It was hard to decide where to start this story, I decided to start with the man who designed the gun that put Norton Armaments in the gun business.
After WWII the German Republic was split into two countries and West Germany had to rebuild their economy from the ground up, while East Germany was absorbed into the Iron Curtain.
One of the products West Germany used to rebuild that economy was firearms and in the 1950s and 60's many West German made guns were imported into the U.S.
One of those guns was the Korriphila TP70. The gun was designed by Edgar Budischowsky. I have read that Budischowsky was of Czech descent and also that he was German born. I don't know which is true.
The TP 70 was a mix of designs from Colt, Walther and and others and came in .22 LR and 25 ACP.
By all accounts the Korriphila made guns were of exceptional quality.
Then along come the Democrats and their 1968 Gun Control Act which outlawed the importation of small pistols like the TP-70.
This left a void in the American gun market.....and like so many other stories, American capitalists found a way to fill that void.
Enter Paul Norton Van Hee. Van Hee had been in the "armament" business for a while.
As far as I can tell Van Hee was born in the Detroit area on December 16, 1927.
Van Hee was an interesting person, there is a rumor that he was retired from the Military as a Brigadier General (or that he presented himself as "General Van Hee"), other rumors suggest he worked for the CIA or perhaps was a government contractor doing the "advisory work" in Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Later he owned or worked for Cadillac Gage making Armored Personnel Carriers, worked on nylon cased ammunition and an "assault pistol" for the Spanish military.
In 1970 he founded Norton International Corporation in Florida, presumably to do contract work for the CIA or U.S. Government.
He is said to have traveled in luxury (on the Concorde no less), always with a beautiful young woman on his arm and had expensive tastes.
He was found guilty in 1976 of violating export rules regarding military equipment, fined $5,000 and 2 years probation.
F. Lee Bailey led his defense team.
Fact or fiction I think his life story would make a great movie.....
Whatever the truth was, he did start a company called Norton Armament in order to domestically produce the recently banned TP-70.
Note the roll mark has the shortened name "NORARMCO". Norton set up a factory in Mt Clemens and an office in nearby Harper Woods.
Here are some of the prototype plastic/nylon cased ammunition which was being manufactured in Spain under contract.
In the early 70s they also produced an exact copy of the Mauser experimental HsP pistol.
The Mauser HsP
Norton called it the DP75
Norton's version used almost no steel (only the springs) the barrels were made of either titanium or 7075 T6 aluminum, presumably to be used with the nylon cased ammo?
Norton also worked with Eugene Stoner on the prototype for a full auto VZ-52 derived pistol, nothing ever came of the gun.
After the demise of Norton Armaments circa 1976/77 American Arms & Ammunition began producing the guns in Miami. The Budischowsky name was dropped and it was called the "Norton TP-70".
Interesting side note American Arms & Ammo started over with serial number 1, so there are quite a few TP70s made with the same serial number, by the two manufacturers
A.A.A. also built the two models with the same serial number....the practice has since been banned by the BATFE. The set below, a .22 and .25 share the same 005 serial number.
American Arms and Ammunition Corporation was founded in 1977 in Florida by Stanley Spitzer, who owned several other companies including Geneva Export Sales Corporation.
It is unclear whether Van Hee had any connection to American Arms and Ammunition, but there was speculation on the part of some people. Norton Armaments & Norton International were incorporated in Florida so he at least had some ties to the area.
At some point American Arms moved production to Provo, Utah
American Arms and Ammo Corporation was dissolved in 1987.
What Remains:
Paul Norton Van Hee passed away on February 1st, 1995 at the age of 67.
Norton's Mt Clemens factory still stands at 41471 Irwin Drive in the Harrison Charter Township, just off the shores of Lake St. Clair.
There is still an office building in Harper Woods at the 20550 Vernier, I am not sure if this is the same building though
The building in which American Arms made the guns in Miami is still standing at 915 NW 72nd Street
The Provo Utah factory
I was unable to find the address for the Provo factory. If you haven't been to Provo lately, I can tell you it has changed a lot, many new buildings and homes being built as fast as builders can put them together.
The old factory is probably long gone. If you have any knowledge of the address, please post it in the comments section.
Sources:
Norton Tp-70 - For Sale, Used - Excellent Condition :: Guns.com
Full text of "DETROIT COURT HEARS TALE OF VIETNAM INTRIGUE, BRIBERY" (archive.org)
United States v. Paul Norton Van Hee, A/K/A Paul N. Van Hee, Jr., 531 F.2d 352 – CourtListener.com
(153) Norton DP-75: Titanium Plus German Police Pistol - YouTube
Detail by Entity Name (sunbiz.org)
Interestingly, the Norton Mt. Clemens facility is only two buildings behind the current Mag-Na-Port facility. Mag-na-port moved into that facility in 1983, so Norton was long gone by then, but it does make me wonder how many other firearm businesses might have been in that area during that time period.
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