The ugliest gun contest

[ericire12]

------------->M'ette probably thinks its cute.

[Big Frank]

I might do one of my guns with nail polish if I can find the right color. 

[Fatman]

I might do one of my guns with nail polish if I can find the right color. 

How about mustard yellow? It would kind of go with your screen name. 

[Big Frank]

How about mustard yellow? It would kind of go with your screen name. 

I prefer brown mustard, but if my gun was that color I might get comments about the "baby sh*t" color. 

[BillCA]

I think this one is a winner. 


WW-II "Liberator" Pistol.

The Liberator, built by the Lamp Division of GM, holds the dubious honor of being the only gun that could be manufactured faster than it could be reloaded. 

Here's an uncluttered view.


If ever any gun needed Duracoat, this one did!

[Sponsor]

[Big Frank]

Depending on who you ask they cost less than $1 each to over $2 each. Most figures I hear are $1.42 or something like that. I like the cartoon type instructions and wooden stick for an ejector that came with it.    The Guide Lamp Division is also famous for churning out M3/M3A1 Grease Guns. Those are ugly guns too.

[tombogan03884]

Depending on who you ask they cost less than $1 each to over $2 each. Most figures I hear are $1.42 or something like that. I like the cartoon type instructions and wooden stick for an ejector that came with it.    The Guide Lamp Division is also famous for churning out M3/M3A1 Grease Guns. Those are ugly guns too.

The 6 rounds of ammo that came with cost more and took longer to make than the gun did. But it worked.

[Big Frank]

According to the book American Tools of Intrigue, by John A. Minnery & Joe Ramos,
Section 1 on F.P. 45 Liberetor: The Gun That Didn't Win The Western Front;

The one million pistols were completed by the fall of 1942, at a cost of $1.72 per pistol.

The finished weapons were individually packaged in waxed carboard boxes... containing in addition to the pistol:
  (a)  10 rounds of .45 ACP ammo
  (b)  Sheet of comic strip instructions in sign language
  (c)  Wooden ramrod for ejecting spent casings
  (d)  A wood spacer block to keep the parts from rattling

The total wartime cost for the package was $2.10.

The F.P. 45 project was referred to as a flare projector to throw any spies off track while it was being designed and built. All 10 rounds could be stored in the grip via a trapdoor on the bottom. They were trying to make them for under $1 but it went a little over budget. There were at least 6 variations but the most common is the third model. There was a two-shot version with a sliding breechblock. Silenced versions also exist. I wish I could scan my book and upload it. There are 46 pages on the Liberator including blueprints of every part. There's a picture of one with a silencer on it and the two-shot version too.

[ericire12]

According to the book American Tools of Intrigue, by John A. Minnery & Joe Ramos,
Section 1 on F.P. 45 Liberetor: The Gun That Didn't Win The Western Front;

The one million pistols were completed by the fall of 1942, at a cost of $1.72 per pistol.

The finished weapons were individually packaged in waxed carboard boxes... containing in addition to the pistol:
  (a)  10 rounds of .45 ACP ammo
  (b)  Sheet of comic strip instructions in sign language
  (c)  Wooden ramrod for ejecting spent casings
  (d)  A wood spacer block to keep the parts from rattling

The total wartime cost for the package was $2.10.

The F.P. 45 project was referred to as a flare projector to throw any spies off track while it was being designed and built. All 10 rounds could be stored in the grip via a trapdoor on the bottom. They were trying to make them for under $1 but it went a little over budget. There were at least 6 variations but the most common is the third model. There was a two-shot version with a sliding breechblock. Silenced versions also exist. I wish I could scan my book and upload it. There are 46 pages on the Liberator including blueprints of every part. There's a picture of one with a silencer on it and the two-shot version too.

Another thread about the Liberator:

http://www.downrange.tv/forum/index.php?topic=2732.0

[Big Frank]

Thanks for the link. I found the instructions online too.