American Rifleman – September 2019

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which teamed the frame of the PP with the slide and barrel of
the PPK. This added 1.8 ozs. of weight, 0.2" of height and an
additional round in the magazine, which met import require-
ments and allowed the PPK/S to be legally imported. It is
presumed that the “S” added to the PPK designation stands
for “sporting,” which was the intention of the restrictions.
German-made PPK/S pistols were imported and distrib-
uted by Interarms of Alexandria, Va., but the  rst one manu-
factured in the United States was in 1978 by Ranger Mfg.
in Gadsen, Ala., and it was also distributed by Interarms. In
1998, Walther’s U.S. manufacturing and distribution licenses

were transferred to a Smith & Wesson assembly plant in

Houlton, Maine, where the lighter PPK was made for the

American market. During that time, due largely to the popu-

larity of the Bond  lms, 80 percent of the PPK and PPK/S

pistols made were sold in the United States.

In late 2012, Walther Arms took control of its U.S.

operations, locating its headquarters and assembly facil-

ity in Ft. Smith, Ark. Today, the PPK and the PPK/S are

both manufactured in .380 ACP, or 9 mm Short, as the

standard chambering. Assembled at the Fort Smith facility,

the PPK and PPK/S designs remain faithful to the originals

WALTHER PPK

At the heart of PP and derivative Walther models was the  rst semi-automatic
pistol lockwork to successfully enable double-action/single-action operation.
Period catalog cutaway (r.) and sequential illustrations (below) reveal the
relationship between the safety lever/decocker and  ring-pin block.