Re: Any of you geezers have a "woolworth 45"???

Jim Bianchi wrote:

> On 24 Nov 2003 21:12:33 -0800, Laura Bush - wrote:
>
> > They're a cheapie gun used in WW2. Supposedly the US made thousands of
> > them back then at a cost of $1.50 each (WW2 dollars). It was about
> > fist-sized and was a 45 caliber single shot that held a half dozen or
> > so cartridges in the grip. Each round had to be manually loaded. Gun
> > was once described as " a great gun for getting another gun."  I've
> > never seen one but they sound pretty cool and I wondered if there are
> > any still around.  I assume they're still legal.
>
>
> 	This was the 'Liberator' pistol. Other than the name, what you've
> said is correct. They were stamped out of sheet steel and air dropped into
> occupied France in WWII for posible use by the resistance. As you say, the
> grip held cartridges, a bit of dowel (which was used to extract the fired
> brass), and an instruction sheet that was mostly pictures so it could be
> understood by anyone. I've only seen photos of one, and it could only be
> called VERY crude -- it was essentially a gov't mftd .45 caliber zip gun. 
> It had a smooth bore, the bbl was 'prox 4" long. Surviving examples are 
> very much collectors items today. 

	There's a book on this gun written by a relative of a friend of mine, my friend 
loaned the book to me for a time, quite interesting.  It appears that the book 
is now something of a collector's item, fetching over $180.00 per used copy.
ttp://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0965449637