Is there anyone who knows whether walther PP were favored by the ground forces and armoured forces officers as sidearms?
Or mostly they chose walther P38 instead? As P38 is a bit bulky
Question about German forces' sidearm
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gewehrdork
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Most german officers I recall were allowed to privately purchase their "carry" sidearms. For example Hans Ulrich Rudel carried a pathetic 25 automatic which he tossed when he had to escape russians on foot.
Many of the REMF types in german forces , especially polizei preferred the 7,65 ( 32 ACP ) pistols as they were small , light and generally did the job intended of them for their purposes.
While the germans did utilze some 9mm Kurz ( 380 auto ) calibered pistols it was not in large numbers irregardless of make of pistol. Few M34 Beretta, Cz24 , M1922 browing , Walther , Ortgies , etc etc , have turned up in 380 caliber with WaA proofs or bonafide obvious useage by the german forces.
The standard issue pistol to troops was of 9x19 caliber. These ranged from the P08, P38, Radom , GP35 , Astra and some similar converted to 9x19 caliber foriegn pistols.
As well the germans utilized most every captured pistol type they had sufficient quantities of for their purposes to even include french M35 and M1892 pistols for example.
Many of the REMF types in german forces , especially polizei preferred the 7,65 ( 32 ACP ) pistols as they were small , light and generally did the job intended of them for their purposes.
While the germans did utilze some 9mm Kurz ( 380 auto ) calibered pistols it was not in large numbers irregardless of make of pistol. Few M34 Beretta, Cz24 , M1922 browing , Walther , Ortgies , etc etc , have turned up in 380 caliber with WaA proofs or bonafide obvious useage by the german forces.
The standard issue pistol to troops was of 9x19 caliber. These ranged from the P08, P38, Radom , GP35 , Astra and some similar converted to 9x19 caliber foriegn pistols.
As well the germans utilized most every captured pistol type they had sufficient quantities of for their purposes to even include french M35 and M1892 pistols for example.
Police forces were issued pistols based on standards of issue. NCOs of the rank of Meister and above were issued 7.65mm pistols a few years into the war. This corresponded with the large Walther contracts of E/C and E/F procurement, as well as the Sauer and Mauser HSc contracts. Those NCOs of lower rank continued to use or receive P08s, Steyr-Hahns and later P38s.
For those intrested, the PP in Walther PP stands for Pistole Polizei.
PPK stands for Pistole Polizei kriminale (sp). So, the PPK was designed and used by dective police officers not wanting or needing a bulky weapon.
With regards to frontline troops, it would be an inexperienced oficer who carried a samll pistol.
PPK stands for Pistole Polizei kriminale (sp). So, the PPK was designed and used by dective police officers not wanting or needing a bulky weapon.
With regards to frontline troops, it would be an inexperienced oficer who carried a samll pistol.
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zipper_mx5
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Hi,
actually, AFAIK, the PPK is short for Polizi Pistol Kurz, and not Kriminal.
In fact PPK is the smaller version of Walther PP (154mm lenght; 568grs. weight & 84mm. barrel for PPK against 173mm lenght; 682grs. weight 99mm barrel for PP).
Check here:
http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg13-e.htm
as just the first google search result, many others available.
If you just think to it, in fact, it is not usual at all for german standards to have a weapon called after the troops using it (apart the FJ42 assault rifle for Fallschirmjagers)
Kripo used a lot of PP pistols as well as the smaller PPK.
Bye
zipper
actually, AFAIK, the PPK is short for Polizi Pistol Kurz, and not Kriminal.
In fact PPK is the smaller version of Walther PP (154mm lenght; 568grs. weight & 84mm. barrel for PPK against 173mm lenght; 682grs. weight 99mm barrel for PP).
Check here:
http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg13-e.htm
as just the first google search result, many others available.
If you just think to it, in fact, it is not usual at all for german standards to have a weapon called after the troops using it (apart the FJ42 assault rifle for Fallschirmjagers)
Kripo used a lot of PP pistols as well as the smaller PPK.
Bye
zipper
Actually Zipper, perhaps you should rely on serious collector forums or the printed word instead of the frequently anonymous world of the Internet web sites. The author of that web page is as incorrect as the photo showing a PPK laying on its holster marked Walther P.P. The PPK was designed by Fritz Walther as a special version of his Polizei Pistole but for the Detective. This fact is recognized in serious collector forums such as http://www.p38forum.com/scripts/pp-k/pp-k.pl as well as research publications such as the works of Jan Still and Robert Whittington from the US as well as German authors Manfred Kersten in his "Walther, eine Deutsche Legende", the history of the Walther firearms factory, and Dieter Marschall, in his book on Walther pistols and numerous articles in the magazine "Deutsche Waffen Journal".
Last edited by JoeW on 29 Aug 2004, 16:55, edited 1 time in total.
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gewehrdork
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