Whitney Wolverine

Whitney Wolverine
Type Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin USA
Production history
Designer Robert Hillberg
Designed 1953
Manufacturer Whitney Firearms Inc., subsidiary of Bellmore Johnson Tool Co.
Produced 1956-1957
Number built ~13,000 [1]
Variants Nickel Model (~900 produced)
Specifications
Weight 23 oz (650 g)
Length 9 in (230 mm)
Cartridge .22 LR
Action Blowback
Feed system 10-round magazine

The Whitney Wolverine was an advanced, "space-aged", lightweight aluminum, semi-automatic, .22 LR caliber pistol created in 1956. It had a 10-round magazine, a barrel 4.625 inches (117.5 mm) long and a weight of only 23 ounces (650 g).[2]

History

The Wolverine was engineered by Robert Hillberg, who learned about aluminum casting during WWII while working with aircraft guns and later became research engineer for High Standard Manufacturing Company.[3] Only 13,371 of these .22 semi automatic pistols were made in its short period of production between 1956 and 1958.[4] There were approximately 500 nickel-plated according to company records, the rest finished in varying shades of anodized blue, The plastic grips came in either a black, dark brown or white, the white grips are found mostly on the nickel-plated models. The frame being investment cast by Alcoa was a new idea for the gun industry at the time, now it is widely used by almost every major gun manufacturer today.[5]

Its name Wolverine was named after Mr. Hillberg's favorite football team, the University of Michigan Wolverines. The Whitney name was used because the factory was located near the old Eli Whitney factory site.[6] A victim of extremely poor marketing in the beginning, financial problems and then being under priced by $2.00 by both Ruger and Colt with their new semi-automatics .22, the company was doomed.[7]

The original retail price was $39.95 blue and $44.95 nickel-plated.[1][2]

The Modern Wolverine

Two companies have attempted to revive the Wolverine design, with one of them having succeeded.

Olympic Arms manufactures and sells a version which is a polymer frame, instead of aluminum like the originals.[1][8] As of 2014, the Olympic Arms version of the Whitney Wolverine has been in production for ten years, and its polymer one-piece shell is available in a range of colors: black, brown, tan or pink.[9]

Samson Manufacturing Corporation had planned on creating their own version, but it never came to fruition. Samson had a web page on their web site where they stated that they had the original molds and dies, and had a huge inventory of original parts from the 1950s that they obtained from the original manufacturer.[10] The web page has since been removed but an archive of the web page can be viewed here.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Whitney Wolverine Owner’s Manual (PDF). Olympia, WA: Olympic Arms. July 2005. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  2. 1 2 "The Oldest Name in Guns Comes Back" (PDF). Guns Magazine: 24–27, 66–69. August 1956.
  3. ↑ Card, James (4 September 2012). "Robert Hillberg, 1917-2012". Gun Digest. F+W Media. Retrieved 19 June 2014. History will surely remember Robert L. Hillberg as one of the foremost firearms designers of the 20th century.
  4. ↑ Taglienti, Antonio (2008). The Whitney Wolverine : .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol. Woonsocket, RI: Mowbray Publishers. ISBN 1931464359.
  5. ↑ Bodinson, Holt (July 2009). "Space gun Redux: return of the Whitney Wolverine". Guns Magazine. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  6. ↑ J.B. Wood (29 July 2013). "Writer Gets His Whitney Wolverine After Long Wait For Unusual .22". GunMag. Second Amendment Foundation. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  7. ↑ Rock Island Auction Company (30 May 2014). "Rise and Fall of the Whitney Wolverine". Rock Island Auction Blog. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  8. ↑ Tartaro, Joe (5 August 2013). "Gun Review: At Long Last, the Whitney Wolverine". Bearing Arms. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  9. ↑ B. Gil Horman (20 June 2014). "Olympic Arms Whitney Wolverine .22 LR Pistol". American Rifleman. National Rifle Association. Retrieved 21 June 2014. This polymer revival of R. Hillberg’s 1950s rimfire 'ray gun' is sleek, light and fun to shoot.
  10. ↑ Xavier (10 January 2006). "Whitney Wolverine Range Report". Nurse With a Gun. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  • Taglienti, Antonio J (2008). The Whitney Wolverine .22 Caliber Semi-Automatic Pistol. Andrew Mowbray Publishers, Inc. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-931464-35-2. 
  • Smith, Walter Harold Black (1968). The W.H.B. Smith Classic Book of Pistols. Stackpole Books. p. 791. 

patent number

US 3060810 Whitney pistol`s patent

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