A mystery pistol masterpiece of design - but who made it?

[ccdjg]

Yes, I agree that was a good point, and might tend to support a view that it was born in a factory somewhere in the UK

I guess we’ll never know but it’s certainly a very interesting item.

Yes, Danny's point fits with the pistol being made pre-war, when the 1925 Tell 2 patent was still active. We know that after the war the Tell 2 patent was no longer relevant, as evidenced by the appearance of the Acvoke and Thunderbolt Junior, heavily pinching the Tell 2 design with impunity.

I have been giving more thought about who, in the 1920-30’s period was best placed to come up with the design of this mystery pistol. If you think about it, only two gunmakers in the UK up to the outbreak of World War 2 had ever considered a concentric pistol design: George Norman at BSA and Edwin Anson. Similarly, only three gunmakers in the UK had ever favoured a cocking method based on a hinged grip - George Norman, Edwin Anson and Lincoln Jeffries. So up pops a pistol from the pre-war period, incorporating both of these features, plus some ingenious new design concepts, very professionally made, and perhaps dubiously marked as made by BSA. We can discount Lincoln Jeffries, as he was an avid patenter, and would have certainly have patented this design if it had been his. I know I am biased and would love it to be a BSA prototype, but I can’t help thinking that the balance of probabilities are with it being BSA in origin.



Nothing really to do with this, but I found a bit of interesting history about George Norman. He joined BSA in 1896, and progressed from assistant engineer to chief engineer by about 1910. He was named inventor or co-inventor on all the pre-war BSA airgun patents, and on virtually all their firearms patents, and he had a particular penchant for designing repeating weapons and cartridge loading systems. He designed the BSA version of the Thompson machine gun, and was directly involved with the development of the Lee Enfield rifles. Then I found this brief account, as part of a discussion of the Mark III Lee Enfield:

“When such a famous weapon as the Mark III with all its
associations goes out of production, there is an inevitable
feeling of regret. In such affection was the model held at
Small Heath that after the last gun had been dispatched
in December, 1943, it was decided to hold a “farewell”
dinner for those members of the staff and workers who had
been closely associated with its production over a number
of years. Among those who attended was Mr. George
Norman, a former works manager who, although 85, was
retained in a consultative capacity and used to visit the
works once a week. He had joined B.S.A. in 1896 and had
been connected with the first Mark I Lee Enfield in 1904
as well as the Mark III in World War No. 1. During dinner
he told story after story of the “good old days”. And as if
with the passing of the gun he had fathered so lovingly his
life’s work had been completed, Mr. Norman went home
that night to die peacefully in his chair.”

What a lovely way to go!

[ptdunk]

“When such a famous weapon as the Mark III with all its
associations goes out of production, there is an inevitable
feeling of regret. In such affection was the model held at
Small Heath that after the last gun had been dispatched
in December, 1943, it was decided to hold a “farewell”
dinner for those members of the staff and workers who had
been closely associated with its production over a number
of years. Among those who attended was Mr. George
Norman, a former works manager who, although 85, was
retained in a consultative capacity and used to visit the
works once a week. He had joined B.S.A. in 1896 and had
been connected with the first Mark I Lee Enfield in 1904
as well as the Mark III in World War No. 1. During dinner
he told story after story of the “good old days”. And as if
with the passing of the gun he had fathered so lovingly his
life’s work had been completed, Mr. Norman went home
that night to die peacefully in his chair.”

That's lovely.

[Powderfinger]

That is very moving. Those were days of great Britons.

[micky2]

That's a great story.