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SECRET WEAPONS FROM THE SKY: HOW THE FP-45 LIBERATOR AIDED WWII RESISTANCE FIGHTERS


By Buddy Blouin

Living in Nazi-occupied Europe meant facing a number of terrible laws and treatments, including restrictions on handguns. Armed citizens fighting back is not ideal for an empire and the Third Reich wasn’t taking any chances. However, the Allied Forces had a plan. What if there was an armed public in place? Could that make people more willing to resist the Nazi regime? Would German fighters become more uneasy and possibly leave certain areas? Nobody knew for sure, but the concept of the FP-45 Liberator was born with a simple goal—create a secret handgun and get it into the hands of Europeans behind enemy lines.

What Is the FP-45 Liberator?

The FP-45 Liberator is a handgun the U.S. manufactured during World War II with the idea of dropping them from the sky down below to citizens in Europe who could arm themselves against Nazi Germany.

These handguns were to be mass-produced in such a large quantity that even those recovered by German forces would not be enough to get all of them out of the hands of resisters.

Once resistance fighters received the weapons, it was the hope that they could fight back or at the very least, make Nazi troops uncomfortable from a psychological standpoint.

Arming Resisters and Psychological Warfare

Most people in Europe didn’t resist the Nazis and in many cases, civilians didn’t have the capacity to actually fight back.

There were notable demonstrations from Polish citizens and among Communists, but fighting back against the Nazi Germany war machine was a lot easier to hypothetically dream of than execute.

This is why the idea of the FP-45 Liberator pistol was brought to life. A design built based on resistance from the Polish and brought to the US Army Joint Psychological Warfare Committee for creation.

Created in Dayton, Ohio through General Motors, to hide the fact that the Army was developing a secret weapon, it was disguised as a Flare Projector Caliber .45, which would be the origin of its name.

Different parts were also renamed in code to help hide the production of the pistol:

  • Barrel = tube
  • Trigger = yoke
  • Firing pin = control rod
  • Trigger guard = spanner

So that civilians could easily use the pistols, FP-45 Liberators came with a comic explaining how to handle the weapon, along with 10 rounds of .45 ACP ammunition. All conveniently packed away in a box that would be dropped from planes with parachutes.

Far from a refined military-grade weapon, the FP-45 Liberator wasn’t meant for long battles but rather sneak attacks to take out Axis fighters so that their weapons could be stolen and their forces hindered.

Allied troops never received the weapons for use but they were never intended to as a result, there are varying accounts of their usage as well as fewer records regarding their issue.

Adoption of the FP-45 Liberator Never Catches On

Although the weapons were created, there were fewer provided for use than leadership may have initially intended.

A big part of this was the fact that Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's staff wasn’t ever sold on the plan of dropping a massive amount of weapons into occupied Europe in the first place.

Similar applications for the handguns were proposed for the Pacific Theatre, however, Generals Joseph Stilwell and Douglas were also uninterested in the plan.

When it was all said and done, not even 25,000 of the 450,000 or so Liberator pistols were distributed in Europe and only a small portion of the 100,000 sent to China are believed to have been put into use.

Following the war, the Allies destroyed most of the pistols as the innovative plot never received the proper support it needed to be a success.

Is the FP-45 Liberator Regulated?

Ultimately, the rules regarding the FP-45 Liberator are dictated by state laws and published ordinances for firearms in collaboration with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

However, the pistol is listed as a curio or relic under the Gun Control Act because it’s a historical piece that doesn’t qualify as a pistol, according to the National Firearms Act (NFA). Still, FP-45 Liberators that are reproduced have to be rifled and serialized.

If you can find one, the guns, which only cost the government a couple of bucks to make, can be worth thousands.

The FP-45 Liberator didn’t pan out but remains an interesting part of World War II history showing the innovative approaches people were willing to use to resist the Nazi regime.

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