Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen (), or simply known as Walther, is a German firearm manufacturer, and a subsidiary of the PW Group. Founded by Carl Walther in 1886, the company has manufactured

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s and

air gun An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles pneumatically with compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized ''without'' involving any chemical reactions, in contrast to a firearm, which pressurizes gases ''chemical ...

s at its facility in Germany for more than 100 years. Walther Arms, Inc. is the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Walther business unit and is based in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

History

The history of Walther started with the factory created by Matthias Conrad Pistor, the chief armorer of the Kassel Armory. Pistor is the ancestor of the Walther family. This plant was operating in 1780 and made pistols and other weapons. The granddaughter of Gustave Wilhelm Pistor married August Theodore Walther, whose son Carl Wilhelm Freund established the factory that employed apprentice Carl Walther. This small shop was established in 1886 in Zella-Mehlis, in what is today

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

. The company originally manufactured hunting and target rifles. Then in 1888, he married Minna Georgine Pickert, daughter of Christian Friedrich Pickert, from the well-established revolver manufacturer "Arminius Waffenwerk", in the same town. Walther Model 8

It was not until 1908 that, under the initiative of Fritz Walther, the oldest son of Carl Walther, they began to make pistols. Models 1 to 5 and 7 to 9 were in calibers

.25 ACP The .25 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) (6.35×16mmSR) is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled centerfire pistol cartridge introduced by John Browning John Moses Browning (January 23, 1855 – November 26, 1926) was an American firearm designe ...

(6.35mm) and

.32 ACP .32 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol, also known as .32 Automatic) is a centerfire pistol cartridge. It is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning, initially for use in the FN M1900 semi-automatic pi ...

(7.65mm). The Model 6 was Walther's first attempt at a 9mm Luger pistol. It used blowback rather than a locked breech and proved unsuccessful, with only around 1,000 made. Its rarity has made it highly sought after on the collectors market. In 1929 Walther began to make the popular Walther PP ''Polizeipistole'' (police pistol) models. Walther followed this in 1931 with the first PPKs (''Polizeipistole Kriminalmodell'', or Police Pistol Detective Model). Walther manufactured both PP and PPKs in

.22 Long Rifle The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smo ...

(the most common caliber),

.380 ACP The .380 ACP (9×17mm) ( Automatic Colt Pistol) is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Moses Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pisto ...

and a minimal number in

. The PP models were the first mass-produced pistols with stamped parts. Still, the overall increase in dependability and high production quality with lower relative manufacturing costs made them the best option to replace the P-08 Luger. In 1938,

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

awarded the contract for that replacement to Walther for the 9mm P38. A sick Polish survivor in the Hannover-Ahlem concentration camp receives medicine from a German Red Cross worker

A sick Polish survivor in the Hannover-Ahlem concentration camp receives medicine from a German Red Cross worker

From 1942 until 1945, the company used slave labour at the Neuengamme concentration camp, and operated its own factory at the camp. With his factory destroyed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and Zella-Mehlis in the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a ...

, Walther was reduced to just a collection of designs and patents. Fritz Walther started anew and began manufacturing in Ulm,

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

in 1953.Keefe, Mark A., IV "Walther. Carl Walther." '' American Rifleman'' October 2013 pp.64-68&110-114 The company resumed production of the P38 (renamed the P1) in 1957 to equip the new West German Army, the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

, with sidearms. When Fritz Walther died in December 1966, his son, Karl-Heinz, took over the company, concentrating on the sports sector. In 1993,

Umarex Umarex Sportwaffen GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of air guns (including Umarex air pistols such as the Beretta Elite II), tear-gas and signal pistols, paintball markers under the RAM brand and airsoft guns, based in Arnsberg, North Rhi ...

Sportwaffen (now part of PW Group) of

Arnsberg Arnsberg (; wep, Arensperg) is a town in the Hochsauerland county, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Hochs ...

, Germany, acquired Walther. It continued to manufacture under the Walther name in Ulm and Arnsberg. The German Walther company is known as Carl Walther Sportwaffen. In 1999, the U.S.-based Smith & Wesson company became the authorized importer for Walther Firearms. In 2012, the PW Group formed a new subsidiary, Walther Arms, Inc., located in Fort Smith, Arkansas, to take over the distribution of Walther arms in the United States.

Products

Handguns

* Walther OSP *

Walther GSP The Walther GSP, ''Gebrauchs Sportpistole'' (Sport Pistol for Standard Use), is a single-action, precision targetshooting pistol made in Germany by Walther Sportwaffen. It has the same technical base as the Walther OSP and thus is almost ident ...

* Walther SSP * Walther Olympia *

Walther SP22 The SP22 is a modular semi-automatic pistol manufactured by Walther Sportwaffen and distributed by Smith & Wesson. The SP22 is chambered in .22 LR The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-estab ...

* Walther Model 4 *

Walther Model 8 The Walther Model 8 was a 6.35mm single-action pocket pistol manufactured by Carl Walther CmbH between 1920 and 1940. It was fed by an 8-round magazine and chambered in .25 ACP. The Model 8 is a blowback pistol with a concealed hammer and has se ...

Walther Model 9 The Walther Model 9 was a striker fired semi-automatic pistol produced by Carl Walther CmbH and chambered in .25 ACP. The decision to use a striker vs. that of an internal hammer like on the Walther Model 8 was to reduce overall size of the gu ...

* Walther PP * Walther PPK * Walther P38 * Walther TPH * Walther P1 *

Walther P4 The Walther P38 (originally written Walther P.38) is a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol that was developed by Carl Walther GmbH as the service pistol of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II. It was intended to replace the costly Luger P08 ...

* Walther P5 * Walther P88/Compact * Walther P99 *

Walther P22 The P22 is a semi-automatic pistol chambered for .22 LR (5.6 mm) rimfire ammunition. Manufactured by Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen, it was introduced in 2002. Operation The P22 may be fired double action at about , and operates as a single a ...

Walther PDP The Walther PDP (Performance Duty Pistol) is a 9×19mm Parabellum semi-automatic pistol designed in 2021 by Walther Arms as a replacement for the Walther PPQ. The PDP has been designed to be more modular than previous Walther handguns, and has bee ...

Walther PPS The Walther PPS (''Polizei-Pistole Schmal'' / Police Pistol Slim) is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the German company Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen of Ulm for concealed carry for civilians and plainclothes law enforcement personnel. It i ...

Walther PK380 The Walther PK380 is a semi-automatic pistol manufactured by Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. Distribution in the United States is by subsidiary Walther Arms, Inc. Design details The Walther PK380 is chambered for the .380 Auto (9×17mm) cartri ...

Walther PPQ The Walther PPQ (, ''Polizeipistole Quick Defence'' / Police Pistol Quick Defence) is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the German company Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen of Ulm for law enforcement, security forces and the civilian shooting mar ...

Walther Creed The Walther PPX is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the German company Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen of Ulm as a low cost duty pistol. It is available in 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W. The pistol, along with its sister design, the Walth ...

Walther Q5 Match Walther is a masculine given name and a surname. It is a German language, German form of Walter (name), Walter, which is derived from the Old High German ''Walthari'', containing the elements ''wald'' -"power", "brightness" or "forest" and ''hari' ...

Walther PPX The Walther PPX is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the German company Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen of Ulm as a low cost duty pistol. It is available in 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W. The pistol, along with its sister design, the Wal ...

Walther CCP The Walther CCP (''Concealed Carry Pistol'') is a delayed blowback semi-automatic pistol developed by Carl Walther Sportwaffen for the concealed carry civilian market. Product evolution The Walther CCP was introduced in March 2014. It is availa ...

* Walther FP60 * Walther Q4 SF *

Walther WMP Walther is a masculine given name and a surname. It is a German language, German form of Walter (name), Walter, which is derived from the Old High German ''Walthari'', containing the elements ''wald'' -"power", "brightness" or "forest" and ''hari' ...

Rifles, shotguns and submachine guns

;Submachine guns * Walther MPK/MPL ;Shotguns * Walther automatic shotgun ;Air Rifles *

Walther LGR The Walther LGR air rifle was developed by the Germany, German arms manufacturer Walther arms, Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen as a high end match rifle for 10 metre air rifle competition shooting. The LGR was the first match air rifle that employed ...

* Walther LGV *

Walther LG300 The Walther LG300 is a pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) air rifle designed for 10 metre air rifle match shooting. The rifle uses dehumidified compressed air as propellant for the diabolo air gun pellets. This is stored in compressed-air cylinders th ...

Walther LG400 The Walther LG400 is an air rifle first introduced in 2010 as the successor to the Walther LG300. It is a PCP (pre-charged pneumatic) powered by compressed air from a removable air cylinder. It was designed as a 10 metre air rifle for indoor comp ...

;Firearm Rifles * Gewehr 41 * Gewehr 43 *

MKb 42(W) The Maschinenkarabiner 42(W) (German: "machine carbine model 1942 (Walther)" ) or MKb 42(w) was an early German assault rifle designed in 1940-41 by Walther during World War II. The Mkb 42(W), and the more successful Maschinenkarabiner 42(H) de ...

Walther G22 The Walther G22 is a semi-automatic rifle chambered in the popular .22 Long Rifle (5.6 mm) cartridge, made by Walther. It is of bullpup design and constructed of polymer and steel. The rifle can be configured for both left and right hand shooter ...

Walther WA 2000 The Walther WA 2000 is a semi-automatic bullpup sniper rifle produced by the Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen company from 1982 until 1988. It was produced in three different calibers. Production of the rifle was limited and it was shortly stopped ...

References

External links

Carl Walther
official German brand website (German).
Carl Walther
, official German brand website (English).
Walther Arms, Inc.
official U.S. brand website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Walther Arms Arnsberg Companies based in Baden-Württemberg Companies based in North Rhine-Westphalia Defence companies of Germany Firearm manufacturers of Germany Knife manufacturing companies Neuengamme concentration camp Ulm Companies involved in the Holocaust