Welcome to at present’s Picture of the Day! This strange-looking Walther AP is likely one of the rarest pistols from WWII – a prototype AP (Armee-Pistole) with serial quantity “045” that someway ended up within the holster of a German paratrooper killed close to the Rhine in early 1945. It’s one in all fewer than 20 identified to exist and the one one documented as having been captured in fight. What makes this gun’s story distinctive is its documented journey. It was captured by Sergeant Lester Hicks of the 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion, who later traded it to his buddy Sergeant Arden Adams for a digicam. Each males acknowledged it was one thing uncommon, with Hicks preferring it for its hid hammer design which made it simpler to hold inside a cramped tank destroyer. The obvious oddity is that every one exterior markings have been professionally machined off, leaving shiny slots the place Walther’s identify and mannequin designation would usually be. The serial quantity “45” stays solely on inner elements and below the grips. No person is aware of precisely why the markings had been eliminated – maybe Walther didn’t desire a prototype in fight, or possibly the paratrooper who carried it had particular connections. Structurally, this represents the developmental stepping stone between Walther’s earlier designs and the well-known P.38. It options the swinging locking block that might change into normal on the P.38, twin recoil springs, a 5-inch barrel, and the distinctive hid hammer that disappeared in later manufacturing fashions. After the conflict, Sergeant Adams used this pistol as his “automobile gun” till promoting it in 1995. Its provenance contains intensive documentation from interviews with Adams carried out by creator Warren Buxton, together with wartime images exhibiting the pistol being carried in a home made shoulder holster – making it not only a uncommon prototype, however one with a totally documented fight historical past on either side of the conflict.
“Walther Mannequin AP (Armee-Pistole) Semi-Automated Prototype Pistol.” Rock Island Public sale Firm, https://www.rockislandauction.com/element/4094/414/walther-model-ap-armeepistole-semiautomatic-prototype-pistol. Accessed 7 Apr. 2025.
