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Walther PP
File:Walther PPK 1848.jpgWalther PPK
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Weimar Republic
Service history
In service	1929 (PP), 1931 (PPK) 1968 (PPK/S)
Wars	World War II
Production history
Manufacturer	Walther
Specifications
Mass	682 g (PP) 568 g (PPK)
Length	174mm (PP) 154 mm (PPK)
Barrel length	99 mm (PP) 84 mm (PPK)
Cartridge	.32 ACP, .380 ACP .22LR, .25 ACP (6.35 mm)
Action	blowback, Double action
Feed system	Magazine capacity: PP: 8+1 (.32 acp) or 7+1 (.380) PPK: 7+1 (.32 acp) or 6+1 (.380)
Sights	fixed iron sight

The Walther PP series pistols include the Walther PP, PPK, and PPK/S. They are blowback-operated semiautomatic pistols manufactured by Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen in Germany and under license from Walther in France and the United States . These pistols feature an exposed hammer, a double-action trigger mechanism, a single-column magazine, and a fixed barrel which also acts as the guide rod for the gun's single recoil spring.

Overview

The most common variant is the Walther PPK. Its German acronymous name stands for Polizeipistole Kriminalmodell (Police Pistol Detective Model - implying it was more concealable than the original PP model and hence better suited to plainclothes or undercover work). Sometimes, the backronym Polizeipistole Kurz (Police Pistol Short) is given, but this interpretation is incorrect. Nevertheless, it is a smaller version of the PP (Polizeipistole) and has a shorter grip and barrel as well as a lower magazine capacity.

The PP was released in 1929 and the PPK followed in 1931. Both pistols were popular with European police and civilian shooters. The pistols were reliable and easy to conceal. During World War II both variants of the pistol were issued to German military police, Luftwaffe, and other support personnel, as well as officials of the Nazi Party. Adolf Hitler used his PPK to kill himself as Soviet forces closed in on the Führerbunker in Berlin. The PPK pistol is regularly used by fictional secret agent James Bond, having been chosen by Ian Fleming for his novels and used in most films. Use of the PPK by Fleming had a direct influence on sales.

The PP and PPK were some of the world's first successful double action semiautomatic pistols and not only were they widely copied, but they are still produced by Walther. The Walther design has inspired several other pistols including, but not limited to, the Soviet Makarov and the Czechoslovakian CZ50. Although it was an excellent automatic pistol, the Walther had competition in its time. The Mauser HSC pistol and the Sauer 38H pistol (a.k.a. model "H"), were both successful in their own right. Sauer pistol production ceased at war's end, but the refined SIG P230, and later the P232, owe much to the earlier Walther weapon.

PPK versus PPK/S

When the Gun Control Act of 1968 became United States law, the PPK pistol was deemed too short and too small (by a few millimeters of overall height) for legal importation into the U.S., the pistol's largest market (Hogg 1979:164). The twofold solution:

1. First, Walther created the PPK/S model, combining the PP's frame with the PPK's barrel and slide to create a 104.14 mm-tall pistol legally importable into the U.S. (Josserand & Stevenson 1972:301 ).
2. Second, because Federal law allowed domestic production, vice importation, the PPK was licensed to Ranger Manufacturing, Gadsden, Alabama, in 1978, and distributed by Interarms in Alexandria, Virginia. Smith and Wesson makes a licensed, improved version with a longer grip tang, better protecting the shootist from slide bite, i.e. the rearward-travelling slide's pinching the firing hand, which was a problem with the original-model PPK pistol.

The PPK/S differs from the PPK in:

• overall height of 104.14 mm
• weight—the PPK/S weighs 1.8 oz (51 g) more than the PPK
• the PPK/S magazine holds one round more, in both calibres

The PPK/S and the PPK are chambered for 32 ACP (with capacities of 8+1 for PPK/S and 7+1 for PPK) or 380 ACP (PPK/S: 7+1, PPK: 6+1).

Notes

1. WaltherAmerica.com - customer support page
2. Both Walther America's and Walther GmbH's websites features a history section in their About page however the origins of the name Kriminalausführung, which is a synonym for Kriminalmodell is not explicitly explained.

References

Hogg, Ian V. (1979). Guns and How They Work. New York: Everest House. ISBN 0-89696-023-4.

Josserand, M.H. (1972). Pistols, Revolvers, and Ammunition. New York: Bonanza Books (A division of Crown Publishers, Inc.). ISBN 0-517-16516-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

See also

• Carl Walther GmbH
• BERSA Thunder 380
• Makarov PM

External links

• Smith & Wesson's American Walther Site
• Unofficial Walther Home Page
• Photos of the Walther PPK
• Modern Firearms

• Semi-automatic pistols
• World War II German infantry weapons
• James Bond