WWII German Military Mauser byf-44 P.38 9mm Semi-Automatic Pistol, 1944 C&R

SOLD FOR: $1,111.00

WOA#: WY240526BJ059

Make: Mauser, “byf” 

Model: P.38 

Serial#: 3342a 

Year of Manufacture: 1944, C&R 

Caliber: 9mm Luger 

Action Type: Single/Double-Action Semi-Automatic Pistol fed by a Detachable 8-round Magazine  

Markings: The front of the barrel assembly is marked with the serial number “3342 / a”. The left side of the barrel assembly is marked with a “WaA135” waffenamt and has an eagle clutching globe behind the locking block. The locking block is marked “342 / a” on the bottom, the left has an eagle clutching globe, the right has a “WaA135” waffenamt. The left side of the slide is marked “P.38”, “byf / 44” and “3342a”. The safe and fire indicators are white and red, respectively. The left side of the frame is marked “3342a” and has the same waffenamt as the barrel assembly. The right side of the slide is marked with the same waffenamt as the rest of the handgun twice and with an eagle clutching globe in between the waffenamts. There is a SSN hand-scribed on the right of the frame, concealed by the grips when assembled. 

Barrel Length: 125mm (approximately 4.9”) 

Sights/ Optics: There is a blade dovetailed to a banded base by the muzzle and a “U”-notch dovetailed to the slide. 

Stock Configuration & Condition/ Grip: The grips are two-piece AEG serrated brown synthetic panels. The grips have light handling wear with some minor nicks and scuffs. There is some slightly more notable wear around the lanyard ring on the left panel. The serrations are well defined. There are no chips or cracks. Overall, the grips are in Very Good-plus condition. 

Type of Finish: Blue 

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is mostly bright with sharp rifling. There is no erosion, but there is some stubborn fouling in the bore. In this writer’s opinion, the bore rates 8 or 9 out of 10.

Overall Condition: The pistol retains about 87% of its metal finish. Most of the balance is handling wear in the grip areas. The finish is thinning at all edges and there are a few minor nicks and small scratches. The action shows operational wear. The markings remain clear. The screw head is sharp. Overall, the pistol is in Very Good-plus condition.  

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We have not fired this pistol. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance requirements.  

Box Paperwork and Accessories: The gun comes with a single 8-round post-war Walther magazine.

Our Assessment: The Parabellum Pistole Modell 1908 (the Luger in lay terms) was showing its age by the early 1930s and the German Army began to seek out a new handgun to equip its forces. German arms manufacturers submitted a number of designs to replace the aged Luger. The design which most impressed the military was the AP (Armee Pistole or Army Pistol) designed by Carl Walther Waffenfabrik, but the gun’s concealed hammer design was considered inefficient and the gun was reworked to accommodate an external hammer. The new handgun was named the Heerespistole (also translates to Army Pistol; Heer translates to Army) and it featured an external hammer and could be fired as either a single or double-action based on the needs of the user. This improved design impressed the German Army which opted to adopt the handgun as its new standard issue sidearm in 1938. There are only a few minor dimensional changes between the P.38 and HP, they were done to facilitate mass production. The gun would remain the standard issue sidearm of the Heer until its ultimate defeat at the end of WWII. The stalwart design remains in service with a number of military and police formations to this day.      

This particular specimen is a WWII-era P.38 that was made by Mauser in 1944. The pistol is characteristic of late war production specimens; it lacks the more thorough inspection marks seen on early production specimen. The handgun was made at Mauser (evidenced by the “byf” code and waffenamts), but the grips were made by AEG (Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG; “General Electricity Company”). AEG was a German electrical company which produced grips for P.38s during WWII, the company relied heavily upon forced labor (or to be more frank, slaves) as the war dragged on. Mauser had taken over the production of Luger P.08 semi-automatic handguns in the 1930s and produced the gun until mid-1941, the firm then took up production of the P.38 with mass production of the more modern handgun beginning in 1942 and continuing until the end of WWII. This specimen is well preserved for a later war production handgun, it was made in 1944 when the war effort was going poorly for the Third Reich. Although the Wehrmacht managed to stymie the Allied advance in Italy, the Western Allies launched a successful seaborne invasion of France in early June and most critically the Red Army initiated a massive offensive in late June that saw the liberation of vast swathes of territory in a matter of months. Despite its failing fortunes, the Third Reich managed to produce a massive amount of war material in 1944, albeit with lower quality materials as shortages continued to plague the collapsing empire. This handgun comes from this period and will certainly appeal to historical collectors. Good luck on your bid!  

Please forgive any typos, I was educated in California. -Bud