ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

FP-45 Liberator

Okay kiddo, have you ever heard of the FP-45 Liberator? It’s a really interesting gun that was made during World War II.

So, imagine that there’s a big war going on and some people don’t have guns. They need guns to fight back, but they can’t just buy them like we buy toys at the store. So, someone had the idea to make a simple, cheap gun that could be quickly and easily made and then dropped into enemy territory for fighters to use. That’s where the FP-45 Liberator comes in.

The Liberator was made out of metal and had just a few simple parts. It didn’t have any sights to aim with, so fighters would have to aim by pointing it in the general direction of the enemy. Oh, and the gun only fired one bullet at a time.

Now, here’s where things get really interesting. The Liberator was actually meant to be a throwaway gun, which means that people were only supposed to use it once and then get rid of it. So, the gun was packed in a little box with some bullets and instructions, and then dropped out of a plane or hidden somewhere for fighters to find.

But the Liberator wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t very accurate and the bullets were pretty weak. Plus, it wasn’t always easy to find the gun or get it to work properly. So, it didn’t end up being used very much in the war.

Overall, the FP-45 Liberator was a really interesting idea that was meant to help fighters who didn’t have guns. It wasn’t very successful, but it’s still something that people talk about and learn about today.