I'm new to firearms collecting so, please, forgive the dumb questions and bad English.
I recently purchased a 1960 Walther P38 and noticed it has a firing pin lock / auto safety and, as far as I can tell is safe to carry with a round in the chamber.
Can someone tell me when was this firing pin auto safety first introduced in this model?
Did original wartime, steel frame guns already have this safety?
Are wartime P38s safe to carry with a round in the chamber?
What did German military doctrine said about carrying guns with chambered rounds?
Welcome! I can't speak to the doctrinal application, but the P38 design has had a firing pin lock lifter and a safety barrel firing pin block since it was first accepted by the German Army. The safety barrel, when rotated to safe, rolls faces that block forward movement of the firing pin (and also releases the hammer) so that the pin cannot reach a primer and prevents a hammer that is struck by outside force from firing as well. The lock lifter pulls another wedge, unblocking the pin, out of the way when about to fire. The firing pin head is in a recessed position on the slide. These three ways help prevent an accidental discharge when a round is chambered. They won't stop one if parts are worn or damaged, or were switched with non-matching era pieces.
Both the firing pin and lock lifter parts were redesigned after WW2, postwar parts are not transferable to wartime designs or vice versa, although many other parts do switch out, such as the slide, barrel, grips, etc.
Welcome! I can't speak to the doctrinal application, but the P38 design has had a firing pin lock lifter and a safety barrel firing pin block since it was first accepted by the German Army. The safety barrel, when rotated to safe, rolls faces that block forward movement of the firing pin (and also releases the hammer) so that the pin cannot reach a primer and prevents a hammer that is struck by outside force from firing as well. The lock lifter pulls another wedge, unblocking the pin, out of the way when about to fire. The firing pin head is in a recessed position on the slide. These three ways help prevent an accidental discharge when a round is chambered. They won't stop one if parts are worn or damaged, or were switched with non-matching era pieces.
Both the firing pin and lock lifter parts were redesigned after WW2, postwar parts are not transferable to wartime designs or vice versa, although many other parts do switch out, such as the slide, barrel, grips, etc.
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