I'm going to post this picture as soon as I get my scanner back up and running.
The source is US Infantry Weapons of the First World War by Bruce Canfield...
It is an experimental combination sword and pistol made from a M1913 saber blade with a handle containing a M1911 .45 caliber pistol and a sliding shoulder stock. This unusual, one-of-a-kind prototype weapon was carried in a M1913 saber scabbard. Reportedly fabricated at the Springfield Armory.
Since it may be a bit before I get to a scanner....the M1913 saber is the one designed by George Patton, a long, tapering blade, used only for the thrust. It has a bell handguard and the pistol is welded to the top of the handguard, which has seven bars welded and running back and ending in a ring, protecting the hand while it holds the pistol.
You basically have the choice of shooting your target as you gallop towards it and then sticking it as you ride past.
THANK GAWD only one was ever produced!!!!!
__________________
The reason that the American Army does so well in wartime, is that war is chaos, and the American Army practices chaos on a daily basis.
|