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James Bond the super spy created by Ian Fleming is a character that we all know from the popular novels and movies. This page focuses on the pistols that Mr. Bond carried with him on his adventures. Beretta Modelo 418 Up until the movie ' Dr NO ' the only pistol James Bond carried was the little Italian .25 Beretta Modelo 418. James was very fond of this compact little gun and was reluctant to give it up, even though it jammed on him in a novel, and nearly cost him his life.....he spent 6 months in hospital recovering from the serious injuries sustained in that mission....and HQ was not impressed. In the movie, James Bond actually had a Beretta Modelo 1934, presumably because the studio could not get the proper and correct model 418. The Beretta Modelo 418 is pictured below:
This close concealment gun is also known as a 'pocket pistol' in that it is very compact and can be carried quite easily and unobtrusively in the trouser pocket, although James Bond used a small shoulder holster that is more befitting a special Agent. Below is pictured the standard holster for the 418, Bonds was actually made of soft thin chamois leather.
The Beretta model 418 had a small pin that protruded from the back of the slide to indicate that the pistol was cocked and ready to fire, this is just visible in the photo below. In the novel, James Bond actually filed this to a sharp point, presumably so that he could feel it easier and know without looking that the gun was ready to fire.
There is a grip safety feature on this gun too, a little lever on the back of the butt has to be depressed in the hand before the gun will fire. In the novel, James Bond actually took the grips off and strapped tape around the handle so that the safety was permanently depressed.
The guns hammer is secreted within the slide so as not to snag on any clothing when its drawn out for use, often misleadingly referred to as a 'hammerless' pistol. Bond's Beretta was of course adapted for a silencer too, there was a thread reamed on the inside of the bore into which the silencer screwed into.
The pistol fires a small bullet .25 caliber bullet which is just 6.35mm in diameter.
It is only really effective and indeed accurate over about 15 yards. As an upfront and personal weapon though it is quite adequate, James Bond would generally fire more than one shot into an assailant.
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In the first Bond movie 'Dr No' the armourer from Q branch, Major Boothroyd is seen issuing 007 with his now legendary Walther PPK which replaces his much loved Beretta. This immediate change to Bond's gun was originally inspired by a letter that Ian Fleming received in the 1950's from a Mr. Geoffrey Boothroyd who was a firearms expert based in Glasgow, UK, who wrote to Fleming thus: " I like everything about your James Bond character except his deplorable taste in weapons, a .25 caliber Beretta is utterly useless as well as being a lady's gun...and not a very nice lady at that "
Ian Fleming 1908 - 1964 After Fleming's correspondence with Boothroyd it was decided that 007's best weapon for concealment and reasonable power would be the Walther PPK. Ian Fleming actually met up with Geoffrey Boothroyd some time in the late 1950's where they happily conversed for many hours on all the ins and outs of guns that James Bond should carry.
Ian Fleming and Geoffrey Boothroyd, photo taken sometime in the late 1950's The next novels, of course, that Fleming wrote had James Bond now suitably armed with the Walther PPK and gone for good was the .25 Beretta. In the movie 'Dr No' it was decided that the armourer from Q branch should be named after Geoffrey Boothroyd ' in honor for his help and his friendship with Fleming. This is a transcript of what was said to James Bond when he was called into 'M's office in the movie Dr NO... M:
(speaks to Bond) Take off your jacket !...............Give me your gun. MAJOR BOOTHROYD: (inspects James Beretta) Nice and light.....in a lady’s handbag....no stopping power. M: Any comments OO7 ? BOND: I disagree sir, I’ve used a Beretta for ten years.....I’ve never missed with it yet ! M: Maybe not, but it jammed on your last job and you spent six months in hospital in consequence. If you carry a double O number it means you’re licensed to kill not get killed....and another thing, since I’ve been head of MI6 there’s been a 40% drop in double O operative casualties, and I want it to stay that way, you’ll carry the Walther.....unless of course you’d prefer to go back to standard intelligence duties.
BOND: No sir, I would not. M: Then from now on you carry a different gun, show him armorer. MAJOR BOOTHROYD: (shows James the new pistol) Walther PPK 7.65 millimeter with a delivery like a brick through a plate-glass window, it takes a Brausch silencer with very little reduction in muzzle velocity...the American CIA swear by them.
M: Thank you Major Boothroyd. MAJOR BOOTHROYD: Thank you sir. (nods to Bond) Goodnight sir. M: Any questions 007 ? BOND: No sir. M: Alright then...best of luck. BOND: Thank you sir. ( Bond picks up the Walther PPK in its box, whilst hiding the Beretta underneath, and optimistically walks towards the office door ) M: (without looking up from his desk, he calls across) 007 ! BOND: (stops and turns) Sir ? M: Just leave the Beretta. Bond saunters back, reluctantly places the Beretta on M's desk and with a slight sigh, walks out. Nice try James ! The pistol was first developed in Germany in 1931 by Carl Walther Waffenfabrik Ulm/De. It is a compact 7.65mm (.32ACP) semi-automatic, designed for concealment and undercover operations use, and was hence designated PPK which stands for ' Polizei Pistole Kriminal ' or Police Pistol Criminal, indicating its use as a detectives gun.
The basic specifications of the Walther PPK are: Length: 155 mm - Barrel
length 83 mm - Weight: 590g
The Walther PPK has a streamlined appearance and has achieved notoriety for its compactness and reliability. It is true the 7.65mm round has got reasonable stopping power, but only at short distances of about 15 to 20 yards, and its accuracy over those distances is questionable. This did not stop MI5, MI6, Deutsch BND, French SDECE, Israels Mossad and a host of other secret operative units from adopting it though. Below are pictured Pierce Brosnan and Roger Moore both with Walther PPK's
The pistol is very easy to 'take down' or 'field strip' into its basic components for cleaning, one simply pulls down on the front of the trigger guard, tugs it over to the left slightly and then pulls the slide off the top. This exposes the barrel, return spring and the underside of the slide so it can be oiled and cleaned.
Putting it back together is the reverse. To Mr. Bond's delight, the Walther PPK can be adapted to fit a silencer which either screws or friction fits onto the end of the barrel. Normally the barrel of a pistol is slightly extended to accommodate a silencer but was never depicted in the bond movies. The 7.65mm round that the pistol fires is not that powerful over longer distances than 20 yards and this power along with its accuracy would be reduced even further with a silencer...
...but for close quarter work as in a few yards, it would be more than adequate. Similar to the Beretta, there is an inbuilt safety feature of a small pin that protrudes about 1mm out of the back of the slide. This indicates that there is a bullet in the breech, if there is no bullet loaded then the pin will remain flush. The Walther PPK was also designed to fire a more powerful 9mm Kurz / .380ACP and an interesting rumor has it that this was the caliber of the PPK that Bond, as played by Pierce Brosnan, used instead of the 7.65mm caliber. I present a picture of this more powerful version of the PPK below. This particular pistol is actually made in the USA under license from Walther. It is identical to the 7.65mm version in every aspect except of course the barrel is of a larger diameter and the magazine is different integrally to accept the larger cartridges.
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.25 cartridge ( Shown to almost exact size )
PPK
7.65mm /32ACP cartridge ( Shown to almost exact size )
9mm kurz/380ACP cartridge ( Shown to almost exact size )
