Gustloff Volkspistole
Gustloff-Werke · Pistol · Prototype · 1945
Also known as: Gustloff-Werke Volkspistole, Gustloff People's Pistol, Gustloff pistol
Overview
The Gustloff Volkspistole is a German semi-automatic pistol prototype developed by Gustloff-Werke of Suhl in early 1945 as part of the Volkspistole (people's pistol) emergency program intended to arm the Volkssturm militia with cheap, mass-producible sidearms during the final collapse of the Third Reich. Designed by chief engineer Karl Barnitzke, it adapted an earlier 7.65mm blowback pistol to the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge and used a gas-delayed blowback action related to that of the Gustloff VG 1-5 rifle. The pistol was built largely from stamped sheet-metal parts held together by pins and spot welds to minimise machining, fed from the standard Walther P38 magazine, and dispensed with a dedicated manual safety. Only a handful of hand-built examples are believed to have been produced before Germany's surrender, and no surviving specimen is known to exist today.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 800 g (28.2 oz) |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 8 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Effective Range | 25 m (27 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Stamped Steel |
| Slide Material | Stamped Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Finish | Phosphate |
Calibers
- 9x19mm Parabellum · primary · 9mm NATO — also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO, 9x19mm
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Features: Gas Delayed Blowback, Sheet Metal Construction, Pinned And Spot Welded Assembly, Uses P38 Magazine, No Manual Safety
Service history
Operators
- Wehrmacht (prototype trials)
Conflicts
- World War II (1939-1945)
Production
Estimated total produced: 5 · Production years: 1945
Reportedly about five hand-built prototypes; figure unverified by surviving records, and no example is known to survive.
Origin
Country of origin: Germany
Designer: Karl Barnitzke
Discontinued: 1945
Notes
A handful of prototypes (reportedly around five) are said to have been built, but no surviving records confirm the figure and no example is known to exist today. Reused the standard Walther P38 8-round magazine. The Walther and Mauser firms submitted competing Volkspistole designs under the same program.
Background
Conceived in the desperate final months of the war, the Volkspistole program asked German makers to design a 9mm pistol that could be stamped out of sheet metal almost anywhere. Gustloff-Werke, already responsible for the simplified VG 1-5 rifle, answered with Karl Barnitzke's gas-delayed blowback design that hit a P38 magazine and skipped a manual safety entirely in the name of speed and simplicity.