Arms, Armor and Militaria

9mm Para. 2.875" barrel length. SN: EXP. 2. Black anodized finish to titanium parts with small parts showing a bright bare titanium color, blued grip screws, and smooth two-piece rosewood grips. Short recoil operated DA/SA autoloading prototype pistol fed by detachable single stack eight-shot magazines. The design follows the Mauser HsP, featuring a tilting locking wedge below the barrel, takedown lever to the forward frame, and a decocker to the left frame behind the trigger. Sights feature a gold frontal bead and a single rear gold post set within notch sights. The markings on the pistol include CALIBER 9MM/Automatic Pistol to left frame, serial number to frame, and barrel marks reading 9MM/PARABELLUM/TITANIUM. Comes with a total of two magazines, a black anodized alloy magazine, and a bright finished steel magazine marked 2 near floorplate.

At the time of writing, there are scant few details to be found about the Norton DP-75 pistols through conventional sources. It is known that these were produced by Norton Armaments of Mount Clemens, Michigan, a company best known for its association with famous machinist and gunmaker Edgar Budischowsky. Norton manufactured Budischowsky's TP-70 pistol, a double action pocket pistol manufactured in .22 and .25 caliber. While handy as pocket backup guns or for target shooting, the limited power of the TP-70 rendered it an unattractive carry option when .38 Special snubnose revolvers and a bevy of automatic pistols were available. Had the DP-75 entered production, it would have provided Norton a more marketable offering as both a concealed carry gun and a possible duty weapon for police officers. What made the handgun most unique were the materials selected for the two known surviving prototypes. This example is fabricated almost entirely of titanium with the only steel components being the trigger bar, springs, and few internal parts. The other prototype on offer features a steel slide and barrel on an alloy frame. As a result of the extensive use of titanium, this pistol is extremely light, weighing in at just 0.91 lbs. By comparison the steel and alloy pistol weighs 1.54 lbs. One of two known Norton DP-75 pistols in existence, and the only example with the titanium alloy frame and components. {MODERN}