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Models MP,AP,HP
Model Militair Pistole
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An extremely rare Walther. Only ten of
them has been made. Only two of them are known right now. It is a
prototype Model MP in .45 ACP.
Basically a Model AP but upscaled to .45 caliber. Manufactured in the mid 1930's
and Crown N proofed. Serial number 1005.
Sold at auction on June 16, 2003 by Greg Martin Auctions
Auction text: This rare and important wonder-of-wonders to any Walther collector is a circa-1935-36 hammerles Walther MP in .45 ACP! Recently sold at auction by Greg Martin Auctions, bidding was furious, with the gun eventually selling for a heart-stopping $120,000! Serial no. 1005, it has a 4 7/8" barrel, with an overall length of approximately 8 1/2". The rear sight is a notched blade fitted into a dovetail, while the front sight is a steel blade, also dovetailed into an integral base with a corresponding barrel band encircling the muzzle. A high gloss blued finish and checkered select walnut grips with a wrap-around feature at the backstrap, round-out this highly unusual, very desirable auto.
In 26 of februari 2008 they sold at Greg Martin Auctions again an extremely rare Model MP.45.
It has Serial number 1006. It was sold for $126,500 -
Auction text:
Serial no. 1006, .45 ACP caliber, 5-inch barrel. Left side of slide marked: Waffenfabrik Walther, Zella-Mehlis (Thur.)/Walther's Patent Cal. 45 Mod MP [Walther banner logo]. Right side of slide with crown over N proof. Correct two-toned blue finish. Finely checkered wraparound walnut grips. Sold together with accompanying notarized letter from prior owner stating the following: "This pistol is a World War II souvenir of my uncle by marriage, M/Sgt. Bud Howell. I was first shown this gun in the late 1950s and he related to me the story of his finding it....M/Sgt. Howell was a member of a US Army Field Hospital unit during World War II. In 1945 his unit was establishing a field hospital in southern Germany, The hospital was being located in an old castle. In the process of cleaning up the castle, Sgt Howell found the pistol in a desk drawer. The castle had been used by the German army and Gestapo for a headquarters. The pistol is a prototype to be used by the German Army as an occupation weapon. It is made to shoot standard US Army ammunition. Only 10 of these were made in a development program of the 1930s. He fired several rounds in the pistol on returning to the United States after the war. It has not been fired since then." Signed: XXXX
Condition: Excellent with minor handling wear and a few fine storage scratches in evidence. Grips excellent. Action tight and crisp.
Note: See "Die Walther Armee-Pistolen" by Karl Schafer. This publication discusses the development and history of this rare limited production Walther pistol, easily one of the rarest of all semi-automatics ever made.
Estimate: $80000 - $120000
Pictures of the MP s/n 1006
Model Armee Pistole
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Only a handful were made in about 1937 as a proposed replacement for the Luger. The German military liked the pistol, but asked for an exposed hammer. As a result, Walther engineers revised the design, and the Walther P.38 was developed and officially adopted for German military service.
This is a very early example with a steel frame, which was found at the
Walther factory in Zella-Mehlis in April, 1945. It was brought back as a War
Trophy to the United States by an officer in Ordnance Technical Intelligence
working for Col. George B. Jarrett. Col. Jarrett signed the "Capture Paper"
which allowed the officer to take the pistol home. Both men were assigned to
Aberdeen Proving Ground at the end of the war, and Col. Jarrett became Museum
Officer and Chief, Foreign Material Branch in November, 1945.
This identical pistol (by serial number) was photographed in December, 1945, at
Aberdeen Proving Ground.
The following example is the only known Mod. AP to have been captured in
combat. Warren Buxton was able to interview the GI who brought it back from WWII.
It was found by two friends (who were members of a tank crew) on a German
battlefield near the Rhine River in February 1945. It was on a German
Paratrooper - who had no further use for it. It was still in a holster and was
found the same as it is today - with the markings removed. After returning home,
the GI used it as a car gun for some 50 years, before deciding to sell it.
Note that all markings have been professionally removed by a skilled machinist.
We have no explanation why. No others are known.
The highest serial number known on a Mod. AP is 055, so it appears only about 55
were made.
Serial numbers 1 through 10 were equipped with shoulder stocks and long barrels
(one short barreled example known - probably modified).
All others had 5" barrels. Most have steel frames, but a very few higher
numbered pistols have experimental aluminum frames.
Most Mod. AP pistols (along with a lot of other unusual Walther pistols) were
removed from the Walther factory collection by a United States Army Ordnance
Technical Intelligence Team in April, 1945. Most of these were brought back to
the United States and are now in advanced auto pistol collections around the
world.
A Long-barreled example with original shoulder stock serialed in the 1-10
range
Text and pictures courtesy of Bob Adams
Model Heeres Pistole
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The "Heerespistole" became a worldwide best seller in 1939. This because of the perfect materials, reliability and finish. It was considered ,in that time, as the best pistol in the world.
The well-known American weapons seller firm. Stoeger in New York did offer the HP for the price of 75USD. The weapons where also from june 1938 available in different calibers like the .38 Super-automatic and .45 ACP.
Rare Ustasha HP
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The Ustaša - Croatian
Revolutionary Movement (Serbo-Croatian, Serbian, Croatian:
Ustaša - Hrvatski
Revolucionarni Pokret),
members known collectively as Ustaše,
but sometimes anglicised as Ustashe,
Ustashas or
Ustashi) was a Croatian
anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The ideology of the movement was blend of
fascism, Nazism,
Croatian
ultra nationalism, and Roman Catholic Clericalist Fundamentalism. The Ustaše
functioned as a terrorist organization before World War II.
In
April 1941, they were appointed to rule a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia as
the Independent State of Croatia, a puppet state
of Nazi Germany.
The
Ustaše assisted the German occupation forces in Yugoslavia in fighting an
increasingly unsuccessful campaign against the resistance forces, the Yugoslav
Partisans, who were recognized in 1943 as the military of the Allied Yugoslav
state. As German forces withdrew from Yugoslavia in 1945, the Ustaše were
defeated, expelled, and eventually destroyed by the Yugoslav forces (the
Partisans).
The Ustaše greeting was " Za dom spremni!”:
Salute:
Za dom! For home(land)!
Reply:
Spremni! (We are) ready!
This greeting was used instead of the Nazi greeting Sieg Heil by the
Ustaše.
Allied sniper with a P.38 in his holster. Often the Allied soldiers captured the German weapons.
