This study was supported by gun and
CAS magazines, CAS websites, auction houses and gun dealers in Europe and the
USA. However, it is you, the pards and pardettes from both sides of the
Atlantic and down-under, namely Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, New
Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, and the USA who responded to the call,
reported data of their prized Centaure pistols. This led to some surprising and
fascinating discoveries. Thanks a lot.
Ms. Nadine Hanquet ofLiège , the last of the owner family of
Fabriques d’Armes Unies de Liège (FAUL) kindly added important facts that
helped to bring the Belgian Colt story into historical perspective. They were
amended by some supportive technical information from Director Jean-Luc
Stassen of the Liège Proof House but particularly from Alan Trigger and the Club Littlegun,
a Belgian gun collectors and study group (http://www.littlegun.be/). This research could
not be substantiated without their help.
Without W.T., Steel Horse Bailey and Buffalo Chip
this website would be an academic paper with lots of facts for collectors but
too dry to read by any red-blooded cowboy and shooter. But they edited the
wealth of information collected into an easily flowing, digestible language. Chain-Fire offered fresh thoughts
regarding the evolution of Centaure manufacturing at FAUL’s whereas Roger Ragland aka Major provided inspiring
insight how the film industry made good use of the Belgian Colts in well-known Civil
War and Western movies. Thanks, pards. I am
particularly grateful to Dr. Jim Davis for his advice
regarding the structuring of the questionnaire, providing original literature
and adding specifics of a number of very rare 1960 NEW MODEL ARMIES from the
collection of the Replica Percussion Revolver Collectors Association.
I am indebted to my trusted friend Hartmut “Mullie” Wienands
who has a knack for languages. He accepted to communicate for me in French with
Ms. Nadine Hanquet and also translated Flemish texts. Jean-Francois
Pancé made sure that I fully appreciated the history of the Hanquet
family by translating their original French family story. But without the
computer wizard Panhandle Paden and all the energy he
instilled into the research program there would be no http://www.1960nma.org/. Thank you, my friend.
Technically our knowledge about the strengths but also the shortfalls of the
Belgian Colt would lack solid gunsmith know how and backing without the advice
of one US smith who goes by the alias Rifle. Together with
Austrian master Karl Nedbal they provided important facts including
comparisons of the Centaure to 1st generation Colts and Colt clones. And Herr
Nedbal did not stop there, see the chapters in this site for all of his
contributions.
WDN/November 11, 2008
© 2007 Wolf D. Niederastroth