No, a certain Major Boothroyd recommends that Bond switch guns. 357 Magnum revolver that had the trigger guard removed for faster firing.įleming had Bond's Beretta caught in his holster at the end of From Russia with Love, an event that almost costs the secret agent his life. Fleming asked Boothroyd if he could lend his illustrator Richard Chopping one of his guns to be painted for the cover of From Russia with Love. He suggested, however, that 007 ought to have a revolver for long-range work. Fleming also said that he had seen a silenced Sten gun during the war and the weapon had hardly made a whisper.īoothroyd recommended the Walther PPK 7.65mm as being the best choice for an automatic of that size, with its ammunition available everywhere. He felt that Bond ought to have an automatic gun perhaps Boothroyd could recommend one? He agreed that the Beretta 418 lacked power, but pointed out that Bond had used more powerful weapons when the need required, such as the Colt Army Special he uses in Moonraker. Boothroyd also had bad words about the silencer Bond occasionally used, saying that they were rarely silent and reduced the power of a gun.įleming replied, thanked the Major for his letter, and made a few points. The Smith & Wesson could be kept in a Berns-Martin triple draw holster held in place with a spring clip which would decrease Bond's draw time. It had no external hammer, so it would not catch on Bond's clothes. Boothroyd proposed that Bond should use a revolver like the Smith & Wesson Centennial Airweight. He also objected to the choice of holster.

He felt that the Beretta 418 was 'a lady's gun' with no real stopping power. Boothroyd told Fleming that he really admired the Bond novels apart from the hero's choice of weapon. Boothroyd was a retired Army Major and gun collector. Shortly before the publication of From Russia with Love in 1956, Fleming received a fan letter from a Major Geoffrey Boothroyd.

He had used such a gun during the Second World War when he was in Naval Intelligence and felt it was an appropriate sidearm for a secret agent on an undercover mission.

So when he introduced, Bond as using a Beretta 418 in a flat chamois leather holster he probably didn't think too much about it.

When Ian Fleming wrote the first of the James Bond novels, Casino Royale, he had no idea the direction in which the stories would go, let alone how many he would eventually write.

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