Original German WWII 1944 dated Walther P38 Black Leather Softshell Holster by Franz & Karl Voegels Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. Recently purchased at an military auction, this is an excellent condition WWII production black finished leather softshell holster for the standard issue Walther P-38 pistol in 9mm. It is the standard “break-away” design with a magazine on the front side. The holster is nicely maker marked and dated on the back with ewx / 1944. This indicates 1944 production by Franz & Karl Voegels of Köln (Cologne), a known holster producer during the war according to GERMAN MILITARY LETTER CODES 1939-1945 by John Walter.

The holster is correctly marked P.38 on the upper right rear, and appears to have seen only light use. There are only some light markings inside of the holster, looking like it was used to store a pistol. However there is very little outside wear, so it probably never saw much use in the field.

This would make a perfect addition to any wartime 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.