Walther

Walther is a German firearms manufacturer with a history spanning more than 135 years, founded in 1886 by Carl Walther in Zella-Mehlis, Thuringia. Over its long history, Walther has produced some of the most historically significant and technically innovative handguns ever made, combining German engineering precision with a progressive design philosophy that has repeatedly placed the company at the forefront of handgun development. Today, Walther Arms, Inc. is based in Fort Smith, Arkansas, in the United States, reflecting the brand’s substantial American commercial presence.

Walther’s most famous and historically significant contribution to firearms design is the Walther PP (Polizei Pistole) and its smaller sibling, the PPK (Polizei Pistole Kriminalmodell), introduced in 1929 and 1931, respectively. The PP series was the first commercially successful double-action semi-automatic pistol and introduced the double-action/single-action trigger system that became the dominant mechanism for service and defense pistols for the next six decades. The PPK achieved global fame as the preferred weapon of Ian Fleming’s fictional spy James Bond, an association that has kept the design in continuous production to the present day.

The Walther P38, introduced in 1938, extended the company’s double-action innovation to a full-size military service pistol, serving as the standard Wehrmacht sidearm in World War II and demonstrating that the double-action mechanism could function reliably under military service conditions. This design directly influenced subsequent service pistol development worldwide.

In the modern era, Walther has produced the highly successful P99 and PPQ series of polymer-framed striker-fired pistols, as well as the PDP (Performance Duty Pistol), which has earned strong reviews for its outstanding factory trigger and ergonomic design. The company continues to balance its heritage products, including continued production of the PPK, with progressive new designs that compete effectively in the contemporary handgun market.