Item:
ONSV22WKC285

Original U.S. Pre-WWII Lake Erie Chemical Co. Mark IV "Very" Signal Flare Pistol - Serial 1496

Item Description

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice Lake Erie Chemical Co. Mark IV flare pistol, with a 4 inch barrel. It is the typical "Very" design used during WWI, but produced during the 1930s. Made of nickel plated cast brass with wooden grip scales, it really is quite an attractive model compared to many issued later during WWII. It is fully functional. breaking open correctly when the breech lock is opened, and still dry fires correctly. The "spur trigger" gives it quite elegant lines, similar to many WWI German designs.

The barrel is marked on the underside with serial number 1486, and the side is marked with the manufacturer information:

LAKE ERIE CHEMICAL COMPANY
CLEVELAND OHIO

We removed the grips, and the frame is marked with shortened serial number 86. There are also U.S. Army Ordnance Dept. "Flaming Bomb" marks on the breech face of the frame, and on the end of the barrel by the latch. We believe this means it was Arsenal enlarged from the original 25mm to the more standard 26.5mm used in WWII later.

This is truly a wonderful example and comes ready to be displayed!

The use of the term "Very Pistol" comes from Edward Wilson Very, the U.S. Navy Officer who developed and patented the "Very Light" flare cartridge. He then helped popularize
the single-shot breech-loading snub-nosed pistol design that is still in use today.

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