~ A Guide Lamp Co. Liberator .45″ FP-45 Pistol ~
Decent condition. The overall length is 5.5 inches.
The pistol is new specification and comes with its deactivation certificate.
It can be cocked & dry fired.
The serial number is a very low 248.
~ The Liberator ~
The FP-45 Liberator was a pistol manufactured by the United States military during World War II for use by resistance forces in occupied territories.
The Liberator project took about 6 months in 1942 from conception to end of production with about 11 weeks of actual manufacturing time, done by 300 workers.
The FP-45 was a crude, single-shot pistol designed to be cheaply and quickly mass produced. The Liberator had just 23 largely stamped and turned steel parts that were cheap and easy to manufacture. It fired a .45 caliber pistol cartridge from an unrifled barrel. Due to the unrifled barrel, it was intended for very close ambush (1-4 m). Its maximum effective range was only about 25 feet (less than 8 m). At longer range, the bullet would begin to tumble and stray off course. Because of the low quality, it was nicknamed the “Woolworth gun.”
Extra rounds of ammunition could be stored in the pistol grip.
After production, the Army turned the Liberators over to the OSS. A crude and clumsy weapon, the Liberator was never intended for front line service. It was originally intended as an insurgency weapon to be mass dropped behind enemy lines to resistance fighters in occupied territory. A resistance fighter was to recover the weapon, sneak up on an Axis occupier, kill or incapacitate him, and retrieve his weapons.
In reality, the OSS never saw the practicality in mass dropping the Liberator over occupied Europe, and only a handful were ever distributed. Most were scrapped after WW2, hence their rarity.
*To the customer’s Attention*
Prior to sale, this firearm will be deactivated at the current UK Spec. This will imply a waiting period between the moment of purchase and delivery in order to obtain the deactivation certificate.
Thank you for your understanding.
