Walther PP

Walther PP
general information
Developer / Manufacturer:	Carl Walther GmbH, Zella-Mehlis / Ulm
Manufacturer country:	Germany
Production time:	1929 to 1999
Model variants:	PP / PP super
Weapon Category:	gun
Furnishing
Overall length:	PP: 172 mm
Total height:	PP: 110 mm
Total width:	30 mm
Weight: (unloaded)	0.680 kg
Sight length :	125 mm
Barrel length :	98 mm
Technical specifications
Caliber :	.22 lfB , 6.35mm Browning , 7.65mm Browning , 9mm short
Possible magazine fillings :	7 to 10 cartridges
Ammunition supply :	Bar magazine
Fire types:	SA / DA
Number of trains :	6th
Twist :	Right
Visor :	Open sights
Closure :	Mass closure
Charging principle:	Recoil loader
Lists on the subject

The Walther PP is a self-loading pistol from the German gun manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH . The model designation "PP" stands for "police pistol".

history

Developed by Fritz Walther, one of the five sons of the company's founder Carl Wilhelm Freund Walther, the Walther PP revolutionized the construction of cocked trigger pistols from 1929 as the first pistol with a high-quality, problem-free double-action trigger .

From 1931, the Walther PPK ( P olizei p istole K riminal ) was also offered, a more compact model with a shorter barrel, slide and grip.

Before, during and after the Second World War, the Walther PP was part of the armed forces of the police and authorities in numerous countries. a. also in the Reichsfinanzverwaltung ( border inspection service of the customs administration or customs border guards ), where it was last mentioned in 1943. In the military, it was part of the orderly armament as an officer's pistol .

Because of the unsatisfactory terminal ballistic performance of the 7.65 × 17 mm caliber mostly used for police and military service , the "Waltherchen", as they were called by many police officers, were removed from the German police service after 1972 . Many copies were sold cheaply to those entitled to purchase . Their compactness and reliability made and continue to make the pistols a popular companion for hunters for trapping, catching and self-defense.

From 1973, the heavily modified version of the Walther PP, the Walther PP Super, was built in the 9 × 18 mm Police caliber . This weapon was much less popular on the market than the simple and elegant original version.

construction

The Walther PP is a simply constructed, unlocked recoil loader with a fixed barrel and earth lock . Depending on the version, it fires relatively weak to medium-strength cartridges in the calibers:

• .22 lfB
• 6.35 mm Browning
• 7.65mm Browning
• 9 mm short

Because stronger calibers were not used, the inertial mass of the breech block is sufficient as a breech . The locking spring is simply pushed over the barrel, which also serves as a guide rod. This construction, which largely dispenses with moving or tilting parts, has a small technical advantage over other solutions in terms of the weapon’s intrinsic structural precision. In addition, the height of the entire breech can be kept low, which gives the weapon an extremely compact shape.

One of the main innovations of the PP was the variety of its safety systems, which should point the way for future pistol models:

• The safety lever secures the weapon in the lower position by preventing the striker from hitting the firing pin. If it is swiveled up, the weapon is unlocked, which is indicated by a red dot previously hidden by the lever.

• Thanks to the trigger system based on the SA / DA ( Single Action / Double Action ) principle, the weapon can be fully loaded, unlocked and relaxed, but ready to fire and nevertheless safely operated. If you secure the weapon with the safety lever, this automatically releases the hammer - it also serves as the release lever for the cocking trigger . To fire the first shot, the shooter has to overcome a significantly higher trigger weight (DA). After the first shot, the hammer is automatically cocked and the trigger weight to be overcome is now much lower (SA). The location of the hit can be positively influenced when the shot is fired from the SA state of the weapon, as the weapon lies more calmly in the shot with a lower trigger resistance.

• The fall protection : Only when the trigger is Durchkrümmen - solved a bolt which until then firing pin and chamber separated - just before the shot. This means that no shot can be released even if the weapon is severely jolted or dropped.

• The charging pin on the back of the clasp. If it emerges, there is a cartridge in the chamber. The pen can also be clearly felt in the dark.

Behind the trigger is the push button of the magazine holder on the handle, which releases the magazine when activated.

variants

PP

The basic model, the Walther PP, was designed as a police pistol and was mainly used by uniformed police and other uniformed officials, as well as officers in the military. Nickel-plated models or models with engravings and chasings, as well as gold inlays and other decorative workings found their way into the hands of private gun owners at all times of production of the pistol or were used as gifts for VIPs and, if necessary, state guests.

MP

Before the Second World War , several prototypes ( Walther MP or, to distinguish it from the submachine gun of the same name , MP-PP ) were made in the 9 mm Parabellum or 9 mm Steyr caliber .

Walther PP Super

PP super

The Walther PP Super, built since 1973 in the 9 × 18 mm Police caliber (not to be confused with the 9.2 × 18 mm caliber of the Makarow), differed considerably from the original PP model.

At the beginning the Walther PP had a small cover plate over the firing pin, which however proved to be unnecessary after the war and was no longer applicable. There are versions of the Walther PP with handles made of dural aluminum, which save approx. 40 g in weight in relation to the handles made of steel. After the war, various "sport versions" of the Walther PP in caliber. 22 lfB with extended barrels (152 mm or 204 mm).

Prototypes with double-row magazines for 10 and 13 rounds did not go into series production.

Replicas

The pistol was built under license in France by Manurhin . There are also a number of unlicensed replicas of Walther police pistols. In addition, the principle of the weapon was also taken up by several manufacturers in order to develop their own designs based on the Walther police pistols (e.g. the Soviet Makarow PM ).

number

According to a serial number study by Dieter H. Marschall, 940,000 pistols of the PP model were produced; 540,000 by 1945 in Zella-Mehlis, and another 400,000 between 1952 and 1999 at Manurhin and Walther in Ulm. A total of 964,340 pistols of the PPK model were produced; 290,900 at Walther in Zella-Mehlis, another 633,000 at Manurhin / Ulm, plus 33,640 PPK / L and 6,800 PPK / E. 115,100 PPK / S pistols from the Manurhin and Walther production facilities in Arnsberg were also sold between 1968 and 1989. The PP Super pistol sold only 12,400 units, of which 11,100 were manufactured in the 9mm Ultra caliber and 1,300 in the 9mm short caliber. US licensed productions are not included.

additional

After the end of production, some of the Walther PP models were converted into alarm weapons by the Busch company in Höchberg with the approval of the PTB . They are occasionally offered on the internet as items for gun collectors.

literature

• Dieter Marschall: Walther defense pistols, model 1 to P99 . Journal-Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-936632-11-1 .
• James Rankin, Christian Reinhart: Walther PP and PPK 1929 to 1945 . Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-7276-7051-7 .
• James Rankin, Christian Reinhart: Walther pistols 1908 to 1983 . Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-7276-7054-1 .
• David Schiller, Andreas Skrobanek: Zella-Mehlis, Ulm and the rest of the world . In: Visier 1/2006, ISSN  0933-4491 .

Web links

Commons : Walther PP  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website Carl Walther GmbH - Walther PP
• WaffenHQ - Walther PP / PPK
• Little Gun - Walther PP / PPK

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Walther MP-PP (9mm) ( Memento of the original from October 30, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at jamesdjulia.com 
2. ↑ Walther MP-PP (9mm Steyr) ( Memento of the original from October 30, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at jamesdjulia.com 
3. ↑ Instructions for use for the “Walther-Manurhin” automatic pistols. (PDF; 2.6 MB) (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 25, 2014 ; Retrieved April 16, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ Dwj Verlags - GmbH .: Walther Defense Pistols Model 1 to PPX model variants and replicas . 4th revised edition, rev. Edition Blaufelden 2016, ISBN 978-3-936632-89-7 .