Sleeve gun
Sleeve gun and wrist gun are generic terms for a small firearm designed to be concealed under a long-sleeved coat or jacket—in fictional examples there is often a device with a mechanism to extend it out into the hand to fire.
Real examples
[edit]
The "sleeve gun" was developed during World War II by Station IX of the Special Operations Executive.[2] The design was by Hugh Reeves.[3] It was essentially a version of the noise-suppressed Welrod pistol, minus the pistol grip, and produced in both .32 ACP and 9×19mm.[4][5] Between 150 and 200 of the guns were manufactured almost certainly by Birmingham Small Arms Company.[6][7] A Mark 1 version was designed but it is unclear if it ever made it off the drawing board.[8]
Fictional examples
[edit]Though designs vary, most fictional sleeve guns involve a small conventional pistol on a sliding or telescoping rail, which quickly releases the weapon into the hand for firing,[9] either by a trigger mechanism, or just the sudden movement of the forearm. Such sleeve guns have appeared in multiple media.
Comics
[edit]- Gunsmith Cats (1990–1997)
- Punisher Back to School Special (1992–1994)[10]
- Blade of the Phantom Master (2001–2007)
Films
[edit]- Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939)
- The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958)
- Taxi Driver (1976)[11]
- Blood Debts (1985)
- Red Heat (1988)[12][13]
- The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)
- Aces: Iron Eagle III (1992)
- Maverick (1994)
- Desperado (1995)
- Alien Resurrection (1997)
- Equilibrium (2002)
- Dead Man's Bluff (2005)
- Hot Fuzz (2007)
- Sukiyaki Western Django (2007)
- Sherlock Holmes (2009)
- Django Unchained (2012)[14]
- The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)
Television
[edit]- The Wild Wild West (1965–1969)[15]
- Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971)
- Jumanji (1996–1999)
- Archer (2009–2023)
- NCIS: Los Angeles (2009–2023)
- Justified (2010–2015)
- The Walking Dead (2010–2022)[16]
- Fargo (2014–present)
- Timeless (2016–2018)
- Vice Principals (2016–2017)
- Gotham (2014–2019)
- Warrior (2019–2023)
- Stargirl (2020-2022)
- Walker (2021–present)
- The Legend of Vox Machina (2022-present)
Video Games
[edit]- Assassin's Creed II (2009)
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (2010)
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations (2011)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Centrefire breech-loading suppressed sleeve gun - Mk.II Sleeve Gun - about 1944". royalarmouries.org. Royal Armouries. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
- ↑ Flutter, Mark Murray (30 May 2022). "The Welrod .32 silent pistol". Arms & Armour. 19 (1): 92–115. doi:10.1080/17416124.2022.2063625. ISSN 1741-6124. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ↑ Jonathan Ferguson (15 Jun 2022). The silenced, concealable stripped back Welrod, with weapons and firearms expert, Jonathan Ferguson. Royal Armouries. Event occurs at 1:40-1:50. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ↑ "Sleeve Gun". Timelapse. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
- ↑ Fredric Boyce and Douglas Everett. SOE The Scientific Secrets.
- ↑ Jonathan Ferguson (15 Jun 2022). The silenced, concealable stripped back Welrod, with weapons and firearms expert, Jonathan Ferguson. Royal Armouries. Event occurs at 9:10-9:30. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ↑ Jonathan Ferguson (15 Jun 2022). The silenced, concealable stripped back Welrod, with weapons and firearms expert, Jonathan Ferguson. Royal Armouries. Event occurs at 10:30-11:00. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ↑ Jonathan Ferguson (15 Jun 2022). The silenced, concealable stripped back Welrod, with weapons and firearms expert, Jonathan Ferguson. Royal Armouries. Event occurs at 2:25-2:40. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ↑ Wolfgang Michel: Britische Schalldämpferwaffen 1939–1945: Entwicklung, Technik, Wirkung. ISBN 978-3-8370-2149-3
- ↑ Punisher Back to School Special "Sorry, My Mistake", vol. 1, #2 October, 1993
- ↑ Leigh, Danny. "Why we are locked in the back of Taxi Driver's mind". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ↑ "American Handgunner" May/June 1988 P.17
- ↑ Petersen's Handguns July 1988, BLUE STEEL FOR 'RED HEAT', Hollywood wizardry creates the mythical "Podbyrin 9.2mm" and other hardware for a new action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- ↑ Steinberg, Don (14 December 2012). "Tarantino Tackles Slavery". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Jim West's Sleeve Gun (Wild Wild West)". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 2010-12-29. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
- ↑ "East (The Walking Dead)", Wikipedia, 2021-10-19, retrieved 2021-12-27
External links
[edit]
Media related to Welwand sleeve gun at Wikimedia Commons- Firearm with underarm gun stock
- Firearm apparatus to be worn on the user's forearm
- Forearm gun
- Multi-Barrel Firearm Apparatus Worn on the User's Forearm
