The Walther P-38 double-action 9x19mm pistol was the first double-action pistol adopted by modern a military force.  It was far more reliable than the Luger or Parabellum P-08 it supplanted, but did not entirely replace in service.  It was more reliable in the field than the P-08 under just about any conditions.

 

The P-38 had a single, slide-mounted hammer-drop safety.  When the safety was moved off SAFE to FIRE, all the soldier had to do was squeeze the trigger to get off the first shot of a chambered round.  After that, the pistol operated as a conventional self-loading pistol.  It had good sights, a loaded chamber indicator, an improved magazine over the P-08, and a better feed system than the P-08.  The P-38 was easily field-stripped for maintenance and cleaning.   After World War 2, the NATO allies agreed on a re-contstructed German military.  The new German Bundeswehr adopted the combat-proven P-38 as the P-1 pistol.  Prints for the P-38 had been destroyed at the end of the war and so the new pistol had to be reverse engineered from existing examples.  Because of the reverse engineering, some parts of the wartime guns and postwar guns do not interchange at all or have to be modified before they can be made to work.

 

The major difference between the P-1 and P-38 was the frame.  The P-1 frame was aluminum and the frame of the P-38 was steel.  Pistol grips of the P-1 were checkered black plastic while those of the P-38 were smooth, grooved, brown or black plastic. 

 

While the Germans were in the process of recreating the P-38 as the P-1, American gun designers were trying to sell the post war U.S. Army on a replacement for the venerable .45 auto that had the characteristics of the German pistol.  Both Colt's Patent Firearms and Smith & Wesson were involved in this Korean War-era program.  The Colt program went essentially nowhere, but the Smith & Wesson program produced the Model 39 pistol.

 

The S&W Model 39 pistol resembled a conventional self-loading pistol with the barrel enclosed by a slide.  The pistol has a decocking safety, like the P-38, on right side of the slide.  The magazine of the Model 39 was a direct copy of the P-38/P-1.  The only difference was in the location of the cartridge counting holes, magazine follower construction, and that the Model 39 had a cutout in the side for the magazine release button (similar to the Colt M1911) instead of the butt release of the P-38/P-1.  Lockup of the Model 39 was similar to that of the Browning P-35 High Power pistol.

 

The S&W Model 39 was the leader in what is known as the "first generation" of S&W double action pistols.  It was later joined by the similar Model 59 that had a diouble column magazine for a capacity of 15 rounds instead of eight.  The S&W Model 39 pistol grip was curved and shaped similar to that of the Colt M1911A1, while the Model 59 was straight and resembled the Colt M1911.  In both cases, frames were machined aluminum forgings. 

 

Early Model 39 pistols had a promenent long, leaf-type extractor that extended from the ejection port to the safety.  These are often refered to as the 39-1 slides.  In-service, the long extractor was known to handle every rim thickness of 9x19mm round that would feed.  The extractor itself was prone to failure with the extractor claw breaking off at the ejection port.  The slide was re-designed to employ a pivoting claw-type extractor, similar to that on the P-38/P-1 pistol.  This modification was known as the 39-2 and was stamped on the slide.  The only problem with the claw-type extractor was it was more sensitive to rim thickness than the original and some ammunition would not extract.

 

When all was said and done, the proof of the design was in the shooting.  The P-38/P-1 fit the hand well and had adequate sights.  Hits at normal combat ranges were easy to get.  It was reliable under all climatic and environmental conditions.  The Model 39 (and later Model 59) were not well designed ergonomically and did not function well when exposed to climatic and environmental conditions.  The Model 39 (and later Model 59) were sensitive to mud and snow that resulted in jams.  The Model 39 grip contour was too pronounced and caused the pistol to shoot low when gripped.  (The Model 59 tried to eliminate this with a stright grip; however, it was too thick through the grip for most shooters.)  Sights on both Model 39 and Model 59 left much to be desired: the front blade was milled into the slide and the rear sight was adjustable for windage only.  This led to problems if the front sight was too high (shot low) or too low (shot high).  A windage and elevation sight was available [at extra cost] for these pistols, but it was fragile.

 

The short comings of the Model 39 and Model 59 became apparent to civilian and police shooters.  Smith & Wesson redid the design in the 1970s and 1980s to produce the second and third generation versions of the pistol  Third generation S&W pistols were far more reliable than the first generation pistols.  These third generation pistols were available in a bewildering assortment of models, barrel lengths, and sizes.  Smith & Wesson also marketed the design in DAO (double action only) versions as well as cutdown versions for plain clothes police backup guns.  Magazines for the various generations of pistols may or may not interchange between the various models.

 

The Walther P-1 has now been replaced in both German and police service.  Almost new pistols are now available from many U.S. wholesalers at modest prices.  Usually these pistols come with a holster and test target [required by German law].  Purchasers who purchase one of these pistols should be aware that many wholesalers remove the spare magazine from the box before sale and then sell it separately.  The going price on a used Walther P-1 magazine is about $40.