Awesome, we finally get to see the F in ForgottenWeapons.

Silent mortar: Whispers “splash out” *sentry explodes* *Sneak 100*

The 'loading tool' might have been a safety feature to prevent accidentally stabbing yourself with a poison dart.

"Let me show you it's features"

"Silent Mortar" I see a slight flaw in that plan....

No joke, while working with OSS documents at NARA, I found one article simply entitled "German Use of Weaponized Fog."

OSS: Darts! Poison! Syringes! CO2 Rockets! Meanwhile in Britain: Silenced .45 carbine. Done.

I always wondered what gun is in the the Forgotten Weapons logo. Now we know I guess.

If you want weird, wonderful and hilarious, get your hands on the OSS Simple Sabotage Manual. It recommends that should more physical forms of sabotage be impossible, that you consider other options. Namely, a committee should be formed to discuss the legality of your orders and to make sure it follows the correct chain of command, process. You should then, as your first action of the committee, is to debate whether you had the authority in the first place to form the committee. Yes, you read that right. Administrum to beat the fascists.

"You've got a dart in your neck..." "What?"

No mention of the early injection molding?! The dart itself shows the use of innovative materials and processing long before it was commercially common. ....silent mortar? Now that’s a big ‘ol suppressor.

Later used in the office with a dart board.....

If anyone is interested, typical "Dart Guns" in use today (for immobilizing large animals) actually do use a "dart" which consists of a syringe and spring which injects a narcotic/sedative upon hitting the animal.

Covert mortars... Yes because when i think silent and covert I think long range high explosives... Oss must have been on some good shit.

I can hear it now... "HELLLLP! I"VE JUST BEEN SHOT WITH A GIANT DART BY A MAN IN THE BUSHES AND IT'S STUCK IN MY BACK! GET IT OUT GET IT OUT!"

Ok, I grew up playing the Medal of Honor series of games on Playstation and Playstation 2. For those who don't know, in those games you usually play as an OSS operative in WW2. Now, I am seeing all of these funky, cool, unique OSS weapons and getting a little bit annoyed/angry that the devs of the games NEVER USED ANY OF THEM IN THE GAMES. In MoH Underground, you got to use an OSS Big Joe crossbow and that was the extent of the cool OSS weapons you were able to use. So many missed opportunities...

This gun looks like the channels logo

God, I enjoy this guy’s channel. So interesting.

This gun actually looks a lot like your logo, huh.

You mean to tell me Lewis and Clark had managed to find an obscure Austrian air rifle, but half the college grads on the Eastern seaboard couldn't come to the conclusion to use an air rifle?

The strangest part about this whole story must be the fact that they could just as easily have used an existing air rifle, they had been around for at least a hundred years by then, including very powerful ones with pump action. In fact, one stars in one of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories!

THIS IS OSS FLYING DRAGON! SIMPLE JACK IS WITH US NOW!

I always really appreciate the history lesson along with the gun itself. Great work as always.

If they want a silent and deadly weapon they should have used the world's funniest joke

“One shot, silent, undetectable and can be reloaded in less than 30 seconds.” I guess they’ve never heard of a bow and arrow.

I think I saw one in a flea market. The guy thought it was some kind of grease gun because he found it with some old tools. I guess I should have bought it

Ian , you never cease to amaze me. I respect all of your hard work that you put into these for our enjoyment, education, and entertainment. Thank you

Perfect against Deathclaws.

World War 2 did produce some weird and wonderful contraptions

Where's the belt pouch containing surgical gloves and colorful little frogs from South America ?

Your best video yet, Ian! Such an awesome channel.

It reminds me of the crossbow from Deus Ex 1, it fired silent darts with a toxin that knocked enemies out cold. Problem is the toxin took 10 seconds or so to take effect, so you'd hit a guard with it and he would run off shouting and setting off all the alarms

Can imagine how straight those barrels would have been after trudging through the wood with that. May have been more effective just going up to that sentry and hitting him over the head with it. Glad to see others have notice the Flying Dragon and logo simularity.

I can't believe that you did that whole segment without mentioning that it was the gun on your logo,...while you're wearing a shirt, ...with the logo. I always wondered if that logo was a real gun or just an abstract F. Now I know.

How have I missed this one? Oh boy, awesome stuff as always!

This is one of those why have I been watching for hours but it feels so good channels

lols this week we are going to take a look at out own logo

I mean, how else are you going to silently shoot down the Batwing?

The strange and unusual can be so cool. Thanks Ian

*THANKS IAN! VERY COOL!*

Back in 1965 Dad bought me a BB Pistol for Christmas. It was one of those fake look-like a M1911. The front of the gun had a a tip up portion where you could insert your choice of a BB, a .177 Pellet or a small dart complete with feathers to aid in flight. I loved those darts, it also came with a dart board so you could play darts with the gun. I used to spend hours in our old wood lined dugout under the house shooting those darts into that board, got so I was quite good with the little things; perhaps that is why I still carry a modified M1911A1 to this very day. Oh by the way, just for shits and giggles, I bought a modern version of that gun, hoping to find the little darts in the package, but alas, there were none in the kit, in fact the new version came without any ammo of any sort, and instead of the flat blue that my Christmas Pistol had, this one came in fake Stainless, well painted silver with a mat finish.

My guess on the loading tool use it's you would load the dart into the beach end of the barrel first using the tool to press it in. Then you would slide the barrel onto the action assembly

Title really mislead me Ian. There were absolutely no Flying Dragons in this video.

Regarding shooting syringes, the dart guns used for shooting animals with tranquilizer or medicine use this exact system, I believe the dart/syringe is pressurized, and when it hits the target the syringe opens abd injects the fluid. Might be an interesting video to check out a whole modern dart gun like that one day

The OSS really was a collection of odd miscreants. Everyone from the guy at the top named "Wild Bill" to the schmucks in the field who run the gambit from "New Money" aristocratic playboys to committed Communists fresh from the Lincoln Brigades. EDIT: Reflecting on this, there's something charmingly "American" about it, specific to the country during this time-period. Dramatically different politics that'd mesh like water and oil any other time but during this time everyone regardless of the bell-curve had the same notion of "American Democracy" and the political differences were just seen as two roads to get you to the same place. I think we had a better grasp on our identity as a Nation back then, we were more naive but in that naivety we thought we knew who we were so that even the hedge-fund capitalists and the Trotskyite-Communists could agree on something. It's something of a bittersweet shame we ran out of Nazis and Japanese Militarists to fight. :/ Sometime I feel like we're Micky Rourke's character from "The Wrestler" idk.

At one time in the U.K CO2 operated pellet guns were deemed firearms and you needed a Firearm Certificate to own one as technically it was not an "airgun" due to the fact an airgun operated by compressed air, and CO2 wasn't air, and even paintball guns were at one time classed as firearms.

Ian should consider a comedy act. The first half had me in tears. I always enjoy his content.

Thanks for sharing that strange little pistol ;)

When you were talking about the sentry just getting hurt and screaming his head off, all I could think of was Tom's scream on Tom and Jerry

Ring-a-ding, baby!

Cool! Thanks man.

I will come back and revisit this immediately. Considering the advancements in technology dude especially all the stuff that we've seen even from civilian engineers. Throw a bipod on and a scope this guy has potential.

The challenge of carrying poison darts around safely reminds me of a TA for the university class on museums I'm taking telling us about writing up a condition report on an old quiver from somewhere in the Amazon, and finding partway through that the inside was still covered in poison from arrows or darts (I think those might've still been in it too when they started) that they had to get analyzed to see how dangerous it still was. Could've been a nasty surprise for anyone who stuck their hand in there unawares.

Imagine the possibilities for using this gun outside of shooting it! Scratch your back Poke the meat youre cooking Reach those pesky hard-to-reach areas! Anthony Sullivan would lose his marbles if he were to see it

Looks like a vets tranc gun. Great video. Thank you.

Great video. I love these rare and/or crazy spy weapons.

This made me remember that the British used bow and arrow during WW2 - at least one of them did!

I believe the loading tool would be used to seat the dart into the barrel. You would not want the dart all the way back for an air gun.

Its nice workmanship.

That is really cool

Poisonous crossbow would be much better I guess

Wait wait wait, the OSS had a silent mortar? I would love to see that!

The batman and joker reference is right where i went when you showed that it had a "rifle" configuration. :-P wonky as hell, but a great forgotten weapon.

I didn't read all comments but shape of the loading tool is the same as the expanded breach of the barrels. It would therefore facilitate the loading properly in the weapon as well as helping the rubber o-ring to transition into the barrel.

OSS maybe???? Oooooo That's a bingo, that is how you say that right?

The syringe idea is used in tranq guns...

This belongs in a museum.

Just too cool !

Your"s logo gun?)

Edward Kenway will be happy if he sees this

I have a few OSS prototype fletched darts for their crossbow pistol. Fletching is either feather or scrap aluminum. Interesing historically, originally purchased by a collector after WW2

My Texan LSS CF Air Rifle in .457 with a 14in suppressor on the end of a shrouded barrel powered by high pressure normal air. It shoots a 340grn cnc machined aluminum tipped lead round going right under 1000fps, very lethal up to and even past 100yds. It’s a one shot weapon, but with a small extra air tank in a backpack you can get more than several shots. It’s the move today in 2023. It’s a much larger setup, but with a thermal at night in the dark has been deadly medicine on coyotes and deer 🤌

“Silent Mortar” = water balloon slingshot

I'd love more OSS content - but please stray into the knives and the weirdo hidden stuff.

That gun is so freaking cool

I'm guessing it's gonna go for a crazy price! Mucho cool, just what the FSB is looking for.

First for the first time. I wait every morning for you to post so I can have my coffee.

Could the "loading tool" be used to hammer the CO2 cartridge into the cartridge holder to pierce it or something? So you place the cartridge in the tube and then give it a smack with that tool to ensure the nozzle end is seated properly against whatever seal mechanism is in there?

The dart was put into the barrel first then both were set to the trigger block. This helped to make shore you didn't spike yourself under stressful conditions.

The R&D for this weapon and its applications sounds frickin hilarious 😂

So basically OSS wanted a crossbow?

The OSS was the second-wackiest developer of World War II after the Nazis.

I live in the UK, and used to hunt with gas powered rifles/handguns, and catapults. This reminds me of those days of youth!

I think that the loading tool is to go in the back of the gun to depress the pin that pierces the CO2 cartridge, you don't want it pierced before it is locked in its housing so it has to be pierced after. There appears to be a hole at the back of the gun above the grip and immediately behind the CO2 housing into which it could be inserted.

Ian, there exists a gun, so manly that words can barely describe it, yet I shall try. .458 win mag M1 Garand

20th Century blowgun

Whenever I see things like this, I always think of the people who said " I told you it wouldn't work".

AWESOME!

I can see tribes from the amazon laughing.

We can always count on Mr. McCollum to find the crazyest stuff around

I think the OSS needs to make a comeback. America needs heroes right now

Weird design, but very interesting!

I love how he chuckles about their idea for "syringe darts" when that is effectively exactly what a tranquilizer dart is, which generally work quite well when in the right hands

Ian you need a cat in this video too. 90% of the 750 ish coments were about the cat meowing in the background. Helps the exposure you know : )

fascinating!

You know it's bizarre when Ian uses the phrase "I'm not making this up!"

Not going to lie the OSS sounds like a pretty fucking neat organization.

Came for the gun. Stayed for the history.

When you were talking about them trying to make a weapon that would shoot a syringe type projectile was actually conceived. It was this object that was little bit longer than a pen and about as round as a nickel. It utilizes CO2 also. The ammunition were these syringe like darts. So basically you had about an inch long needle connected to this little tiny thing on the end that look like a radio transistor. If you were to hold it up to a pellet from a pellet gun. It would be like half the size. They would put poison and that little container that look like a transistor. Then at one end is where the needle was connected. The poisons stayed sealed in that little container until that needle hit its Target and that needle would move back just enough to puncture into that tiny cylinder. The Target wouldn't even fill the projectile hit. If they did and started feeling for it and then find it and pull it out it would be too late and the poison would already be in you. The projectile would only go in the length of the needle. The tiny solenoid would stay outside the skin. It was sad. It was said that if you were to feel the syringe when it hit you then found the end and pull it out. The poison in the solenoid takes about a second to inject once punctured by the other end of the needle. Then from that point it was sad that within about 15-20 seconds all your muscles start tensing severely. Then they say your dad Within the next minutes. But I guess this was still not fast enough. it was actually even called something like the bee sting or something. I think it would have been totally fast enough. Somebody if they felt it would be distracted long enough wondering what just hit them or bet them that they wouldn't sound the alarm in time. But I guess this thing was only effective within 25 ft. Not yards but feet. Plus the way it was design to be was close contact like in crowds. So the idea never went into production and only a few prototypes were made. One of the coolest things I did when I was young let's get to go to the convention of all these weapon designers and gun makers trying to sell their idea. For 2 days I ran around this convention looking at everybody's idea and sitting down and listening to them go through their pitch with people. I swear I thought every idea was awesome. I remember it was 1982 somewhere around Seattle. but there was this gun maker and he had this kid who what's selling rubber band guns. Sense both our parents had b o o t h s at this convention. We hung out all day for that weekend. He gave me this really cool rubber band gun that was totally awesome. I had so many good times around weapons as a kid Carrie. LOL

interesting stuff!