Skibane
Member
This month's AMERICAN RIFLEMAN has an "I have this old gun..." article on the WW-II "Liberator" pistol - an interesting firearm, from any number of angles:
- .45 ACP single-shot
- 23 unserialized parts, almost all of which were made of stamped metal
- Unrifled barrel
- Effective range of 25-50 feet (depending on who you asked)
- Per-unit cost of approximately $1.73 (or $2.10 with accessories)
- Approximately 1,000,000 units produced by the Guide Lamp division of General Motors
- Very few units ever saw service (with the rest presumably either melted down for scrap metal or dumped into various oceans)
The basic idea behind the FP-45 (or "Flare Projector, .45 Cal.") pistol is one of its most intriguing aspects: To mass-produce an ultra-inexpensive firearm that could be used by friendly insurgents in occupied countries against their oppressors - typically, as a means of obtaining a more sophisticated weapon from the hapless "insurgentee".
Naturally, this got me to wondering - Given the assignment of mass-producing a modern firearm for the 2007-equivalent of $1.73 (approximately $25.00) - and the benefit of 65 years of technological hindsight - what would the modern Liberator pistol (or rifle) look like?
If a modern version could be produced for $25, would it meet the same performance objectives of the original? Exceed them?
What would be the modern caliber of choice?
What modern firearms would it most resemble (if any)?
Discuss among yourselves.
- .45 ACP single-shot
- 23 unserialized parts, almost all of which were made of stamped metal
- Unrifled barrel
- Effective range of 25-50 feet (depending on who you asked)
- Per-unit cost of approximately $1.73 (or $2.10 with accessories)
- Approximately 1,000,000 units produced by the Guide Lamp division of General Motors
- Very few units ever saw service (with the rest presumably either melted down for scrap metal or dumped into various oceans)
The basic idea behind the FP-45 (or "Flare Projector, .45 Cal.") pistol is one of its most intriguing aspects: To mass-produce an ultra-inexpensive firearm that could be used by friendly insurgents in occupied countries against their oppressors - typically, as a means of obtaining a more sophisticated weapon from the hapless "insurgentee".
Naturally, this got me to wondering - Given the assignment of mass-producing a modern firearm for the 2007-equivalent of $1.73 (approximately $25.00) - and the benefit of 65 years of technological hindsight - what would the modern Liberator pistol (or rifle) look like?
If a modern version could be produced for $25, would it meet the same performance objectives of the original? Exceed them?
What would be the modern caliber of choice?
What modern firearms would it most resemble (if any)?
Discuss among yourselves.