Walther P1

The Walther P1 is a direct descendant of the iconic P38 issued to a good chunk of the various armed forces of Nazi Germany in the lead up to and during the second world war. Previously, the German military’s sidearm needs had been filled by the Luger P.08 – and while the Luger was by no means a bad pistol by any means, in true German fashion it was a bit needlessly complicated – especially when you’re planning to outfit a military gearing up to start a second global bar fight. Considering that sidearms were not a crucial part of the Third Reich’s military doctrine, it made sense to instead adopt a pistol that could be mass-produced at a cheaper per-unit cost than the Luger, as the P.08 required both significant labor hours and craftsmanship to create at the scale needed to sate the Wehrmacht’s demands.