Walther PPK/S

Walther PP .32 made in Germany in 1968

The original PP was released in 1929.^[1] It was designed for police use and was used by police forces in Europe in the 1930s and later.^[1] The semi-automatic pistol operated using a simple blowback action.^[1] The PP was designed with several safety features, some of them innovative, including an automatic hammer block, a combination safety/decocker and a loaded chamber indicator.^[1]

All members of the PP series share a common takedown procedure. The trigger guard is hinged; by pulling the trigger guard downwards, the slide can be drawn backwards past the normal stopping point, lifted clear of the slide rail, and then guided back forward to clear the barrel. With the slide removed the blowback spring around the barrel is free and can be removed as well.^[relevant?]

PPKEdit

The most common variant is the Walther PPK, a smaller version of the PP with a shorter grip, barrel and frame, and reduced magazine capacity. A new, two-piece wrap-around grip panel construction was used to conceal the exposed back strap.^{[clarification needed]} The smaller size made it more concealable than the original PP and hence better suited to plain-clothes or undercover work. It was released in 1931.^[14]

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"PPK" is an abbreviation for Polizeipistole Kriminal (literally "police pistol criminal"), referring to the Kriminalamt crime investigation office. While the K is often mistakenly assumed to stand for kurz (German for "short"), as the variant has a shorter barrel and frame, Walther used the name "Kriminal" in early advertising brochures and the 1937 GECO German catalog.^{[15][full citation needed]}

The PPK saw widespread use. Adolf Hitler killed himself with his PPK (.32 ACP/7.65mm) in the Führerbunker in Berlin.^[16] A Walther PPK .32 (gun number 159270) was used by Kim Jae-gyu to kill South Korean leader Park Chung-hee.^{[citation needed]} A PPK carried by Princess Anne'spersonal police officer James Beaton infamously jammed during a kidnapping attempt on the princess and her husband.^[17]

The fictional secret agent James Bond used a Walther PPK in many of the novels and films: Ian Fleming's choice of Bond's weapon directly influenced the popularity and notoriety of the PPK.^[18][19] Fleming had given Bond a .25 Beretta 418 pistol in early novels, but switched to the PPK in Dr. No (1958) on the advice of firearms expert Geoffrey Boothroyd.^[20] Although referred to as a PPK in the film adaption of 1962, the actual gun carried by actor Sean Connery was a Walther PP.^[19][20][21]

Actor Jack Lord, who played Felix Leiter in Dr. No, was presented with a gold-plated PPK with ivory handgrips, given to him by his friend Elvis Presley. Presley himself owned a silver-finish PPK, inscribed "TCB" ("taking care of business").^[22]

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PPK/SEdit

The PPK/S was developed following the enactment of the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA68) in the United States, the pistol's largest market.^[23]One of the provisions of GCA68 banned the importation of pistols and revolvers not meeting certain requirements of length, weight, and other "sporting" features into the United States. The PPK failed the "Import Points" test of the GCA68 by a single point. Walther addressed this situation by combining the PP's frame with the PPK's barrel and slide to create a pistol that weighed slightly more than the PPK.^[10] The additional ounce or two of weight of the PPK/S compared to the PPK was sufficient to provide the extra needed import points.

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Because United States law allowed domestic production (as opposed to importation) of the PPK, manufacture began under license in the U.S. in 1983; this version was distributed by Interarms. The version currently manufactured by Walther Arms in Fort Smith, Arkansas has been modified (by Smith & Wesson) by incorporating a longer grip tang (S&W calls it "extended beaver tail"),^[24] better protecting the shooter from slide bite, i.e., the rearward-traveling slide's pinching the web between the index finger and thumb of the firing hand, which could be a problem with the original design for people with larger hands or an improper grip, especially when using more powerful cartridge loads. The PPK/S is made of stainless steel.^[10] There are also blued examples.

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The PPK/S differs from the PPK as follows:

• Overall height: 104 mm (4.1 in) vs. 100 mm (3.9 in)
• Weight: the PPK/S weighs 51 g (1.8 oz) more than the PPK
• The PPK/S magazine holds one additional round, in both calibers.^[24]

The PPK/S and the PPK are offered in the following calibers: .32 ACP (with capacities of 8 for PPK/S and 7 for PPK); or .380 ACP (PPK/S: 7; PPK: 6). The PPK/S is also offered in .22 LR with capacity of 10 rounds.

PPK-LEdit

A Walther PPK-L manufactured in 1966

In the 1960s, Walther produced the PPK-L, which was a light-weight variant of the PPK. The PPK-L differed from the standard, all steel PPK in that it had an aluminium alloy frame. These were only chambered in 7.65mm Browning (.32 ACP) and .22 LR because of the increase in felt recoil from the lighter weight of the gun. All other features of the postwar production PPK (brown plastic grips with Walther banner, high polished blue finish, lanyard loop, loaded chamber indicator, 7+1 magazine capacity and overall length) were the same on the PPK-L.

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PP SuperEdit

First marketed in 1972, this was an all-steel variant of the PP chambered for the 9×18mm Ultra cartridge. Designed as a police service pistol, it was a blowback operated, double-action pistol with an external slide-stop lever and a firing-pin safety. A manual decocker lever was on the left side of the slide; when pushed down, it locked the firing pin and released the hammer. When the 9×19mm Parabellum was chosen as the standard service round by most of the German police forces, the experimental 9mm Ultra round fell into disuse. Only about 2,000 PP Super pistols were sold to German police forces in the 1970s, and lack of sales caused Walther to withdraw the PP Super from their catalogue in 1979.^[25]

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L66A1Edit

In 1974, the British Royal Army Ordnance Corps purchased some thousand .22LR caliber Walther PP pistols for members of the Ulster Defence Regiment.^[26] They were issued as sidearms to be carried by off duty soldiers for personal protection during The Troubles.^[26] They had military markings unlike standard Walther PPs.^[26] They had black plastic gripsand were parkerized.^{[citation needed]} 1980s the guns were coated with a lacquer called Suncorite.^[26] which was later found to be toxic and is no longer in use.

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PPK/EEdit

Walther PPK/E
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Production history
Designed	2000
Manufacturer	Fegyver-és Gépgyár
Specifications
Length	155 mm (6.1 in)
Barrel length	83 mm (3.3 in)
Width	30 mm (1.2 in)
Height	113 mm (4.4 in)
Cartridge	.22 LR, .32 ACP, and .380 ACP
Action	Straight blowback
Sights	Fixed iron sights, rear notch and front blade

At the 2000 Internationale Waffen-Ausstellung (IWA—International Weapons Exhibition) in Nuremberg, Walther announced a new PPK variant designated as the PPK/E.^[27] The PPK/E resembles the PPK/S and has a blue steel finish; it is manufactured under license by FEG in Hungary. Despite the resemblance between the two, certain PP-PPK-PPK/S parts, such as magazines, are not interchangeable with the PPK/E. Official factory photographs do not refer to the pistol's Hungarian origins. Instead, the traditional Walther legend ("Carl Walther Waffenfabrik Ulm/Do.") is stamped on the left side of the slide. The PPK/E is offered in .22 LR, .32 ACP, and .380 ACP calibers.