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E) Incredibly Historic Documented 1,000,000th World War II FP-45 Liberator Pistol, the Last Production Example, with 1942 Dated Guide Lamp Presentation Inscription to U.S. Army Lieutenant Fred B. Thacker - NSN, 45 ACP cal., 4 inch round bbl., grey finish, metal grips. This is just an unbelievably historic pistol, the 1,000,000th documented production World War II FP-45 Liberator pistol, and the very last Liberator pistol ever produced; signifying the completion of the contract for 1,000,000 of these pistols. It took less than 12 weeks for the Guide Lamp Division of General Motors to produce the 1,000,000 Liberator pistols, a massive undertaking, performed by 300 workers working 24 hours, 7 days a week. This historic 1,000,000th production pistol was presented to Lt. Fred Thacker, U.S. Army. Lt. Thacker was the military representative on the FP-45 project at Guide Lamp during production. In order to document this as the 1,000,000th pistol, Mr. Thacker had the right side grip engraved as follows, “1,000,000 LIBERATOR/1942 GUIDE LAMP GMC/FRED B. THACKER/US ARMY 0360133”. This pistol otherwise presents itself as a standard Model 3, 4 hole with cocking knob mold number 50 (reference page 58 of Hagan’s Liberator book). There are no other special markings on the pistol. To further document this pistol, it is accompanied by original letters (dated between 1994- 1995) between Mr. Ralph Hagan and Fred Thacker verifying that it is indeed the 1,000,000th FP-45 Liberator pistol produced, that it was in Fred Thacker’s possession from 1942 until selling it to Hagan at the time of the letters, a brief history of the pistol and his involvement in the project, and terms for the sale of the pistol to Mr. Hagan. In one of the letters, Fred Thacker states, “The pistol that you have is the one millionth unit accepted by me for the completion of the contract. The assembly line was stopped and left over components were scrapped. The time to produce 1,000,000 units was 12 weeks.” This exact pistol is photographed and described on page 58 of Ralph Hagan’s book, “The Liberator Pistol”. This is an extremely rare opportunity to own the last documented production FP-45 Liberator pistol, number “1,000,000”; a symbol of one of the most impressive undertakings in the history of American manufacturing, and a significant piece of World War II history!
CONDITION: Very fine with some light spotting and extremely thin finish. The inscription is excellent. Mechanically excellent. Do not miss this opportunity to acquire the one and only 1,000,000th and very last production FP-45 Liberator pistol made, it may not present itself again for decades!
F) Unique Documented FP-45 Liberator Pistol with “F” Inspection Stamps - NSN, 45 ACP cal., 4 inch round bbl., grey finish, metal grips. Only a small amount of these pistols were stamped with the letter “F”, probably an inspectors mark indicating if something was found wrong and later corrected and passed reinspection. They were marked on top of the barrel strap and on the rear of the barrel strap just below the loading gate. This pistol has circled letter “F” inspection stamps. These inspection stamps are photographed in Ralph Hagan’s book, “The Liberator Pistol” on page 60, in which the top barrel strap marking of this exact pistol is seen. An exceptional Model 3 with “F” inspection marks. CONDITION: Very fine, with a few minor dings and scratches and some scattered light freckling. Mechanically excellent.
276 Provenance: The Lieutenant Fred B. Thacker Collection.