"Your
gun got stuck, if I recall. This Beretta of yours with the
silencer. Something wrong there, 007. Can't afford that
sort of mistake if you're to carry an 00 number. Would you
prefer to drop it and go back to normal duties?"
James Bond's original weapon of
choice was a Beretta .25 automatic, which he used on many
missions successfully.
However,
after almost losing his life to Rosa Klebb in From Russia
with Love due to a silencer catching in the holster,
at the beginning of Dr No we find M asking the armourer,
Major Boothroyd, to recommend an alternative.
His
answer was to replace Bond's beloved Beretta with a 7.65mm
Walther PPK, with a Smith & Wesson Centennial Airweight
.38 for use when "something bigger"
is required.
Boothroyd
praised the Walther for its light trigger pull and the ability
to obtain ammunition for it anywhere in the world. He critisised
the Beretta for being "a lady's gun" and underpowered.
Despite Bond's criticisms of the Walther, he used it successfully
on many missions after. The Smith & Wesson is hammerless
to avoid getting caught on clothing and to keep the weight
down holds only 5 cartridges.
007 has also been able to use throwing
knives, either hidden in the soles of his shoes, as in Goldfinger,
or built into his attache case as in From Russia With
Love as well as constructing weapons from materials
to hand.
