Cold War Flare Guns: A Comparison

[Aragorn243]

As promised, photos and further review of my three recently purchased Cold War era flare guns.

Unless otherwise noted, they are in all photos:

From left to right:

Yugo - Polish - German

From top to bottom:

German

Polish

Yugo

The first four photos show the shoulder bags/holster. The Yugo is made of soft fabric, cotton would be my guess. It is very flexible, has plenty of room for accessories and flares. The Polish is made of stiff canvas. Feels like a box, also has room for accessories and flares and has a side opening for additional flares as shown in the 5th photo. The German holster is a thin vinyl covered fabric. Probably a lot sturdier than it feels, also water proof.











This next photo is of writing on the underside of the top flap on the Polish shoulder bag



And the writing on the inside of the German holster



And the reverse of the three carrying cases



Now to the flare guns. The first photo is with the action closed, hammer down, the second with the hammer back, the third the reverse side and the fourth with the action open.









The next two show looking down the barrel and the top of the barrel. The Yugo and Polish guns are marked the German is not.





Yugo release lever



Polish release lever



German Release lever



Yugo face



Polish face



German face



Personally I have become attached to all three. They each have unique features which make them interesting and I am probably going to start hunting for more.

The German gun is more finely crafted. Probably uses the least amount of material needed to do the job. It's action opens the easiest of the three. It is the lightest of the three. Barrel dimensions on all three seems to be about the same. Durability of this gun I would expect to be the worst. Of note, the face is the thinnest by far of the three guns. While suitable for flares, I don't know that I'd want to use an insert for the 45LC/410 in this one. The holster probably protects it to a certain degree but it feels and looks cheaply made. This is the most expensive of the three guns.

The Polish gun is the cheapest looking of the three when you look at them side by side. Picking it up however changes this dramatically. It is by far the heaviest of the three, probably indestructable, huge face, heavy stamped metal. Lacking the trigger guard, obviously not one you'd want to carry around with a flare or anything else in the chamber. It is the most awkward of the three, the hardest to get open. That lever under the trigger has to be pulled out while using the other hand to open the action. It is the only one which does not have a spring to open the action. You can also see the rust, I figured I'd leave it so you can see what you can likely expect if you order one. It's carry bag is in my opinion the most durable of the three but maybe not the one I'd want to carry around all the time. It would be a little difficult to get flares out of it. This was the cheapest of the three guns.

The Yugo is a very nice cross between the two. It is also well built, heavy, thick face and strong. It has a spring loaded action, not quite as easy to open as the German but not bad. It has a good feel to it. The carry bag is interesting in how it closes. It would be easy to pick different types of flares from this but being so soft I don't know how easy it would be to carry fully loaded. This gun was priced in the middle. The aggravating thing with this is the cosmoline. I spent hours cleaning this goo off and when I took it out today, the hammer again will not strike hard enough to fire it. The goo came back and solidified again. It is like new however and once cleaned the nicest condition of the three.

I still don't know for sure if the German gun is East or West but I believe it is West and possibly Border Patrol issue "Bund". Any feedback appreciated.

Information

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[UNPROFOR1994]

I still don't know for sure if the German gun is East or West but I believe it is West and possibly Border Patrol issue "Bund". Any feedback appreciated.

It is the GECO LP2 made for the West-German army or "Bundeswehr". DIANA also made these Flare Pistols. It is a copy of the German WW2 LP42 Flare Pistol. Post WW2 they changed the name just like they did with the Walther P38, what became the Walther P1.

You Polish "RADOM" Flare Pistol is a copy of the Russian WW2 M44 Flare Pistol.

[UNPROFOR1994]

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Your Cold War Flare Gun comparison inspired me to take some pictures of these two flare pistols. They are both cold war veterans, one served the NATO, the other one the Warshaw pact.

The one on top is the Austrian Leuchtpistole 57, made by Ferlach I think. It is a double action revolver design and the hammer is completely protected. The only markings are LP57 on the grip and the serial number on the barrel.

The bottom one is the Polish Radom WZ78, a (un)licensed copy of the German Heckler & Koch P2A1. It is a single action design, has the serial number on the side of the frame, on top of the barrel you can see the year it was made, the serialnumber and the number 11.

[Reichpapers]

I still don't know for sure if the German gun is East or West but I believe it is West and possibly Border Patrol issue "Bund". Any feedback appreciated.

The German flare pistol is simply called a Sign. Pist. The holster you list is for the Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS), which was under the Bundes Ministerium für Inneres (BMI). As to whether the pistol is correct for that holster, it would depend on your pistols markings. You should either see a BW or BMI mark forward of the trigger guard close to the pin that pivots the barrel when open. BMI would be correct for that holster, BW would be for the Bundeswehr, or German Army, which would be a different holster.

[Beerhunter]

This is what we used in the British Army during the Cold War (and WWII). It is a redesign by Molins Ltd. of the Great War Webley & Scott made by Berridge of Leicester, England.

I have brand new leather case (holster) for it in its original ordnance packaging.

In the UK (unlike most places) flare pistols are Section 1 Firearms and must be kept securely and held on a Firearm Certificate.