A delightful evening on the back porch with a Gloria Cubana cigar, a snifter of Drambuie, a cup of Colombian Supremo and a good book.This one features the appearance, the one and only appearance, of the Armourer, Major Boothroyd. He takes away Bond's .25 Beretta and replaces it with the famous 7.65 Walther PPK, and, much less famous, a Smith and Wesson Centennial Airweight in .38 Special.
The Armourer is based on a real person, Geoffrey Boothroyd, a British firearms expert who wrote to Fleming that Bond's choice of weapons might be improved. Fleming asked Boothroyd if he could write him in as a minor character.
And, in the first chapter, a Morse code shortwave contact on 14 mc that is mysteriously broken off in mid-sentence and gets the whole plot rolling. Ham radio, too? Be still my heart!
Although, the "hits" were carried out with silenced revolvers (!). Well, there's only one way THAT can work:
Do you suppose Boothroyd told Fleming about the curious design of the 1895 Nagant?
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3 comments:
Wow, that's cool. Boothroyd's "The Handgun" is fascinating reading.
Ham radio, too? Be still my heart!
You HAD me at the gratuitous mention of pork, but that silenced revolver sealed the deal. VERY cool!
Huh.
Not only do I have a ~1959 Beretta 950, I have a copy of Boothroyd's Handgun book in hardcover.
Stunning :)
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