The Walther Model 3

by Ed Buffaloe
 

The patent for the Walther Model 3 was filed on 22 October 1911, but a 7.65 mm Walther pistol was already being advertised for sale by Immanual Meffert of Suhl in February of 1912, as can be seen from an advertisement in Der Waffenschmied. To be sure, only the Model 1 is illustrated in the advertisement, but it clearly states that a gun is also available in 7.65 mm. This same advertisement continued to appear for several months. Gene Gangarosa was almost certainly correct when he asserted that the Model 3 preceded the Model 2, which probably did not appear until 1914.

Immanuel Meffert Advertisement from Der Waffenschmied, 25 Feb. 1912

The patent would not actually be granted until February of 1913, but it appears likely the Model 3 was offered for sale prior to the granting of the patent. The first advertisement with a picture of the Walther Model 3 is from the 1913 Gecado (GECO) catalog where it appears next to a Model 1. There are no model numbers assigned to the guns at this time—the two pistols are advertised as the “Walther Selbstlade Pistole Kal. 6.35 mm” and the “Walther Selbstlade Pistole Kal. 7.65mm”.  Notice that the inscription on the 7.65 mm pistol says D.R.G.M. IN-&AUSLANDSPATENT ANG, indicating a gebrauchsmuster (a short-term utility patent) was filed, along with foreign patents. But this inscription was never used on a Model 3 pistol, and no gebrauchsmuster has ever been located for a Model 2 or 3 pistol.

Illustration from the 1913 GECO catalog showing the Deutsche Walther-Selbstlade-Pistoles in 6.35 & 7.65 mm.

The 1913 GECO advertisement describes the gun thus: “The pistol has a fixed barrel made of prime Krupp steel that is screwed into the housing, which ensures particularly good accuracy. The external, tasteful, flat shape in connection with the solid, simple, reinforced mechanism with absolutely reliable functioning make this model particularly recommendable. The pistol can be disassembled in a few simple steps without tools and this is done without removing the barrel. The safety is designed as a twist lock and secures the hammer at the same time as the sear and trigger. The pistol can only be secured when it is cocked and can be unloaded without any danger when it is in the secured condition.”

The Patent

German patent № 256606 was filed 22 October 1911, and granted 17 February 1913. The patent is relatively simple, making claims for a design with a fixed barrel, and a spring-loaded hammer and sear activated by a transfer bar, all of which are clearly illustrated. The manual safety is shown and described, but no claim is made for it. The patent describes a bayonet lug as holding the front barrel bushing in place.

Patent illustration from German patent № 256606.

U.S. patent № 1059581 was filed 15 December 1911 and granted 22 April 1913. The U.S. patent illustration has somewhat more detail, and there is an interesting difference between the U.S. and German patent illustrations. The German patent shows the slide being fitted over the end of the barrel from the left side, and the ejection port is shown with dotted lines, indicating it is on the right side of the gun, whereas the U.S. patent has the illustration reversed, showing the slide being fitted from the right side and the ejection port on the left side.

Patent illustration from U.S. patent № 1059581.

The Walther Model 3

The Model 3 is a relatively simple fixed barrel, hammer fired, unlocked breech automatic pistol with the ejection port on the left instead of the right. The external transfer bar runs under the left grip, and is tensioned upward by the long arm of a spring mounted on the hammer pin. The transfer bar has a lobe on top that serves as a disconnector when the slide is out of battery. There is an external extractor on the left side of the slide, and a fixed ejector on the right side of the frame. The safety lever behind the hammer blocks the hammer only when it is cocked thus also serving as a cocking indicator. The gun is safe to carry with a round in the chamber if the safety is engaged.

This is serial number 18910, from a private collection. Note the left side ejection port and the “Made in Germany.”

The recoil spring surrounds the barrel, and has a bushing at each end. The rear bushing covers the rear of the spring in the area of the ejection port, preventing any build up of dirt in the spring. Instead of a knurled muzzle nut with a bayonet lug like the Model 2 (and as described in the patent), the Model 3 has a short bushing that forms the front barrel shroud, with a slot on the underside. A spring-loaded horizontal latch fits into the slot to hold the bushing in place. The latch pivots on a screw beneath the barrel. There is a groove on top of the gun with a V-notch at the rear for sighting , and a small sight is integral with the front bushing.

Walther Model 3 Field Stripped Walther Model 3 Compared with Late Model 4

A few rare examples were made with a barrel that extends out the front of the gun an extra 3/4 of an inch or so.  One of these is illustrated in Manfred Kersten’s book Walther: A German Legend.  This would appear to be a Model 4 barrel, making it likely that the Model 4 was already in production at an early date, perhaps as early as 1913.

Walther Model 3 with Model 4 Barrel

The magazine release of the Model 3 pushes to the rear. Magazines may be blued or in the white, with a flat follower, and five holes on either side for viewing cartridges.

The finish on the Model 3 is rust blue. Earlier pistols have 13 vertical triangular-cut slide serrations at the rear, but around the time the Walther banner began to appear on the slide the rear -most serration was eliminated, leaving 12. The grip stocks are made of checked hard rubber with the CW (Carl Walther) monogram in an oval at the top.

The finish on the Model 3 is rust blue. Earlier pistols have 13 vertical triangular-cut slide serrations at the rear, but around the time the Walther banner began to appear on the slide the rear -most serration was eliminated, leaving 12. The grip stocks are made of checked hard rubber with the CW (Carl Walther) monogram in an oval at the top.

Model 3 pistols bear the following slide inscription on the left side in all capital serif letters:

SELBSTLADE-PISTOLE.CAL.7,65 WALTHER’S-PATENT

The only real variation in the Model 3 is the eventual addition of the Walther banner. The inscription was moved higher on the slide and the banner was stamped beneath it.  The early Walther banner has less of a curve to it and is known as the “flat” banner, and we find this early banner on the Model 3 as well as on the Model 1. Late Model 3 pistols have the later banner that is still in use. The right side of the slide is normally blank.

Walther Model 3 Early “Flat” Banner (top) and Late Banner (bottom)

At least one example of a Model 3 bears a two-line inscription, as follows:

WALTHER’S SELBSTLADE-PISTOLE.CAL.7,65
D.R.P. & AUSLANDPATENTE

This is similar to the inscription for a Model 1, and this example appears to have had “6,35” overstamped with “7,65” so it is likely that someone simply used an old roll stamp for a Model 1. There was no question of wasting a perfectly good slide, so the caliber numbers were over-stamped.

Some guns, intended for export, are stamped “MADE IN GERMANY” on the left side of the slide beneath the slide inscription.

Some Model 3 pistols are marked in both upper and lower case serif characters on the left side of the slide:

Messerfabrik VULKAN G.m.b.H. SOLINGEN, Germany
TENSON
regist^d trade mark

VULKAN Slide Inscription

Messerfabrik Vulkan translates to the Vulkan knife company. Some VULKAN-marked guns have the standard “CW” monogram grip plates, but some have checkered hard rubber grip plates that are marked only “Caliber 7,65” in an oval at the top. James L. Rankin believed that Walther sold leftover parts to the Vulkan company when they were about to launch the Model 4, but this theory can be undermined by serial number data which indicates that quite a few Walther-labeled guns were made well after the Vulkans. Manfred Kersten believes it more probable that the Vulkans were made for the export market.

According to Dieter H. Marschall, in his book Walther Pistols, serial numbers range between 11000 and 35000, in the same numerical sequence as the Model 1. Most authorities, including Marschall, seem to agree that only approximately 3,500 Model 3 Walthers were ever made.

The Walther Model 3 was quite small for a 7.65mm Browning (.32 ACP) pistol.  There was one other 32 of the era that is slightly smaller than the Walther--the Pieper Bayard, which appeared in 1908--the Pieper does not fit the hand as well as the Walther, and carries one less round in the magazine.  A number of small Spanish 32’s were made in later years, mostly after the war, though few if any were as well made as the Walther.  The modern pistol that is closest in size to the Model 3 is the Kel-Tec P-32, though the Kel-Tec is much thinner and less than half the weight of the Walther.

Disassembly

1. Remove the magazine.
2. Draw the slide back to make sure the chamber is empty and to cock the hammer.
3. Grasp the barrel bushing (under tension from the recoil spring), press down on the latch on the right front side of the slide, and ease the bushing off the front of the gun.
4. Remove the recoil spring and sleeve by twisting them off the barrel.
5. Pull the slide all the way to the rear, lifting the front of the slide slightly to get it all the way back, then lift the rear of the slide up and off the rails and pull it forward and off the barrel.

Do not pull the trigger with the gun disassembled, as it could damage the lockwork.

Copyright 2013-2025 by Ed Buffaloe.  All rights reserved.
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