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Title:	REVOLVER -  DARDICK REVOLVER M1500 .38 SN# 1013
Maker/Manufacturer:	DARDICK, DAVID
Date of Manufacture:	C 1957
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 1460
Measurements:	OL: 9" BL: 6" 34 oz.

Object Description:

DARDICK REVOLVER M1500 .38 SN# 1013
Manufactured by Dardick Corporation, Hamden, Ct. - Standard commercial production .38 special automatic revolver. Combines a double-action mechanism with a gas-assist which uses the gas force of a fired cartridge to reduce the trigger pull to the vanishing point without impairing the innate safety of the gun. Blued finish with red plastic grips. Trefoil cylinder turned by trigger movement plus gas assist. Weapon weighs approximately 34 oz. Complete unit plus original cardboard box is in storage. Overall unit is 33" with shoulder stock and special long barrel.

Markings:
Barrel: DARDICK CORP./HAMDEN, CONN. .38 CAL. (1013 under barrel).
Frame: DARDICK CORP./MODEL 1500.

Weapon transferred to the Museum on 7 January 1965. At that time weapon was appraised at $85.00.

Exhibit label: "Dardick Automatic Revolver .38 caliber - 1954-1962 - limited. Proving that little is new in arms design, the Dardick fed triangular 'trounds' from a magazine into a side loading cylinder. The military was interested, performed experiments, and even tried to apply the concept to machine guns and aircraft cannon - without success."

Notes: "The Dardick Corporation of Hamden, Connecticut, produced this innovative pistol; unfortunately, it failed in the market-place and had a short life. David Dardick announced the perfected pistol in 1954, having conceived the idea in 1949. The guns sold in small numbers until production ended in 1962. The guns sold in small numbers until production ended in 1962. The principle was licensed to another company and makes periodic (but unsuccessful) reappearances on heavy machine guns and cannon.
The Dardick Open Chamber gun can be likened to a revolver in which the cylinder is formed with three triangular cut-outs in its periphery to act as a transporter-cum-breech. Ammunition is contained in a box magazine inserted into the butt. Specially shaped cartridges, or 'Trounds' as Dardick named them, were forced up the magazine by a spring to enter the open recess in the cylinder. Pressing the trigger rotated the cylinder to receive the next round; brought the first round into position behind the barrel; fired it; then moved on to eject the case and, at the same time, present another recess for loading from the magazine. Subsequent trigger-strokes fired and ejected until the magazine was emptied and the last round had been fired. Trounds were retained in the cylinder by the top strap of the frame and a thin metal shroud containing the ejection port.
The peculiar shape of the cartridge was achieved by taking standard commercial rounds and loading them into trochoidal plastic outer cases. Dardick envisaged making brass cases of the appropriate shape once demand grew, this stage was never reached.
The Model 1100 had a small grip and an eleven-round magazine, while the Model 1500 had a larger grip to hold fifteen rounds. Both chambered the .38 Dardick Special, which was simply the normal .38 Special in the plastic casing; however, by using adapters and interchangeable barrels, Dardicks could chamber .38 S&W Long, 9mm Parabellum and .22LR cartridges. The Model 1100 had a three inch barrel; the M1500 offered a six-inch barrel as standard, but alternatives were advertized. A shoulder stock and a special long barrel could convert the M1500 into a carbine.
Although the Dardick pistols worked, they were sufficiently different to meet sales resistance. Ammunition was not readily available and, by comparison with conventional pistols, they were expensive; the Model 1500 cost $99.50 in 1960, when the Colt Trooper could be had for $74.60. Combination of these factors led to the Dardick's failure." - Ian Hogg & John Weeks

"This is the Dardick 15-shot series, an easily-concealed, pocket-size weapon that is idea for 'from-the-hip' shooting....Gun uses same quick-change barrels, same kind of ammunition as Series 2000, converts into light-weight rifle assembly." - Dardick Catalog

"In March of 1957, members attending the NRA Annual Meetings got their first look at David Dardick's rNewsweek picked up on the gun in its April 1 (1957) issue and American Rifleman Technical Editor Maj. Gen. Julian Hatcher commented briefly on a 20-shot prototype and its carbine stock/barrel attachment but implied that quantity production was unlikely. (June 1957, pg. 80).
His dim view turned out to be justified....Fewer than fifty guns were made, some say only 40." - William B. Edwards, American Rifleman, August 1993.

David Dardick presented one of his pistols to President John F. Kennedy.

References:
Hogg, Ian & John Weeks. PISTOLS OF THE WORLD. 3rd Ed. DBI Books, Inc. Northbrook, Il. 1992.
Schwing, Ned & Herbert Houze. STANDARD CATALOG OF FIREARMS. 6th Ed. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 1996.