From the Vault: WWII Liberator Pistol
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- We've featured a lot of beautiful guns on FTV, and even more that represent the pinnacle of firearm design and the custom gunsmith's craft. Today's gun is nothing like those! Brownells Gun Techs™ Keith and Steve are back at Rock Island Auction Co. to give us a close look at the frumpy, stumpy, crude FP-45 Liberator pistol, a product of America's clandestine war effort in World War II. "FP" stands for "flare pistol," which was part of a misdirection campaign to conceal the Liberator's true purpose: to be simple, easy-to-conceal weapon that could be dropped behind enemy lines to the Résistance in France (and elsewhere in Europe and the Pacific Theater, too). It was to be used to kill enemy troops to take their weapons. The single-shot Liberator, chambered in .45 ACP, is made of stamped sheet metal. It cost a total of $2.10 in 1942 dollars, so cheap it was nicknamed the "Woolworth pistol." About 1 million FP-45s were manufactured by General Motors, but only about 25,000 were sent to Europe. William "Wild Bill" Donovan, head of the OSS, had more sent to resistance fighters in China, where the gun was found to be better than nothing.... barely. The majority of Liberators were simply dumped in the ocean at the end of the war, which explains why surviving examples are fairly rare collectibles that now fetch a LOT more than $2.10 at auction!
Keith hits the nail on the head... "...not yet."
I heard that too.
Exactly
Absolutely, subtle, but still cut through like a knife.
We need to air drop an updated version over Australia, Germany and England soon.
Canada too! We have guns, just not enough.
Ha very true!
Germany especially. Need to keep those AfD pricks on their toes.
China
and now... Ukraine.
Half step above a zip gun. An answer to question that wasn't asked.
About 45 years ago I was at a gun show and a fella there had a stack of these still in the original boxes. He was selling them for $25 each my cousin and I each bought one and we shot mine once that was enough. Mine is long gone but my cousin still has his safely locked away in it's sealed box. No it is not for sale.
My Dad was offered one of these about 50 years ago still in the box with all accessories. Guy wanted 30 dollars or so. My dad thought it was to much.
You should have bought 10 of them.
@@crankygunreviews I should have bought all the 1917 Colt and S&W revolvers that were selling for little or nothing back then but who knew.
Saw one at Cabela's about 3-4 years ago that was in pretty decent shape. They were asking $1200.00 for it. Who knew something so plain would end up being a great collectible.
@@jpunx3133 That just tells you how screwed up the gun world is.
I’ve been wanting to add one of these to my collection for more years than I care to remember.
Good luck
My brother bought one of these with original caramelized oil covering it but other than that it was in new mint condition about 10 years ago for a cheap price online somewhere.
A VERY COOL video!!!!! Wish I could get my hands on one.
The new 3d printed version looks effective
You guys forgot the two rounds that were in the handle
4:38
Looks like something you’d find on the back of old comic books, many years ago
or in a cracker jack cerial carton.
I love the fact that you put this in one of your videos it makes the horde of them I have for my grandfather go up in value I'm going to wait some more I think they will be worth something someday
Another cool piece of history. Great show I watch it all the time.
Have heard the legend that the Axis personnel sometimes got to the air drop zone before the Resistance fighters and took these for themselves, as Keith said "folks who needed them" during "risky times."
20 Years later, in 1964 the CIA would create the "deer gun"... for the exact same purpose during the Vietnam War. (It was a single shot 9mm that required the barrel to be unscrewed each time a round was chambered.)
Super cool piece of history!
Seems like I remember when they were dropped, they included 5 rounds of 45 acp ammo in the grip compartment.
The grip held ten rounds. I believe that's what they were shipped with. These were also made at a rate of one every five seconds... meaning they were literally the only firearms ever made that were produced faster than they could be reloaded and fired!
@@DK-gy7ll There is no way that tiny grip would hold 10rds of 45acp.
@@Dubbin1 Take a look at the instruction sheet that was shipped with these: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FP-45_Liberator#/media/File:FP-45_operating_instructions.jpg there were 8 rounds in one compartment and two in side another.
The fear of firing that would stop a reasonable person. No telling who would get hurt worse.
Forgotten Weapons did some testing of one, violent recoil, painful ergonomics, and shot about two feet high at ten yards...
@@chemistryofquestionablequa6252 thanks
That is better than it looked capable of.
A very cool piece of US gun history
Damn, I just checked and that is not on the California roster of approved handguns…oh well.
It's over 50 years so technically its C & R eligible.
And it’s still being produced today and things just like it.
Wow what a weird obscure piece.
BTW, if someone wants to manufacture working reproductions and sell them for $100... I suspect they would have no issues selling quite a few...
Someone mfd replicas a couple years back. Problem is they had to have rifled barrels to keep AFT from classifying them as SBS, otherwise very good copies. Originals weren't rifled. The re-pops are probably collectors items now too
Has this already gone on the block at RIA ?
If you could use one to take a soldiers weapon, then you was in good shape. Good concept, if needed it could help.
Beats a large needle.
Defense Distributed
Fellows, you don’t mention this, but I assume the barrel was a smooth, unrifled bore?
Yup
Yup, Forgotten Weapons has a more in depth view of this in an old video.
Did GM Guide Lamp bother with proof stamps or serial numbers for these things?
I would bet…no.
I’d be curious what the kick was like. Interesting though. I’ve never heard of this before.
Nasty. I actually fired one once. While the recoil itself isn't too bad, when fired the cocking piece blows back slightly, then pinches the web of your hand when it snaps back. After the first shot I made sure to hold it as low on the grip as possible. I only fired 3-4 rounds, which was enough. By the way it's also a smoothbore, and the shots keyholed badly beyond ten feet. Definitely a shove it in their face and fire kind of weapon.
@@DK-gy7ll: Thank you for taking the time to reply. Interesting it is a smooth bore. Someone else posted that it held 2 rounds the handle. I didn’t figure it was pleasant to shoot. I saw a video a few days ago of a ACP Derringer and thought I wouldn’t even want to fire it. I’m happy with my family of Glocks :).
“Not yet..”
🙂👍☕
are the reproductions any good?
Too bad America didn’t have a drone dropping thousands those into Cuba just a little while ago Cuba people could’ve freed themselves .. Could’ve been given to the people of Hong Kong to
giving guns to citizens in hongkong might just start a war with china
Shame they wasnt recycled
They could’ve dropped the caliber down to 9 mm hollowpoint added a little special something to make them extra deadly like a poison
At the time 45acp was plentiful in the US. 9mm not so much. Also pressure difference. 45 acp is 21,000 psi vers 9mm at 35,000 psi.
Hollow point bullets basically aren't allowed due to the Hague Convention... besides an injured combatant takes more enemy resources than a dead one.
@@ElmerFuddGun regurgitating bs today?