VOL68/1624602/18508182/292356368.jpg' alt='Walther Model 4 Serial Numbers' title='Walther Model 4 Serial Numbers' />SMITH WESSON MODEL 17 4 screw model. Revolver Description This is an early model 17. I believe it was made between 1931 and1940. Volkspistole Walther Forgotten Weapons. Michael Heidler is a German author who has written a couple very well researched books on German weaponry, including a massively comprehensive catalog of manufacturing codes which we have a video review of. Mr. Heidler is working on a book on German Volkssturm weapons, and has sent us a sample in the form of an article on the prototype Volkspistole made by Walther we also have a video on the Mauser Volkspistol, courtesy of the Pattern Room. The German late war Walther Volkspistoleby Michael Heidler. The most common pistol of the German Wehrmacht was the Walther P3. Their serial production began in 1. Walther, followed by Mauser 1. Spreewerk 1. 94. The model P3. P0. But due to the circumstances of the war this plan could not be implemented completely In the first half of the year 1. German troops lost 1. Such high losses could not even be compensated by all three manufacturers together. Right side view of the Walther Volkspistole serial number 1. Walther company collection. The shortage of handguns had unforeseen consequences for the German Volkssturm peoples storm, when the first units should get equipped in late 1. Although the Gauleiter were authorized to receive weapons from armament factories in their districts, these weapons had to come from over production or had to be made after an official Army contract had ran out. But this claim was only written on paper. The manufacturers had their hands full even to take care of all official orders. At the end of the day there was nothing left for the Volkssturm. The slide bears the Walther trademark and the serial number 1. Since early 1. 94. Colt Commercial Production Govt. Model 1912 to 1981. Model 1911 Serial Numbers Date Number Made. SN C1 to C1899 1912 1899 SN C1900 to C5399. Walther Model 4 Serial Numbers' title='Walther Model 4 Serial Numbers' />Walther and Mauser tried to simplify their weapons and to develop new models. None of them went into serial production, but the gained experience benefited the companies when the call for a peoples pistol came up at the end of the year. Now it was necessary to produce more faster and cheaper than ever before. In addition, the weapon had to use the P3. Computer Learning Software In Urdu Pdf For Kids. The Volkspistole was designed to use the standard Pistole P3. On November 3. 0, 1. Haupt Dienststellenleiter Saur, SS Obergruppenfhrer Gottlob Berger and other members of the Technisches Amt Technical Department. In the process Saur got the promise for a monthly supply of 2. Volkspistolen people pistols model Walther. At the very next day, Berger sent an official contract to SS Standartenfhrer and Wehrwirtschaftsfhrer leader of defense economy Erich Purucker, who in turn forwarded it to the Walther company. There the order was accepted as War Order Nr. Waffen SS on January 4, 1. View of the magazine well. Even the eyelet for the sling was made of stamped sheet metal. For Walther it was hard to cope with this additional order. The production was already quite busy with the production of P3. K4. 3, VG1 and other military equipment. Also it was getting more and more difficult to acquire all the necessary raw materials to keep the production. So director Fritz Walther wrote a letter to Purucker on January 2. I confirm the receipt of the above mentioned war order. In the meantime a decree of the OKH Wa A Az. Wa Chef Ing 4 VIa. Volkspistole handwritten added 9 mm have arrived. Serial production is not possible before the production facility is set up. The compulsory dates of delivery February 1. March 1. 94. 5 etc. The raw materials request to the Hauptausschu Waffen Main Committee for Weapons in Berlin is released today. Please influence the Committee to allocate the required supply rights for iron and sheet metal as quickly as possible. The order SS 4. 92. Dringlichkeitsstufe I precedence rating level 1. My other productions run in the precedence rating level 0 and I have all sorts of difficulties in obtaining the raw material. And therefore I fear that the procurement of raw materials for the lower level 1 is considerably more difficult. The busy end of the Volkspistole shows the electro penciled real serial number 1. As a result of this letter, Walter received a message on February 1. Fhrer Notprogramm Fhrer emergency program. However, it remains questionable whether this had been of some use. The few surviving pistols do not suggest the start of a large scale serial production. And on 4th April the U. S. Army occupied the Zella Mehlis area. Only very few parts, like the exposed hammer, were made from solid steel. The slide housing is made of two sheet metal half shells, that are held together at their rear by the clenching of the stamped in grasping grooves into slots in the inner shell. In the absence of significant documents not much can be found out about the simplification experiments with the P3. However, a few experimental pieces have survived the war and show the way to the peoples pistol Volkspistole. The two different simplified models are similar to the American Colt 1. Other innovations such as a rotating barrel can not be found on the Volkspistole any more. The barrel of the Volkspistole is hold in place by a hardened cylindrical plug which engages the blind hole at the underside of the barrel. The real Volkspistole looks similar to these experimental pistols from the outward appearance, but it is only a conventional single action weapon with blowback mechanism. Almost the whole gun is made of stamped sheet metal, except for barrel, bolt head, springs, grip plates and a few other small parts. Almost everything is joined together with bolts and rivets, and the spot welded points have been reduced to a minimum. Only the wooden grip plates are still attached with common screws. The weight of the complete gun is 1. The machined bolt is held in place inside the slide by only two lugs. They take all the recoil forces when shooting. The whole range of simplification becomes obvious when disassembling the Volkspistole The barrel is retained in the frame by a hardened cylindrical plug which engages the blind hole shown in the underside of the barrel breech. When lowering the lever on the left side of the frame above the trigger, the plug retracts and the barrel can be withdrawn forward. Afterwards the slide can be removed. The slide housing is made of two sheet metal half shells, that are held together at their rear by the clenching of the stamped in grasping grooves into slots in the inner shell. The slide housing is made of two sheet metal half shells, riveted together at the front. At the rear end they are held together by the clenching of the finger grips into slots in the inner shell. The slide housing is then positioned around a machined bolt, only connected by two lugs on the top surface of the bolt. These lugs take all the recoil forces when shooting the Volkspistole. The traditional machined guide rails on the receiver were replaced by five simple stamped out areas on each side. On the phosphated surface, there are only a few markings visible. The slide bears the Walther trademark Walther Schleife on the left side and the safety is marked with the letters S Sicher safe and F Feuer fire. Only two surviving Walther Volkspistolen are known today Serial numbers 6 and 1. The former is mismatched with the barrel of serial number 4. The 1. 05 is a postwar number, presumably to register the weapon. The other pistol has the number 1. The safety is marked with the letters S for safe and F for fire. For disassembling the weapon, the lever above the trigger has to be lowered. Then the barrel can be withdrawn. In the 7. 0s the pistol 1. Walther company in Ulm, to where the former Thuringian company has moved after the war. Special thanks to Carl Walther Gmb. H Sportwaffen, UlmGermany. Technical data Length 2. Height 1. 40 mm 5. Width 3. 0 mm 1. Weight with empty magazine 1. Weight without magazine 1. Barrel length 1. Left view of the Walther Volkspistole serial number 1. Walther company collection.