Grand dads take home p38

warwickben

warwickben

bubba Kalashnikov
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I really don't know much about this pistol. Can you help me out on what I really have and value? I'm sure it's worth more to me that my grand dad took it home more then $$$ it's worth...

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2586 c ac 45

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2990
C


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Posted from my iPhone10g
Remington 1911r1
Walther p38 made early 45
Remington sportsman58 12g
Early type 99.
 
You have a late war, factory mismatched AC45 P38. Most of these were put together by American GI's at the factory. Many collectors call them cigarette guns because they were traded amonst themselves usually for a pack of smokes. These are legitimate P38 variations. You have a nice peice there.
 
I also noticed that you have one Waffeampts on the slide. This is the first process of acceptance. The inspector would stamp this on inspection, it would then go on to be accepted by the Wehrmacht, then be stamped for final inspection. You are missing the next two stamps and that is correct for this variation.
 
It has more then one Waffeampts.
My iPhone won't show them really good.

Sides are from looking at the sights like ur going to shoot

One on right side of slide.
One on the frame left side
One on the barrel left side near the front of the locking block thing...
And one on the right side of locking block...


What's the number 4 on the front sight mean?....

So if I got this right most Likely a bunch of gi's found a factory and grab parts to make a gun? Only thing I could find online was ac 45 meant it was made in 45 by walther...


The idea of him getting it in a trade makes sense from what I could figure out he was on a ship for most of the war. He died before I was born and sadly my grand ma and my mom don't really tell me much about him and i could tell his passing still hurts them..They really dont tell me any thing about my family :(.... Only thing I know is he died late 70s was a ge engineer .....

My grand ma is gonna give me his war diary since i found it and only one who showed intrest..Only other thing I got of his is Remington sportsman58...
I was hoping I could of found his 1911...


As a side note my grand ma gave me his guns and told me to pick the p38 or smith and Wesson m39 and give my older brother the one I didn't want and don't tell him I have the shot gun lol...
The s&w is mint patent pending ... My brother doesn't get why I wanted the old bear up German gun..... I had to show him how to do a field strip on the s&w and still can't remember it's a 9mm lol...

60e92927-ef53-a85d.jpg

This is much as I know about his service. This is my grand dads stone at the Wakefield ww2 memorial :(. I wish I could find some of his old vet buddies to talk too , to see what he was like. I could care less about what he did in the war more the type of man he was...


Posted from my iPhone10g
Remington 1911r1
Walther p38 made early 45
Remington sportsman58 12g
Early type 99.
 
Last edited:
Well at least I'll get his diary and maybe get insight in to who he was...


I'm not gonna sell this pistol, hopefully I'll have a kid I can pass it down too, but is it worth any thing?


Posted from my iPhone10g
Remington 1911r1
Walther p38 made early 45
Remington sportsman58 12g
Early type 99.
 
warwickben said:
It has more then one Waffeampts.
My iPhone won't show them really good.

Sides are from looking at the sights like ur going to shoot

One on right side of slide.
One on the frame left side
One on the barrel left side near the front of the locking block thing...
And one on the right side of locking block...


What's the number 4 on the front sight mean?....

So if I got this right most Likely a bunch of gi's found a factory and grab parts to make a gun? Only thing I could find online was ac 45 meant it was made in 45 by walther...


The idea of him getting it in a trade makes sense from what I could figure out he was on a ship for most of the war. He died before I was born and sadly my grand ma and my mom don't really tell me much about him and i could tell his passing still hurts them..They really dont tell me any thing about my family :(.... Only thing I know is he died late 70s was a ge engineer and a hells angel .....

My grand ma is gonna give me his war diary since i found it and only one who showed intrest..Only other thing I got of his is Remington sportsman58...
I was hoping I could of found his 1911...


As a side note my grand ma gave me his guns and told me to pick the p38 or smith and Wesson m39 and give my older brother the one I didn't want and don't tell him I have the shot gun lol...
The s&w is mint patent pending ... My brother doesn't get why I wanted the old bear up German gun..... I had to show him how to do a field strip on the s&w and still can't remember it's a 9mm lol...

60e92927-ef53-a85d.jpg

This is much as I know about his service. This is my grand dads stone at the Wakefield ww2 memorial :(. I wish I could find some of his old vet buddies to talk too , to see what he was like. I could care less about what he did in the war more the type of man he was...


Posted from my iPhone10g
Remington 1911r1
Walther p38 made early 45
Remington sportsman58 12g
Early type 99.
Click to expand...

I should have been more clear. It only was one WaffenAmpt on the slide instead of 3. The number 4 on the sight blade is the height number. Different numbers used for different side blade heights. #4 is the most common. The GI's didnt just "find" the factory, they took it over. The French took over the Mauser factory and continued making P38 against the agreements of the other allies. AC is indeed the Walther factory in Zella-Mehlis. The original factory is gone and Walthers are now made in Ulm. There were hundres if not thousands of parts that were stamped and ready for assembly when the GI's captures the factory. I will dig up pictures if you are interested, of GI's next to bins upon bins of parts. Do you happen to have the capture papers that were issued to bring the pistol back to the States by any chance? That adds quite a bit of value to the weapon.
 
Also from the photos, it appears that you have a phosphate finished magazine. What are the markings on that? Is it a P38V stamped on the magazine body? Phosphates are harder to find.
 
60e92927-01d5-f36a.jpg

P38 V
U

Guess I was smart for picking this over the s&w model 39 a gave my brother instead of this lol...

If there was papers with it they might of been lost or tossed... I'll see if my grand ma wants to help me look for it..

If you don't mind posting some pics that be nice. I figured they'd make the guns and give to locales to help fight the germans or some thing along those lines. I kinda want to figure out a nice display case I can make and still take the gun out and be mass legal ha......some thing with a little info etc.

Would it be a bad idea to shoot this?
Looking at parts etc online looks like I could just buy parts and make one to shoot for under 400$. I wouldn't shoot this all the time you know a mag once in awhile thing.


I cleaned it with some cloth rags and gun oil to get the gunk out . I know not to polish it and refinish it.take a wire brush to it or some thing stupid.. Mainly to get the gunk out and coat it so it won't rust...
 
Last edited:
warwickben said:
60e92927-01d5-f36a.jpg

P38 V
U

Guess I was smart for picking this over the s&w model 39 a gave my brother got lol...

If there was papers with it they might of been lost... I'll see if my grand ma wants to help me look for it..

If you don't mind post some pics that be nice. I kinda want to figure out a nice display case I can make and still take the gun out etc....

Would it be a bad idea to shoot this?
I cleaned it with gun oil and rag... Mainly to get the gunk out and coat it so it won't rust...


Posted from my iPhone10g
Remington 1911r1
Walther p38 made early 45
Remington sportsman58 12g
Early type 99.
Click to expand...

You can shoot it. Just use something mild like Winchester White box 115Gr. P38's can be a little finicky about ammo and it has to deal with the shape of the bullet. The Winchesters are very close to original German ammo in shape that these were designed to eat up. Remingtons have a tendancy to stove pipe. The bullet shape tapers quicker to the point. Sellier and Bellot seem to run very well through all of mine. If you are going to shoot it, I suggest shooting it sparingly. Once something breaks, it is gone for good. You can replace parts but it will never be original again. If you shoot it and happen to love how a P38 feels, I would suggest getting a Russian capture and shooting the hell out of it or get a postwar p38/p1(these will feel different though due to the aluminum frames). You have a nice pistol to be proud of. As for display cases, there used to be a few on gunbroker that you could get an idea on how to make one or just buy once from there. Enjoy the old girl!!
 
Thank you do much...
I think I'll shot a few rounds out of it and make a case.
I'm thinking I'll display it with the mag out . A photo of a bunch of gi with parts if you don't mind post one... 20 mins on google I can't find one.
And if I can find the capture papers ...

So is the p38v the hard mag to find?


Posted from my iPhone10g
Remington 1911r1
Walther p38 made early 45
Remington sportsman58 12g
Early type 99.
 
warwickben said:
Thank you do much...
I think I'll shot a few rounds out of it and make a case.
I'm thinking I'll display it with the mag out . A photo of a bunch of gi with parts if you don't mind post one... 20 mins on google I can't find one.
And if I can find the capture papers ...

So is the p38v the hard mag to find?


Posted from my iPhone10g
Remington 1911r1
Walther p38 made early 45
Remington sportsman58 12g
Early type 99.
Click to expand...

Yes a phophate is harder to find. Not impossible but harder to find. The P38V magazine is also available blued and is more common. I am looking through my pics on my hard drive and will post a few in this thread as soon as I find them.
 
Here are 2 that I found from my hard drive. I dont know where I originally got them. I have quite a few more on my hard drive and will look for them tomorrow. These pics show the GI's with racks of pistols that are ready to be shipped. The other photo shows a box full of take down levers. There were so many parts in bins waiting for assembly!!
standard.jpg Take down levers.jpg
 
warwickben said:
I'm not gonna sell this pistol, hopefully I'll have a kid I can pass it down too, but is it worth any thing?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure you CAN quantify a value for it. Sure, there's what some schlemiel off the street would pay for it as a gun, but man... your GRANDFATHER brought it back from war! How do you put a value on that? Granted, you never knew him... and your son never will... but I never knew my g'g'uncle Sime or my great uncle Irving, either... and if I ever found Uncle Sime's 1862 Springfield or Uncle Irving's '03 nothing in the world could make me part with them!

It's your heritage, it's part of your family. Insure it, treasure it and NEVER let it get away from your family! You're a lucky guy to have it. Congrats and enjoy. And thank you for sharing the pictures and story.
 
I never sell it..
Gotta wonder what there thinking in those pics...


Posted from my iPhone10g
Remington 1911r1
Walther p38 made early 45
Remington sportsman58 12g
Early type 99.
 
warwickben said:
I never sell it..
Click to expand...

Good call. My dad currently has two guns... a Remington single shot bolt action .22 rifle that was his childhood gun, and my grandfather's old Stevens pump 12 gauge. Not much of a collection and certainly not valuable, but should they ever end up in my possession, they will be kept forever. I hope my kids feel the same way about my stuff when I'm no longer here... hopefully a long time from now!
 
Thanks...
Yeah def wanna find a p38 shooter to have sucks living in mass Lol.


Posted from my iPhone10g
Remington 1911r1
Walther p38 made early 45
Remington sportsman58 12g
Early type 99.
 
Nice P38 you've got there. I would certainly never sell that piece considering your grandfather brought it back from the war. It's priceless to you, however since no one has answered your question of what it's worth, that gun would go for about $500 to $550 on the current market.
 
Yeah another reason to get one... I was looking at it this was mosin shipped for 90$ didn't make up for the cost of the c&r but being able to get another p38 would....

Damit I need to make a list of cheap ww2 guns I can buy lol.
A ready have a
Ariaska type 99 I need parts for.
Plan to get a mosin or two.



Posted from my iPhone10g
Remington 1911r1
Walther p38 made early 45
Remington sportsman58 12g
Early type 99.
 
How fascinating to be able to trace the history of that P38 from its origins in Europe in 1945 into the hands of a Marine in the South Pacific! How many different people touched it, traded it, etc. before it finally wound up with your granddad. Thanks for shaing,

Chris
 
I too agree with being in a type of "awe" of the history of old guns. Like ranger4-7 mentioned. I remember seeing a movie once where some guy could touch something and then get a visual "playback movie" in his head of everywhere/thing that person did in a sped up fashion etc...I know its impossible but nice to dream anyway if that stuff could really happen. See where that gun had been.
 
I need to look in to the history of that boat...
I assume the aa gunner thing on his stone stands for anitair craft gunner?


Posted from my iPhone10g
Remington 1911r1
Walther p38 made early 45
Remington sportsman58 12g
Early type 99.
 
As mentioned you have a mismatched WALTHER p.38, What I find is the most interesting is that your Grandfather was a Marine, majority of which during WWII were stationed in the Pacific. I wonder if he got this gun during WWII or after from a buddy? Maybe he traded Jap stuff for it? Do you know where he was stationed?
 
From his little memorial stone mg gunner on the USS Astoria.

I've only gotten a little out of my mom and grand ma. I don't like to press cause I can tell they miss him. My grand ma did tell me that she'll give me his war diary, so hopefully I'll learn more about him.

From what I've been told he came home with it,so he must of traded for it befor he got home. Ether way it means a lot to me. I never met the man, he passed before I was born. Only thing I have of his is the p38 and his Remington sportsman 58 semi auto 12g.
I've shot the 12g I've been mulling it over for some time shooting the p38. I don't want to take the chance of some thing breaking...
If I can find a FFl that will transfer a frame id like to build one to shoot.
 

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