The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Handguns => Topic started by: ericire12 on July 09, 2008, 03:27:44 PM
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Meet "The Liberator" .45 ACP:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/M1942_liberator.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v137/Stokes@AR15.com/Liberator/Liberator2.jpg)
http://www.mouseguns.com/blast/lib.htm
By M. D. Waite
American Rifleman, June 1954
The arming of partisan or other resistance forces within Nazi-occupied territories became a major problem to the Allies during World War II, especially since the production of such armament was carried out in addition to that for normal troop requirements.
U. S. Army Ordnance, through its vigorous research and development program, made many significant contributions towards this little publicized effort, not the least of which was development and production of the rather unique "Liberator" pistol.
The demand for this gun originated with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), as that organization was vitally interested in arming resistance forces in Europe. OSS specifications called for a cheap but effective gun weighing one pound, and they wanted a million of them in a hurry!
The basic design for an effective .45 caliber singleshot pistol was soon formulated by Army Ordnance and the contract was let to the Guide Lamp Corporation, who completed tooling and production of the million guns in the record time of thirteen weeks. Final deliveries were made during the month of August, 1942.
The ultimate cost of each unit was a little over $2.00 and the guns were constructed entirely of non-strategic materials. Each gun was individually packaged in a sturdy, paraffin-coated, cardboard box. Included were an instruction sheet, a wooden ramrod, and ten rounds of .45 ACP ammunition stored in the butt of the gun.
With the exception of the 4-inch smoothbore, seamless steel tubing barrel and die-cast percussion mechanism, the gun is constructed throughout of sheet steel stampings and a few small steel pins and coil springs. The various parts are held together by a combination of folded seams, rivets, spot and acetylene welds.
The net result is a very crude-looking weapon, but it was nevertheless a significant contribution towards the Allied war effort, based upon the theory that "some gun is better than none at all."
A study of the instruction sheet reveals that this is a very simple weapon to operate even though it lacks both an extractor and ejector.
Other links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FP-45_Liberator
http://www.nfa.ca/content/view/105/197/
Here it is on GunBroker.com Buy it now price $6,000
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=104385812
--------> Yeah I'd love to have one of these..... even if it was a reproduction.
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It was use once and throw away..........................................................
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Jeez, you can't even buy 10 45 rounds for $2.00 anynore.
Interesting post.
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This has always been one of those guns that is just weird enough for me. I printed up the original blue prints in hopes of building one out of slightly better materials, especially the barrel. ATF compliant of course.
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Today they would need to have "warning" labels in four different languages including Braille. Oh … and a trigger lock.
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Don't forget the magazine disconnect. ::)
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Bet it has a better trigger than the *HK VP-70!
*Winner of my personal "This Trigger Really Blows" Award
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This has always been one of those guns that is just weird enough for me. I printed up the original blue prints in hopes of building one out of slightly better materials, especially the barrel. ATF compliant of course.
I would love to have a repro.... even with cheap stamped materials.
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Bet it has a better trigger than the *HK VP-70!
*Winner of my personal "This Trigger Really Blows" Award
YES! My brother had one of those and I couldn't believe how bad that trigger was! I had toy guns as a kid that had better triggers.
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This has always been one of those guns that is just weird enough for me. I printed up the original blue prints in hopes of building one out of slightly better materials, especially the barrel. ATF compliant of course.
For $6K you could reproduce enough for almost everyone posting on this thread.
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That price is ridiculous. Considering that so many were made they are currently selling for less than $500
Belmont Firearms has one if interested www.GUNSNH.com
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A more recent article ion the FH-45 Liberatore was in AR was on March 2007. There they estimated NIBs would top at about $4k.
The pistol wasn't widely distributed and I don't think there was a documented case of it being used. The few distributed were to occupied islands in the south Pacific. It's effect on the war was minimal. Most were dumped or melted down after the war.
Handled on NIB owned by my daughter-in-laws father. Cool piece of history.
Alf
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I belive the idea was to get them in the hand's of the resistance and to use it to get the enemies wepon to fight with.
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Tumblebug named the purpose of the gun. I believe it came with a cartoon instruction sheet, a few rounds of ammo in the grip, and a wooden dowel to clear the spent case. If I remember the article correctly the war came to an end before most were able to distribute them, and the rest were dumped overboard as the ships returned to the U.S.
I remember back in the 70's when I first saw a picture of one of these. I was working in a Chevy garage, and I thought they looked just like the lock mechanism out of a car trunk. The next paragraph in the article explained how GM made them in their stamping machines. So much for the similarity. I'm surprised GM didn't offer to take the extras back to turn into locks.
I don't have the old American Rifleman mag. around anymore, but didn't they talk in the article about how few of these there are left? Or, it could have been stated on the show. Sometime last year they showed it on American Rifleman, and someone actually got to shoot it. That would tell me that the NRA Museum has more than one if they actually let someone use one.
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That looks like the Pez dispenser capable of launching a .45 ACP that I was talking about on another thread.
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It was said it took longer to load than it did to make. I wouldn't mind having one. Definitely a good "Bet'cha don't have one of these" piece to show around to your shooting buddies.
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Bet it'll feed hollow points.... ;D
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If it sells for $6K it may be worth trying to pound a few replica's out of old soup cans!
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Small and strange...man I wish i had one.
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Small and strange...man I wish i had one.
Welcome aboard w-dawg15.
There is also a new member section to tell us about yourself if you care to.
http://www.downrange.tv/forum/index.php?topic=19.0
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The Liberator was a single shot pistol. It does look like a small automatic but it isn't. You had to punch the spent round out of the barrel with the supplied wooden dowel. Grips just held extra ammo but not all the 10 rounds supplied. Most were destroyed after the war. Yes, it was designed as a throw away firearm where you used it to obtain the more effecient enemies weapon (hence the term battlefield recovery)
CD