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Xenopedia

The Walther PP (Polizeipistole, "police pistol") is a German-made semi-automatic pistol chambered for the 7.65×17mm Browning SR, 9×17mm Short and .22 Long Rifle cartridges. The PP and its compact variant, the PPK, were among the world's first successful double action semi-automatic pistols. The PP and PPK were both popular with European police and civilians for being reliable and concealable, and during World War II they were issued to the German military (officers), including the Luftwaffe, as well as the police. The pistol is still manufactured by Walther and has been widely copied.

The PPK has attained international fame as the weapon of choice for the fictional spy James Bond: author Ian Fleming's choice of the Walther PPK in his later James Bond novels, on the advice of firearms expert Geoffrey Boothroyd, directly influenced the pistol's popularity and notoriety, which was in turn compounded with the weapon's appearance throughout the subsequent movie franchise.

Overview[]

The original PP (Polizeipistole) was released in 1929. It was designed for police use and was used by police forces in Europe in the 1930s and later. The semi-automatic pistol operated using a simple blowback action. The PP was designed with several safety features, some of them innovative, including a firing pin block and a loaded chamber indicator. The most common variant is the PPK (Polizeipistole Kriminalmodell, "police pistol detective model"), a smaller version of the PP with a shorter grip, barrel, frame and reduced magazine capacity. The smaller size made it more concealable than the original PP and hence better suited to plainclothes or undercover work. It was released in 1931.

Notable Users[]

The Russian advisor helping to train rebels in Guatemala was armed with a Walther PP, using it to execute one of the the CIA hostages captured by the rebels in Guatemala. Anna also briefly wielded a PP before being captured by Dutch.

Appearances[]

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