This pistol is pictured on page 59 of the book "The P.38 Pistol, Volume 2" by Warren Buxton, as part of a section on Mauser P.38s manufactured under French control, for issue to French police forces. In the related text, Buxton notes that police-issue P.38s were very rare; the French Army was #1, no contest, on the priority list to receive new-made Walther pistols, with the police issuing everything from 7.65mm pocket guns to American 1911A1s, depending on what was available. Police P.38s were primarily limited to units of a national-level paramilitary nature, such as the Republican Security Corps and the Mounted Republican Guard. Fixed sights, with "P.38", "svw/46" and the French "star" mark on the slide, and matching numbers on the slide, barrel, locking block and frame. Fitted with a set of "gray ghost" pattern metal grips and a blued magazine marked "10/61" on the spine.