This belongs to a friend whose family has had it for a few generations. It is said to have been brought back from WWII Germany. My first thought was that couldn't be the case because it appears to be stainless, but I'm not well-informed on historical firearms. What say you?

Post good pics of any proof marks

It has the Nazi era proof marks and isn’t stainless steel but rather nickel or chrome plated.
I’ll also bet a nickel that one of our knowledgeable people will agree with me that it was probably refinished after it was brought back.

Really looks like it has been hard chromed.

Looks like the real deal, just chrome plated. A shame, but hey, if someone wanted a shooter.

Yes, definitely refinished in what we used to call "bumper chrome." Probably shoots fine.

Bob

This message has been edited. Last edited by: straightshooter1, February 03, 2020 10:11 PM

The proofs may be legit. Chromed.

A lot of WWll bring backs were chrome plated, as that was very popular in that time frame. They were just German war guns.....nothing more!! A lot of 1911-1911A1 were plated also.

It's a Walther produced P38, in 1942. The hard chrome kills alot of the collector value. As others had already said, it should be a nice shooter.

Chroming was popular with WW2 "bring backs", unfortunately.

Once saw an 8" Artillery Luger in chrome! Sad.

Yep, AC is the walther factory code, 42 is the year produced. I have an AC41. It's nickel plated, which is somewhat common for bringbacks and other old military arms as it prevents rust.

All the major parts should be stamped with the serial number, and if you're lucky, the magazine will be as well.

Shoot it, I say. DON'T rely on the safety to drop the hammer on a loaded chamber. They can break.

The plating takes away any collectibility as has been mentioned, which is a shame since it looks like a nice one. It was produced by Walther in 1942 as you know. They were making 10,000 per month at that point and the serial numbers only went to 10,000, so January had no suffix and February through December used A - K, so yours was likely manufactured mid July, 1942.

Looks like a bumper chrome job to me.

Not like any “hard chrome” I’ve seen from several shops.

Don't know anything about these P38s, but I love it.

I wander if the chrome plating can be removed? Maybe bead blasted off carefully or something. Either way it’s still really cool

Thanks, guys. That's what he was looking for. It's legit and was likely chromed after his G-dad brought it home. He's considering putting it in a shadow box with his military medals.

That's a very cool keepsake.

quote:

Originally posted by limblessbiff:
I wander if the chrome plating can be removed? Maybe bead blasted off carefully or something. Either way it’s still really cool

I wouldn't do anything to it. Consider the chrome plating at the time, although aftermarket, part of history.

As others have stated, a post war chrome job that was popular back in the day. You will hear all sorts of outlandish theories from people who own these guns. "It was for Hitler's special bodyguards at the Nuremburg rally", and the like. Or, my personal favorite is twofold - "it was a Luftwaffe pilot's gun, you can tell by the eagle", or the chrome is real issue, Grandad took it off the officer himself".

Collector value is nil, but it's still a cool family heirloom.