Midlist Writer: Military History Photo Friday: The Apache Revolver

Friday 18 September 2015

Military History Photo Friday: The Apache Revolver

Apache Revolver, c. 1875, Curtius Museum, Liege. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons user Latente Flickr.

This curious weapon is called an Apache Revolver. It wasn't used by the famous Native American tribe, but by the underworld culture of Parisian street gangs that used their name in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

As you can see, the gun combined a six-chamber revolver that shot 7mm bullets, brass knuckles, and a spike. The revolver would have been inaccurate at anything other than point-blank range since it has no barrel and no sights, but the Apaches got down and dirty in their fights. In one famous brawl between rival Apache factions near Notre Dame, the police intervened to break them up, and the rival factions combined to beat up the cops!

A great advantage of this undersized weapon was that the whole thing could fold in on itself and be carried safely and inconspicuously in a pocket.

Folded Apache revolver in the National Firearms Museum, courtesy Wikimedia Commons user Amendola90.

I'm reading a fascinating book on the Apache right now. I might have to use them in an upcoming novel!

The Apaches at play. Image courtesy Bibliothèque nationale de France.

2 comments:

Roland D. Yeomans said...: I had never heard of the Apache Street gang in Paris either. They would make for a wonderful subject for a tale!; 18 September 2015 at 09:24
Alex J. Cavanaugh said...: While not a practical gun, it was a perfect street weapon.; 18 September 2015 at 11:27

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