the favorite guns of History's bad guys Hitler's Walther on April 20th 1939 just a few months before the outbreak of the second world war Adolf Hitler celebrated his 50th birthday among the many gifts that were lavished on the dictator German firearm manufacturer Carl Walther presented him with a personalized pistol the weapon a golden Walther PP it was plated in gold with elaborate Engravings and an hand grip which had Hitler's initials in Gold Hitler was already a fan of Walter's work and reportedly owned several pistols including other PPS though none as elaborate as the goldplated gift
gun in addition the German military's main sidearm would be the Walther P38 a replacement for the famous Luger the Walther PP which stands for poit pistol or police pistol was first created in 1929 as a compact and reliable semi-automatic handgun that gained popularity among both police and civilians and it would later be used by the German military SS and high-ranking members of the Nazi party it's chambered in 7.65 mm or 32 ACP though other calibers such as 25 and 380 are also available there are many variants of the weapon the most famous being the Walter
PPK or pitzi pistol criminal model which was designed for law enforcement particularly detectives many he believe that the cas stands for Curts or short due to the reduced barrel length though this is inaccurate Hitler greatly appreciated the gift and kept it in his Munich apartment where it stayed when Hitler and his Entourage sheltered in the funeral bunker in Berlin with the Soviets closing in Hitler ended his life using a different and much less elaborate Walther the fate of this pistol is unknown presumably taken as a trophy by a Soviet Soldier the golden Walther would have
a much different fate as the war was coming to closeth an American Lieutenant Ira palm and his men burst into Hitler's Munich apartment which was abandoned as they searched the building Palm found the pistol in a desk drawer and tucked it in his shirt he would be wounded in a firefight a few hours later and he along with the Golden Gun would be rotated home to Salsbury North Carolina there the gun would be gifted to Palm's Pastor Charles Woodbridge though it's unknown why Palm would give away such an artifact the gun would then be stolen
in a burglary in 1947 only turning up in Witchita Kansas years later it would pass between many owners until it was bought in the 1980s by an anonymous collector who paid a reported $100,000 it's unknown what happened to the pistol after this point though presumably it's still in that person's collection or that of an heir I'm sure you guys have heard the Walter PPK from the Bond movies but this wasn't Bond's first pistol of choice in the first few novels written by Ian Fleming he used a Baretta 418 Fleming changed it to a walltherm when
a fan Firearms expert Jeffrey booy wrote to Fleming urging him to switch the weapon due to and I quote his deplorable taste in Firearms Fleming agreed and chose the Walter as the replacement for the next novel doctor no and even gave boooy a shout out as the armor or Q who gives Bond his new weapon in the film of the same name Bond played by Shawn connory is issued with what is stated as being a Walter PPK though in actuality it was a standard Walter PP how they could make that kind of mistake is beyond
me muar Gaddafi Browning high power Libyan dictator mumar Gaddafi was known for his eccentric tastes his clothing palaces and even his bodyguards were nothing if not ostentatious and this trend extended to his firearm collection over his time as dictator he amassed a significant arsenal of weapons many of which were plated in Gold a Gody reflection of his Reign though he possessed many goldplated guns one in particular stands out when the regime was overthrown in 2011 the deposed dictator would be captured by rebels and executed in one of the most iconic photos of the incident one
of the rebels triumphantly holds aoft a pistol as a visual symbol of the downfall of Gaddafi the pistol was a gilded Browning high power a popular firearm that's been in service with militaries and police forces around the world since the mid 1930s this particular weapon was chambered a 9mm Parabellum and it was plated with gold with an elaborate floral engraving on the wooden hand grips were golden emblems one A Portrait of Gaddafi himself on one side and the emblem of the kami's Brigade a military unit directly loyal to Gaddafi on the other the pistol was
picked up by Muhammad elbi who was then a 17-year-old Freedom Fighter he's had the weapon in his possession since that time and it's been contacted numerous times by potential buyers who offer the equivalent of millions of dollars for the Gilded Browning so far he's refused fearing that many potential buyer could be a Gaddafi loyalist looking for Revenge Osama Bin Laden and the aks74u al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was no stranger to the power of propaganda and throughout his career made extensive use of Highly curated imagery though he was The Mastermind of the organization not a
Frontline fighter he was is often photographed with a rifle nearby at first glance this weapon an aks74u seems subdued compared to the ostentatious personal Firearms of others but there's more to this Choice than it may seem the aks74u was created by the Soviet Union as a short barreled version of the aks74 chambered in 5.45 by 39 mm the weapon is compact measuring in at 29 in with the stock fully extended and 19 in in length with the stock folded and it weighed in at just under 6 lb first issued in 1979 the aks74u was given
to tank Crews helicopter pilots and other vehicle operators that needed access to Firepower in a confined space because they were first issued to Soviet forces the same year as the start of their campaign in Afghanistan local mujahedin Fighters could not acquire one through the black market the primary source for their Weaponry instead the only way they could get their hands on such a unique piece of equipment would be to take one from a Soviet Soldier since they were issued to tank and helicopter Crews possessing an aks74u implied that the owner destroyed one of the vehicles
even today years after the Soviet invasion it is still a potent status symbol one that Osama Bin Laden was all too aware of Bin Laden has been seen with an aks74u and numerous photos propped against a wall with an easy reach it's unknown if he acquired the weapon in combat or if he simply purchased it later but the simp symbolic value can't be overstated by showing off such a weapon he was likening himself to a mujahedin fighter during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and used this imagery to Rally support we don't really know if Osama
Bin Laden actually fought with his AKs the night he was taken out by Navy Seals he did have a weapon on him it was described as an AK-47 which is vague and not really helpful in identifying the exact type of AK used the rifle along with many other artic artifacts are on display at the CIA Museum located inside CIA headquarters in langle Virginia unfortunately access to the museum is virtually impossible to obtain being available to CIA employees and select and specially invited guests no one here on the simple history team has ever received an invite
so we just have to speculate about what's inside not all weapons with ignominious reputations were used by one person sometimes an entire class of firearms gets a reputation for infamy regardless of the actual history behind their use [Music] [Applause] [Music]
