During the inter-war years in Germany, domestic makers produced many well-regarded handgun designs, but one of the least-known is the Model 38H from Sauer & Son. Watch our "American Rifleman Television" I Have This Old Gun segment above to hear the details of this groundbreaking semi-automatic design, which was used extensively during World War II and came home in the duffel bag of many American GIs.
"When most people think about World War II German double-actions, they think of either the the PPs or the PPKs or the Mauser HSc, but there was another one that was every bit as good, if not even better, than some of these," American Rifleman Field Editor Garry James said. "And this was the Sauer 38H produced by Sauer & Son."
Production on the Sauer 38H began in 1938, with the H in the designation standing for the German word "Hahn," to indicate its innovative cocking feature. Equipped with a 3.4-inch barrel, the 38H was chambered for the .32 ACP cartridge and had a magazine capacity of eight rounds. Operation was by direct blowback, and the gun weighed 25 ounces, unloaded.
"The era of the National Socialist Third Reich produces a large number of pistols that enter the United States in great numbers after the Second World War, and one that you'll frequently encounter that's got less of a collector's following than like the Luger or the P38 is the Sauer 38H," American Rifleman contributor Martin K.A. Morgan said. "And what makes this pistol noteworthy is that it makes use of the first frame decocking device that you see."
Between 1938-1945, production totaled around 250,000 guns, far less than other popular German sidearms like the PPK or HSc. But despite its relatively low production numbers, it was a popular sidearm for the elite of the German Nazi party.
"This was a gun that showed up kind of at the higher echelon of the Nazi Party. A lot of party officials had Sauer 38H pistols," American Rifleman Executive Editor Evan Brune said. "There was a recent one that was owned by Sepp Dietrich that was recently auctioned off. There was also a very unique variant of the 38H made for German snipers who had achieved at least 100 kills. And these guns were marked very uniquely. They were marked along the left side of the slide as Dem Scharfschützen, which means 'For sharpshooters,' and was emblazoned with Heinrich Himmler’s signature."
At the conclusion of World War II, production of the Sauer 38H ceased and never resumed. However, elements of its design lived on in later models, particularly guns later produced by SIG Sauer.
"If you think of the SIG 232, for example, a lot of its principles are based on designs that were initially incorporated into the 38H," NRA Media Editorial Director Mark Keefe said. "So it's a gun that probably doesn't get the credit for being as innovative as it was at the time. But when you look at features that were on the 38H still being used today, you'll say this is a very important gun in the development of the handgun."
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