{"id":106110,"date":"2019-06-01T07:29:05","date_gmt":"2019-06-01T11:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=106110"},"modified":"2019-06-01T07:29:05","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T19:27:32","slug":"d-day-assassination-the-guide-lamp-fp-45-liberator-a-cheap-fistful-of-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/d-day-assassination-the-guide-lamp-fp-45-liberator-a-cheap-fistful-of-chaos\/","title":{"rendered":"D-Day Assassination – The Guide Lamp FP-45 Liberator: A Cheap Fistful of Chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"D-Day<\/a>

By June of 1944 everyone in France was wondering exactly when and where the Allies would invade.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, was in overall command of defensive operations in the West.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

The highly mobile German Panzer Division was an immensely powerful combat formation.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

Though badly outnumbered, German tanks in 1944 were the most feared in the world.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the Panzer Divisions of 1944 employed the most powerful tanks in the world, they were also led by a seasoned cadre of combat veterans who had learned their craft on the bloody frozen steppes of Russia.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

More important than their wonder weapons were the cadre of battle-hardened German military leaders who led the Wehrmacht at all levels. Many of these seasoned veterans had earned their spurs on the bloody Eastern Front.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

These fortunate few survivors had emerged from places like Stalingrad and Kursk with the most finely honed combat acumen of any of the world\u2019s military leaders. The hard-won tactical skills they possessed made these elite soldiers strategic assets for the Axis forces defending France.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

On a fateful night before the Allied invasion, the leadership of one of the defending Panzer units was hard at work planning for coming operations.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the night of June 5th, 1944, a group of German commanders and logisticians from one of the Panzer Divisions tasked with the mobile defense of Normandy, France, was in need of space to assess and plan. They subsequently requisitioned the premises of a nearby French country manor for this purpose.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

The Germans commandeered whatever homes or resources they needed to support their military objectives.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The house had previously served as a hotel and restaurant, and the German officers appreciated the spacious environment as well as the copious food and drink.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

The French Underground was a disseminated resistance army awaiting the invasion to strike German military targets from the sides and rear.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The kitchen and wait staff of the house promptly provided the Germans with bread and coffee. Despite the fact that they had invaded France militarily, the German propaganda machine still told members of the Wehrmacht that they would be fighting for a united Europe against the interlopers from the UK and the US. On a certain level, the Germans actually expected the occupied French to be sympathetic to the Nazi cause.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

In the early morning of June 6, 1944, one tired young German officer was about to meet a grisly fate.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

One sharp young Hauptman of the Panzerwaffe was busy with the myriad details of mobilizing his armored force to respond to the invasion he knew was coming. Having gone without sleep for some time leading up to this fateful morning, now June 6th<\/sup>, the Nazi tank Captain was clearly exhausted. One of the manor\u2019s waitresses approached the German officer and offered him a room in which to rest. Whether the man left with the girl to get a little sleep or something more has been lost to history.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

The Guide Lamp FP-45 Liberator was a crude weapon designed for a singular purpose.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over time, the Hauptman\u2019s presence was missed, and a German Military Policeman named Niklaus Lange went searching through the expansive house for him. Finding all of the French staff mysteriously absent he pushed into a bedroom and recoiled at what he saw. The German Captain lay facedown on the bed, his blood and brains staining the white sheets and surrounding walls. He had suffered a large caliber gunshot wound to the side of the head at near contact range. The exit wound produced by the fat heavy bullet had removed the front quarter of his skull and liberally papered the room with gore. On the floor beside the body was a peculiar single shot pistol.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The FP-45 Liberator<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

The FP-45 was part of a small parcel intended to be airdropped behind enemy lines to resistance fighters.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The FP-45 was the result of a highly classified program intending to arm partisans operating behind enemy lines with what was essentially a disposable firearm. The FP-45 drew its name from a tidy bit of subterfuge. The weapon was originally contracted as a Flare Projector to hide its true nature from the Axis.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

Guide Lamp had perfected the art of steel stampings. Their M3 Grease Gun soldiered on in US military service until the 1990s.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Guide Lamp, the same company that made early M3 Grease Guns, manufactured these weapons. However, this inexpensive single shot .45ACP pistol was never fully embraced by the conventional Allied leadership. Three hundred American workers toiling over an eleven-week span during the summer of 1942 produced around a million copies.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

The FP-45 Liberator was a simple but effective assassination tool.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The gun was a crudely manufactured single-shot handgun sporting a smoothbore four-inch barrel. The weapon came in a cardboard box along with ten rounds of .45ACP ammunition and a small dowel to push out the empty cases.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

The cartoon operating instructions that accompanied the gun could be understood by most anyone anywhere.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

There was also a comic strip instruction sheet that demonstrated the operation of the weapon without words. The FP-45 cost the government a whopping $2.10 apiece. The pistol had only twenty-three parts, most of which were cast or stamped for rapid inexpensive manufacture.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

The FP-45 was designed from the outset to be inexpensive and easy to manufacture in large quantities.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The FP-45 was designed to arm insurgent fighters behind enemy lines, and the secrecy surrounding this project was extreme. The barrel was referred to in the supporting development literature as the \u201ctube.\u201d The trigger was the \u201cyoke,\u201d and the firing pin was called a \u201ccontrol rod.\u201d The trigger guard was called the \u201cspanner.\u201d This bit of duplicity was intended to frustrate Axis spies and sympathizers as to the project\u2019s true nature.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

Around a million FP-45 pistols were produced, but only a small percentage of these saw action.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of the half million FP-45 pistols shipped to England for distribution to the French Underground, only some 25,000 made it to occupied Europe. The other half million went to the Pacific theater where a similarly small percentage actually saw action. However, this diminutive gun had an influence on the outcome of the war far beyond the weapon\u2019s small size and questionable parentage.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

The FP-45 Liberator had an effect on German morale well beyond its actual combat effectiveness.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the vignette described above, the German Military Policeman being interviewed about the assassination killing of this critical German officer referred to the discarded single shot throwaway gun as a \u201cBrowning Assassination Pistol.\u201d However, it is obvious the weapon to which he was referring was the FP-45. He claimed that there were thousands of these diabolical little guns in circulation in France. He implied that the presence of these inexpensive assassin\u2019s tools caused the occupying Germans to keep a wary eye out for French civilians who might sport ill intent.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Impressions<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

The FP-45 was only useful at extremely close ranges.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The FP-45 is surprisingly large and weighs about a pound. The butt of the gun is voluminous enough to carry five .45ACP rounds underneath a sliding steel cover. The FP-45 lacks any sights worthy of the term, but that didn\u2019t matter terribly. The smoothbore barrel failed to stabilize the bullet much past twenty-five feet.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

Operation of the FP-45 was intuitive and simple.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\"D-Day<\/a>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\"D-Day<\/a>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

To load the gun you pull back and twist the rear cocking tab to clear the barrel. Lift the rear retainer gate and drop a round in the chamber. Slide the gate down and rotate the cocking piece to the upward position. Point the gun in the general direction of something you dislike and squeeze the trigger. The weapon is really most effective at contact ranges.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

Original packaging for the FP-45 Liberator is markedly more valuable than the guns themselves.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Original FP-45 Liberators are available on the collectors market, but they are spendy. Those I have followed on GunsAmerica range between $1000 and $6000. New-made reproductions from the Vintage Ordnance Company run about $500 to $600.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

The FP-45 was an awfully small handgun for its large-bore chambering.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Given the gun\u2019s modest weight and afterthought ergonomics, it was likely a handful to fire. However, this was the pistol you only used to get something bigger, better, and meaner. The intent was to allow a partisan to execute an occupying German soldier and retrieve his weapon. Once the gun was fired you could technically open the action and press out the empty with the dowel to reload. You will obviously not be doing that in a hurry.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Denouement<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

Of all the small arms issued by Allied forces during World War 2, the FP-45 is arguably the most humble.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The FP-45 was a tiny little footnote to the extensive pantheon of wartime Allied small arms. The brass never bought into the idea, so most of these adorable little guns ended up discarded in the ocean or melted down for scrap. Original Liberators lack a serial number or markings of any sort and were fairly crudely executed. Modern Vintage Ordnance guns are perfect replicas with their serial numbers and identifying markings discretely stamped underneath the barrel.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

French resistance fighters fought and died to free their country from the hated German jackboot.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the early morning hours of June 6th<\/sup>, 1944, an unknown member of the French Underground killed a German panzer officer at bad breath range with an FP-45 pistol. It was hoped that such attacks would substantively undermine the German defense. As is typically the case, ultimate victory was the result of countless poignant and bloody little combats, many of which have been forgotten over time.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

The FP-45 was a curious footnote to the global saga of the Second World War.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Guide Lamp FP-45 was the People\u2019s Gun that ultimately helped, in its own small way, win the war for the Allies. Despite the limited number of weapons actually delivered to the French Underground, the Germans developed an outsized fear of this ugly little weapon. They imagined French partisans lurking behind every tree with an FP-45 ready to put an end to their military service on the Atlantic Wall. In the end, the gun was effective not so much for what it did but for what it stood for. In the hands of a determined combatant, the FP-45, despite its austere parentage and personality, yet remained a potent killer of men.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

The successful invasion of Western Europe was the cumulative result of a massive theater-wide effort on scales both small and large.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The combat vignette described above is drawn from a book titled D-Day Through German Eyes<\/em> by Holger Eckhertz. It is a fascinating read drawn together from interview notes conducted by Eckhertz\u2019 father, a German war correspondent active in Normandy prior to the invasion. It is available on Amazon.<\/p>\n

www.vintageordnance.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

D-Day Through German Eyes is a mesmerizing read.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D-Day<\/a>

This is a photograph of an incredibly rare prototype FP-45. Note the novel sliding breechblock.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n

***Shop GunsAmerica for your next handgun***<\/a><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the end, the gun was effective not so much for what it did but for what it stood for. In the hands of a determined combatant, the FP-45, despite its austere parentage and personality, yet remained a potent killer of men.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":106126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[772],"tags":[132,102,108,335],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-106110","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-will-dabbs","8":"tag-buzz","9":"tag-feature-articles","10":"tag-guns","11":"tag-military"},"yoast_head":"\nD-Day Assassination - The Guide Lamp FP-45 Liberator: A Cheap Fistful of Chaos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"D-Day Assassination - The Guide Lamp FP-45 Liberator: A Cheap Fistful of Chaos - Will Dabbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/d-day-assassination-the-guide-lamp-fp-45-liberator-a-cheap-fistful-of-chaos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"D-Day Assassination - The Guide Lamp FP-45 Liberator: A Cheap Fistful of Chaos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the end, the gun was effective not so much for what it did but for what it stood for. 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However, shooting guns and claiming it was work seemed like a pretty sweet hustle. As a result, Will serendipitously transformed an avocation into a vocation. Raised in the Mississippi Delta, Will flew UH1H, OH58A\\\/C, CH47D and AH1S helicopters operationally as an Army Aviator. He is SCUBA-qualified and has parachuted out of perfectly good airplanes at 3 o'clock in the morning. Will has summited Mount McKinley, Alaska, six times\u2026always at the controls of an Army helicopter, which is the only way sensible folk climb mountains. Will has delivered sixty babies and occasionally wrung human blood out of his socks. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has three awesome adult children. 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