Walter

When it comes to the German Walther pistol, anyone with a basic knowledge of firearms would know about it. The Carl Walther Arms Factory, like other traditional German arms manufacturers, originated from the state of Thuringia in Germany. As early as 1953, the state established the first firearms industry association. In the autumn of 1886, Carl Walther founded a small workshop that would later become the Carl Walther Arms Factory.

Initially, the workshop was very rudimentary, with only a foot-operated lathe, a vise, and a foundry. At the young age of 28, he embarked on the journey of firearm manufacturing with an apprentice.

Carl's greatest interest was in developing automatic pistols, which was an unprecedented new technology at the time. The Walther family made significant contributions in this field, particularly Fritz Walther, who displayed exceptional talent in this technology. In 1908, they manufactured the first automatic pistol, the Walther M1, with a caliber of 6.35mm. Almost every German officer carried this pistol during World War I. In the following years, they produced four other models of automatic pistols similar to the M1.

World War I played a significant role in the development of the Walther Arms Factory, with its workforce reaching over 500 employees at that time. In 1915, Carl Walther passed away, and his sons inherited his business.

Now the eldest son sits in Wilhelm's office, lamenting the situation of his company. "We can barely make ends meet. If we don't receive more orders soon, we might have to declare bankruptcy."

Wilhelm nods slowly, indicating that he fully understands. "I want 12% of your company's shares."

"Pluh!" The coffee Walter just sipped sprays back into the cup. If it weren't for the fact that he is facing the esteemed Crown Prince, he would have immediately stood up and cursed. This is blatant extortion. "And what is the price the Crown Prince wants to acquire them for?"

But Wilhelm's words almost make Walter spit out blood. "I don't have the money."

"...!!" He has no money and yet speaks so confidently. This isn't just extortion; it's outright robbery. Even the royals must abide by the rules of the game. If they act recklessly, who would dare to invest and do business in Germany?

While Walter's mind is filled with wild thoughts, Wilhelm picks up a few sheets of paper from the table and flicks them. "Here are three sets of blueprints. I guarantee that each set will sell more than 500,000 units."

"..." Just when Walter's blood was boiling, he suddenly calms down. "Your Highness, may I see the blueprints first?"

"No." Wilhelm shakes his head. "You have to make a decision first. Agree or disagree. If you agree, everyone will be happy. If you disagree, you can simply leave, and I will find another arms dealer to cooperate with." In certain aspects, he doesn't need anyone questioning his authority; complete obedience is all he requires. He wants these businessmen to understand that by obeying him, they will have their share of the pie, have their soup. If they want a portion, they must obediently follow him.

This is damn well a gamble. While wiping the sweat off his forehead, Walter seriously ponders. If he really leaves like this, the Crown Prince might hold a grudge, and the company will truly go bankrupt in a few days. Right, I'm almost bankrupt and yet thinking so much nonsense. If he gives the Crown Prince 12% of his company, it will be equal to throwing away millions of marks."

"Thinking about it, Walter nodded heavily. 'Your Highness, I agree to exchange 12% of the company's shares for those three blueprints.'

'I knew I didn't make a mistake in trusting you,' Wilhelm said with a smile. 'Deal with smart people, and things go smoothly. Take them.'

Walter, wearing a face filled with mixed emotions, took the blueprints handed to him by Wilhelm. With just one glance, he couldn't look away anymore. 'They're stunning! Your Highness, may I ask who designed these? These are undoubtedly the work of a master. I've never heard of such a talented person in this field.'

Rubbing his nose, Wilhelm shamelessly "admitted," 'I designed them myself. What do you think?' Deep down, he still felt a bit guilty. These designs were exactly what Walter's company would develop a few years later. It could be considered blatant plagiarism, couldn't it?

But this was also one of the perks of time travel.

The blueprints Wilhelm gave Walter were for the G43 semi-automatic rifle, P38 pistol, and PPK pistol.

Before World War II broke out in the original timeline, the Kar-98K rifle widely adopted by the German military was considered sufficient for their needs. As a result, the development of semi-automatic rifles lagged behind the United States and the Soviet Union, especially from 1941 to 1942. The German army's standard rifle, the Kar98k, was no match for the Soviet's semi-automatic rifles in terms of firepower on the Eastern Front. The MP-40 submachine gun used by the German army often fell short in range, making it ineffective for counterattacks. Consequently, there was a proposal to equip the military with a semi-automatic rifle capable of effectively countering the Soviet SVT-40 rifle.

In 1941, two major German arms companies, Mauser and Walther, almost simultaneously introduced their own semi-automatic rifles. However, Mauser's product failed in competition, and the German military decided to adopt Walther's design as the new standard rifle, replacing the outdated K-98 rifle. It was named the Gewehr 41 (abbreviated as G41).

However, the accuracy, rate of fire, and handling of the G41 received "great" reviews from frontline German soldiers: 'Why is this damn thing so slow? Why are the bullets so difficult to load? Why do I have to pull the trigger twice? Why doesn't it have lubrication...?'

Because of these tidal wave-like "reviews," the planned replacement of the Mauser 98K was postponed, and production and orders increased.

It wasn't until the Germans discovered and successfully improved the Soviet Tokarev self-loading system that the G43 was born. It was even better than the Mauser 98K, with a longer range and easy bullet loading by simply inserting the magazine.

Thanks to the pneumatic mechanical system, its rate of fire was slightly faster than the G41, although this was only the shooter's perception. But its weight was reduced by half.

Walter's eyes sparkled as he looked at the blueprints. These few sheets of paper were like treasures! However, he also noticed a strange question. The PPK should stand for 'Polizei Pistole Kriminal,' meaning 'Police Detective Pistol.' But what does the number in G43 and P38 mean? A year? 1843, 1838? 1943, 1938? He immediately stopped thinking about this question. Since the Crown Prince had assigned numbers to them, he would just use them as they were.

'How about it? Are they worth it?'

'Absolutely, absolutely worth it. Thank you so much, Your Highness. I'll go back and take care of the formalities to deliver them to you.'

'That's good.' After seeing off Walter, Wilhelm called representatives from Mauser. However, this negotiation didn't go smoothly. The Mauser representative showed little interest, perhaps due to Prince Wilhelm's identity. Although he didn't reject the proposal on the spot, Wilhelm clearly sensed his disdain from his eyes."