Walther P38

The Walther P38 (Pistole, 1938) is a semi-automatic pistol firing a 9x19mm Parabellum cartridges in an eight-round single-stack detachable magazine. It is the first pistol ever produced to feature a locked breach and a double-action trigger.

Design
The P38 is a short-recoil, locked-breach action pistol with a double-action trigger. This means that the shooter could load a round in the chamber, use a de-cocking lever to safely lower the hammer and carry the weapon loaded with the hammer down. This was a problem with the earlier Luger pistols, as a round in the chamber with the gun cocked caused it to occasionally discharge while in the holster. This could cause grievous injuries, especially on the infection-rampant fields of World War I. The P38 could also be removed from its holster and fired while the hammer was still down and required no cocking of the hammer. After being fired, the slide automatically went back and chambered a new round. These are all features used in most modern pistols, up to today.

History
The predecessor of the P38, the P08 Luger was an expensive, mechanically complicated weapon to produce. It was also sensitive to dirt, mud and other conditions that would foul the complicated internal mechanisms. Despite this, the German army continued to use the pistol well after World War One. It was only after the Nazis came into power was a new pistol considered for use. After several considerations, the German government accepted the P38 concept as it's standard pistol. However, production of the P38 Prototype did not begin until 1939, with the first field units delivered in mid-1940. Although the P38 was cheaper to produce, it never quite replaced the P08 out service.

The P38 was—and still is—used to this day in a variety of variants and forms. The original P38 was later renamed the P1 after the war and used as the standard side-arm of the Bundeswehr, Germany's modern Post-War armed forces and remained as such until the early 1990s. An improved P1, the P5, was developed and adopted by the police forces of Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg.

The P38 was also used by foreign nations as well. After French forces overtook the Mauser factory in 1945, they produced P38 pistols into 1946. Czechoslovakia produced their own pistols after the war. Austria and Chile also produced the weapon. Total wartime German production is estimated at over 1,200,000 pistols. The P38 continues to be produced by Walther and other companies for Civilian sporting/shooting enthusiasts and memorabilia collectors.

Call of Duty 3
The P38 is the side-arm used by the German team in Multiplayer. Holding the standard eight rounds, it can be deadly in precise hands, especially in close quarters. For the Anti-Tank class, this is their only default anti-personnel weapon.

Call of Duty: World at War
The Walther is the same as the other non-Magnum pistols except for its appearance and reload times. It has the second slowest mid-magazine reload and the slowest empty reload. This is the weapon that Dimitri Petrenko is severly wounded with by the last German on the Reichstag at the end of Downfall. It is also the weapon that he must use to shoot General Heinrich Amsel in Vendetta to get the Gunslinger Achievement/ Trophy. It also has no visible recoil.

Trivia

 * The P38 was used early after World War 2 in Japan by the infamous Yakuza gang.
 * The German Army began replacing the Luger in World War 2 with this weapon. This is do to the fact that the Luger was not as reliable and it was considered somewhat dangerous and had frequent misfires.
 * The P38 fires the 9mm bullet just like the MP40, but the two can't share ammo.
 * The modern German Bundeswehr still uses a variant of the P38 called the P1. It's now being replaced by a more modern pistol, the P8.