Walther Model 5

The Walther Model 5

by Ed Buffaloe

The Walther Model 5 vest pocket pistol was produced from 1915-1920. It was essentially an improved version of the Model 2, which was made from 1913-1915. Externally the two .25 caliber (6.35 mm) guns appear identical. The Model 2 had an unusual pop-up rear sight that served as a loaded chamber indicator. This was eliminated in very late production, most likely because it caused maintenance problems and was expensive to manufacture. The one real upgrade from the Model 2 to the Model 5 was a change from 4-groove rifling to 6-groove, and this is the only means of distinguishing late Model 2s from early Model 5s. The Model 5s are also said to be better finished than the Model 2s, but this is often difficult to distinguish on old pistols, depending on their state of preservation.

There are two variants of the Model 5: The first variant has nine coarse grooves milled into the rear of the slide (like the Model 2) to aid in grasping it for retraction, has a single groove milled in the top of the slide in lieu of sights, and the address on the slide reads “Zella St. Blasii.” The first variant was made just before and during the First World War and with serial numbers from approximately 10,000 to 60,000. The second variant was made subsequent to the war, between 1919 and 1923, and featured 16 fine triangular-cut grooves on the rear of the slide. The earliest second variant pistols had only a sighting groove, but later models featured minimalist front and rear sights. The address on the second variant pistols is “Zella-Mehlis.” Research indicates that probably only about 10,000 second variant pistols were made, with serial numbers running up above 90,000.

The Walther Model 7 was was a .25 caliber pocket pistol produced during the war concomitantly with the Model 5--it was simply a larger version, with a longer barrel and greater magazine capacity. The Walther Model 8 .25 caliber pocket pistol appeared in 1920 as a replacement for the Model 7, and the Walther Model 9 vest pocket appeared in 1921 to replace the Model 5.

The entire line of Walther pistols from the Model 2 through the Model 7 are of a similar type: blowback operated, with a fixed barrel, concentric recoil spring, a concealed hammer, and a positive safety that locks the hammer when cocked. The recoil spring of the Model 5 is held on with a knurled bushing on the front of the barrel, much like the 1910 Browning, which almost certainly influenced its design. The rear of the spring fits into a sleeve that prevents the spring being visible in the ejection port of the slide, and probably also helps prevent dirt from getting into the works. I measure my gun at 4.3 inches long by 3.1 inches high. It was the smallest vest pocket .25 until the advent of the Model 9.

Disassembly

Remove the magazine.
Draw the slide back to make sure the chamber is empty and to cock the hammer.
Press in on the barrel bushing, turn it counterclockwise when facing the front of the gun and draw it carefully off the end of the slide--it is under pressure from the recoil spring.
Remove the recoil spring and sleeve by twisting them off the barrel.
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 the slide forward and off the barrel.

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

In general, I do not find .25 caliber handguns to be particularly reliable--in my experience they are more subject to failure-to-feed and failure-to-eject than any other category of self-loading pistol. That said, however, the Walther Model 5 is one of my most reliable .25s--much more so than the Model 9 I once owned. The Model 5 is exquisitely well made and a pleasure to shoot. It is reasonably accurate out to 10 or 15 feet.

References

Famous Pistols and Handguns, by A.J.R. Cormack. Profile Publications, Berkshire, England: 1977.
The Walther Handgun Story, by Gene Gangarosa, Jr. Stoeger Publishing, Wayne, NJ: 1999.

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