Sample This

By Robert Sample

World War II Toy Cannons

This is one of my toys that I received for Christmas in 1942. It was at the beginning of World War II, and all the kids wanted toys that were related to the war.

Most of the toys were made of wood with as little metal as possible. Because of the war efforts, less metal was used.

The toy is a machine gun. It shoots wooden bullets. It has a handle and a crank. When you turn the crank, it rotates a spring that shoots the wooden bullets.

For some reason during the last 55 years, I lost all the bullets. Last month, I bought a wooden dowel rod and cut and shaped some new bullets. The gun still works and I am still playing with my toys.

The Wooden Cannon

The Wooden Cannon (another view)

Robert is a car inspector at the Crest Yard in Fort Worth. He and his wife Gloria operate "The Colony", a bed and breakfast located in the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards.

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