P.08 usage in WWII

GerColctor · 06-26-2011, 06:39 PM

Vilim

Not only was the P 38 less then half the cost of a P 08, the production process was much quicker, so more pistols could be made within the same time period. When you in total war you need as many guns as can be produced.

Lugers were hand fitted, (that is why the parts are numbered) whereas much of the P 38 has stamped material. If you compare the early 98k rifles to late models, you will see the transition over to stamped out parts. Also, P 38 were less prone to the effects of lack of maintainance in difficult enviorments.

Even though the Walter was accepted in 1938 to replace the Luger, it took years to set up production, so Mauser continued to produce the Luger until September 1942, when they able to shift over to the P 38. Kreighoff made their Luger model for the Luftwaffe and continued doing so until 1945.

Even though many of retuning German military at the end of WW I came home with Lugers and other weapons, the Nazis required that all of the personal "owned" guns be turned in, so many went into government storage. There was also a large quanity of Lugers that went from the military after 1918 into storage, as new Reichswehe was limited in size and didn't need all of them. The Weimar Government marked most of their issued Lugers "1920". As the "new" Herr expanded in the 1930s the WWI Lugers were reissued.

Between 1939 & 1941 Mauser produced over 390,000 Lugers. During this same period Walther produced 154,000 P 38 pistols. They needed Mauser to get into P 38 production to get the numbers up. Spreewerke also made P 38s, as the demand was so high.

Many of the GI "bring back" Lugers were made during the Imperial time and captured by the Americans during WW II, so a lot of those pistols were issued from storage to fill the demand.

06-26-2011, 06:39 PM	#6
GerColctor User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: CT & FL Posts: 315 Thanks: 2 Thanked 48 Times in 31 Posts	Vilim Not only was the P 38 less then half the cost of a P 08, the production process was much quicker, so more pistols could be made within the same time period. When you in total war you need as many guns as can be produced. Lugers were hand fitted, (that is why the parts are numbered) whereas much of the P 38 has stamped material. If you compare the early 98k rifles to late models, you will see the transition over to stamped out parts. Also, P 38 were less prone to the effects of lack of maintainance in difficult enviorments. Even though the Walter was accepted in 1938 to replace the Luger, it took years to set up production, so Mauser continued to produce the Luger until September 1942, when they able to shift over to the P 38. Kreighoff made their Luger model for the Luftwaffe and continued doing so until 1945. Even though many of retuning German military at the end of WW I came home with Lugers and other weapons, the Nazis required that all of the personal "owned" guns be turned in, so many went into government storage. There was also a large quanity of Lugers that went from the military after 1918 into storage, as new Reichswehe was limited in size and didn't need all of them. The Weimar Government marked most of their issued Lugers "1920". As the "new" Herr expanded in the 1930s the WWI Lugers were reissued. Between 1939 & 1941 Mauser produced over 390,000 Lugers. During this same period Walther produced 154,000 P 38 pistols. They needed Mauser to get into P 38 production to get the numbers up. Spreewerke also made P 38s, as the demand was so high. Many of the GI "bring back" Lugers were made during the Imperial time and captured by the Americans during WW II, so a lot of those pistols were issued from storage to fill the demand. __________________ It is better to have lived a day as a tiger, then a thousand years as a lamb.