Original Item: Only One Available. Recently purchased at an estate sale, this is a very nice condition WWII production black pebble grain finished leather holster for the standard issue Walther P-38 pistol in 9mm. It is nicely marked bml / 44, indicating 1944 manufacture by Hans Römer in Neu-Ulm (Donau), Germany. This was a known maker of holsters and other military accoutrements during the war, according to GERMAN MILITARY LETTER CODES 1939-1945 by John Walter. There is also Waffenamt inspection mark WaA23 above the maker mark.

We can just barely see a "P38 "stamping on the upper right rear, which looks to have been lightly stamped. Pebble grain leather is much harder to stamp than smooth leather, so it looks that the stamping did not really take. Only by looking at the reflection on the back of the holster can the marking be seen.

The holster looks to have seen very little use during the war, and there are no marks inside the holster that indicate it held a pistol for any significant period of time. There is some wear to the finish on the belt loops, but otherwise it only shows storage wear. The holster 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 an excellent 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.