The 98k went into production in 1935, and served throughout World War II as Germany’s standard rifle. Ammunition was carried in the same manner as the Luger. Each Panzer crewman was armed with a pistol, supplemented by one MP40 per tank. There was no chance of an inadvertent blow against the hammer causing a discharge, as a block was maintained in place that could only be removed when the trigger was pulled. Once the P38 had been loaded, the cocked hammer could be lowered safely. The P38 offered several improvements, notably the introduction of a double action trigger similar to that used in the revolver. The P38 was the successor to the Luger, but never managed to replace it. Two eight round magazines were issued, one loaded and the other held in a pouch on the holster. The Luger was carried by an enormous variety of personnel. These drawbacks were somewhat compensated by the weapon’s superb potential accuracy and, considering its precision tolerances and open toggle breech, remarkable reliability in the field.
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The toggle breech mechanism required precision machining (unsuitable for mass production), was open to the elements and the entry of dirt and grit, and demanded virtually perfect ammunition to function. It was issued to all German armed forces and in the infantry found use as an officer’s sidearm, as well as with weapon crews, dispatch riders, signallers, and NCOs.įor all its popularity, the P08 was far from an ideal service pistol, having both poor sights and a complex trigger mechanism. The P08 remained the principal sidearm of the German military throughout the inter-war period. The Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to stop producing P08s, although production restarted in 1923.