SigSauer P6

Question
Recently you fielded a question from "Jeffrey" regarding his Walther P38 P1.  I have a SigSauer P225 that came secondhand from Germany.  It has the alternative designation of "P6".  Please humor me for this trivial question, but I am curious as to the significance of "P1" and "P6", and whether there were "P2", etc.  Thank you

Answer
Gordo,

Not a trivial question at all.  The "P" designation indicated a 'police model' pistol in West Germany.  These were pistols that were generally speaking designed for the law enforcement community in Germany after the Second World War.

The Walther P38 was improved after the war and introduced as the "P1" in 1957.  It remained in service in a variety of police agencies until the early 1990s.

There was no "P2" as far as I can determine.

The "P3" was actually another P-38 variant used by German forces during the Second World War.  The "P1" was actually based on the "P3".

The  "P4" was a short barrel version of the Walther P-38.

The "P5" was an improved version of the P38 that was developed in the late 1970s and was essentially a compact version of the "P1".

The "P6" was the Sig Sauer P225 which was adopted as the primary service pistol for the West German Federal Police.

The "P7" was made by Heckler & Koch and was first introduced in 1976.  It was originally referred to as the "Police Self-Loading Pistol" or PSP, but became know as the P7, a name that it still carries today.  The P7 was notable for its unusual grip safety.

There is also a "P8" also made by Heckler & Koch that is more commonly known as the USP series of pistols.  USP stands for "Universal Self Loading Pistol".  They were formally introduced in 1993 and are in widespread use by police and military in Germany and the rest of the world.  Yours truly owns two of these highly accurate and utterly reliable pistols, one calibered in .45 ACP and one in S&W .40.

There is no officially designated "P9" pistol, but many known as a "P9" by virtue of their manufacturer's model numbers.  Kahr makes a compact 9mm pistol called the "P9", there is an FN "P9" in 9mm and there is a version of the H&K Pistol called "P9" that was made in the 60's and 70's.

There you go...hope you find the story behind these pistols interesting.

Best regards,

Doug Little