flat topped square notched rear sight dovetailed into the slide and a blade front sight dovetailed into the barrel.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are black serrated plastic. The grips show very minor handling marks. The grips rate in Excellent overall condition.
Type of Finish: Blued
Finish Originality: All Original
Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is deep. There is no erosion.
Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 98% of its metal finish. There is surface loss at the muzzle, on the front edges of the slide, and on the right side of the slide below the port. The sides of the slide also show minor handling marks. All of the serrations are sharp. The grip screws have very slight disfigurement. The markings are clear. The quality of the metal preparation prior to finishing is rather poor, and would indicate that this pistol was made more towards the end of the war. Overall, this pistol rates in about Excellent condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We did not fire this pistol.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This pistol comes with two 8 round single-stack blued magazines, a black leather holster and documentation. Both magazines are marked 'P.38v'. The one in the pistol shows very little wear, and has light frosting on both sides. It is in Excellent condition. The spare magazine shows wear marks, thinning, frosting and scattered spots of pinprick surface erosion. It is in Fine condition. The back side of the holster had no maker markings. The leather of the flap hinge has no cracks and the stitching is intact except for at the very front. The flap shows handling marks and several indentations, with no cracks, and the buckle strap is present. The inside top edge of the holster next to the flap shows very slight wear and the stitching is loose at the rear. The pull-out strap shows no cracks or disfigurement. The magazine pouch on the front of the holster shows light wear and a surface loss near the bottom. The leather on the outside of the holster shows handling marks, with a cut through the leather at the bottom. There is no surface loss. The back side of the holster has 2 belt loops, which are intact, and show minor handing marks and light surface loss where a belt would rub. All of the stitching appears to be intact. The takedown tool is missing. Altogether, the holster is in Very Good to Fine condition. Also included is a notarized declaration from our consigner that this pistol is one of three that his stepfather, Sgt. John E. Whitmore of the 1st Armored Division, brought back from Northern Italy when General Wolff surrendered, and the German forces under his command turned-in their weapons in March 1945. The declaration also documents Sgt. Whitmore's involvement with the Italian campaign and the circumstances under which the weapons were acquired.
Our Assessment: The P38 occupies a significant place in history. It was the first locked breech pistol to have a double action/single action trigger. After the start of WWII, Walther could not keep up with the production required, and production was finally started in 1942 at Mauser and Spreewerke. This Spreewerke built WWII P38 'Bring Back' is in Excellent condition with all the appropriate markings and matching numbers. It also comes with a period holster and a spare magazine. We rarely see complete packages like this where everything is there, with documentation on the 'Bring Back'. This is a great correctly marked package for the P38 collector.
Metallwarenfabrik Spreewerk GmbH was a German weapons manufacturing company. Spreewerk produced a number of important weapons and components before and during World War II including 280,880[1] of the Walther P.38 pistol which was the standard service pistol of the German Heer, and the famous 8.8 cm Flakanti-aircraft gun.
History[edit]
The Berlin-Karlsruher Industrie Werke (BERKA) was founded in 1920 as a successor to the Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken AG, one of Germany's largest munitions firms of the prewar era. Under the regime of the Versailles treaty the firm was forced to give up the manufacture of armaments, which had been its core business. Most of the facilities that had grown up to meet the needs of war were reduced and BERKA carried on with factories in Berlin and Karlsruhe, manufacturing a variety of light metal goods.
In 1928 the firm passed under the control of Günther Quandt who moved the company into the production of business machines, acquiring typewriter manufacturer Olympia Schreibmaschinen in 1929, and opening a new factory in 1933 at Erfurt to manufacture cash registers and other business machines. Under Herr Quandt's leadership further acquisitions followed.
In 1938 the firm re-entered the field of munitions production, establishing Metallwarenfabrik Spreewerk to undertake the fabrication of munitions components at the former Berlin-Spandau factory of the defunct Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken. This was followed in 1939 by the establishment of a modern ammunition loading facility on a forty hectare site near the city of Lübeck by the newly established Maschinen für Massenverpackung GmbH. Adobe camera raw 8.6 macro. Early in 1940 the firm strengthened its role in the manufacture of industrial machinery through the acquisition of the Berlin-Anhaltische Maschinenbau of Dessau.
The factories of the firm include:
- Berlin-Karlsruher Industrie Werke AG, Berlin-Borsigwalde (metal fabrication)
- Berlin-Karlsruher Industrie Werke AG, Karlsruhe-Durlach (metal fabrication)
Subsidiaries of the firm include:
- Berlin-Anhaltische Maschinenbau AG, Dessau (machine building)
- Maschinen für Massenverpackung GmbH, Lübeck-Schlutup (munitions)
- Metallwarenfabrik Spreewerk AG, Berlin-Spandau (munitions)
- Olympia Büromaschinenwerke AG, Erfurt (business and tabulating machines)
- Olympia Schreibmaschinen AG, Berlin-Spandau (typewriters and business machines)
- Sächsische Maschinenfabrik AG, Chemnitz (machine building)[2]
Spreewerk was formed in September 1935 in SpandauGermany as a subsidiary of Deutschen Industrie-Werke A.G. (DIWAG).[3] Spreewerk was involved in weapons production from its formation until April 1945 at the Spandau complex; and from June 1942 to April 1945 at the Grottau, Czechoslovakia factory named Werk Grottau.[4]
Products[edit]
WWII era weapons produced by Spreewerk include:
- Spandau, Germany
- s 10 cm K 18[5]
- 15 cm sFH 18[6]
- 8.8 cm Flak[7]
- Grottau, Czechoslovakia
- P.38 Pistol[8][9][10]
- VG 2 Rifle[11]
Markings[edit]
The Waffenamt inspector at Spreewerk Grottau was assigned code WaA88. The Waffenamt stamp applied to Spreewerk produced P.38 pistols was an Eagle over 88 (e/88).[12] Spreewerk produced P.38 pistols were marked with the 'cyq' and 'cvq' manufacturer's code.[13]
References[edit]
P38 Serial Numbers Spreewerke 10
- ^Balcar, Jan & Clarin, Ron The P.38 Pistol: Spreewerk Production, p.110 ISBN978-1-60458-364-9.
- ^'Weswold Profiles of Industrial Companies'. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
- ^Balcar, Jan & Clarin, Ron The P.38 Pistol: Spreewerk Production, p.8 ISBN978-1-60458-364-9.
- ^Balcar, Jan & Clarin, Ron The P.38 Pistol: Spreewerk Production, p.12, p.110-111 ISBN978-1-60458-364-9.
- ^Terry Gander Germany's Guns 1939-45, p.28 ISBN1-86126-110-1.
- ^Terry Gander Germany's Guns 1939-45, p.29 ISBN1-86126-110-1.
- ^Balcar, Jan & Clarin, Ron The P.38 Pistol: Spreewerk Production, p.11 ISBN978-1-60458-364-9.
- ^Balcar, Jan & Clarin, Ron The P.38 Pistol: Spreewerk Production, ISBN978-1-60458-364-9.
- ^Chris Bishop (ed.) The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, p.229 ISBN0-7607-1022-8.
- ^Terry Gander Germany's Infantry Weapons 1939-45, p.157 ISBN1-86126-181-0.
- ^Balcar, Jan & Clarin, Ron The P.38 Pistol: Spreewerk Production, p.223-232 ISBN978-1-60458-364-9.
- ^Balcar, Jan & Clarin, Ron The P.38 Pistol: Spreewerk Production, p.160-164 ISBN978-1-60458-364-9.
- ^Whittington III, Major Robert D. German Pistols and Holsters 1934/1945: Military - Police - NSDAP, p.61-62 ISBN0-9603094-7-0.
Walther P38 Value Serial Number
