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Raiders of the Lost Ark
The following firearms were used in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark:
Smith & Wesson M1917
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is seen carrying three sidearms in the movie, including two different Smith & Wesson revolvers in the movie, the first being a Smith & Wesson M1917. The first scene we see this gun is when he hands the gun over to Belloq after acquiring the Hovitos' fertility idol. The second scene is when Indy tosses the gun into his suitcase, where you can see a clear closeup of the chip on the grip and other markings. It is NOT the hero firing weapon used by Indy later in the film (the firing gun was the Smith & Wesson Mk II Hand Ejector).
Along with the different barrel lengths, the two guns can be differentiated by the fact that the M1917 Revolver has no medallion as part of the grip, and the Smith & Wesson Mk II Hand Ejector does have round nickel S&W medallions.
Below is the actual .45 ACP Smith & Wesson M1917 Revolver that has had the barrel shortened. It was rumored that this particular gun was also used in the car chase scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom but it is now believed that a Colt Official Police was used instead.
According to research done by fans on the www.indygear.com, the gun used for the movies was acquired from the Bapty prophouse, and chambered in the British .455 caliber.
Smith & Wesson Mk II Hand Ejector
Indy's other revolver is a Smith & Wesson Mk II Hand Ejector with a 4 inch barrel. He uses it in Cairo, famously using it to shoot down a swordsman (Terry Richards) who confronts him. He then uses it to kill the driver of the truck the thugs try to escape in, making the truck crash and explode.
Below is the actual shortened Smith & Wesson Mk II Hand Ejector which was used for the rest of the film including all of the actual shooting scenes.
Inglis Hi-Power
Jones also packs a Browning Hi-Power, which he mainly uses when his Smith and Wesson runs out of ammunition, or as a backup gun. It was one of Browning's last designs and was on the drawing board in 1925. The P35, made by FN in Belgium was a common gun in the hands of the Nazis but not until WWII broke out. It is unlikely but not impossible that Jones would carry this gun in 1936, just one year after manufacture started. The Hi-Power used in the film was manufactured by Inglis of Canada. While the FN Hi-Power was introduced in 1935, the Inglis Hi-Power did not start production until early 1944.
Supposedly this was originally supposed to be a 1911. At the time, 9mm blanks where the most reliable, so they substituted a Highpower instead.
Walther P38
Used by Arnold Toht (Ronald Lacey) and various other Nazis throughout the film. The Walther P38 9mm Parabellum 8 round pistol was not produced until 1938 and as such is an anachronism in the film. A few hammerless prototypes existed in 1935, but it is still unlikely any Nazis would have had this gun. It's a wonder they didn't just use the Lugers they obviously possessed and used in other scenes.
Luger P08
The Luger P08 is used by some of the Nazi Soldiers in the film and is historically accurate. One is carried in the holster of Colonel Dietrich (Wolf Kahler) as well as the holsters of other officers and NCOs.
Mauser C96
The Mauser C96 is used by the Nazi thugs in Nepal, and one is used by Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) to shoot the last thug during the bar brawl.
Remington 1875
"Barranca" tries to shoot Indy with a Remington 1875 in the opening jungle scene. Indy uses his whip to "snatch" the gun out of Barranca's hand.
RPG-2 (mocked up as a German anti-tank rocket launcher)
Near the climax of the film, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) points a shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon at the ark while it is being transported by the Nazis and threatens to blow it up. The weapon is actually a Chinese Type 56 copy of the Soviet RPG-2 made to look like a WWII-era German anti-tank weapon (it features a Panzerschreck-style shoulder grip). Since neither the Panzerschreck nor the Panzerfaust existed in 1936 (when the movie takes place), he should not have a weapon like this.
- This should not be listed as an RPG-2. As we all know the RPG series of weapons as we know it were invented years after World War 2. This is a complete fantasy fabricated weapon, perhaps built on a Hollywood FAKE rocket launcher, but not an RPG-2 (unless it has been completely covered with the fictional parts as to be unrecognizable). There are just too many fantasy elements for us to know what the prop was built on. (unless there is specific information indicating that an RPG-2 was used as the base for this fantasy weapon). MPM
- It's an RPG-2 that was dressed up to look like a German anti-tank weapon. Simon Atherton mentioned it in a magazine interview he did a long time ago (it was actually about the weapons of Aliens, but at one point, they went off on a tangent and discussed his other work). Since the Cold War was still going on, I'm guessing it's most likely the Chinese copy. -MT2008
- This should not be listed as an RPG-2. As we all know the RPG series of weapons as we know it were invented years after World War 2. This is a complete fantasy fabricated weapon, perhaps built on a Hollywood FAKE rocket launcher, but not an RPG-2 (unless it has been completely covered with the fictional parts as to be unrecognizable). There are just too many fantasy elements for us to know what the prop was built on. (unless there is specific information indicating that an RPG-2 was used as the base for this fantasy weapon). MPM
MP40
Many of the Nazis use MP40 submachine guns in this movie, which is not appropriate since the film is set in 1936 and neither the MP40 nor its more expensive predecessor, the MP38, existed at the time. They should be using Haenel-Schmeisser MP28/IIs or Bergmann MP35/Is instead.
Mauser Karabiner 98k
Bolt action rifle used by German Soldiers and Egyptian henchmen in the film. The Mauser Karabiner 98k began manufacture in 1935 so it is conceivable that it would be out of the country by 1936, however the German soldiers would be more likely be carrying Gewehr 98s.
Dual MG 81 Machine Gun
A dual or "Zwilling" mount MG 81 machine gun (incongrously fitted with an MG 15 saddle drum) is seen mounted at the rear turret of the 'Flying Wing' plane, and while trapped inside, Marion (Karen Allen) commandeers the weapon and guns down a squad of Nazi soldiers sent after Indy.
This weapon is an MG 81 Zwilling (twin mount) with a Doppeltrommel 15 saddle drum "attached." The Doppeltrommel saddle drum was used exclusively with the MG 15 machine gun (i.e. would not function on the MG 81 as shown, due to a completely different belt feed system,) and the one on this weapon appears to have been cosmetically widened by propmakers to accommodate its seating on the dual MG 81. This MG 81 also has non-typical flash hiders fitted, along with MG 15 "style" targeting sights making it vaguely resemble a twin mounting of the longer barreled MG 15's (a configuration that never existed.)
Of note is that the Doppeltrommel only held a maximum of 75 rounds, which, at over 1000 rounds a minute (i.e. MG 15 - the single MG 81 was even higher at 1500+) fired through dual barrels, it is highly likely Marion would have run out of ammunition almost immediately, given that it would have only fired for around 2 seconds before being out of ammunition.
MG34 machine gun
The MG34 Belt fed machine gun seen mounted on Major Gobler's (Anthony Higgins) car during the truck chase. This car, a mockup of a Mercedes-Benz G5, was later reused in the comedy film Top Secret!, MG34 and all, as was the truck.
