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Walther Model 1 The first Walther handgun
to reach production status was the tiny .25 caliber pistol, later
called the Model 1, which probably went into production for the
first time in 1910. The 1908 date often cited is most likely a combination
of company propaganda and a reflection of the year when prototypes
of this gun first began development, rather than when it was placed
in series production. While original factory records are no longer
available to settle the matter for certain, an impressive weight
of documentary evidence argues against the earlier date. For example,
the German patent applications for this pistol are dated 1911, while
an early manual for this pistol calls it the "Modell 1910." The
first documented appearance of the Model 1 is in the 1911 ALFA catalog
(published by the Albert Frank Company of Hamburg, Germany). Whatever
the true date of the pistol's introduction may have been, there
is no disputing the fact that it was a remarkably innovative design
and a commercial success. The Model 1 was indeed tiny, measuring just 4.4 inches (112mm) long, with a 2-inch (50mm) barrel, and weighing a mere 12.7 ounces (360g). Its size had more to do with the Model 1's considerable success than its mechanical excellence or outstanding fit and finish. The Model 1 was merely a fine first effort, though, with future Walther handguns providing great improvements over the original Model 1 in every respect. And while its basic construction may have been unusual, it worked. The slide sat atop the frame, which was normal for an automatic pistol, but the top of the frame was cut away, exposing virtually the entire upper half of the barrel. A recoil spring underneath the barrel was kept in place by a small plug that protruded slightly from the front of the slide. An exposed trigger bar ran along the outside of the trigger and into the frame along the left side of the pistol. The trigger bar was held in place by the left grip, a design which Walther retained until World War I, when the need for a better system became evident. At the front of the triggerguard was a spring catch which, when depressed, allowed the shooter to draw back the slide and lift it off the frame for disassembly Walther subsequently abandoned this odd takedown-latch design on all its pocket and military handguns (only to revive it 20 years later in a new target pistol). Another feature of the Model 1 was its detachable magazine, which held up to six rounds of .25 caliber ammunition. The magazine release catch lay at the bottom rear of the frame. To remove the magazine a spring-loaded catch had to be pushed forward with the shooter's thumb. This type of magazine release-called the "heel" because of its location-remains extremely popular in European pistols and has been used frequently by Walther, including its entire Model 1-9 line and the P38. On the Model 1, however, the magazine release worked in the opposite direction of those used in later Walther pistols. In fact, the magazine release on the Model 1 worked exactly like FN's Model 1900 pistol, which greatly influenced Walther's decision to produce an automatic pistol in the first place. The Model 1 sported a blued finish and its grips were generally made of checkered hard rubber (checkered wood and even ivory grip panels were used occasionally as well). In early production, the hard rubber grips wore a caliber marking to alert shooters which ammunition should be used. Later on, Walther changed the grip logo to an intertwined "CW" monogram. In keeping with its function of short-range personal defense, Walther designed the Model 1's tiny sights more for minimum bulk than for precise accuracy The front sight was a hemisphere, while the rear sight consisted of a sunken groove or channel that ran across the top of the slide. An extractor was positioned at the top rear of the barrel so that empty cartridges could eject over the top of a shooter's head, in the same fashion as the Beretta Mo. 1934 and modern Raven pistols. The extractor lay across the forward part of the sighting channel, but flush with the slide so that it didn't block the view of the narrow front sight. Instead of a hammer to provide forward impetus to the firing pin, the Model 1 used a striker. Its safety was a cross-bolt type located at the rear of the frame. When applied, it blocked the striker from reaching the firing pin. To activate the safety, one merely pushed the button from right to left. The letter "S"-located on the left side of the slide underneath the gripping serrations-served as a reminder of the gun's readiness. To fire, the safety was moved from left to right, with the letter "F"-located on the right side of the slide-serving as a reminder. Aside from its unnecessarily complicated disassembly procedure, the Model 1's design was both practical and workable. As testimony to its usefulness, Walther reinserted most of the gun's construction in at least two subsequent products: the Model 9 in 1921 and the Model TP in 1961.
The Model 1 went through at least five major variations. The first featured 16 gripping serrations on the rear of the slide to help shooters load and cock the pistol. The inscription stamped onto the left side of the slide read as follows:
On most Model 1 pistols the right side of the slide had only a proofmark consisting of the letter "N" surmounted by a small crown. This proofmark-called "Crown N" by collectors appeared on firearms made in Germany between 1893 and early 1940. In April of 1940 it was replaced by a Nazi eagle over the letter "N." After the war, the "Crown N" proofmark reappeared only on firearms manufactured in East Germany, while the West Germans used a new proofmark. Because the Model 1's hard rubber grips and slide both read "Caliber 6,35," Walther soon replaced the grip caliber marking with a "CW" advertising logo. These re-marked grips then became standard for the rest of the Model 1's production run. Assuming that the serial numbers of the Model 1 started with 1, Walther made only about 8,000 of them before changing the slide inscription. As a result, these first-variation I's are quite rare. The second variation of the Model 1 featured a new slide inscription in honor of its being awarded a German patent, indicating that production began no earlier than 1911. Located on the left side of each slide was the following:
In this variation, Walther also reduced the number of slide serrations to 12, which remained in effect throughout the balance of Model 1 production. The second-variation Model 1's wore serial numbers ranging from 8000 to. approximately 15000. The left side of third-variation Model 1 slides read as follows:
This third-variation slide designation marked the earliest appearance of the now famous Walther banner, but in a relatively understated style (called the "Rat banner" by collectors). Walther produced these guns during the period 1913-1914, with serial numbers running around 15000 and ending close to 24300. In addition to the new banner, Walther made an important mechanical change by adding a second button to the right rear of the frame, behind the crossbolt safety Its function was to help hold the slide back when fieldstripping the pistol, an improvement Walther retained throughout the rest of its Model 1 production run. For the fourth variation, Walter simplified the slide inscription found on the left side of the slide to read as follows-,
Pistols so marked began at serial number 24300 and went up to about 25500, some with seven-inch (180mm) barrels. These guns were sold exclusively in the Austro-Hungarian empire, which prior to World War I dominated central and southeastern Europe. This early effort at gun control was an obvious attempt to make a pocket pistol much harder to conceal. The AustroHungarians discovered how shockingly ineffective attempts at gun control could be when Gavrilo Princip, a fanatical Serbian nationalist, murdered the Archduke Franz Ferdinand with an FN Modele 1900 pistol, its barrel cut shorter than the legal minimum. Criminals then, as now, did not obey gun-control laws-or any other laws, for that matter. Walther marked the fifth and final variation of the Model 1 with the symbol by which the company is now known around the world: the famous Walther banner in its curved form, as though it were blowing in a strong wind. All Model 1 pistols so marked with this banner first appeared at about serial number 25000. The fifth-variation Model 1 slide read as follows;
By the time this fifth-variation Model 1 went into production, however, the Models 2, 3 and 4-all of which also had the Walther banner marking-were in production, too, so it is difficult to say exactly which gun introduced the famous banner. In any event, Walther ended its Model I production in 1915 with a serial number slightly over 30000. None of these slide markings and variation number-ings are carved in stone, what with a bewildering combination of markings and features noted in the Model 1 line. For the Walthers, who were learning as they went along, this was their first pistol design. Under such circumstances, it's not at all unheard of for deviations to appear. This reconstruction is based on research, including an excellent study by James B. Stewart in the 1973 edition of Guns Illustrated, and on examination of extant specimens. Walther researchers are forced to use these indirect means because all Walther factory records up to 1945 were destroyed following the Soviet occupation of the Zella-Mehlis region starting in June of that year. The Model 1 was a reasonably successful pistol for Walther, with slightly over 30,000 produced, judging from the serial numbers of existing specimens. In terms of numbers produced and total sales, it was actually more successful than the advanced Models 2 and 3 which followed it. Not until 1915, early in World War 1, did cease Model 1 production to concentrate on newer designs promising greater military value.
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| ©1999 Gene Gangarosa, Jr. The Walther Handgun Story, Stoeger Publishing Company. | ||||||||
