Welrod Mk II Pistol : Flight Lieutenant W P Thorpe, Royal Australian Air Force

The Welrod pistol is a bolt action, single shot weapon which has a permanent silencer attached to the barrel. The construction of the Welrod is little more than a steel tube containing the barrel, silencer baffles, a manually operated turn bolt and a very short grip which also acted as a removable magazine. The sights are very rudimentary and the trigger is blocked by a grip safety. For the gun to work efficiently, only standard, subsonic velocity ammunition is used.

The Welrod pistol was given to Flight Lieutenant Thorpe, Royal Australian Air Force, while he was in Australia by an unidentified military officer, as part of the process of transporting personnel around Australia by aircraft. The purpose of the flights was of a confidential nature.

407014 Flight Lieutenant Wynton Powell Thorpe was born in Adelaide, South Australia, on 17 July 1920. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on 29 April 1940. Thorpe trained in Australia, including with the Seaplane Training Flight at Rathmines, through 1940 and early 1941 before embarking for the UK, where he commenced operations with 10 Squadron RAAF at Mount Batten and later Pembroke Dock. He flew his first operational flight (an anti-submarine patrol) on 17 May 1941.

Thorpe served with 10 Squadron until March 1943, mainly flying (as either pilot or co-pilot) convoy escorts, anti-submarine or anti-shipping patrols. Notable operations include supporting a Commando raid in April 1942; surviving a JU88 attack and attacking U boats. On 27 July 1942, in the Bay of Biscay, Thorpe's Sunderland was making a bombing approach on shipping when they encountered a Messerschmitt 109 fighter. They downed the ME109 before continuing on their on German shipping and were hit by flak, igniting a flare and narrowing missing both pilots. Despite this, they were able to return to base.

On 13 November 1942, Thorpe was captaining a Sunderland which picked up five passengers in Gibraltar for a return flight to Plymouth. They ran into increasingly violent weather which changed to thick fog as they approached England. With 15 minutes of fuel left, he chanced a landing, relying solely on his altimeter to gauge his landing height. The altimeter was reading 600 feet when they slammed into the sea. Crashing at full power, the Sunderland split in half and spilled its passengers and crew into the icy cold sea. Despite all the 11 crew surviving, all the passengers either died on impact or succumbed to the cold.

Thorpe embarked from England on 8 April 1943, and returned to Australia via the United States of America, disembarking at Brisbane, Queensland on 24 July 1943. In Australia Thorpe served in the Operations Room, Townsville; 3 Air Observers' School, Port Pirie, South Australia and 1 Operational Training Unit (OTU) at Sale. He converted to Catalinas and in 1945, flew with 11 and 20 Squadrons. He was discharged on 28 March 1946. Wynton Powell Thorpe passed away on 12 July 2008. A portrait of Thorpe was undertaken by Colin Colahan in England in 1942 and is held in the Memorial's collection under reference ART23535.

The Welrod pistol was designed within a few months of the beginning of the Second World War. The Welrod was designed by a Major Dolphin (official identity unknown) for the British War Office. The weapon was also made in America. It is estimated that the entire production run came to less than 2,800 guns. The firearm was designed to be employed by special forces such as the Special Air Service (SAS), the Special Operations Executive (SOE), the Commandos and the American Office for Strategic Services (OSS). After the war, the Welrod was also used in places like Korea, Vietnam and the Falklands. Its effective range was approximately twelve meters.