Tom explains the difference between commercially sold Walther PP and PPK pistols, and military issued PP and PPK pistols. A very helpful & educational video for those who want to learn more about these historic WW2 weapons.

Walther PPs and PPKs

Interarms Ppk Serial Number Lookup. Dec 28, 2013 I had hoped to show you my new stainless Interarms Walther.32 ACP (7.65mm) PPK by now, but it's currently being held by a sheriff department in another state pending a defensive shooting. I don't know how one can base production numbers of the PP based on serial numbers considering where the numbering started in 1929 at serial number 750000, restarted at 10000 in 1938 and that the numbering for the PP and PPK were intermingled up to 1938. The serial number parallel to the grip on the right hand side is 15950 I believe. The approximate range of serial numbers for Walther PP's produced during the war(1939-1945) are 155501P to 3906xxP. Your serial number with the ac (Walther mfg code) falls in the late war, 1945 production period.

Walther Ppk Ww2 Serial Number Lookup

Hey, guys, I have another educational video for you today. But first, check this out. You'll notice I don't have the boring pullover. I now have the classy button-down. We hired a designer to come up with these. Actually, Randy, where do we get these? Was at Wal-Mart. But yeah, I got I upgraded my shirt. Hope you like it. Make sure you push the like button so I can wear it again. I'm going do an educational video today. And this goes along with our theme of Walthers, Walther PPs and PPKs, which are pre 1946. So yesterday I got an email from Tim. You'll notice I'm still on AOL. That means I'm very, very old. There's only two people in the country, probably one guy watching this and me.

PP or PPK Which is better for me?

Tim asked me this question which I get asked fairly often. I want to buy one PP or PPK and I'm not sure what to get. I could get a commercial, but I'd really like a military-issued gun. How do I know the difference? Great question, Tim!And here's your answer.

The vast majority of Walther PPs and PPKs were commercial and here's where it gets confusing. In 1940 actually, end of thirty-nine, early forty, the Nazis decided to dress up their proof marks, and so they took the crown N proof mark and turned it into an eagle N proof mark. So, during the war, all of the guns PPs and PPKs are going to have an eagle N on the slide. The ejection port and then a lot of people miss this one. You'll see one here on the end of the barrel. so that eagle N looks a lot like a Nazi eagle. And therefore, mistakenly, a lot of people say, oh, this one went to the Nazi military. It didn't. That's a commercial proof of firing proof. All of them were test-fired, inspected and hit with an eagle N stamp. However, some of them did go to the military and it has a completely separate marking, which I'm going to show you in a minute. But let me talk a little bit more about the commercial guns.

Commercial Guns: Lugers, P-38, PP, PPK

In the German army, unlike the American army, it was not uncommon for an officer to buy their own pistol. I think it goes back to WWI, and between the wars, they actually didn't have a lot of money. There is a lot of budget cuts and so it might take a while to be able to get a sidearm. So, a lot of the officers who came from the usually the more upper-class people would often go out and buy their own guns. So, the average citizen just couldn't walk into a store and buy a gun. You had to know somebody or be somebody in order to get a gun. Obviously, German officers were somebody in Germany and they could go and buy their own pistol. What you'll notice in period photos that most of the line troops, meaning the grunt soldiers they either carry to P-38 or a Luger and they always say the smaller the gun, the higher the rank. The officers tend to have the smaller guns and they liked the PP and the PPK. Also, we know they carried Sauers and HSC’s pistols of that size, but the most popular by far was the Walther PP and the PPK. So, some of the commercial guns did go to the military, but they were private purchase and there's no way for us to prove where it went. But the German army did order guns and they were specially marked.

Military Walther Pistols: Waffen Proofs Military Issues or Not?

So, what I'd like to do is take a look at what how do we know it's military issued, the one unique feature that you'll find is the Waffen proof. Now, this started out as an eagle 3 5 9 proof and then went to a Waffen 3 5 9 proof. I'm going to show you these proof marks by talking about the different variations now in every video. Sometimes people say you don't give enough detail and other people say way too much detail. You bored me to death. So, what I've done is I put together a cheat-sheet which you can get from us by going go to our Website or just email us at the address below and ask us for this and we'll email this over to you. You can also do a quick screenshot if that helps. For those of you who like the detail, this will go over all of the serial numbers for each variation.

German Walther Ppk Serial Numbers

Military PPK’s: First Variation

The first variation is in Eagle 3 5 9, now 3 5 9 was the inspector approved for the Walther factory. You'll see that on all the Walther weapons, they'll have an eagle or a Waffen Eagle 3 5 9. This is the first variation. High polished finish comes in a specific Sierra range. It was issued to the military as evidenced by the Waffen proofs. These are on the frame in the slide and also a few. You'll find the slide Waffen proof on the tang. I don't have one to show you, but right here is the tang right on the end. Sometimes they'll be a stamp. Typically, they're stamped here in here. So, this is the first variation because it's Eagle 3 5 9.

Military PPK’s: Second Variation

Now, let's talk about this second variation, which is also high polish. But now we've moved to an Waffen Eagle 3 5 9, again, this is an inspector proof. Just like in the American factories, the inspectors would put their initials. This was kind of like your initial, but it was an inspector proof with 3 5 9, meaning Walther factory. This is a high polish finish. We still have the brown grip. Beautiful looking gun. The finish on this is exactly like the commercial guns. It wasn't later until later mid war to late war, they deteriorated the finish to adult finish. We're going to see that in a minute.

Now, in a previous video, I said, for those of you who are sharp, you'll remember this. I said, if you ever see a numbered magazine, whether it's on the spine or the side or the bottom. It was a special contract. So, this Waffen, 3 5 9 has two matching magazines. Must be for a special purpose and I won't bore you with the detail, but we have evidence from downed aircraft, but also from going to some of the Luftwaffe bases. We find these were sent to the Luftwaffe. This is a Luftwaffe marked holster with two matching mags. So, we know that this went to the Luftwaffe. And they do fall within a specific serial range. Again, the cheat sheet will go over that for you.

Military PPK’s: Third Variation

The third variation is Waffen 3 5 9, but no matching magazine, so, therefore, it's still the high polished finish. It's a new serial range and you can take a look at that a little bit later. But these went to the German army.

Military PPK’s: Fourth Variation

And the final variation, 4th variation, they fall in the late war range and you'll see this as more of a dull finish, it also has the black grip that you won't find a matching magazine, but it's Waffen 3 5 9. Let's just compare it to the high polished finish. You can see the difference with the dull military, 4th contract and then the early or third contract high polished finish.

Military PP’s: First Variation

Still on the military issued PPs, very similar, it'll sound a little repetitive Eagle 3 5 9 high polished finish just as before. You will not find numbered mag in it on the sheet. It goes over the Serial-Ranges, if you want to look that up, it will give you that information.

Military PP’s: Second Variation

Walther Ppk Serial Number Lookup

The second variation is a new variation. This is gonna throw you a curveball. The only ones are known to be 9 MM. This is a solid block. It was an order for the Luftwaffe and again, we know that from it, not from factory records, they were destroyed. But when you go to the Luftwaffe bases, you'll find that there was a contract for nine-millimeter. See the bigger diameter it is Waffen 3 5 9 proof and special contract matching number magazine. These were originally issued to a similar holster; would that would be Luftwaffe mark and instead of PPK ink stamp it will say PP and it would have come with two matching magazines. If you find one of those. Let me know. Send me the serial number. I'll put it in our database. It's a very rare 9-millimeter Luftwaffe issued PPs

Military PP’s: Third Variation

The third variation, we have the serial-range, but it is also a Luftwaffe contract. But now it's seven-point six-five. So, it's exactly like the nine-millimeter. It comes in a specific range. It comes with a matching magazine numbered on the bottom and it's Waffen three, five, nine. You'll notice this still has the high polished finish. It also has the serial number on the slide, which is unique for this subcontract.

Military PP’s: Fourth Variation

This is a duller finish. So, this is a fourth variation. It went to the military. This one has a unique reddish grip for some strange reason during this serial range, they experimented with the color, that grip. Evidently, they didn't like it because they went back to the brown suit for a very brief period of time. It has a reddish looking grip. In fact, this whole gun has like a reddish hue, which is the way they mixed and mixed the bluing solution and also the preparation of the metal. You'll see those on Walther products, such as the P-38 and other guns. But this one is Waffen 3 5 9 proofed. You will not find a matching magazine. So, we assume this did not go to the Luftwaffe. But rather the German army.

Walther Pp Serial Number Dates

Military PP’s: Fifth Variation

This is also a Waffen3 5 9. You'll see the duller finished, but this one now has a wooden grip. They were running out of petroleum products. So, for a period of time, they experimented with wooden grips. This would have been about 1944. Now it still has the slide legend. You can see the slide legend in there and no matching mag. But these could fall into a certain range. And then I apologize in advance. I don't, this is not Waffen proofed but they did make these Waffen proofed. I just want to just show you that by the end of the war 1945, they actually didn't even bother putting you see this slide legend. They're very faint. Here the slide legend is removed and if you look at the reverse, all they did was put the A.C. stamp, which was the factory code for Walther.

Walther Ppk/s Serial Number Lookup

So, the last variation 1945 would have a Waffen stamp here and here and as I said, I do have a 1945 PP. In fact, this one is missing the proof marks, which means it was never issued. It was in the factory at the end of the war, but they do have no slide legend AC marked, with Waffen stamp, which would be the final variation.

Bonus:

Cheat Sheet

So that's a really quick overview. If you want more information, you can go to the cheat-sheet. Take a look at that.

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Walther Serial Numbers By Year

Most importantly, if you have questions or comments, please like and subscribe to our video, please be sure to contact us. We'd love to record your serial numbers. I am expanding my database. I have over 12,000 serial numbers at this point and could use some more. So, stay in touch. If you have questions, feel free to send them in.