"Name That Gun"

[Richard S]

My brother-in-law recently gave me this old "war horse."  Tom has probably sold some of them over the years, but it's the first of its kind that I've seen, except in photographs.  Its accuracy is modest, and it is a real "monkey puzzle" to field strip and reassemble.  Still and all, it's an interesting little piece.  

First to "name that gun" gets a gold star.  

[Newt]

It was made by Remington but I can't remember the       #. :-/

[flyandscuba]

I think you are referring to a Remington M51, introduced in 1919 in both .32  and .38  -- but I don't believe that is the gun listed above.

I can't remember the manufacturer of the gun above, but I believe it disassembles similarly to the Grendel P-30, by unscrewing the barrel sleeve at the end of the bore.

[Rocnerd]

Probably wrong, but it looks similar to a Tokarev (sp?).

[Richard S]

Close, but not quite.  As a hint, it's a contemporary of both the Tokarev 7.62 (which was carried by officers of the Red Army) and the Remington M51 (which was sometimes carried by General George S. Patton).  It also disassembles much like the Grendel P-30.

Speaking of Patton's Remington M51, that was the pistol he used to shoot at the Luftwaffe fighters strafing his headquarters in Morocco.  If you look closely at that scene in the movie, PATTON, I think you will see that the pistol which George C. Scott is holding is indeed a Remington M51.  (Perhaps that is because General Omar Bradley was a technical advisor for the movie.)

[flyandscuba]

I thought he used a Colt 1903....but maybe it was a Browning M51.

[Richard S]

Fly:

Over the years, Patton carried a variety of pistols and revolvers -- e.g., Colt .45 Peacemaker, Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum, Model 1911 Colt .45, and Remington Model 51 in .380 ACP .  The following is from Chapter V of The Unknown Patton by Charles M. Province:

"General Kenyon Joyce, a longtime friend of Patton, acquired and sent to the General a pocket-type pistol.  It was a Remington Model 51 .380 automatic.  It had been a difficult gun to locate as it had not been manufactured since 1935, but one was found by the Remington firm.  It was re-conditioned and engraved on it was, "To George Patton/From his shooting partner of many years/Kenyon Joyce." Patton wore it from time to time."

The following is a link to Province's book:  

http://www.pattonhq.com/unknowntext.html

[Rocnerd]

Hmm, how about some model or the other of Walther?

[R9SCarry]

I'd have guessed Russian - Eastern Block, but no way to put a name to it.

[Richard S]

Getting closer, but it wasn't made by Walther or in Russia or the old Eastern Block.  For hints, it's a striker-fired, blowback design with three safeties -- a magazine safety which blocks firing when the magazine is removed, a grip safety (which could really use a beaver-tail enhancement), and a frame-mounted manual safety.  At one time or another, this model  was adopted and issued by the military and/or police forces of Yugoslavia, Holland, Greece, Romania, France, Denmark, and Germany (Nazi and Postwar).  This one is chambered for 7.65 mm (.32 ACP), and appears to have been issued to the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany.  

If no one wins the "Gold Star" by tomorrow, I'll post the answer then.  

[flyandscuba]

It's an FN Browning 1922.

[Richard S]

Fly:

Congratulations!