Debunked: WWII Fist Gun

In 2017, I had the opportunity to film a video about the Sedgely “Fist Gun” for the “Curator’s Corner” program. In May 2021, I posted the video to my channel and thought nothing more of it.

Then, just a couple weeks ago, I was contacted by Kevin Williams, a researcher and author who told me I had missed the boat with this one, and unlike most people who reach out wanting to say I’m wrong about something, he actually offered evidence. Because I am an eternal student, I was delighted to see the article that he had authored and was happy to have been proven wrong. I only wish I had been aware of his research in 2017!

You see, myths have a habit of traveling far faster than the truth ever could, and such is the case with the Fist Gun. And so we can debunk and reconstruct the real narrative surrounding the Fist Gun from World War II.

Watch this video to learn the real history of the fist gun:

So you see, it’s highly unlikely that the fist gun was ever intended for anything clandestine or covert. Instead, Captain Stanley M. Haight, Jr. designed the Fist Gun with Navy construction workers in mind — Seabees like the fictional John Blocker who needed an “anti-boarding” weapon that could be brought into action instantly.

My thanks go out to Kevin Williams for bringing his research to my attention, as well as to his co-researcher and co-author, Charles Pate. I happily stand corrected.

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