4 replies to this topic

[kfields]

Here is an old Tippecanoe City International Flare and Signal Co gun. I'm curious if this was military issue or not. Where would it have been used? The frame is heavy brass and the steel barrel is 8 1/4 inchs long. This is a hefty piece! Thanks! Kim

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Edited by ADMIN, 31 May 2008 - 10:00 AM.
Fixed title misspelling

[robinb]

Navy and Coast Guard used them on ships and life boats.

[brandon_rss18]

Yep deff. a flare gun, either that or it shot one hell of a bullet!

[Orgone]

Back in the days when you could pick up flare guns like yours for $20-$50, I had a collection of almost a dozen of them, most of them were all or mostly made of brass. Very few of them were actually marked with military markings, but during the war there seemed to be not much of a standard for government purchase. There were probably 25 companys making 37mm flare pistols during and before the war. I heard that the government just bought whatever was available or being manufactured and issued them as needed. I sold them off about 20 years ago when I got tired of looking at them. I kept only a 12 ga. Sledgly and a 37mm tear gas gun that I aquired while collecting flare pistols. I'm sure yours was used by the US Navy or Merchant Marine at some point.

[kfields]

Thanks guys! Nice to know a bit of the history. I have a second International Flare gun, an M-2. Much smaller than this behemoth but still a big hunk of brass. Kim