When I was poking around the evidence room one night years ago, I saw what I took to be a Colt
1911-series 45ACP with a funny grip. On closer inspection, I found that it was neither a Colt, nor
a 45 at all.
I held it up to Art, the wonk of the evidence room, “What is this thing?”
Art laughed, “That is a Star 9mm. Good gun. Heavy as heck though”
And here is what else I found out over time: Read the rest in my column at Firearms Talk
Here at LSOZI, we are going to take out every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1859-1946 time period and will profile a different ship each week.
– Christopher Eger
Warship Wednesday, February 13
This week we are taking a brief look at US K-Class Blimps and their occasional teaming with Escort Carriers during and just after WWII.
On December 6, 1938 a prototype Goodyear blimp was sent to the US Navy’s lighter than air division for testing. This prototype proved so succesful that in October 1940 they ordered six more for use in escort and patrol work offshore. When the US entered WWII, this soon turned into a total of 134 of these 251-foot long helium nonrigid airships delivered by 1955.
The blimps were the P-3 Orion of their day and most of the equipment you are used to on these sub-busters were present on these airships. They were equipped with the ASG-type radar, that had a detection range of 90 mi (140 km), sonobuoys, and magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) equipment. The K-ships carried four Mk-47 depth bombs, two in a bomb bay and two externally, and were equipped with a .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine gun in the forward part of the control car. An aircrew of 10 normally operated the K-ships, consisting of a command pilot, two co-pilots, a navigator/pilot, airship rigger, an ordnanceman, two mechanics, and two radiomen.
The U.S. Navy airship K-69 launches from the deck of the escort carrier USS Mindoro (CVE 120), April 26, 1950
After 1942 these airships increasingly started to patrol in concert with small converted merchant hulled ships, dubbed escort carriers. These roughly 10,000-ton ships carried about two dozen aircraft and, while not fast enough for operations with the fleet, they were perfect for escorting merchant convoys. By pairing up blimps and small carriers, the blimps could be on constant search while the carrier kept depth-charge armed aircraft on alert to chase after sightings. The blimps were the eyes and the carrier planes the lightning of the gods called from above.
Here we see an unidentified K-class blimp approaching an equally unidentified escort carrier stern off the US East Coast in October 1944.
…and the landing.
It’s unknown how many of these touch-and-gos happened, and if the Navy ever tried to refuel or rearm blimps from the decks of these jeep carriers, but its a possibility. More than a hundred ‘Jeep carriers’ were made during the war but by the late 1950s both the blimps and these hardy little flattops were discarded, replaced by new super carriers and converted Essex class fast carriers. It is known that both during the War and in the 1950s that navy blimps did in fact refuel from large fleet carriers at sea. In 1942 the Doolittle Raid probably wouldn’t have happened if Navy patrol blimp L-6 hadn’t delivered 2 boxes of navigators domes for B-25 to the Hornet while she was several hundred miles offshore.
In a future naval war with a littoral heavily contested by submarines, its possible that this concept could be dusted off once more. There are still blimps, the US still has the world’s largest supply of helium, and merchant ships could readily be converted with decking to carry expeditionary detachments of SH-60 helicopters for local ASW missions.
Stranger things have happened.
By the way, if you know the blimp/carrier involved in the 1944 pictures, let me know. Thanks!
(Specs of the K-class blimp)
Crew: 9-10
Length: 251 ft 8 in (76.73 m)
Diameter: 57 ft 10 in (17.63 m)
Volume: 425,000 ft3 (12,043 m3)
Useful lift: 7,770 lb (3,524 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-2 radials, 425 hp (317 kW) each
Maximum speed: 78 mph (125 km/h)
Cruise speed: 58 mph (93 km/h)
Range: 2,205 miles (3,537 km)
Endurance: 38 hours 12 min
Armament
1 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun
4 × 350 lb (160 kg) Mark 47 depth charges
Specs of the Casablanca-class escort carrier (one of the most common in US service)
Displacement: 7,800 tons
10,902 tons full load
Length: 512.3 ft (156.1 m) overall
Beam: 65.2 ft (19.9 m)
Extreme width: 108.1 ft (32.9 m)
Draft: 22.5 ft (6.9 m)
Propulsion: Two (2) five-cylinder reciprocating Skinner Uniflow steam engines
Four (4) × 285 psi (1,970 kPa) boilers, 2 shafts, 9,000 shp (6,700 kW)
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h)
Range: 10,240nm at 15 knots
Complement: Ship’s Company: 860 officers and men
Embarked Squadron: 50 to 56 officers and men
Total Complement: 910 to 916 officers and men.
Armament:
1 × 5 inch/38 caliber gun
16 × 40 mm Bofors guns (8×2)
20 × 20 mm Oerlikon cannons
Aircraft carried: 28
If you liked this column, please consider joining the International Naval Research Organization (INRO)
They are possibly one of the best sources of naval lore http://www.warship.org/naval.htm
The International Naval Research Organization is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the encouragement of the study of naval vessels and their histories, principally in the era of iron and steel warships (about 1860 to date). Its purpose is to provide information and a means of contact for those interested in warships.
Nearing their 50th Anniversary, Warship International, the written tome of the INRO has published hundreds of articles, most of which are unique in their sweep and subject.
I’m a member, so should you be!
When ill-informed people speak of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, they speak only of
how hunting is a noble right and sports shooting is a valid hobby. What is often left unsaid is that the Founding Fathers had intended this inherent right as a protection against tyranny of all sorts. An unarmed society is a society waiting to be enslaved. A legally armed one is a functioning republic.
There is no better modern example of this than in the 1946 Battle of Athens.
Read the rest in my column at Firearms Talk
In the early 1950s, the newly born US Air Force needed a brave new handgun for its atomic
cowboys. The main thing, for better or worse, was that the gun be lightweight. The solution, in classic 1950s style, was aluminum Aircrewman revolver, which, much like a lot of 1950s style was both a success and a failure at the same time.
In World War 1, pilots and aircrew often found themselves lost, crashed, or shot down in areas that were less than friendly. This led to those daring young aviators to begin carrying handguns and in some cases rifles with them for those unexpected stops. Throughout World War 2, US Army Air corps, personnel and glider pilots often carried full sized .38 revolvers of various manufacturers supported by the occasional M-1 carbine.
In 1947, the US Air Force was carved off from the Army and the new brass realized the need for a modern space age handgun for the occasional aircrew emergency, survival situations, and nuclear weapon’s security breach. In a time where every ounce of weight was sliced from huge bombers like the Convair B-36 “Peacemaker” to allow them to carry atomic weapons to the Soviet Union, the watch word was ‘lightweight.’
Colt answered this call for a small and effective, but super lightweight handgun, with a modified version of their then-new Cobra line of snub-nosed revolvers. It was named the Aircrewman.
Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com
So you are a Navy SEAL crawling around deep in the enemy’s back yard. You are vastly outnumbered which means your primary weapon is stealth. You are a shadow—you have to be if you expect to get out of this alive. The thing is, the enemy’s camp has dogs that are bound to bark. What do you do to keep hidden?
Bring a Hushpuppy.
Today the US Navy’s 2000+ Special Warfare operators, commonly referred to as SEALs for their mastery of SEa, Air-and Land insertion and extraction techniques, are well-known. In the 1960s, however the concept was brand new and just a few hundred men formed two small teams of frogmen. The majority of these divers, trained to fight in small groups, were forward deployed in a nice slice of green hell and brown water known as Vietnam. Operating in an intensive and unforgiving environment, these early Seals were always on the lookout for non-standard firearms to help give them an edge. Besides the myriad of standard-issue military weapons in Uncle Sam’s deep closets, the Seals used Swedish K-guns, commercial shotguns, and non-standard pistols.
Among these was the Smith and Wesson M39, a 9mm handgun. Originally bought as a commercial off the shelf design this compact semi-auto pistol was coupled to an effective detachable suppressor and dubbed the Mk 22. Since its use was in taking out sentries and the occasional yapping stray dog, it was commonly referred to as the Hush Puppy.
Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com
Former members call it “The best job in the FBI.” It’s officially designated the Hostage Rescue
Team. The federal government calls it in when they have a sticky situation that involves high profile operations.
In the 1972 Munich Olympics, Islamic terrorists seized a dorm housing Israeli athletes and in the resulting botched efforts to free them, 11 coaches and athletes were killed. This incident as well as a wave of terrorist attacks throughout the world led to the formation of units like the German GSG, British SAS, and US Army’s Delta Force to take the fight to those who would attack innocents. With the 1984 Summer Olympics set for Los Angeles, and the US military forbidden from acting
inside the borders of the United States, the FBI started the Hostage Rescue Team in 1982. After 18 months of training the team, made up of 50 members, was ready for duty by October 1983.
Since 1983, they have taken part in more than 800 operations including the recent rescue of a
kidnapped 5-year old autistic boy in Alabama held by a killer in an underground bunker. Today the HRT remains the US government’s only full time law-enforcement counter-terrorism team. Unlike the well-known US Army Special Forces Group Delta and the US Navy’s DEVGRU (better known as Seal Team Six) who take the war on terrorism overseas, the HRT is the designated hitter inside the borders of the US itself. Based at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, actual strength is classified but is believed to be around 90 individuals in three rotating units.
They could choose any firearm in the world.
And lately, they use Glocks….
Read the rest in my column at Glock Forums
With the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) decommed, the US Navy is down to 10 Nimitz class flattops until the USS Gerald Ford commissions in 2015. One of these ten, the USS Lincoln, is basically up on blocks at Norfolk waiting to begin a 4-year refueling of her reactor cores (RCOH). Sistership Theodore Roosevelt is still in RCOH until this summer at the earliest.
The thing is…the Navy can’t afford it.
An article at USNI News states that a navy spokesmen passed on “CVN-72 will remain at Norfolk Naval Base where the ships force personnel will continue to conduct routine maintenance until sufficient funding is received for the initial execution of the RCOH.”
This comes only a week after the USS Truman’s Carrier Battle Group was sidelined the day before they were due to head to the Persian Gulf for a six month deployment due to budgetary reasons. Its deployment had been affected earlier by the Nimitz, now pushing 40 years of age and scheduled herself to strike around 2020, having increasing mechanical issues.
So to recount in the past few months : Enterprise stricken, Nimitz cranky, Lincoln laid up, Truman sidelined due to funding, Theodore Roosevelt still in RCOH…
Then again, in terms of carrier math, China still only has one as does Russia.
Good thing.
Ok, Ok, I know it’s an overly dramatic title, but its true.
Here we see crew members carry supplies on board the German Navy’s U32 submarine (L) at the navy harbor in Eckernfoerde, Germany, 07 February 2013. The submarine is expected to sail on 10 February 2013 to join the four-months lasting international maritime maneuver ‘Westlant Deployment’ on the east coast of the United States. A central exercise during the maneuver will be a simulated maritime combat between the submarine and a US aircraft carrier battle group.
The U32 is a Type 212 submarine of the Bundesmarine that was launched in 2003 and in current service. A fast diesel SSK boat, she is 183 feet long and carries a baker’s dozen of the worlds most advanced torpedoes. She is AIP and has such a low emission profile that she is considered 183-feet of the quietest ocean wherever she is– a literal black hole in the water. This coupled with the fact that she can operate submerged in as little as 45 feet of water, makes her a littoral specter.
However with the Truman’s deployment put on hold…who knows. If so, the U32 will have to get a lot closer to Norfolk.
No one in their right mind would bring a knife to a gunfight. On the other hand, many gun owners
have been known to pack a blade for those just in case moments. In the late 1990s, one
company specialized in hybrid knife guns that packed an unseen punch. This punch, concealed in the grip of the knife, was a small revolver caliber round and the company was known as GRAD.
Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com
As a kid I lived a block away from a movie theater, as a teenager I worked at a video store, and as an adult I worked alot of late night shifts carrying a gun. This means Ive probably watched say 10,000 movies. Of those, most I would rate on my personal scale of anywhere from 1-star to 3 stars. Probably 5% or less have been four or five stars.
Bellflower, a crazy mashup Indie film that I just watched, is about a 4.5 IMHO.
The plot is : Two kinda normal slow white guys move from Wisconsin to California, start preparing for the end of days by watching a lot of Mad Max movies, build a flame thrower and a muscle car (who knew a ’72 Buick Skylark could be so tight?), get involved with two way-past-crazy local blondes, …and then shit gets weird
I really liked it. Here’s the trailer to catch it yourself. Its on Netflix but Im sure if you are savvy enough to be reading this blog you probably have any number of torrents etc. I found myself already downloading the soundtrack by Jonathan Keevil, Why and Babyfin.