The US Coast Guard was taken into naval service during WW2, and tasked with operating small boats and landing craft. Coast Guard helmsmen and bos'uns were instrumental in handling the landing craft used during the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Coast Guard ships and other naval vessels during the war carried a myriad of well made flare guns aboard to signal between ships or from ship to shore, and they were also stored aboard life rafts in case of emergency. One of the better made flare guns of WW2 was the “Model 52” produced by the International Flare Signal Co. of Tippecanoe City, Ohio. This flare gun is referred to as the "Model 52" not because it was designed in 1952 but because at one time this gun was part of the International No. 52 marine distress signal kit. This US Coast Guard Navy WW2 International Flare Signal Co. Brass Frame 37mm Model 52 Flare Gun is in Very Good Condition, with two small nicks in the front right edge of the barrel, some finish abrading at each side of the barrel, some patina to the bore, some cleaning, scratching, and pitting to the frame, and with some overall age wear evident. Most interestingly, it’s the classic 37mm, single shot, single action Model 52 flare pistol, boasts a fully functional hammer, trigger, and top break mechanism, and features a 7 7/8” long round barrel with approximately 60% of the original blackened exterior finish remaining and a bore that rates 7/10. It boasts the classic heavy cast brass grip and frame, the former of which is finely checkered and carries “INTERNATIONAL FLARE SIGNAL CO / TIPPECANOE CITY OHIO” molded in relief at each side, bears “PF5789” stamped at the right side of the frame, and is a fine example of a rare, original US Coast Guard Navy WW2 International Flare Signal Co. Brass Frame 37mm Model 52 Flare Gun.