POTD: 1960s Space Gun – 12mm Mba Gyrojet Mark I Pistol
Sam.S 07.14.21
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! The ’60s involved the space race and for a space race, you need a space gun. Here we have the infamous Gyrojet. The Gyrojet was a pistol that fired a unique rocket-style cartridge. The cartridge literally fires its whole self. The hammer falls reward and hits the tip setting off the rocket and momentarily delaying the rocket in order to build pressure. From there the rocket resets the hammer and leaves the barrel spinning and completing its ignition.
“Made between 1962 and 1970, the Gyrojet pistol was intended to replace the standard powder filled cartridges with a super high velocity “rocket” type cartridge. In place of a traditional cartridge, it instead fires a self contained spin stabilized solid fuel rocket, removing the need for a strong breech or precise gas sealing. Fed by an internal fixed magazine, the hammer, mounted in front of the grip, drives the rocket back onto a fixed firing pin, and is reset as the round shoots forward. A sliding action cover takes the place of a traditional slide, and is ported to direct the escaping gas to the sides, away from the shooter. The grips are smooth walnut, with a proper cutout on the left side for the magazine follower. Included with the pistol is a MBA box hand numbered to gun with shipping sleeve, and a factory ammunition box containing 22 (not a typo, twenty-two) rounds of scarce Gyrojet ammunition. This pistol is consecutively numbered with the Gyrojet pistol below.”
Lot 2035: Mba Gyrojet Mark I Pistol 12 mm [Photograph found in Auction Catalog #82, Rock Island Auction Company]. (n.d.). Retrieved July12, 2021, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/50/2035/mba-gyrojet-mark-i-pistol-12-mm
