I’ve seen hundreds of Lugers come through the Guns.com Vault in the past few years, ranging from Swiss-made Berns to American Eagles, Naval Lugers, Black Widows, and 1980s commemoratives, but the “Artillery Luger” is more of a unicorn.
Officially dubbed the Lange Pistole 1908, or LP.08, while the rest of the Imperial German Army was using the regular 9mm P08, it was decided the cannon cockers of the field and fortress artillery, in 1913, were to be issued a lengthened (lange= long) version with a 7.87-inch barrel and a graduated tangent leaf rear sight marked to a wildly optimistic 800m.
The LP.08 would take the place of both the short carbine and the revolver for the artillery, making it something of a Ragtime-era PDW.
Mr. Massad Ayoob, a staple figure who has been writing about and teaching modern handguns for something like 40 years, recently dished for a quarter-hour as part of Wilson Combat’s Critical Mas (get it?) series on the pros and cons of carry belts and different holster positions for concealed carry when toting “a serious fighting pistol on the belt,” as he clarifies. This includes Outside the Waistband, Inside the Waistband, and the always controversial Appendix IWB Carry.
It is worth the investment in your time should you be looking to answer questions or just be looking for reinforcement of your own current carry practice.
21 February 1942. The “Brave Rifles,” 3d Cavalry Regiment troopers at Ft. Myer lead their trusty mounts to the railroad for the trip to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, one of the last evolutions involving a regiment of horse-mounted cavalry in U.S. service.
Once there, the mounts were turned in and the troops began training for World War II.
Note the spurs
The troopers seem to be wearing the M1926 pattern Winter Service Uniform with coats and black four-fold service neckties. Note the late-pattern Campaign service hats, which were put to pasture for general use after 1941. Notably, they are also seen with newly-issued M1 Garands, some carried “Russian style” i.e. slung over the body.
The old 1912 Pattern cavalry gear, which still included much leather equipment as well as a distinctive chain saber attachment and bandoleer, is long gone, replaced by the more modern M1923 gear. The enlisted men wear the tall russet leather lace-up cavalry boots which were authorized in 1930.
The M1918 Mounted Cartridge Belt with 1907 Equipment Suspenders; Double Magazine Pocket; the M1912 Mounted Holster, and the M1910 1st Aid Pouch can all be seen if you look hard enough.
The wear of service breeches was halted across the Army in 1937, except for those in mounted units.
Model 1913 Cavalry Saber (also known as the Patton Saber) was the last cavalry saber used by the U.S. Army, was withdrawn in 1935 on orders from MacArthur.
Of the men shown above, almost all of the officers and troopers of the 3d Cavalry– regular Army men– became cadres for National Guard divisions. The 3d was then filled with draftees and cadre from the 4th (horse) Cavalry and was reorganized into what became the 3d Cavalry Group (Mechanized) while its 1st Squadron became the 3rd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, and 2nd Squadron became the 43rd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, all centered around M8 Greyhounds.
Today, the Brave Rifles still exist, recently celebrating their 175th anniversary. They are based at Fort Hood and maintain an excellent regimental museum, from which these images are supplied.
As for the Cavalry’s horses? Many were turned over to the U.S. Coast Guard and used for Beach Patrol during the conflict, then sold at auction in 1945.
1943. Guardsman on patrol somewhere along the Atlantic coast is shown in the new uniform of the U.S. Coast Guard Mounted Beach Patrol.
Members of the Coast Guard’s mounted beach patrol cross an inlet during their patrol on the West Coast.
I was on the ground at SHOT Show in 2018 when Sig Sauer introduced the P365, a micro-compact 9mm– really the first in its class– that delivered a 380-sized carry pistol but with a 10+1-shot capacity in 9×19 rather than 9x17mm.
It was the talk of the show and the gun has become one of the most popular carry pistols since then, sparking a flurry of imitators from Ruger, S&W, Springfield Armory, Taurus, and the like. Hell, even Sig has like a dozen different models of P365, all cannibalizing the same marketplace, which is now bordering on oversaturation.
Speaking of which…
Meet the new P365-380, which is the same size (albeit three ounces lighter) as the 9mm version while only having the same magazine capacity (surely they could have crammed an extra round or two in there?).
Sig says the design philosophy for the P365-380 is to offer shooters– especially those with smaller hands or those that find the manipulation and snappy recoil of small 9mm pistols challenging– another option.
Plus, in my opinion, it also opens up markets such as in Latin America and Europe for the P365 where 9mm Luger is banned for civilian consumption, reserved for M&P use, but .380 is allowed.
An F-4N Phantom II (BuNo. 151008) of Fighter Squadron (VF) 111, the “Sundowners,” part of Carrier Air Wing 19 (CVW-19), launching from the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV 42) operating in the Mediterranean Sea. This marked the final cruise for the aging Midway-class carrier, the first named for a President of the United States.
This photo was taken 45 years ago this month, in February 1977.
U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.253.7279.033
While the above was a magnificent photo of a beautiful full-color bird, there were lots of changes on the way.
On 30 June 1977, CVW-19 was disestablished.
FDR decommissioned on 30 September 1977 and was later sold for scrap.
The Sundowners, “Illegitimus Non-Carborundum,” was disestablished in 1995, although the aggressor squadron, VFC-111, continues the unit’s traditions if not its lineage, down at NAS Key West.
Even BuNo. 151008, the Phantom above, is listed as “Crashed with VF-171 off Norfolk, VA Nov 20, 1978.”
However, on my desk is a well-worn but tangible reminder of Big Frankie.
Here, 80 years ago today, we see the Northampton-class heavy cruiser USS Houston (CA-30), as viewed through the sight of an Australian 4-inch gun on the beach at Darwin, Australia, on 18 February 1942. Houston– which had been RADM Thomas C. Hart’s Asiatic Fleet’s flagship until he was scapegoated and relieved of operational responsibilities the week before– was then leaving Darwin for the Dutch East Indies and a rendevous with destiny.
As such, this is one of the last photos taken of the doomed ship, as she would be sent to the bottom at the Sunda Strait just 11 days later.
Photo courtesy of Otto Schwartz, 1983. Naval History and Heritage Command Catalog #: NH 94458.
Houston would earn the Presidential Unit Citation and two battle stars for her World War II service, in the hardest kind of way.
The Coast Guard ordered a whopping 7487-foot Marine Protector-class patrol boats from Bollinger between 1998 and 2009– the largest buy of patrol craft since the Navy’s PCFs during Vietnam. Based on Damen’s Stan 2600 that is in use in several Latin American countries, the vessels were meant to finally phase out the USCG’s Vietnam-era 82-foot Point class patrol boats as well as a batch of 110-foot Island-class patrol boats which were ruined in a botched lengthening modification.
The USCGC Bonito (WPB-87341), a Marine Protector-class patrol boat, seen coming into Gulfport back in 2015, Photo by me.
The 87s have proved great vessels, capable of undertaking a weeklong patrol if needed (the smallest American maritime vessels with an embarked Culinary Specialist as well as onboard desalination capabilities) and have been stationed in such rough regions as Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. They were designed to operate in conditions up to Sea State 5, ranging out to 200nm offshore.
U.S. Coast Guard 87 foot Cutter Terrapin patrols frigid water while on a 37-day deployment in Southeast Alaska, July 10, 2016
Equipped with an AN/SPS-73 surface search radar, two M2 .50 cals, a small arms locker that enables a 4-6 man boarding detail drawn from their 11-man crew, and a stern launch and recovery system for the cutter’s waterjet-propelled small boat, they are some of the most advanced patrol craft for their size fielded anywhere in the world.
Heck, a fictional one even plays a prominent role in my (shameless plug) zombie book, for which I got to get underway on an 87 (Pompano) while doing research.
However, with a ton of the Coast Guard’s new and much more capable 154-foot Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters coming on line, and the oldest 87s set to start aging out after 2028, 10 have been retired early. These gently used boats have been stacking up at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, in Parking Lot 23, where they are awaiting upgrade and outfitting before transfer to Uruguay (3) and Lebanon (7).
Speaking of which, three recently decommed 87s, USCGCs Albacore (WPB-87309), Cochito (WPB-87329), and Gannet (WPB-87334) were recently set up for transfer to Montevideo, where they will replace two elderly (60 year old) 95-foot USCG Cape-class patrol boats transferred to Uruguay in 1990.
The Coast Guard, as a maritime partner of choice, is committed to assisting Uruguay authorities by supporting bilateral activities in the shared interest of the security and operational environment of the Southern Atlantic Ocean.
Thomas called the transfer a win-win situation, helping Uruguay to swiftly enhance their maritime security while forging an international partnership “that fosters greater global maritime security for us all.” He said he has no doubt that the Protector-class patrol boats – 64 of which are still in operation in the Coast Guard – will be an effective addition to the Uruguayan Navy.
The former cutters will undergo maintenance, upgrades, and outfitting at Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore. Members of the Uruguay Navy will also be trained in the operation and maintenance of the vessels. Once work on the vessels and training are complete, the Uruguay Navy crewmembers will sail the patrol boats to Uruguay, with arrival anticipated in July 2022.
The Austrian Army this week released a behind-the-scenes look at a little-known frogman unit in the landlocked country, complete with a cameo by FN.
In terms of size, it is thought that the country only maintains about 50 such divers for use in rivers and lakes in the Alpine country. While Austria hasn’t had a coastline since 1918, the nation does have 40 large lakes including Lake Constance on its Western border with Switzerland and Germany, as well as the immense Danube River system which runs through the country. With that, Austria’s combat swimmers (Kampfschwimmers) are highly trained, with its members taking three years to earn their badge.
Besides their Glock 17 pistols– Austria was the first country to adopt the now-iconic handgun as the P80– and Steyr AUG (StG 77) bullpup rifles, the Kampfschwimmer also field the FN P90 in 5.7 NATO.
Austria’s commandos adopted the P90 about 15 years ago, replacing the Steyr MPi 69 sub-gun as a close-in weapon, and augmenting the B&T TMP.
Formed as part of the old Royal Flying Corps in February 1917, today’s No. 100 Squadron RAF has an impressive history that includes four battle honors for the Great War and was the last squadron to land from a combat mission before the Armistice was signed in 1918.
The squadron’s original, and very distinctive, red flag, bearing a skull and crossbones, was apparently liberated from a French bordello in 1918 by one of those daring young flyboys, then embellished with the squadron name and the motto “Blood and Bones.”Â
As a night bomber unit over the Western Front just 15 years after the aeroplane first flew, you had to have a certain sense of humor.
This relic was carried with the squadron as late as February 1942, at which point the squadron was deployed to Singapore and flew their hopelessly obsolete Vildebeest Mark III torpedo bombers against the Japanese, part of the 10 battle honors earned by the squadron for WWII.
Vickers Vildebeest Mark IIs, K2918, and K2921, of ‘A’ Flight, No. 100 (TB) Squadron, at RAF Seletar, southeast of Singapore, 1939. IWM HU 59786. Roy Mager photographer.
With its aircraft destroyed in the Japanese advance, and its personnel either killed or turned into POWS, the circa 1918 Bone and Brains flag disintegrated while being looked after by a Flight Lieutenant Trillwood, a victim of the hellish conditions along the Irrawaddy.
For the past 30 years, No. 100 Squadron has been flying Hawker Siddeley Hawks, first at RAF Finningley then RAF Leeming and that chapter is coming to an end. The RAF has decided that all Hawk T1s, other than those flown by the Red Arrow demonstration team, would be retired by 31 March 2022.
Last week, RAF Leeming debuted the farewell tail flash on Hawk XX221, depicting the old No. 100 “Blood and Bones” flag.
New Hampshire-based Sig Sauer this week announced that the new Romeo 2 red dot is now shipping, in a choice of four different reticles
Billed by Sig as designed and built “for the most rugged and adverse conditions” the Romeo 2 uses a 7075 aluminum housing that features a modular shroud system including two steel shrouds to provide multiple layers of protection and allow the user to configure their optic in three different profiles.
Two steel shrouds and a polycarbonate rear window allow the Romeo 2 to be used in three different configurations from open to fully enclosed. The optic is rated IPX7 when it comes to waterproofing. (Photo: Sig)
It also is night-vision friendly for goon work, with Sig’s Dark Adaptive Reticles & Coating system and three of the 15 brightness settings are specifically for use with PNVs. A MAGNETAC system automatically turns off the optic when holstered with a compatible holster and turns in on when drawn. (Photo: Sig)
