[sally]

I'm hoping for some guidance on these, not knowing where to start.
My dad left me some pistols and I'd like to find out more about them.
I have two Walther P38's;
One is marked AC 41 2703f
the other is marked BY43 8953 (a character I cannot decipher after the number)
Also I have an Astra not sure of the model but it is marked;
Pistola de 9mm
Modelo 1921
It says Esperanzo Y Unceta, Guernaca, Espana
and it has 1630 stamped in a couple of places, (barrel, and near the grip).

[Jim Watson]

The Germans were trying to be sneaky and keep their arms production sites and quantities disguised by assigning makers' codes instead of trademarks.

AC 41 means made by Walther in 1941.
Serial numbers were four digits plus a letter, so 2703f was really in the 60,000s for that year.

If the other is really marked "byf 43", it was made by Mauser at Oberndorff in 1943. The character after the number is undoubtedly the letter which completes the serial number in German practice.

Code "by" is for Ernst Grunow. He is listed as a designer for the MG42 machine gun, but I don't see what he manufactured for the German army, certainly not P38s.

Your Astra is a Model 1921, more commonly known as the Astra 400. No doubt 1630 is the serial number of an early gun. It was the Spanish military issue sidearm for a number of years. A lot of them were sold surplus here after they went to Star pistols. Caliber is 9mm Largo, not the world standard 9mm Parabellum as shot by your P38s. It was common to sell the surplus Astras as "any 9mm" guns because there was no ready supply of 9mm Largo ammunition. While they will work with 9mm Para after a fashion, it is not anything to really count on.

[sally]

Thanks for the info. You are right, the P38 is marked 'byf 43'. The f is not easily distinguished. So do the P38's shoot 9mm?
What is the distinction between 9mm kurz, luger and parabellum? Its confusing.

[Avenger]

9mm Luger and Parabellum are the same thing. The actual cartridge name is 9mm Parabellum, it is referred to as 9mm Luger because the Luger pistol was the first arm to use this ammo, and the company that makes it gets to name it! Like .45 is referred to as .45 Colt, even though other pistols use it. 9mm is also referred to as 9x19mm, where 19 is the length of the brass case in millimeters.

9mm kurz is the .380 ACP cartridge, also known as 9x17mm. It has a shorter brass case which means the whole round is shorter. In order to prevent confusion with the 9x19mm in metric countries the .380 ACP is referred to by the German word for 'short', which is obviously 'kurz'.

9mm Largo, on the other hand, is a cartridge that measures 9x23mm, which is longer than the 9mm Parabellum/Luger. Largo is Spanish for 'large', again to prevent confusion with the 9x19mm. How the Spanish got to name it when the cartridge was designed for the DANISH military....

Your P-38s will fire the 9mm Luger or Parabellum ammo. Obviously, if you don't know what kind of shape the pistol is in, or are new to shooting, you'll want to get it looked at by a gunsmith, just to make sure it is safe to use. The P-38 is a great design, and an excellent shooting pistol. There is also a ton of collector interest in them.

Your Astra is designed for the 9x23mm Largo. That ammo can be a little hard to find, and expensive to boot. It is a large and powerful cartridge, so the gun is built quite strongly, which is why it CAN fire the 9x19mm, even though this is not really a good idea. Firing 9mm Para in an Astra is a little like putting a Honda Civic motor in a Corvette....it'll still go, but it isn't much fun and all the purists get mad!

[sally]

Excellent information, well appreciated.

[Jim K]

If your 1941 P.38 is in good shape, it is fairly valuable, as guns made before 1942 were superb and highly prized by collectors. They can run over $1000 if in really nice condition.

(Retail price, of course, not what a dealer will give you for it.)

Jim