SOLD - Rare End Of War Parts P.38 - Walther / Mauser

Description

3/1/26 - Here we have an excellent example of a rare Walther P.38 that was found in the Walther factory in April of 1945. In spring of 1945, the German government was putting a lot of pressure on arms manufacturers to increase production of German small arms. Walther could not keep up with P.38 production demands in late Spring of 1945, so it contracted the Mauser factory to send them P.38 parts.  Roughly 3,000 of this variation were produced.  Most obviously, P.38 slides, but also many small parts. These slides are usually marked "byf 44". Because this occurred so late in the war, many of these examples were not issued to the German military, but were rather found in the factory by American soldiers. This pistol is one such example. The pistol has a blued "byf 44" slide, a Mauser-proofed barrel, disassembly lever, and hammer. The right side of the slide only bears two proofs, indicating this gun was never issued. The frame is a Walther frame with "ac" and a Walther proof. The frame has a beautiful plum color to it. Neither the slide, frame, nor barrel have a serial number. Again, indicating this gun never left the factory. The finish on this pistol rates about 90%, with the only real finish loss coming from the front strap. The pistol has excellent black bakelite grips. The gun has a Mauser-proofed magazine with a "78" stamped on the floor plate. Bore is excellent with strong rifling. De-cocker is functional.