Kolibri

The Kolibri is a miniscule firearm that holds the distinction of being the world's smallest centerfire pistol, as well as being the smallest ever production firearm. Its name comes from the German word for 'hummingbird'. The Kolibri pistol was designed by a German watchmaker by the name of Franz Pfannl. Despite its diminutive size, the Kolibri is mechanically speaking identical to a standard firearm. It uses the same simple blowback mechanism as many modern .22LR, .25, and .32 caliber pistols, but is chambered for a proprietary (and now rare) 2.7mm centerfire cartridge. This cartridge fired a minuscule 3-grain bullet at 650 feet per second, giving it less muzzle energy than a typical airlift pellet, with literature at the time suggesting the round was capable of penetrating only 10–40 millimeters (0.39–1.57 in) of pine board. The round also suffers some accuracy issues, since the technology of the time was incapable of applying rifling to the bore of such a small caliber, resulting in no spin on the bullet. The Kolibri was advertised as being a self-defense weapon for women, designed to be small enough to stick inside of a handbag. The gun was equipped with a six-round magazine and fired semi-automatically, with one shot per pull of the trigger until the magazine was emptied. Recoil was effectively nonexistent, given the minuscule size of the projectile. How many Kolibri pistols were bought with the intention of actual self-defense is debatable, as the gun is far more of a novelty than a serious weapon. Still, it could have been seen as a legitimate deterrent against stray dogs — a common use for small firearms at the time. The sting of a Kolibri bullet could potentially frighten off a dog without subjecting the firer to the noise of a more typical firearm, or forcing them to carry something the size of a typical firearm (the Kolibri weighs just under 8 ounces). About a thousand of these tiny pistols were made between about 1910 and 1914, when production had to stop as World War 1 broke out across Europe. Franz Pfannl would make several other unusually small firearms during his career, including 3mm and 4.25mm designs, but the 2.7mm Kolibri remains his most distinctive work.