Original Item: Only One Available. Recently purchased at a military show, this is an excellent lightly used condition WWII production black finished leather holster for the standard issue Walther P-38 pistol in 9mm. This example has the desirable "Bearskin with an Oakleaf and #9 on top" marking, which has never been officially attributed to any maker. It is found on a variety of holsters made during the war, all of excellent quality. Some relatively recent detective work has attributed these holsters to being made by Lederfabrik Christof Neuner of Klagenfurt, Austria. "Neun" is the German word for Nine, and it makes sense that the trademark would be for them.

There is also Waffenamt inspection mark WaA938 above the maker mark, correct for this maker and seen on other known examples. This inspector was based in Austria, and seen on holsters made by AKAH, leading many to suspect that was the maker, however the style of construction was incorrect. There is a very nice P38 stamping two the right of the maker marking, which is still clear, definitely a rarity as these are often mis-struck.

The holster is in very good lightly used condition, and does not look to have seen extensive service during or after the war. The interior does show some wear marks from the pistol, and there is light wear on the exterior, but no major finish issues or cracking. The black color is very well retained, and the leather is still nice and supple, just how we like to see them.

A perfect addition to any WW2 Walther P.38 pistol in need of a great condition original holster.

The Walther Pistole 38 (P.38) pistol was first introduced in 1938 as a replacement for the P.08. The P.38 was a more cost-efficient and more reliable in war conditions such as mud and rain. The P.08 was a typical prewar German gun, over engineered to perfection, with a sensitive toggle breech system that would malfunction when dirt was involved. The P.38 was a workhorse that did just what it was meant to do. It could handle most harsh battlefield conditions and as such the closed hardshell holster was discontinued later in the war and replaced for a partially open softshell holster. During the War close around 900,000 were produced, so the holsters were also produced in large quantities.