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Dfariswheel · January 7, 2005, 03:07 PM

Interarms was Walther's American importer from the mid-1950's.
In those years Interarms imported the full range of Walther firearms, including the PP and PPK.

After the Gun Control Act of 1968, the PPK was no longer "legal" being about 1/4" too short in the butt, so Walther made up the PPK/s for the American market.

In the late 1970's, the cost of the European-made PP series guns was pricing Walther out of the American market, so Walther licensed InterArms to manufacture the PPK/s in America.

Interarms contracted the actual manufacturing to Ranger Industries in Alabama??.
The entire gun was made here in America with no parts supplied by Walther.

As a historical note: For many years American gun magazines had their yearly "round up" articles on pocket pistols, and the European-made Walther PPK was always described as "Typical Teutonic Workmanship" or "Fine German Quality".

After Walther/InterArms began making the guns here, the gun magazines blandly informed us that the "German made" PP series pistols had been made in FRANCE by Manurhin, and had been since WWII.

After WWII, Walther wanted to market the PP series, but they didn't have a manufacturing plant yet.
So, they contracted with the French Manurhin company to do the actual manufacturing.

The guns were built in France, shipped a few miles over the German border to Walther, where they were proof-fired, blued, stamped "Made In Germany" and sold all over the world as "German made".

To be fair, in Europe the country where a firearm is final proof-fired, is considered the country of manufacture.

So, all those "German Made" Walther PP series pistols were FRENCH all along.
The last PP series pistol actually made in German was in early 1945.

The contract with Walther having expired and manufacture of the PPK and PPK/s having been moved to American, Manurhin decided to market the gun under THEIR name.

Manurhin began importing PPK/s pistols in .22LR and .380.
People realized something wasn't Kosher when they began doing side-by-side comparisons between the "new" Manurhin guns and the "German" guns.

A close inspection proved they had both been made on the SAME production equipment, right down to having the same milling marks on internal surfaces.

The plastic boxes were made in the same moulds, and the Manurhin instruction manual was the EXACT same manual as issued with the Walther guns.
The only difference was, the Manurhin manual airbrushed out the Walther markings on the photos of the guns, and airbrushed IN Manurhin markings.

American's were somewhat angry about having been lied to by the gun writers, and having been misled by Walther since the 50's.

This reached a head in the famous mid-1980's "Walther War" in the gun magazines.

Manurhin began taking ads in the gun magazines advertising their PPK/s pistols.

Walther retaliated by taking full page ads claiming that "ONLY Walther-marked pistols were really the "Genuine" PPK/s pistol".

Manurhin immediately took full page ads informing us that THEY, and ONLY they had been making the PP series pistols since WWII, and since they had made them all along, THEY were the "real" PPK/s.

After about a year of this, Walther bit the bullet and made some kind of deal with Manurhin.
Manurhin stopped importing PPK/s's and stopped all advertising.

In the late 1990's Interarms founder, the mysterious Sam Cummings, died.
His daughter decided she didn't want to run the company, and closed Interarms down.

Walther started a relationship with Smith & Wesson to co-produce the Walther P99 pistol, and licensed S&W to make the PP series pistols.

I'm not sure whether S&W actually makes the PPK or is contracting it out to another producer like in the Walther/Interarms/Ranger days.

January 7, 2005, 03:07 PM	#7
Dfariswheel Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2001 Posts: 7,478	Interarms was Walther's American importer from the mid-1950's. In those years Interarms imported the full range of Walther firearms, including the PP and PPK. After the Gun Control Act of 1968, the PPK was no longer "legal" being about 1/4" too short in the butt, so Walther made up the PPK/s for the American market. In the late 1970's, the cost of the European-made PP series guns was pricing Walther out of the American market, so Walther licensed InterArms to manufacture the PPK/s in America. Interarms contracted the actual manufacturing to Ranger Industries in Alabama??. The entire gun was made here in America with no parts supplied by Walther. As a historical note: For many years American gun magazines had their yearly "round up" articles on pocket pistols, and the European-made Walther PPK was always described as "Typical Teutonic Workmanship" or "Fine German Quality". After Walther/InterArms began making the guns here, the gun magazines blandly informed us that the "German made" PP series pistols had been made in FRANCE by Manurhin, and had been since WWII. After WWII, Walther wanted to market the PP series, but they didn't have a manufacturing plant yet. So, they contracted with the French Manurhin company to do the actual manufacturing. The guns were built in France, shipped a few miles over the German border to Walther, where they were proof-fired, blued, stamped "Made In Germany" and sold all over the world as "German made". To be fair, in Europe the country where a firearm is final proof-fired, is considered the country of manufacture. So, all those "German Made" Walther PP series pistols were FRENCH all along. The last PP series pistol actually made in German was in early 1945. The contract with Walther having expired and manufacture of the PPK and PPK/s having been moved to American, Manurhin decided to market the gun under THEIR name. Manurhin began importing PPK/s pistols in .22LR and .380. People realized something wasn't Kosher when they began doing side-by-side comparisons between the "new" Manurhin guns and the "German" guns. A close inspection proved they had both been made on the SAME production equipment, right down to having the same milling marks on internal surfaces. The plastic boxes were made in the same moulds, and the Manurhin instruction manual was the EXACT same manual as issued with the Walther guns. The only difference was, the Manurhin manual airbrushed out the Walther markings on the photos of the guns, and airbrushed IN Manurhin markings. American's were somewhat angry about having been lied to by the gun writers, and having been misled by Walther since the 50's. This reached a head in the famous mid-1980's "Walther War" in the gun magazines. Manurhin began taking ads in the gun magazines advertising their PPK/s pistols. Walther retaliated by taking full page ads claiming that "ONLY Walther-marked pistols were really the "Genuine" PPK/s pistol". Manurhin immediately took full page ads informing us that THEY, and ONLY they had been making the PP series pistols since WWII, and since they had made them all along, THEY were the "real" PPK/s. After about a year of this, Walther bit the bullet and made some kind of deal with Manurhin. Manurhin stopped importing PPK/s's and stopped all advertising. In the late 1990's Interarms founder, the mysterious Sam Cummings, died. His daughter decided she didn't want to run the company, and closed Interarms down. Walther started a relationship with Smith & Wesson to co-produce the Walther P99 pistol, and licensed S&W to make the PP series pistols. I'm not sure whether S&W actually makes the PPK or is contracting it out to another producer like in the Walther/Interarms/Ranger days.