Posted on 09/07/2014 3:08:00 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
This Steampunkish Nazi Belt Buckle Pistol Packs A Deadly Surprise
The Nazis had some pretty wild engineering ideas, and some of them, like the jet engine, ended up being a vision of things to come. Yet others were just over-engineered, strange, and in some cases, downright creepy. This steampunkish Nazi belt buckle four-shooter is one of those things.
The whole idea was to give high-ranking Nazis a way to kill their captors should they be captured on the battlefield. The concept was said to have originated from known German inventor, Louis Marquis, who designed the contraption while he was held as a prisoner of war during WWI.
In operation, the buckle flipped open, where its four barrels would be rotated out, and each .22 cartridge would be fired using spring loaded trigger mechanisms on the opposite side from the barrels. Was it all a bit phallic? Yep.
Strange as they were, these Nazi crotch shooters were intricately built and had a high degree of craftsmanship. and some were incredibly embellished. It is said that they were ordered by Heinrich Himmler to be given to his inner circle, which makes them even creepier.
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Weird technology from World War II Nazi Germany … it looks like something the villain would pull out as a last resort in an Indiana Jones movie.
I remember reading about those when I was a kid.
I think most of them realized after all the hell they caused the world, it was easier to consume the cyanide capsule provided rather than attempt to shoot it out with the Allies. Hence, Himmler, Goering, Hitler, Goebbels, all committed suicide rather than be taken or executed. I was watching a program on Nazi technological advances, and the commentator called it “exotic Nazi technology”, weird, like it was some kind of fashion or something. I think deadly is a better description,as was most of, if not all, their advancements were designed for.
Looks cool, but WTF is “steampunkish”?
Didn’t Paladin have a belt buckle with a derringer in it?
Was it to be fired while still “buckled”?
If so, woe to the guy with a beer gut. Ouch!
BTW, it sticks in my mind that there was a Civil War-era design kind of like this. A black powder, derringer type weapon that fired out of the belt buckle. Something like that. I remember reading about it in an old library book about 19th century firearms. Might be have some of the details wrong, though, as I was very little when I read about it.
I think some of them took the lesson of Gen. Stupnagel
to heart and chose poison.
When he was on his way to Gestapo custody he took a
pistol and tried to blow his brains out, unfortunately
for him he just managed to blind himself and was later
hung with piano wire. Not a good end at all.
Steampunk is a type of science fiction involving gadgets and machines in the 19th century using technology of that time (i.e. steam power, etc.). Kind of like the old tv show “The Wild Wild West” with Robert Conrad.
Not really sure how “steampunkish” a WW2 Nazi belt buckle gun is, but I think that’s what the author was alluding to here.
If you have ever worked on old German drillings this technology looks fairly routine. The amount of trick gadgets on some of them is amazing. Hidden cartridge traps, secret door buttplates, flip up night sights, or how about a thin leather sling that is spring loaded like a tape measure so it comes out of the butt and hooks to the barrel. They are really good at hiding the various levers and latches in the engraving. I shot one with a crossover buttstock, made for a WW1 vet who lost his right eye. It mounts to your right shoulder and hand, then the barrels cross to your left eye. It took a few tries but some clay pigeons did die.
It is cool, but I don’t believe the story.
Talk about shooting from the hip...
Nice design, I’ve actually seen a more modern version of this done in the 1960’s, no idea if they had taken ideas from this particular piece or not.
The more modern piece did pretty much require suspenders to wear along with the belt. The buckle was incredibly heavy. I imagine this is much the same.
Well I guests it would have worked once.
I remember the toy cowboy hat with the gun hidden in a trap door on the inside of the top of the hat.. SURPRISE!
The writer should sit down and ask himself why he immediately associated a pistol hidden in a belt buckle with the male member.
I think there were Derringer belt buckles back in the old West...
What's the story on this?
Looks like the Canadian made Ross rifle. Take it apart to clean it, reassemble the bolt incorrectly and surprise!
I remember the forearm version with spring mounted derringer.
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