HANS

Awesome, many thanks for that Monarch flyer! I have looked for period price quotes for those things for ages. Do you know from which year the ad is? Cheers HANS

Supposedly the Monarch Arms and Mfg Co was founded by an LAPD officer. They seem to have started in the 1920s with the "Rifle-ette", a stock for the Woodman, and then brought out the "Steady Fire Riot and Anti-Bandit Multi-Shot Gun", which was the modificiation of the big Colts -- grip panel with counterholes for the screws on the stock, extended magazine (18 or 22 depending on calibre) with grip moulded on for the off hand. If you google "Monarch Rifle-ette" you'll find a youtube video of the entire setup. It seems that Lebman incorporated at least some parts from Monarch, ie, the grip panels and possibly the magazine (without the grip). About the Lebman conversions, I always thought there were only three -- the Super 38 given by Nelson to Dillinger and found in St Paul, the Government 45 used by Nelson at Little Bohemia (what happened to it?), and the M1911 for Van Meter they found on Lebman's bench. Am I missing one? What are their serials? Who did the full-auto Government 45 of Pretty Boy Floyd? Cheers HANS

The Monarch Arms and Mfg Co of Los Angeles produced both shoulder stocks for the big (Government and Super 38) and small (Woodman) Colts and an extended magazine for the big pistols. If you examine the famous FBI display, you'll see that the Lebman conversion has two large screws on the left grip. That is an aluminium Monarch grip panel that allows screwing the Monarch "Steady Fire" stock on. Obviously the stock is not installed, and perhaps never has been. Cheers HANS

Has someone seen the "full-auto" Colt ".38 Automatic" seized from Purple Gang member Louis Fleisher in 1938? I have seen a photo (in Kavieff's DETROIT'S INFAMOUS PURPLE GANG) that shows a Colt Government/Super .38 Auto-style pistol with a Monarch grip/magazine extension. The text claims it fires full-auto, although the Monarch conversion really just changed the capacity. Another book (Newton's MR MOB) claims that actually three full-auto pistols were seized. The photo in the first source also shows two Luger P08 and LP08 pistols with TM08 drum magazines, which could be the guns alluded to. Would someone know more? Were these actually full-auto, or just high-capacity? Cheers HANS

Did the Bureau of Prohibition ever have standardised sidearms (and heavier weapons, such as shotguns)? What about the Secret Service? I read about the occasional transfer of M1911 pistols, M1917 revolvers, and Model 97 Trench guns to the agencies, but never any details. Would someone know? Many thanks! Cheers HANS

Oh, thanks, that would be awesome! Cheers HANS

Many thanks! Swearengen was my first reference as well, but it must post-date the book. I found some specs in Huon's UN SIECLE D'ARMEMENT MONDIAL, but no dates. I also mailed S&W, but they hadn't even heard of it Judging from internet auctions, it is fairly common, so it is odd that nobody seems to know anything about it . . . Cheers HANS

Would anyone know the production years (start/end) of these tear gas guns? Many thanks! Cheers HANS

QUOTE (PhilOhio @ Aug 10 2005, 01:08 AM) Then when the commies got their hands on some of them, they carved the beejeebers out of the grip frames and added a mag adapter for PPSh-41 banana mags, bushed the bolt faces to take the 7.63 x 25 rd., and installed the appropriate (.30 cal.) barrel. According to Hill: THOMPSON -- THE AMERICAN LEGEND, that conversion was a Lend-Lease item (or at least there was one very similar to that, since the accompanying photo shows a curved PPSh-41-type magazine) and delivered "in great numbers" to the Chinese. Would someone know who made the kit and if it changed the parameters (weight, rate of fire especially) in any way? Many thanks! Cheers HANS

Would someone know the production dates of the MG38, MG38B, and MG40? That is, from when till when were these models available/made? Any data on production numbers in the inter-war period, and perhaps the customers? Many thanks! Cheers HANS