When the Walther PPK was introduced in 1931, billed as a smaller version of the company’s PP series meant for use by plain-clothed detectives (the PPK stands for Polizei Pistole Kriminal), it was in chambered in 7.65x17mm Browning Short, which we know over here on this side of the Atlantic as John Browning’s .32 ACP.
This was soon augmented with variants offered in .380 ACP and, by 2013, Walther discontinued the .32 version of both the PPK and PPK/S.
Some 31 years after the PPK was introduced, MI6 armorer Major Boothroyd, or Q, would famously issue CDR James Bond, RN, one in lieu of his .25 ACP Beretta, describing it as: “Walther PPK. 7.65mm with a delivery like a brick through a plate-glass window.”
Now, with improvements in bullet and propellant design leading to the resurgence of 9mm over .40 caliber, and .380 seen as the new 9mm, and .32 seen as the new .380, the stubby little round is much more popular these days.
And so, it should be no surprise that Walther is bringing the “old” caliber back for both the PPK and the PPK/S, in both stainless and black variants. All models have the classic Walther styling coupled with a hammer drop decocking safety, fixed sights, and a wave cut atop the slide to reduce glare.
The standard PPK, which is shorter at a pocketable 3.8 inches high, has a 7+1 shot capacity while the taller (4.3 inches high) PPK/S has an 8+1 capacity. All models share the same 3.3-inch barrel length and 6.1-inch overall length.
Some 55 years ago, from 4-to-11 May 1969, the first “City-Centre to City-Centre” transoceanic jet flight in history was completed by an RAF Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR1, XV741, from No.1(F) Squadron, conducting VTOL take-offs and landings from the water-soaked platforms in London and New York, with Squadron Leader Tom Lecky-Thompson at the controls.
It recorded the fastest time from [a disused coal yard near St Pancras Station in] London to the top of [a pier on the Hudson River near] the Empire State Building in Manhattan: 6 hours 11 minutes and 57.15 seconds. Refueled by a Victor tanker aircraft, this was completed for the Daily Mail-sponsored London – New York transatlantic air race.
The nonplussed Thompson, a Suez veteran who joined the RAF at 17, carried a sack lunch consisting of “a chicken leg and a bottled drink, possibly ginger beer, which I consumed halfway across.”
How about this great shot of a stubby U.S. Naval Air Reserve North American FJ-1 Fury fighter, BuNo 120368 F-101 of the Naval Air Reserve Training Unit (NARTU) from Naval Air Station Oakland, May 1951. Note the large “Weekend Warrior” nose art.
U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.253.7237.023
The same jet– along with others assigned to Oakland with the same nose art– appeared in several images taken around the same time over the Bay Area, possibly taken for use in recruiting drives.
Ordered along with the similarly jet-powered carrier-borne fighters– Vought XF6U-1 Pirate, McDonnell XFD-1 Phantom, and the McDonnell XF2D-1 Banshee– late in WWII for Operation Olympic/Coronet, the planned invasion of Japan set for May of 1946, the FJ-1 Fury utilized the anemic Allison J35-A-2 turbojet, good for 4,000 pounds of thrust, to lift its 15,000-pound frame.
Good for about 475 knots, it carried a six-pack of .50 cal Brownings clustered in its nose– the last U.S. Navy jet with a .50 caliber armament– with 1,500 rounds carried, and no weight allocation for underwing hardpoints.
Notably, the first operational Navy jet fighter squadron, VF-5A (renamed VF-51 in August 1948), was equipped with FJ-1s and made history in March 1948 with a series of workups on the straight-decked Essex-class carrier USS Boxer (CV-21).
FJ-1 Fury of VF 5A flown by CDR Pete Aurand traps on the flight deck of the carrier Boxer (CV 21) in the first underway test on 17 March 1948.
USS Boxer CV-21 March 1948 off San Diego, First operational jet fighter squadron VF-5A’s FJ-1 Fury. LIFE Kodachrome.
USS Boxer CV-21 March 1948 off San Diego, First operational jet fighter squadron VF-5A’s FJ-1 Fury. LIFE Kodachrome.
USS Boxer CV-21 March 1948 off San Diego, First operational jet fighter squadron VF-5A’s FJ-1 Fury. LIFE Kodachrome.
VF-5A also made a bit of history by winning the Bendix Trophy in 1948, beating out Air Force F-80 Shooting Stars in the cross-country race.
CDR Pete Aurand’s FJ-1 Fury aircraft of Fighter Squadron (VF) 51 lined up for the Bendix Trophy Race at Long Beach, California, in 1948.
With its first flight in November 1946, and, with the new and much better performing F9F-2 Panther introduced by 1949, the Fury’s career was limited and, with just 30 production models delivered to the Navy, they transitioned to the USNR as a transition trainer for pilots moving from Hellcats and Corsairs into jets, before the type was retired in 1953, having just served seven years.
In that short period, at least nine of the 30 operational FJ-1s were written off after crackups, lost in accidents, or ditched at sea, taking at least five aviators with them. Not an enviable safety record.
Of course, the Fury would make a much more successful return to service in its swept-wing FJ-2/-3/-4 format, which was the tailhook-carrying hot rod brother of the famed F-86 Sabre, but that is another story.
I recently had the honor of visiting CZ’s historic flagship factory in Uhersky Brod, in Czechia, the Czech Republic, and got to take the first CZ 75 out of its resting place.
Designed starting in 1969 by the brothers Koucky (Josef and Frantisek) for CZ as a 9mm parabellum chambered pistol made for commercial export, the handgun known as the CZ 75 was finished by early 1975 (hence the designation) with five pre-production samples (serial numbers 00001 through 00005) carefully assembled for testing and evaluation. Some of these T&E samples chalked up over 11,000 rounds in testing with no breaks or serious issues, and the gun soon went into full-scale production with a few minor, mostly cosmetic revisions.
Of those five, CZ 75 expert David Pazdera notes in his book that number 00004 disappeared into history, while 00002, 00003, and 00005 were sold on the commercial market in the early 1980s, leaving just 00001 as the sole remaining sample gun left in CZ’s inventory. They keep it locked inside a display case deep inside a secure vault.
Even with a 50-year-old design, you can easily spot the hallmark geometrical “Golden ratio/Golden section” in length and height used in the CZ 75 to produce an aesthetically pleasing firearm offering a natural point of aim.
CZ 75 Serial Number 00001. Note the slab-sided milled slide, duraluminum grips, and large hammer spur. Also note the very deep scallop to the front of the slide, something that would carry on to the First Model CZ 75s. Other than that, it is easily recognizable to any fan of the 75. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Compare the above to this second-generation 1986-vintage CZ 75 “Pre-B” with all matching serial numbers and zero import marks. (Photo: Chris Eger)
Some 70 years ago this week, the pivotal 1954 Battle of Diên Biên Phu ended after a 57-day siege, an event that set the stage for the French withdrawal from Indochina and the American entrance into the region for two decades, for better or worse.
While the siege was supported on the French side by over 10,000 sorties– most of which (6,700) were by a host of C-47 transports including 678 sorties from C-119s flown operated by Civil Air Transport (which became Air America)– just four haggard French Navy (Aeronnautique Naval) squadrons accounted for a whopping 1,019 sorties during this period. Compare this to the Armee de l’Air’s 2,650 sorties from two squadrons of F8F Bearcats (2/22 Languedoc and 1/22 Saintonge), two of B-26 Invaders (1/19 Gascogne and 1/25 Tunisie), three observation/recon squadrons, and two helicopter squadrons.
Arromanches
Built as HMS Colossus, the light carrier Arromanches (R95)— so named to honor the memory of the Allied landing on the Normandy coast– was leased to the French in 1946 and finally sold outright in 1951. During the Dien Bien Phu siege, her SB2C-5 Helldivers of Flottille 3F and F6F-5 Hellcats of Flottille 11F lost two aircraft from the former and three from the latter to Viet flak between 15 March and 26 April 1954.
Bois Belleau
Built as the Independence-class light aircraft carrier USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24)— a ship that earned a Presidential Unit Citation as well as a full dozen battle stars in the Pacific in WWII– Bois Belleau (R97) was loaned to the French Navy in late 1953 and rushed to Indochina where her F4U-7/AU-1 Corsairs of Flottille 14F got into the fight in close air support.
French Carrier Bois Belleau, formerly USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24), at Saigon. Note the Corsairs on her deck
César
One of the French Navy units that was there until the end was the unlikely Flottille 28F, which flew land-based Consolidated PB4Y Privateer maritime patrol bombers from Tan-Son-Nhut. Formed in July 1944 at Norfolk to fly lumbering PBY Catalinas in the Med from bases in North Africa, “The Wolves” of 28F had moved to Indochina in October 1945 and transitioned to the bruising Privateer in 1951.
However, spare parts and general unavailability of maintenance and replacement aviators had, by the time of Dien Bien Phu, trimmed the squadron to just 6 operational crews and 7 to 8 aircraft.
Note the Wolf insignia. These bombers dropped not only 500, 1000, and 2000-pound bombs, but often got low enough to Viet positions to open up with their .50 cals as well
Nonetheless, lemons into lemonade, the high-mileage 28F Privateers would make regular nighttime interdiction missions followed up by daytime bombing runs against Viet Mihn artillery and AAA assets, directed by Major Jacques Guerin’s Dien Bien Phu Airfield Control Post (call sign Torri Rouge), with the patrol bombers call sign being César.
Yup, basically flying day and night, with many crews typically running 2-3 sorties per day so long as they had a bird to do it in. One pilot, the famed Éric Tabarly, logged over 1,000 hours in his 11 months with the squadron– an average of three hours every single day, with most of that weight being during the siege.
On the last morning that Dien Bien Phu stood, Torri Rouge made contact with an inbound 28F Privateer, radioing:
“A 17 heures 30 nous faisons tout sauter. les Viets sont à côté. Au revoir à nos familles … …. Adieu César….” (“At 5:30 p.m. we blow up everything. The Viets are nearby. Goodbye to our families… …. Farewell Caesar…. “)
Republic of Vietnam, 3 May 1969: “Offical caption: Historical Arsenal– Captain Anthony F. Milavic (Miami, Fla.) examines the first Hungarian AKM rifle to be captured in Vietnam. The weapon is the latest development in the AK-47 rifle used by the North Vietnamese Army. Also displayed are 20 different enemy weapons captured by Leathernecks of the 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. The long-barreled rifle (center) is an enemy sniper rifle that was manufactured in 1953, but it is of the Mosin Nagant design that dates back to the 1890s.”
U.S. Marine Photo A193022 by CPL. Dennis Randolph.
Manufactured by the Fegyver- és Gépgyár (FÉG) state arms plant in Hungary, the central European People’s Republic got in the Kalashnikov game around 1963 with the AKM-63, followed by the AMD-65, and after 1977, by the AK-63 (AMM/AMMS) and AMP-69.
The AMD-65. Notably, the Hungarians were one of the first AK makers to go with plastic furniture rather than wood.
Of course, many Americans outside of AK nerds know FEG better for their excellent PJK Hi-Power copies that flooded the market in the 1990s.
One interesting thing to note about the Marine officer in the top image, Anthony F. Milavic (born 1936) enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1953 and, by 1966 was a warrant officer, then shortly after earned his O-1 commission. He earned the Legion of Merit for his 1968-69 Vietnam tour working in the 3rd MARDIV’s G-2 shop. Retiring from the Marine Corps in 1978 as a major, he was a very prolific writer for several years on military intelligence and firearms subjects, founding the old MILINET bulletin board.
Back in 1986, the Colt AR-15A2 HBAR was where its at…
Back 20-25 years ago, fixed carry handle A2 style ARs with a 20-inch barrel were about the only thing you could find on the black rifle market, and even those were typically neutered by the Federal AWB (which ran 1994-2004) so that they didn’t have such evil features as a bayonet lug and shipped with 10-round mags. Still, they were good enough for DCM/CMP matches.
These days, with the M4 being the standard post-9/11, rifle-length fixed carry handle ARs are hard to find and only a few niche sources exist to get one– Bushmaster, Fulton, and H&R (the latter sold through PSA)– with prices starting at $1,299, and they are frequently sold out.
Talk about not being in Kansas anymore…
So, interestingly enough, Springfield Armory just introduced a very nicely done homage to the M16A2 in the form of the SA-16A2, which includes all the correct throwback features (forged 7075 T6 aluminum receivers, a 20-inch 1:7 twist government profile chrome lined barrel, round handguards with heat shields, a full-length fixed stock with rear compartment, a fixed A2 carry handle with adjustable/dual aperture sight, A2 F-height front sight post/gas block, rifle length gas system, a full-auto profile BCG with a phosphate exterior with a hard chrome-lined interior, mil-spec trigger, and a hollow GI grip) you expect.
The SA-16A2. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The SA-16A2 has some upgrades to enhance performance that the 1980s M16A2 never did, including an Accu-Tite tensioning system to cut down on the slop between the upper and lower receivers and M4 feed ramps.
The lower receiver features “Government Property” rollmarks as well as a non-functional “Burst” selector marking in an ode to the M16A2. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
A great image from 35 years ago, circa 1989: Armée de l’air (French Air Force) SEPECAT Jaguar of Escadron de Chasse 1/7 Provence (EC 1/7) over Saint-Dizier-Robinson Air Base, including two in their standard European camo and one in the French camouflé Afrique.
Michel Riehl/ECPAD/Défense Réf. : DIA 90 311 03
A British-French project, Paris ordered 200 Jags (160 single seat, 40 double seat) in 1972 to replace older strike aircraft– typically Dassault Mystère IVs– and the first examples were delivered soon after.
While their primary mission was seen as being counter-Warsaw Pact invasion if the Fulda Gap ever got crowded or in strategic deterrent (EC 1/7 only downshifted from its nuclear strike role in 1991), the French made excellent use of the aircraft in the sandbox, with detachments of EC 1/7 Jags deployed to Mauritania in Opération Lamantin in 1977, Chad from 1978-1986 in Opération Tacaud /Manta– the latter key to the defeat of the Libyan forces during the Toyota Wars. Then came Opération Daguet (Desert Sheild/Storm) where they made short work of Iraqi depots and columns.
Jags were so often sent overseas on deployments across Africa and the Middle East that for a period it was joked that Paris practiced “Jaguar diplomacy” (la diplomatie du Jaguar).
Withdrawn from French service in 2005, fittingly, the Jaguar placed on display in 2023 at the Musee Air et Espace, A91, is in camouflé Afrique tan and had served with EC 1/7 in Chad and Iraq, surviving an Iraqi SAM during the raid on Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, in 1991.
Today, EC 1/7 operates Dassault Rafale B and C models, which were received in 2006.
Fittingly, their first overseas deployment was to the high deserts of Tajikistan’s Dushanbe airbase in 2007, from where they were used in strikes over Afghanistan. They have also deployed to Al Dhafra in the UAE and other places in the region since then.
Some 60 years ago this month, an important show of force for the Fleet Ballistic Missile Progam:
The Lafayette class ballistic missile submarine USS Henry Clay (SSBN-625) launches a Polaris A-2 missile from the surface of the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Kennedy, Florida, on 20 April 1964. This was the first demonstration that Polaris subs could launch missiles from the surface as well as from beneath the surface. Just 30 minutes earlier, Clay had successfully launched an A-2 missile submerged.
USN Photo 1094722
The above tactic would come in handy if, say, the FBM was stuck in port and an emergency launch order came, or, for instance, if surfaced in the icepack.
The objects flying through the air around the missile are launch adapters designed to detach themselves automatically once the missile has left the tube. The sub’s slight port list is a standard part of surface launch procedures. The tall mast is a temporary telemetry antenna installed for operations at the Cape only.
The 15th of the famed “41 for Freedom” boomers, Henry Clay was launched on 30 November 1962 and commissioned on 20 February 1964.
Henry Clay was decommissioned on 5 November 1990 and her recycling was completed on 30 September 1997.
How about this great Cold War (circa late summer 1985) image showing two F-4E Phantoms flanking an F-4G Advanced Wild Weasel aircraft (center) from the 52nd Tactical Fighter Wing, Spangdahlem Air Base (hence the SP tail flash(, West Germany.
330-CFD-DF-ST-85-11181
And another one of the same group over the Mosel River in a banked formation.
330-CFD-DF-ST-85-11177
The aircraft are armed with an AGM-78 Standard anti-radiation missile (F-4G), AGM-45 Shrike air-to-surface missiles, AIM-7 Sparrow III, and AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. The aircraft are also equipped with ALQ-119 or ALQ-141 electronic countermeasures (ECM) jammer pods in the left forward slot while the Weasel is “hairy” with 52 interferometer antennae studded all along the bird. The F-4E in the top foreground is also toting at least four MK 82 500-pound general-purpose bombs.
The only frame I can figure a number for is the Weasel, 69-0248.
Built as a Block 42-MC F-4E in late 1969, she was first assigned to the 353rd TFS (401st TFW) in 1970 then assorted 50th, 36th, and 35th TFW units until converted to F-4G standard in 1979. She then went to Germany with the 52nd TFW until 1992, at which point she was one of the last Weasels in Europe, which included a combat deployment to Desert Storm. She finished her career stateside with the 57th FWW and was sent to AMARC in 1996. Converted to a drone, 69-0248 was expended in a test of Patriot SAM near Holloman AFB in 2002.
The Mechanix of Auto, Aviation, Military...pert near anything I feel relates to mechanical things, places, events or whatever I happen to like. Even non-mechanical artsy-fartsy stuff.
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