The Liberator was manufactured by the US Military during WW2 for use by resistance forces in occupied areas. Very little is known about the use of these pistols. It is very much a clandestine pistol and details were not recorded by the intended receivers in case it got into the hands of the enemy. The Liberator was never directly used or officially supplied to any American or Allied force. The idea was great but it never worked properly. Many Liberators never saw combat and the majority of the 1,000,000 produced were destroyed and recycled after the war by allied forces. Most of the examples that were distributed were either lost or disposed of without any combat use. The first concept was put forward in 1942 and it was agreed and passed to General Motors Guide Lamp Division who undertook the project. The design was to be simplistic, cheap and extremely quick to make. The pistol was designed and designated the Flare Projector Caliber .45 hence the abbreviated version of FP-45. The whole project took around 6 months. That’s from the idea to final production. 1,000,000 were manufactured in just 11 weeks with just 300 workers. The FP-45 was the crudest single shot pistol that had ever been manufactured in quantity. It had just 23 parts that were either stamped or turned. Although it fired the hard hitting .45acp round it had great limitations. Its barrel was no more than a smoothbore steel tube. Due to this it had an effective range of around 7.5m. Although this is no great distance it proved satisfactory as the liberator was intended for a maximum of a 5m range. The bullet would of course travel further however accuracy was non-existent at any further range. The pistol was to be airdropped in a cardboard box. The box would contain the Pistol, 10rds of .45acp ammo, a wooded dowel to be used for extraction of the fired case and a comic strip form instruction sheet that briefly explained the operation of the pistol. The extra ammunition was able to be stored in the hollow grip that had a steel sliding cover. The idea behind the Liberator was that it could be recovered by a resistance fighter in occupied territory. They could then use the pistol at close range to kill an enemy soldier and then gather his weapons. It was very much a gun used to get other guns. Apart from its less than impressive practical use it was also intended to have devastating effects on the morale of occupying troops. The idea was to drop them in such quantities that they could not all be recovered or captured. General Eisenhower’s staff did not agree with the plan and only authorized the distribution of less than 25,000 of the 500,000 that were shipped to England. It is documented that the OSS did distribute a small quantity to the Greek resistance forces in 1944. This example remains intact and complete with no damage. It cocks and dry fires and has a working action. Complete with deactivation certificate.
WW2 US FP45 Liberator – UK DEAC
£1,995.00
Out of stock
Out of stock
Description
The Liberator was manufactured by the US Military during WW2 for use by resistance forces in occupied areas. Very little is known about the use of these pistols. It is very much a clandestine pistol and details were not recorded by the intended receivers in case it got into the hands of the enemy. The Liberator was never directly used or officially supplied to any American or Allied force. The idea was great but it never worked properly. Many Liberators never saw combat and the majority of the 1,000,000 produced were destroyed and recycled after the war by allied forces. Most of the examples that were distributed were either lost or disposed of without any combat use. The first concept was put forward in 1942 and it was agreed and passed to General Motors Guide Lamp Division who undertook the project. The design was to be simplistic, cheap and extremely quick to make. The pistol was designed and designated the Flare Projector Caliber .45 hence the abbreviated version of FP-45. The whole project took around 6 months. That’s from the idea to final production. 1,000,000 were manufactured in just 11 weeks with just 300 workers. The FP-45 was the crudest single shot pistol that had ever been manufactured in quantity. It had just 23 parts that were either stamped or turned. Although it fired the hard hitting .45acp round it had great limitations. Its barrel was no more than a smoothbore steel tube. Due to this it had an effective range of around 7.5m. Although this is no great distance it proved satisfactory as the liberator was intended for a maximum of a 5m range. The bullet would of course travel further however accuracy was non-existent at any further range. The pistol was to be airdropped in a cardboard box. The box would contain the Pistol, 10rds of .45acp ammo, a wooded dowel to be used for extraction of the fired case and a comic strip form instruction sheet that briefly explained the operation of the pistol. The extra ammunition was able to be stored in the hollow grip that had a steel sliding cover. The idea behind the Liberator was that it could be recovered by a resistance fighter in occupied territory. They could then use the pistol at close range to kill an enemy soldier and then gather his weapons. It was very much a gun used to get other guns. Apart from its less than impressive practical use it was also intended to have devastating effects on the morale of occupying troops. The idea was to drop them in such quantities that they could not all be recovered or captured. General Eisenhower’s staff did not agree with the plan and only authorized the distribution of less than 25,000 of the 500,000 that were shipped to England. It is documented that the OSS did distribute a small quantity to the Greek resistance forces in 1944. This example remains intact and complete with no damage. It cocks and dry fires and has a working action. Complete with deactivation certificate.
Additional information
| Weight | 8 kg |
|---|
