WWII FP-45 Liberator Pistol
Originally developed in 1942 for the U.S. Army by the Inland Manufacturing Division
of the General Motors Corporation in Dayton Ohio.
This single-shot, smooth bore .45 calibre pistol had a dubious history.
Intended for mass distribution in enemy occupied territory to incite revolt,
the Army refered to it as a "flare pistol" (FP-45) to ensure secrecy.
The Frigidaire plant at Dayton chambered the rough barrels.
Workers at the Guide Lamp plant in Anderson Indiana assembled
a million of these weapons.
In Europe the Allied commanders deemed the mass distribution impractical,
and very few Liberators were delivered to the resistance forces.
Only Chinese forces received many of these weapons and most of them were destroyed.
Today, a good example is very hard to find.
3 Comments
ecaman
I've wanted one of these for a long time, but they're enormously expensive - and very hard to locate.
Anonymous
if you could get one.would you fire it?
ecaman
I think I would. Not sure that I would. It would depend on its condition. There's an old picture on here (don't remember who posted it) of one that's beat up, and looks corroded. I wouldn't fire that one, but the one in the picture here looks great. Of course, it's probably a moot point, because the one in the picture here is probably so expensive that I wouldn't spend the money on it. Probably the only one I'd ever be able to afford would be a beat up one, then I don't know if I'd want to pull the trigger or not. I've done some dumb things, but I was younger then (young and dumb are synonyms, you know).