WWII WEBLEY FLARE PISTOL No 4 MK 1* SIGNAL PISTOL

Webley signal pistol designed to be mounted onto a bracket fixed to the walls of an aircraft or other surface ( mounting bracket missing ) the One & half inch round had to be inserted first, after firing, the gun was removed from the bracket and reloaded. The pistols fired coloured flares, Either when in distress or for identification purposes. An aircraft fired on would fire the "colours of the day" a combination of two or more colours,
changed daily - to prove that they were friendly. There is some evidence that RAF bomber crews were told the German colours of the day,
information presumably obtained via the code-breakers at Bletchley Park.

Your comments:

• This is a very colourful story. We would love to have it as part of the people's history on our site aircrewremembered.com
  
  If you would like to contact us via the site we could help you prepare the material to pay our respects to your father.
  
  And if any other readers have stories about friends or relatives who served in aviation services, please don't hesitate to contact us.
  .......... Stefan Youngs, Norwich, England, 27th of February 2014
  
  
• My father, Harvey Firestone, was part of the crew of a Wellington on anti-submarine patrol over the North Sea in September 1944. After mechanical problems and anti-aircraft fire, the plane made an emergency landing in Norway. My father then used the Very pistol to try to set the plane on fire. He then handed the Very pistol to a Norwegian who had directed them away from the crash-site to get away from the Nazis and make contact with the resistance. They succeeded in avoiding capture, made contact with the Resistance, and eventually were transported back to Britain (the Shetland Islands). In 2004, one of the sons of the man whom Dad had given the pistol returned it to him. He still has the Very pistol. It is a Webley and similar to the one shown.
  
  Prior to the crash, my father had fired the Very pistol from the plane, hoping to confuse the Germans firing at them. It worked briefly, but then the anti-aircraft resumed after a brief pause.
  .......... Gary Firestone, Bend, Oregon, USA. My father lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, 20th of August 2013
  
  
• I have the exact signal flare gun, with firing remote hammer. We don't see this example too often, as most are hammerless.
  .......... Mickey D, Benicia, CA USA, 1st of December 2010
  
  

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