The Kampfpistole (“battle pistol”) was an adapted flare pistol used by the Germans in WWII that could also be used to fire explosive charges at lightly armored targets. The adaptation stemmed from a desire to have a more accurate delivery of explosive rounds than from a regular flare pistol. For this reason, a flare pistol (the ‘Leuchtpistole Modell 1934’) was equipped with a grooved barrel and the naming was changed to Kampfpistole ('battle pistol'). This model has the alternative name ‘Leuchtpistole Z’ ('Flarepistol Z' with 'Z' referring to Züge’ meaning 'grooves' in German) and it has a ‘Z’ painted on the left side of the chamber.
