Monday, June 3, 2019

D-Day Assassination – The Guide Lamp FP-45 Liberator: A Cheap Fistful of Chaos

The German Panzer Division was arguably the most feared combat formation of the Second World War. These heavily armored and highly mobile units formed the spearheads that provided the world with its rude introduction to Blitzkrieg or Lightning War. In defensive applications, these armored units could respond to threats as they arose and bring heavy weapons to bear when and where the newly landed Allies were most vulnerable. For this plan to be effective, however, the Germans needed bold decisive leadership.

By June of 1944 everyone in France was wondering exactly when and where the Allies would invade.

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, was in overall command of defensive operations in the West.

By the summer of 1944, everybody in Europe knew the British and Americans were coming.

Construction units swollen with slave labor and ultimately commanded by the legendary German Field Marshal, Erwin Rommel, had transformed the western coast of France into a fortress. However, military history is flush with examples of fixed fortifications being circumvented, crushed, or ignored. The real German defense hinged upon more mobile stuff.

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5 comments:

  1. Jeffery in AlabamaJune 3, 2019 at 8:41 PM

    I have heard them called "a great little gun to get another gun". A few years ago they were being manufactured again by a company in Tennessee. They were complete with the repro box and packaged instructions. I have seen them and held them. I would have liked to have owned one, but they were selling in the $500 range.

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  2. Jeffery in AlabamaJune 4, 2019 at 4:54 AM

    There were three on GunBroker tonight. The way the ads are worded I really can't tell if they are repops are originals. They range from $550-1050. I bet they all are repops. Why would a GI bring a cheaply made single shot .45 Allied weapon back (well, I might have for Shits and Giggles). To answer you question the repops out of TN back in the late 90's early 2000's were around $500. I might have paid $300, but not $500.00
    https://www.gunbroker.com/item/815970262
    https://www.gunbroker.com/Item/809424297

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousJune 5, 2019 at 10:58 AM

      The French confiscated and destroyed every one of them they could find after WW2. There is no evidence for a single "Liberator" pistol ever having been used as intended during WW2. They weren't even all that popular on the "black market" as by 1943-44 Europe was awash in weapons of all kinds. After the battle had past you could find ANYTHING and all the ammo you could use, just laying on the ground. BTW the OSS dropped almost none of the .45 "Liberator"(a few hundreds at most) pistols in Europe. What the CIA did with them in the 1950's is anyone's guess.--Ray

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    2. Brock TownsendJune 5, 2019 at 1:52 PM

      Thanks for the history.

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