Sauer M-38H

     Notes:  This was Sauer’s replacement for the M-30 above.  If not for World War 2, it might have been a great commercial success, as it was an extremely well-made weapon; as it was, the Nazis took over the entire 200,000-gun production run and reportedly never paid Sauer for them.  True, original Model 38s are quite rare and worth a great deal of money in real-world terms; most versions were in fact Model 38H’s.  (The Model 38 is identical to the Model 38 for game purpose, though they were manufactures only for .32 ACP.) 

     The M-38H is a more modern design than earlier Sauer pistols, with a squared slide, a thumb safety catch that also actuated the shrouded hammer, and double-action operation.  Finishes almost run the entire gamut available at the time, from plain blue to high-polished nickel plating; most were finished in polished blue.  Virtually all are chambered for .32 ACP and made almost entirely steel, though an extremely rare version with a light alloy frame and slide (made from Duraluminum) called the M-38H-LM was also built in small numbers.  Grip plates were almost always of checkered black bakelite, though some have checkered wooden grip plates.  A rare version was also built as a civilian plinking version; this is chambered for .22 Long Rifle. 

     After World War 2, the Russians captured a number of parts kits for the M-38H in .32 ACP, and apparently used them for a few years.  These are no longer in service with the Russian military or police.

Sauer M-1913

     Notes: Also called simply the Sauer-Pistole, the M-1913 was built in dozens of varieties, but these for the most part differ only in markings and minor details such as the grip plates.  The M-1913 was built for sale to both police and civilians, and was sold in over a dozen countries.  German military officers also often carried these pistols.

     The original version of this pocket pistol was built 1913-31.  It fired .32 ACP ammunition through a 2.9-inch barrel, and featured very small sights that are almost unusable (and the first few thousand M-1913s didn’t even have a rear sight).  Originally, the grip panels were checkered bakelite plastic, but these were changed to cheaper plain panels with the Sauer & Sohn logo stamped at the top of one of the grip plates and the caliber on the other.  The original trigger guard was round, but this was changed to a flat trigger guard underside in the mid-1920s.  The slide grips were also extended at the same time for a better grip.  The manual safety doubled as a slide hold-open device; the weapon also has a magazine safety.  Also in the 1920s, a version of this iteration of the M-1913 was made in .25 ACP; it’s essentially a smaller form of the .32 ACP version.

     At about the same time as the .25 ACP version of the M-1913 was being produced, an even more popular .25 ACP-firing version was being manufactured – the Westentaschen-Modell (vest-pocket model), or simply WTM.  The WTM was tiny version with a 1.9-inch barrel and a very short grip.  The slide of the WTM was simplified, with a large cutout section that exposed the ejection port at the right time in the firing sequence.  Versions with minor changes internally and in the trigger were introduced in 1928 and 1933.

     The last version was the M-1930, more commonly known as the M-30 Behorden.  Based on a 1914 version of the M-1913, the M-30 featured several improvements, including a more ergonomic grip shape, a return to checkered grip plates, and stronger internal parts.  Some also had chamber-loaded indicators and lanyard rings.  The barrel was slightly longer at 3.1 inches.  There were myriad finishes available, and some were even made with light alloy frames. Examples of the M-30 can still be found in operating condition today.  The name “Behorden” (Authorities) stems from the fact that the M-30 was normally carried by German military and civilian police; in small numbers, it was also used by German staff officers.

Schwarzlose M-1898

     Notes:  Though a very innovative design for the time, the Schwarzlose had the bad fortune of arriving on the market shortly after the Mauser c/96.  It was therefore not a commercial or military success, and fewer than 500 were made.  It is now a very rare pistol and a much sought-after collectors’ item.  Oddly enough, the best place to find one today is Russia; the few M-1898s that were made were sold to Russian revolutionaries in 1905, and later used in the Russian Revolution of 1917.  Most of these examples were later passed on to Russian border police and literally worn out over the years.  Most examples these days are in museums or private collections.

Schwarzlose M-1908

     Notes: This is a very unusual pistol design (some might even say weird).  It looks ordinary enough, though it appears to be a “hammerless” design of very small proportions.  It is, however, one of very few successful weapons of any kind to use blow-forward operation – the M-1908 has no slide, and the weapon is operated by the pressure of the fired round pushing the barrel forward, which then springs back, and in the process ejects the spent round, chambers a new round, cocks the internal hammer, and readies the weapon for another shot.  It’s a method of operation which results in a very compact weapon, but is somewhat complicated and prone to extraction and ejection failures.  Blow-forward operation also results in a weapon with somewhat more recoil than a standard pistol, so it is generally restricted to low-powered cartridges. 

     The M-1908 proved to be rather unpopular due to its unconventional operation, and was built only from 1908-1911 in Germany.  After that, the design was bought by Warner Arms in Brooklyn, New York; they also produced the weapon for a couple of years, but it didn’t take off in the US either.  The M-1908 remains an odd but interesting weapon which today is primarily a collector’s item.

SiG-Sauer P-250DCc

     Notes: This is a new compact pistol, built after SiG-Sauer moved to Germany.  The P-250DCc is really more a medium-sized pistol, if you look at the barrel length (4 inches); however, the weapon itself is quite compact at only about 7.1 inches total length.  The magazine capacity is also quite large.  The P-250DCc is a recoil-operated weapon using a locked breech and the standard SiG-Sauer cam-operated rotating barrel. The trigger action is double-action-only (DAO), but the first-pull trigger weight is actually fairly light for such a weapon at 4 pounds.  The P-250DCc uses a bobbed spurless hammer, and there are no manual safeties, though there is a firing pin safety.  Under the barrel is a MIL-STD-1913 rail for accessories, and the sights are fixed and of the three-dot variety (using white dots).   It was designed specifically for sale to the German Police, though that sale has not yet gone through. 

     Testing of the P-250DCc began in 2004, though full-scale production has yet to commence.  Currently, the P-250DCc is offered in 9mm Parabellum, though other calibers are to be offered soon.  (I have included them below with some estimates of the performance, weights, and magazine capacities of those calibers for completeness and just to be interesting; bear in mind they are estimates.)  Also slated for the future is a full-sized version of the P-250DCc, but I have no information on this yet.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Walther Model 1/2

     Notes: This pocket pistol was introduced in 1908, even though the patent was not awarded on the design until 1911.  It is a modification of the Browning Model 1906, with a fixed barrel, open-topped slide, and a barrel jacket.

     The Model 2 is a simplified version of the Model 1; it has a conventional full-length slide with an ejection port, and a chamber-loaded indicator. It is somewhat shorter than the Model 1, but has a slightly longer barrel and is lighter.

Walther Model 4

     Notes: The Model 4 is a light pistol with a heavy barrel, meant for military service.  It saw extensive use by the Germans in World War 1, but had little foreign or civilian sales. Operation is blowback and the Model 4 is striker-fired.  The recoil spring used the 3.36-inch barrel as a guide rod. Instead of the small cocking grooves of previous Walther designs, the Model 4 had long cocking grooves which are deep and easy to grip. The grip is also longer than previous Walthers due to the incorporation of a larger-capacity magazine. The magazine release is a thumb button behind the bottom of the trigger guard; the manual safety is a rotating lever at the rear of the slide, and difficult to actuate with the thumb. Both are on the left side. Unusually, the ejection port is also on the left. The Model 4 was very well-made, and most Model 4s are still in firing condition today.

Walther Model 6

     Notes:  The Walther Model 6 was built in response to a German requirement in 1915 for a larger, more powerful pistol.  Walther ironically did its job too well for the military, who felt the Model 6 was too big, heavy, and powerful, and ordered it discontinued in 1917.

Walther Model 9

     Notes: This small pocket pistol was the last in Walther’s pistol series before the introduction of the famous PP series.  At a mere 99 millimeters long, it is one of the smallest pistols ever made, and perhaps the smallest of that period (it was introduced in 1911).  The Model 9 is a simple blowback pistol with partially open-topped slide to enable extraction of the cases, and a simple but effective mechanism to hold the slide on the frame.  Perhaps the only drawback of the pistol is the striker spring; it is small and has a tendency to lose elasticity over the years, delivering weaker and weaker strikes.

Walther P-22

     Notes: This has been described as a three-quarters sized version of the P-99, and the resemblance is undeniable.  It has the same salient features as the P-99, but fires the .22 Long Rifle round.  It has three interchangeable backstraps to allow for different hand sizes. The barrel and most of the operating parts are steel, but the slide is aluminum and the frame is of polymer.  There is even a carbon-fiber-frame version that is slightly lighter than the standard model.  A version also exists that can take a silencer.  The safety is ambidextrous, and the P-22 has an integral, internal lock that operates with a key and locks the trigger and hammer.  The front of the trigger guard is hooked for a finger of the off hand to help stabilize the weapon.  Unfortunately, disassembly does require a special tool (a small rod used during the replacement of the slide).  There are three different barrel lengths available, 3.4 inches, 4 inches and 5 inches.  There is also a special Target version which comes with a 5-inch match-quality barrel, a bridge-type scope/optics mount (the mount is above the slide, but does not touch it, being anchored at the bottom of the dust cover in front of the trigger guard), and a 3-slot compensator.  The P-22 Target comes only with a polymer frame.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The P-22 does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Walther P-38/P-1

     Notes: The P-38 was designed to replace the Luger in Nazi service (while the Luger was an accurate pistol with natural pointing qualities, it was also tempermental, intolerant of dirt, and expensive to produce).  The P-38 is essentially an evolutionary development of the PP and PPK; after much experimentation, a pistol was designed which was able to fire the much more power 9mm Parabellum cartridge.  (Walther also made P-38s chambered for 7.65mm Parabellum, but these are quite rare; only the 9mm version of the P-38 was ever built in quantity by the Nazis.)  The Nazi government later also had Mauser and Spreewerke building the P-38, and several other companies in Germany and in conquered countries were producing parts for the P-38.  The wartime P-38s were all-steel (even the grip was ribbed steel with no grip plates), though some built before World War 2 and early in the war had actual wooden or plastic grip plates of various types. 

     The P-38 and P-1 are virtually the same weapon, but the P-38 was built before and during World War 2 and the P-1 is of post-war manufacture.  The P-1 is built with a lighter frame and uses a slightly shorter barrel.  The P-1 was also chambered in .22 Long Rifle, .32 ACP, and 7.65mm Parabellum in addition to the standard 9mm Parabellum caliber.  Other than that, the difference is mainly in the markings and finish of the weapons.  The non-9mm versions were primarily designed for export to countries where civilian use of “military” rounds like the 9mm Parabellum was prohibited; the .22 Long Rifle version was also meant to serve as a training pistol.  (A conversion kit for .22 Long Rifle was also made.)  P-1s and P-38s are sufficiently differently that the parts should not be interchanged, even though it is possible to do so with most of their parts. 

     After making the P-1, Walther also tried some other iterations of the P-1, with varying degrees of success.  The P-4 was essentially identical to the P-1, but had a barrel a half an inch shorter and a decocking lever on the frame in place of the slide-mounted decocker.  A firing pin safety was also added, though the “chamber loaded” indicator was omitted.  The P-38K went even further, with a barrel of only 2.8 inches, and with the front sight moved to the slide bridge. A subtype of the P-38K, the P-38SD, was also built in very small numbers; this version had a threaded barrel extension for the attachment of a suppressor. 

     In 1978, Walther introduced its last version of the P-1: the P-5.  Though never used by military forces, it was picked up for use by several police departments in the US, Western Europe, Africa, and Central America.  Again, the 9mm Parabellum version is the most common, though it is available in two other calibers.  The P-5 uses a light alloy frame and is partially dehorned to allow for smoother draws.  A total of four safeties are employed, two manual and two passive.  A P-5 Compact version was also produced; this version sports a 3.1-inch barrel, almost a full half an inch shorter than the standard P-5’s 3.54-inch barrel.  A target version of the P-5, the P-5 Long, also was built; this version has a 5.25-inch match-quality barrel with the front sight near the muzzle, and an adjustable rear sight.  The P-5 Compact and P-5 Long did not appear until 1987.  It is not certain when P-1/P-4/P-5 production stopped; some put it as late as 1999.

     However, this was not the end of the P-38/P-1 story, for many ended up far and wide around the world, taken as war trophies by Allied servicemen.  In addition, there was a lot of experimentation with the P-38 and P-1 designs; some were even modified to take different cartridges, the .38 Super and the .45 ACP being the most common.  Stoeger also built the P-38 for a while in the mid to late 1930s in the US; though their catalogs offer them in 7.65mm Parabellum, .38 Super, and .45 ACP, it appears that Stoeger actually only built 9mm Parabellum versions, for whatever reason.  (I have decided to include .38 Super and .45 ACP versions below, just for the heck of it.)

     In addition, there are a lot of refurbished P-38s in the world; most come from Russia and Ukraine.  Many are marked as such, but many are shamelessly marked as originals.  These refurbished P-38s may be blued, nickel-plated, chromed, engraved, etc., but the Nazi’s never made any P-38s finished in anything but blue.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: As the P-38 was a common war trophy from World War 2, they were often pressed into use by veterans of that war or their descendants. 

Walther P-88

     Notes: This weapon was different from previous Walther designs, in that it (and the later P-99) uses a Colt/Browning method of breech locking rather the complicated design used in previous Walther pistols.  The previous method, while much safer in operation or for fumble-fingered pistol shooters, was also mechanically complex, led to more failures when not maintained properly, made disassembly and reassembly difficult, used more parts, and was more difficult to manufacture.  The safety on the P-88 is ambidextrous, as is the magazine catch; there is also a pin safety which means that P-88 will not fire unless the trigger is pulled.  Despite being a good design, the P-88 suffered from a worldwide glut of military and civilian pistols and was primarily bought by civilians. 

     The P-88 Compact is, as the name indicates, a shortened version of the P-88; this was dropped from production in 2000.  The PC-Police is a variant of the P-88 that has an ambidextrous decocker; it is identical to the P-88 for game purposes.  The P-88 Competition comes in three versions: one that is more-or-less standard, but has more precise sights and a better-quality (but slightly shorter) barrel; the P-88 Competition-5, with a longer 5-inch barrel; and the P-88 Competition Compensator, with a 5-inch barrel and a muzzle brake.  The P-5 Champion has micrometer adjustable sights and a 4, 5, or 6-inch barrel; at the front of the barrel is a locking block that acts as a counterweight.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: In the Twilight 2000 World, this glut did not occur as severely; military, civilian, police, and government  personnel all wanted to get their hands on as many weapons as possible. 

Walther P-99 

     Notes: Introduced in 1997, the P-99 was the first new pistol produced by Walther in 13 years.  The P-99 is noted for being remarkably streamlined, with a decocking lever on the slide, a magazine release to the rear of the trigger guard, and a molded polymer frame.  It is known for its reliability.  There are no manual safeties, but there are three automatic safeties.  The trigger guard is enlarged and squared off, for a gloved finger and for the finger of the supporting hand, respectively.  The P-99 has a simple rail under the dust cover for use with lights and laser aiming modules.  The P-99 is a DAO (double-action-only) weapon.  Variants, identical to the standard P-99 for game purposes, include the P-990 DAO version and the P-99 QPQ, which has a stainless steel slide.

     In 2004, Walther introduced the P-99 Compact.  It is a scaled down version of the P-99 in every way.  The magazines have an optional finger rest on the bottom, though flat-bottomed magazines are also available.

     In 2005, The P-99QA came on the scene.  It is a standard-size P-99 with a special “Quick Action” trigger; this trigger uses a partly-cocked striker, making the first trigger pull much shorter and lighter than is normal for DAO pistols.  The P-99QA also has a three interchangeable backstraps to make the weapon fit better in a variety of hands.  The weapon has also been lightened.   Barrel lengths are also slightly different.

     This was a cooperative venture between Walther and Smith & Wesson; Smith & Wesson makes a variant of the P-99 called the SW-99.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon exists only in very small numbers.

Walther PP/PPK

     Notes: The Walther PP (Polizei Pistole, or Police Pistol) was first built in 1929 for German police forces.  It has been made in four calibers over the years, though versions chambered for .25 ACP or .22 Long Rifle have not been made in several decades. The PPK got it’s greatest fame in the movies, however; it was the favored weapon of fictional MI6 agent James Bond, as played by Sean Connery. 

     The original PP, introduced in 1928, was essentially an updated Model 8.  A plethora of refinements were quickly applied to the original design, including different chamberings, a loaded-chamber indicator, the magazine release relocated to a position behind the trigger, and a safety/slide lock that not only locked the slide, but also released the hammer and locked the firing pin.  Mass production then began in 1930.  The PP became extremely popular throughout Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, being issued widely to Nazi forces ranging from the “Brownshirts” to Luftwaffe pilots and armored crewmen, due to its small size.  The PP (and PPK) were originally chambered in a large amount of calibers; however, the .25 ACP, .380 ACP, and 7.65mm Parabellum versions were quickly discontinued. During the 1930s, more improvements were made, including a one-piece firing pin, a strengthened rear frame (in turn requiring a redesigned sear), and a reduction in the rotation of the safety/slide lock from 90 degrees to 60 degrees.  The PP uses a 3.9-inch barrel; sights are fixed and small, but well-designed.  Unfortunately, World War 2 production caused a gradual decrease in quality, starting with inferior finishes and ending up with crudely-machined parts.  After World War 2, quality resumed at its former high level.  In the early 1950s, Manhurin in France got a license to build the PP series; unfortunately, a large amount of other countries also produced the PP series, mostly unlicensed.  The PP series also served as the basis for many other pistols designed after World War 2.

     In 1931, the PPK (Polizei Pistole Kurz, or Police Pistol Short) was produced as a smaller version of the PP for concealed use and by higher-ranking personnel.   The PPK uses a 3.3-inch barrel and simpler construction for the frame, as well as a one-piece plastic grip, with an optional finger rest on the base of its magazines.  Mechanically, the PPK is basically identical to the PP, except that the PPK was always produced with a one-piece firing pin.  There was also an incredibly rare variant of the PPK; called the KPK, it was produced from 1938-39 in extremely limited quantities for an unknown Nazi special unit.  The KPK is mechanically identical to the PPK, but the frame was made from light alloy and the slide was lengthened to shroud the hammer.  Examples of the KPK are close to impossible to find today.

     It should be noted that PPs and PPKs chambered in .25 ACP are extremely rare; only a few hundred .25 ACP PPs were built in 1933, and only a few hundred .25 PPKs were built, from 1933-35.  .22 Long Rifle-firing PPs are also rather scarce.

     Another variant, the PPK/S, was designed to meet US import regulations; it is basically a PP frame with the barrel and slide of the PPK. (The object of this modification was toad a single ounce to the weight of the PPK, in order to meet the requirements of the Gun Control Act of 1968.)   The PP Sport is basically a target model of the rimfire version of the PP; it features an 8.25-inch barrel, with better sights (the rear one adjustable for windage).

     The PP Super was designed to be a replacement for the PP in German police usage.  It retains most of the features of the PP series, but was a bit larger, with a 3.6-inch barrel.  Chambering included the 9mm Ultra round, to facilitate sales to countries where non-military personnel are not permitted to use “military” cartridges like the 9mm Parabellum.  The .380 ACP chambering is very rare, but also aimed at civilians.  Other differences from the other PP series pistols are a decocker, an automatic firing pin safety, and a slide lock.  They have adjustable rear sights.  Production lasted a scant two years, as no large-scale police sales were ever made.

     Walther stopped producing the PP series in Germany at the end of 1999, but the series is still produced by Walther’s US facilities in Springfield, Massachusetts.  Most of the PPs made in the US today are either PPs, PPKs, or PPK/Ss. 

Walther PPS

     Notes: Designed to be a modern replacement for pistols such as the PP, PPK, and PPK/S in police use, the PPS was introduced by Walther in early 2007.  The PPS uses more powerful ammunition and modern construction than any of its predecessors.

     Like many modern pistols, it uses a modified Browning operation.  Safety abounds, including several passive safeties such as an automatic firing pin safety, automatic trigger block, and a magazine safety, in addition to a manual safety and a decocker.  The operation is also DAO.  In addition to these, there is an additional “storage-type” safety: if the backstrap is removed, the PPS’s trigger cannot be pulled, the hammer cannot be pulled back, and a magazine cannot be inserted into the weapon (or if one is already in the PPS, it cannot be removed).  The frame and grip is made of high-strength polymer with an ergonomic profile, and the barrel and operating parts of steel.  The barrel is a mere 3.19 inches long.  Magazines come in 3 sizes, but the 7 and 8-round magazines will extend somewhat from the butt.  Currently, the PPS is offered only in 9mm Parabellum, but Walther says a .40 Smith & Wesson version will be shortly available.

     The PK-380, introduced in 2010, is chambered for a smaller caliber and uses somewhat different operation.  The trigger action is modified from the P-22 and is DA/SA instead of DAO, and it has no decocker, just a manual safety.  Externally, however, it is basically a smaller PPS, though it has a MIL-STD-1913 rail under the dust cover, and the trigger guard is enlarged for use with heavy gloves.  The barrel is also longer at 3.66 inches. On the PK-380, its 8-round magazine does not extend from the butt.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon is not available in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Walther SP-22

     Notes: New for 2008, the SP-22 is Walther’s new rimfire target and sport pistol.  The SP-22 has some interesting features, such as an internal bolt hammer and bolt assembly that reduces exposure of internal components to dirt and dust.  Cocking is done by twin tabs on each side of the frame forward of the trigger guard.  The grips have interchangeable backstraps to allow for larger or smaller hands, and other components such as slides, barrels, sights, and dust covers can be interchanged to allow for a high degree of customization.  The frame is of aluminum alloy, with a steel low-profile slide.  Operation is single-action, and passive safeties are numerous.  Grips are polymer, except for the SP-22 M4, which has a competition-shaped wooden grip overlaid with rubber.

     The basic version of the SP-22 is the M1.  This version is a basic sporter, as much for recreational shooting as target shooting, and has a 4-inch standard-type barrel.  The rear sight is adjustable, and the front sight is adjustable to one of three positions.  The SP-22 M2 begins the climb in accuracy and quality; it is very similar to the M1, but has a 6-inch barrel with grooves on the dust cover to lighten the pistol.  The trigger is of match quality.

     The SP-22 M3 and M4 are definitely target pistols.  The M3 has a removable full-length MIL-STD 1913 rail atop the slide, and another under the dust cover.  The sides of the dust cover have grooves to lighten the weapon, like those on the M2.  The barrel is a 6-inch match-quality barrel, and the trigger is match-quality adjustable for travel.  The magazine release is extended.  The sights are adjustable like those of the M1 and M2, but are also fitted with fiberoptic inserts to help with quick sighting.  As stated above, the M4 has a shaped wooden grip overlaid with rubber, and this grip is adjustable and has a finger rest at the bottom. Though not normally sold with MIL-STD-1913 rails, the M4 can use the same rails as the M3.  The magazine release is not extended.  Sights are identical to those of the M3, but the 6-inch barrel is of better quality than that of the M3.

Walther TPH

     Notes: Though the PPK is a small pistol, Walther decided to go one size smaller and produce the TPH.  It was normally used in Germany as a backup or concealed weapon for police and as a sidearm for staff and general officers.  The small size makes muzzle blast and recoil high despite the small calibers used.