French made P38

[Larryp44]

Gentlemen, I have some research but there isn’t very much info on the P38 SVW marked pistol. I found this in great shape at a local pawn shop. All the info out there is about 12-15 years old…. Anybody got more info on the beauty….BTW , all matching…

Thanks,

Larry P

[Larryp44]

[Mike Hammer]

Well, this is a Mauser produced gun when the code was changed from "byf" to "svw" when France took over production of  the P38 after the war's end. A large number of these guns were imported thereby depressing the values of these pistols. The French produced these pistols from May 10th 1945 till May 2, 1946 and you will find 1946 serial numbered guns out there. There should be a a star proof mark on the right hand side of the gun. At any rate it's a nice example of a late -post war gun. I would be curious to know what your local pawn shop was asking for this as i have not followed the pricing of P.38's for almost 20 yrs now.

[BillyDixon]

these were imported by sam cummings aka interarms,,i have one i bought from them in 1966, heavy parkerized with stamped out sheet metal grips,,no import marks were required before gca 1968,  ive never shot it, just sayn 

[TSMGguy]

OP, your piece has a very nice set of five-line Posselt phenolic grips, most correct for a Spreewerk (cyq) WWWII P.38. 

Edited May 27, 2024 by TSMGguy

[MAUSER88]

I see it has the "BH" proof mark. That is an Austrian Military proof.