The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - Weaponry

Weaponry

One prop, often referred to as "The Gun", drew so much attention that it actually spurred considerable fan mail, often so addressed. Internally designated the "U.N.C.L.E. Special", it was a modular semi-automatic weapon. The basic pistol could be converted into a longer-range carbine by attaching a long barrel, extendable shoulder stock, Bushnell telescopic sight, and extended magazine. In this "carbine mode", the pistol could fire on full automatic. This capability brought authorities to the set to investigate reports that the studio was manufacturing machine guns illegally. They threatened to confiscate the prop guns. It took a tour of the prop room to convince them that these were actually "dummy" pistols incapable of firing live ammunition. The actual pistol used as the prop was the Mauser Model 1934 Pocket Pistol, but it was unreliable, jammed constantly, and was dwarfed by the carbine accessories. It was soon replaced by the larger and more reliable Walther P38.

The long magazine was actually a standard magazine with a dummy extension on it, but it inspired several manufacturers to begin making long magazines for various pistols. While many of these continue to be available 40 years later, long magazines were not available for the P-38 for some years. They are now being custom made, as are reproduction parts for the U.N.C.L.E. carbine, and sold at TheUncleGun.com. Pictures of their U.N.C.L.E. gun reproductions can also be seen on the official "Man From U.N.C.L.E. DVD set." The "U.N.C.L.E. Special" Walther P38 carbine would later become the distinctive alternate mode for the Transformers character Megatron, the evil leader of the Decepticons.

The P-38 fired the standard 9 mm bullet, although sometimes it was loaded with a special dart tipped with a fast-acting tranquilizer when it was preferable to have a live prisoner. The drug lasted, according to Solo, about two hours. THRUSH never bothered with such non-lethal tactics. As Solo commented in the pilot, "THRUSH kills people like people kill flies. A careless gesture. A flick of the wrist."

THRUSH had a range of weaponry of their own, much of it only in the development stage before being destroyed by the heroes. A notable item was the infra-red sniperscope, enabling them to aim gunfire in total darkness. A major design defect of the sniperscope was that its image tube's power supply emitted a distinctive whining sound when operating, giving away the shooter's concealed position. It also required a heavy battery and cable arrangement to power the scope. The prop was built from a U.S. Army-surplus M1 carbine with a vertical foregrip and barrel compensator, and using real Army surplus infrared scopes. The infra-red special effect was achieved using a searchlight to illuminate the target. The fully equipped carbines were seen only once, in "The Iowa Scuba Affair". After that, a mock-up of the scope was used to make handling easier.

A few of the third-and fourth-season episodes featured an "U.N.C.L.E. car", which was a modified "Piranha Coupe", a plastic-bodied concept car based on the Chevrolet Corvair chassis, built in limited numbers by custom car designer Gene Winfield.

German small arms were well represented in the series. Not only were P-38s frequently seen (both as the U.N.C.L.E. Special and in standard configuration), but also the Luger P-08 pistol. In the pilot episode "The Vulcan Affair", Illya Kuryakin is carrying a standard U.S. Army .45 pistol. The "Broomhandle" Mauser carbines and MP40 machine pistols were favored by opponents, both THRUSH and non-THRUSH. U.N.C.L.E. also used the MP-40. Beginning in the third season, both U.N.C.L.E and THRUSH used rifles which were either the Spanish CETME or the Heckler & Koch G3, which was based on the CETME.

There were also an assortment of other weapons, ranging from sniper and military rifles to pistols of various caliber, plus swords, knives, bludgeons, staffs, chains, and the like.