The P38 Was the Wehrmacht’s Workhorse Pistol

War is Boring ^ | January 19, 2016 | Paul Richard Huard

[C19fan]

U.S. Army Sgt. Ivan Schwartz survived D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge by remaining very, very careful.

Schwartz had landed on Utah beach, going ashore when the sand was littered with dead men and smashed vehicles. He carried rounds for an 81-millimeter mortar, survived a close call when Allied planes dropped bombs close to friendly lines, and strung wire for a field telephone to a forward observer post while under artillery fire — an act that earned him the Bronze Star.

[Lx]

It's my workhorse as well.

[FroggyTheGremlim]

P-38 "Lightning"

[Yo-Yo]

It was a workhorse in the Pacific as well.

[Riley]

In before forked-tail Lightning.

[Riley]

Nope- too slow. :-(

[Lazamataz]

No, in after. LOL

[oldplayer]

You can keep your Walther; I’ll raise you with my Lockheed.

[elcid1970]

Did the P-38 can opener get its name because it took thirty-eight `doinks’ to open a K or C ration can?

You learned to carry your own P-38 since only five came with a case of C rations.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Other than the Vought F4U Corsair and the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt, the P-38 is my favorite plane.

[Riley]

You learned to carry your own P-38 since only five came with a case of C rations.

I have one on my dog-tag chain which is...in a box somewhere. I have another in a drawer in the kitchen that I have used for years. It gets a quick wash after use- that's all it needs.

[RayChuang88]

What hurt the reputation of the Walther P38 was pistols made late in the war had really inferior metal parts, which made them unreliable in service.

Interestingly, arguably the best-known Walther pistol was the PPK, favored by police officers and Gestspo members during the Nazi era. The PPK gained more notoriety after World War II when it became the personal pistol of the fictional James Bond.

[WKUHilltopper]

My father in law was on Utah.

[ConservativeWarrior]

“Did the P-38 can opener get its name because it took thirty-eight `doinks’ to open a K or C ration can?”

No, because it’s 38 MM long.

There’s also a P-51.

[elcid1970]

Adolf Hitler offed himself with a Walther PPK. A survivor who escaped the Fuhrerbunker recalled going into Hitler’s private rooms after the shot rang out & saw the bloodstained PPK on the floor.

He could have scooped it up right there, and later kicked himself for the rest of his life that he hadn’t!

[Resolute Conservative]

F$U is my all time pre-jet plane. The F8F Bearcat was awesome but came out too late to be proven.

[wally_bert]

The F4U is my all time favorite prop job.

[central_va]

The F4U is my all time favorite prop job.

Nickname the "Ensign killer".

[wally_bert]

Dad has always carried a few for as as I can remember.

Since my late 20s, I generally had one on me. It has been a real grief saver a few times.

[jstaff]

I have a P1 and really like it. It shoots well and I like the fact that it has a decoder and is double action. Makes a pretty good carry gun.