In the early 1970s the West German Police began to search for a replacement for their 7.65×17mm (.32ACP) and some of their 9×19mm Walther P38/P1s. The new police pistols would be chambered in the 9×18mm Ultra round, originally developed in the 1930s by Geco.
Walther submitted the PP Super to the new police pistol trials and competed against the SIG Sauer P230. The PP Super fed from a 7-round, single stack, magazine it had a new wrap around grip with a wider, swelled base, it retained the PP’s double action and button magazine release. It had a new slide with a slide lock cutout and a more angular rear as well as an adjustable rear sight and the slide mounted decocker no longer also acted as a safety, just as a decocker, the PP Super also had a new separate slide release.
A Walther PP Super in 9mm Kurz / .380ACP (source)
The choice of the 9×18mm Ultra cartridge stemmed from the desire to have the most capable (powerful) round chambered in a still relatively compact and lightweight blowback pistol. Ultra is a slower moving round with less energy than 9x19mm but it was a marked improvement over 7.65×17mm and it was felt this trade off would be acceptable.
However, the 1970s saw criminal and terrorist activity in West Germany increase and the Federal police felt they needed a more capable 9×19mm pistol. As a result a fresh set of trials were launched with a new set of requirements. Walther developed the new P5, which used the P38′s locked breech and dual recoil springs. The P5 was one of three new pistols cleared for West German police service, the others being the SIG Sauer P6 and the Heckler & Koch P7.
Sources suggest Walther only produced 2,000 the PP Super 9x18 Ultra, before discontinuing it in 1979, although some were also produced in .380ACP.
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