Category Archives: cold war

We found out why the Hotchkiss Universal did not have universal appeal

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The manufacturing firm established by American gunsmith Benjamin B. Hotchkiss in France in the 1860s saw nearly a century of success in making everything from revolving cannons (think 47mm Gatling guns) to light machine guns, automobiles, and even tanks. By the late 1940s, however, the firm was barely hanging on and developed at least four new submachine gun models with tubular receivers to court military and police sales.

The weirdest of these was the Model 010, or “Type Universal.”

To make a gun as compact as possible, almost every component of the Universal was designed to fold, collapse, or telescope. The sheet metal buttstock folds completely under the gun. To make the folded weapon as svelte as could be, both the magazine well and the hollow pistol grip pivot forward. The 10.79-inch rifled barrel slides back a few inches into the receiver through a long trunnion to further abbreviate the firearm.

 

Hotchkiss Universal
With all this done and the stock folded, the Universal is only 17.3 inches long. Compared to its contemporaries – the American M3 Grease Gun and the Soviet PPS-43, which were both 23 inches long with their stocks collapsed – the Universal saves a few inches. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Hotchkiss Universal
When the stock unfolds and the barrel is telescoped forward, the sub gun’s overall length is 30.67 inches, the same length as a STEN gun. It weighs 7.5 pounds and loads with a box magazine full of 32 rounds of 9mm. It is selective fire for single shots or a zippy 650 rounds per minute full-auto cyclic rate. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Hotchkiss Universal
However, the gun proved unpopular, and besides some local use in Indochina with French colonial forces and some limited sales overseas (to Venezuela, for example), it faded into history. 
French paratroopers M1 carbines
It seemed French airmobile and parachute troops, a demographic that would seem an ideal user of the folding Hotchkiss, preferred GI surplus .30 caliber M1A1 Carbines, which weighed about 6 pounds and would compact to 25 inches when folded but were much simpler to use. (Photos: French military archives) 

Our Hotchkiss experience at Battlefield Vegas had a learning curve. To be more to the point, it was needlessly complicated and had terrible ergonomics.

It shot OK, but, after spending some time with it, we could easily tell why the Universal did not have a universal appeal.

More, including the transformation and shooting footage, in my column at Guns.com. 

Birth of the Burkes

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Official caption of this 1982 work of art: “Artist’s concept, by Vincent Piecyk, of an experimental guided missile destroyer planned for delivery to the Navy in 1989. Piecyk equips his destroyer with an AGM-84A Harpoon missile, a RIM-67 Standard-MR/SM2 missile, a 5-inch 54-caliber gun, and a Phalanx 20mm close-in weapon system (CIWS). In addition, the 1989 destroyer will be equipped with YBGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles, advanced lightweight torpedoes, and a high-quality anti-air warfare (AAW) system.”

U.S. Navy photo DNSC8203847, National Archives Identifier 6349352

Fast forward a decade and the result looked fairly close to the concept.

A starboard view of the guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) underway off the Virginia Capes. 19 July 1991. Navy photo DNSC9201471 by PHAN Vann. National Archives Identifier 6474766

Ordered on 2 April 1985, launched on 6 December 1988, and commissioned on Independence Day 1991, USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) is still in service at age 34– and she has 92 sisters in service or planned, making them arguably the most numerous and successful destroyer class since the 98-ship WWII-era Gearing class.

Bunting and a rainbow flag hoist adorn the guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) on its commissioning day, July 4, 1991, in Norfolk. DNST9202340. National Archives Identifier 6478464

Red Stars over Niagara

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Just call it Operation Honeymoon.

The curious, but very normal, 1944-45 sight of Lend-Leased Bell P-63 Kingcobras flying over Niagara Falls, clad in the Red Stars and tactical dark green livery of the Soviet Air Force.
Bell assembled the P-63 at the company’s factory in Wheatfield, New York.

P-63A-10-BE at Bell’s Wheatfield, New York factory

From there, after passing inspections by first an American and the Soviet AF officer, these P-63s would be immediately attached to twin 285-liter drop tanks, flown by USAAF Air Transport Command ferry pilots across the Dakotas to Great Falls, Montana, then to RCAF Station Edmonton, Alberta, and finally to Ladd Field at Fairbanks Alaska– a trip of over 4,000 miles– where the “Reds” picked them up and flew them on to Siberia and points west.
Notably, on both the American and Soviet ends of the Alaska-Siberia route, a predominance of ferry pilots was female.

WASP “skippers” on Wheatfield P-39s and P-63s

Besides the P-63s and the earlier P-39s, P-40s, A-20s, C-47s, and B-25s were also ferried from CONUS and then across the Bering Sea, with 7,983 aircraft successfully delivered to the Russians, and only 133 of all types were lost to weather or pilot error.

Warming pre-flight

P-63 Kingcobra fighters in flight during a ferry flight along the Alaska-Siberia air route, with Avachinskaya Sopka in Kamchatka in the background

Being slow compared to the P-38 and P-51 and less of a brute than the P-47, the Kingcobra saw negligible service with the USAAF. However, the Russkis loved the tough, heavily-armed, and reliable aircraft, which was well-suited to their particular brand of tactical aviation.

Of the 3,303 production aircraft, some three-quarters, at least 2,397 airframes, were delivered new to Uncle Joe and the gang, with only the hours racked up in the ferry flights from Niagara. They endured in Soviet service so long that they picked up a NATO F-code (fighter) reporting name in the 1950s (Fred).

Ace pilots of the 9th Guard Aviation Division at the Bell P-39 fighter Airacobra by GA Rechkalova. From left to right: Alexander Fedorovich Klubov (twice Hero of the Union, shot down 31 airplanes personally, 19 in a group), Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov (twice a Hero, shot down 56 airplanes personally and 6 in a group), Andrei Ivanovich Trud (Hero of the USSR, shot down 25 airplanes individually and 1 in a group) and commander of the 16th Guards Fighter Squad Air Regiment Boris Borisovich Glinka (Hero of the Soviet Union, shot down 30 airplanes personally and 1 in a group). The 2nd Ukrainian Front. The photo was taken in June 1944 – the number of stars on Rechkalov’s plane corresponds to his achievements at that time (46 planes shot down personally, 6 in a group).

Soviet Red Air Force ace Alexander Pokryshkin chalked up 65 victories on the Eastern Front, almost all in P-39 Aircobras and P-63 Kings

Soviet P-63 Kingcobra of the VVS. Artist Vladimir Voronin.

Spencer Finishes 20-Month Downgrade

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The 270-foot Famous (Bear) class medium endurance cutter USCGC Spencer (WMEC-905) commissioned 28 June 1986. A fighting little cutter designed and built in the final stretch of the Cold War, she was fundamentally designed to serve as a patrol frigate of sorts on convoy work should WWIII break out.

The class was built with an OTO Melara Mk 75 76mm/62cal mount installed forward as well as six positions for M2 .50 cals. The sensors were decent for the mid-1980s, including a receive-only AN/SLQ-32A(V)2 EW system, a pair of Mark 36 SRBOC launchers, an Mk 92 (Mod 1) FCS, an SPS-64 surface search radar (later updated to SPS-78), URN-25 Tacan, WSC-3 UHF Satcom, etc.

Further, space and weight were reserved for a single Mk 15 20mm CIWS and two quadruple Harpoon missile-launch canisters, giving the Bears some real teeth and at least a modicum of counter-air/missile capability.

The plan at the time of order/construction, would be for the 270s to carry van-mounted towed passive sonar array on fantail but that stalled and by 1988, $20 million had been allotted for a test on WMEC-907 to carry SQR-18A TASS, a SQR-17A sonobuoy analyzer, an APR-78 sonobuoy receiver, and a SKR-4 helicopter data-link receiver which would have made the ship LAMPS III (SH-60) compatible– making them not a bad little ASW platform.

But, with the end of he Cold War, and the Coast Guard told they wouldn’t have to fight any naval wars for at least the time being, all the cool stuff never materialized.

And even the stuff the cutters had keeps disappearing.

Spencer just wrapped up a 20-month service life extension program (SLEP) at the USCGY in Baltimore that “includes updates and replacements of electrical power generation and distribution systems, main diesel propulsion engines, and gun weapon systems.”

Spencer’s No. 1 Diesel had 100,000 hours on it. 

It was the first major work effort since all of the 270s went through a 12-month Mission Effectiveness Project (MEP) in two stages between 2007 and 2014, at which point they were all in their 20s.

While two sister ships, Harriet Lane (WMEC-903) and Seneca (WMEC-906), previously served as prototypes for the electrical and structural work, they did not get new engines, but Lane did get the weapons downgrade, which dumped the old familiar MK 75 OTO for a MK 38 Mod 3 25mm gun.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane (WMEC 903) crew renders honors to the Battleship Missouri Memorial as the Harriet Lane and crew return to home port in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on April 9, 2024. Note the 25mm in the place of the old 75. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Senior Chief Petty Officer Charly Tautfest)

The Slick 32 and Mk 92 remains, while the radar has been stepped down.

As detailed by the CG Acquisition Directorate (CG-9), “Spencer is the first of six medium endurance cutters scheduled to receive all major system overhauls including new main propulsion engines.” The rest of those half-dozen upgraded by 2030 will be Escanaba (WMEC-907), Tahoma (WMEC-908), Campbell (WMEC-909), Forward (WMEC-911), and Legare (WMEC-912).

As for the un-updated 270s– Bear (WMEC-901), Tampa (WMEC-902), Northland (WMEC-904), Thetis (WMEC-910), and Mohawk (WMEC-13)– I guess they will just carry on until tapped out although the service has announced they have fired the MK 75 for the last (planned) time. 

The SLEP will allow the upgraded 270s to go back to work for another decade until replaced by the building Offshore Patrol Cutter, which will at least have a Mk 110 57mm gun forward with a MK 38 Mod 3 25mm gun over the stern HH60-sized hangar, and four M2 .50 cal mounts.

I say replace the Mk38 with a C-RAM, shoehorn a towed sonar, ASW tubes, an 8-pack Mk41 VLS crammed with Sea Sparrows, and eight NSSMs aboard, and call it a day.

Crusader at 70

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The F8U (after 1962, F-8) Crusader first flew on 25 March 1955.  To salue the “Gunfighter,” how about this great laydown image.

A Vought F-8D Crusader with all of its possible armament: In the center in front of the aircraft lies an AGM-12C Bullpup missile, next to it are Mk 83 1,000 lb ordnance, AGM-12As, and Mk 82 500 lb ordnance. To the right and left of the F-8D are four AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles and two multiple ejector racks. Six LAU-3/A rocket launchers are carried on the underwing pylons, and four 5-inch “Zuni” rockets are fitted to the fuselage launch rails.

And, of course, you can’t have an awesome Cold War laydown image without looping in the back of Pink Floyd’s Ummagumma album!

Uncle Chester Shuffles out for One Last Go

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Named in honor of the fleet admiral that oversaw the Pacific War, the USS Nimitz (CVAN/CVN-68) was ordered on 31 March 1967 and commissioned just over eight years later on 11 April 1975.

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) replenishes from USS Mount Baker (AE-34) during UNREP training on her shakedowns in Guantanamo Operations Area, Caribbean, 31 July 1975. At the time, her wing, CVW-8, had two F-4J Phantom squadrons (VF-31 and VMFA-333), two A-7E Corsair units (VA-82, VA-86), an A-6E Intruder squadron (VA-35), and assorted EA-6B, E-2B, and SH-3H dets. She has outlasted all of these types. NHHC K-109941

Even new math shows that her 50th anniversary is coming up in a few weeks, and she will celebrate it haze gray and underway on her 30th deployment- and that’s not even counting almost smashing the Kido Butai!

The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (NIMCSG) departed Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington, for a regularly scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific on 21 March, with an all-DDG escort as the carrier has outlasted almost every U.S. cruiser that would have traditionally accompanied her.

Sailors man the rails on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in the Puget Sound after getting underway for a regularly scheduled Indo-Pacific deployment, March 21, 2025. An integral part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, the U.S. 3rd Fleet operates naval forces in the Indo-Pacific and provides realistic and relevant training to ensure the readiness necessary to execute the U.S. Navy’s timeless role across the full spectrum of military operations. (U.S. Navy photo 250321-N-QV399-1053 by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Japeth Carter)

As noted by 3rd Fleet PAO:

NIMCSG consists of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17, and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 9.

The embarked air wing consists of nine squadrons flying F/A-18C/E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growler, E-2D Hawkeyes, C-2A Greyhounds, and MH-60R/S Sea Hawks; Squadrons are the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 22, “Mighty Shrikes” of VFA-94, “Kestrels” of VFA-137, “Blue Diamonds” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 146, “Cougars” of VAQ-139, “Indians” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6, “Bluetails” of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 121, “BattleCats” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 73, and the “Rawhides” of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40.

DESRON 9 consists of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54), USS Gridley (DDG 101), USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108), and USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123).

New Army History Magazine Now Available!!

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Via the U.S. Army’s Center for Military History:

In this Winter 2025 issue of Army History, we are excited to share two outstanding articles, a look at an interesting Army artifact, a special feature that highlights both the art and artifacts of a famous artist, and a selection of quality book reviews.

The first article, by Donald Wright, details the transformation of the 7th Infantry Division into a light division, a concept that was developed toward the end of the Cold War.

The second article, by Ryan Hovatter, examines the career of Florida National Guard soldier Fred A. Safay. Hovatter expertly tells the story of this relatively unknown soldier, highlighting his service, warts and all.

The Artifact Spotlight for the issue shows us the High Standard Model HDMS pistol. This silenced .22-caliber pistol entered service in early 1944 and was used primarily for clandestine missions by members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).

This issue contains a slightly different feature, instead of our usual museum spotlight, which gives us the rare opportunity to look at not only some Army artwork but also some artifacts that belonged to the artist.

Get your FREE download here: https://history.army.mil/Publications/Army-History-Magazine/

Renegade Gunfighter

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Some 50 years ago, a spectacular image of a Vought F-8J Crusader of VF-24, the “Fighting Renegades,” in flight, 1975.

U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.253.7337.016

Assigned to Carrier Air Wing 21 (CVW-21) aboard the Essex-class fleet carrier USS Hancock (CVA-19), the Renegades deployed to the West Pac on “Hannah” from March 18 to October 20, 1975, a period that included the Fall of Saigon (Operation Frequent Wind).

Notably, it was the last of nine Vietnam deployments for Hancock, which was headed to mothballs, and the final Crusader deployment for VF-24, a type they had flown since 1956.

Upon return to San Diego, VF-24 on 9 December 1975 received its first F-14A and soon after updated its name to the “Red Checkertails,” one they would carry through 1996 when they were disestablished.

Oldest Cutter Not Looking Too Bad at 61 Years Young

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The seniormost blue-water cutter, the USCGC Reliance (WMEC-615), has been in service almost continuously since she was commissioned on 20 June 1964, with the only break being regular yard periods and a 20-month Major Maintenance Availability from April 1987 to January 1989.

Constructed across a 22-month period for the sum of $4,920,804 by the Todd Houston Shipbuilding Corporation, the country has gotten its money’s worth out of Hull 615.

The lead ship of her class of 16 cutters, she originally carried a CODAG propulsion system and a 3″/50 gun forward as well as weight and space reserved for ASW weapons to serve as a patrol escort in the event of WWIII.

This black and white photo shows newly the commissioned Reliance (WMEC-615) with an HH-52 Sea Guard helicopter landing on its pad and davits down with one of its small boats deployed. Notice the lack of smokestack and paint scheme pre-dating the Racing Stripe or “U.S. Coast Guard” paint schemes. She has a 3″/50 forward as well as 20mm cannons for AAA work and weight and space for Mousttraps, a towed sonar, and Mk.32 ASW tubes, although they were never fitted. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

After her $16 million MMA in the late 80s, she lost her 3-incher, replaced with an early model manned MK38 25mm chain gun, while her engines were replaced with twin Alco diesels. Keep in mind that the MMA was supposed to just add 10-to-15 years to her lifespan, with a planned retirement along those lines in 2009-2015.

Post MMA

The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Reliance (WMEC 615) interdicts a low-profile vessel carrying more than $5 million in illicit narcotics in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Feb. 15, 2024. Patrolling in support of Joint Interagency Task Force-South, the Reliance crew stopped two drug trafficking ventures, detaining six suspected traffickers and preventing nearly 4,000 pounds of cocaine and 5,400 pounds of marijuana, worth more than $57 million, from entering the United States. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Reliance)

She has earned at least four Coast Guard Unit Commendations, a Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation, multiple Joint Meritorious Unit Awards, and numerous USCG “E” ribbons. She has put out oilrig fires, saved at least four ships adrift on the sea, served on the Campeche Patrols for three years, picked up thousands of Haitian and Cuban migrants in the Florida Straits, bagged over 400 tons of MJ and $50M worth of cocaine, and just generally been a floating mensch.

Reliance just completed a 60-day patrol in the Florida Straits, Windward Passage, and Gulf of America, and managed to have a short video captured of her underway in the Gulf.

At some point in the coming years, she will be replaced by the future USCGC Reliance (WMSM-925), a Heritage-class 360-foot Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPCs), and will be the fifth vessel to bear the distinguished name going back to 1861.

Perhaps the old girl will be retained as a museum, with the new National USCG Museum in New London being a good candidate.

Diorama worthy Phantom

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I though this was a very well done scale model scene until I found the original photo in the NARA and zoomed in enough to see expressions on faces. It was taken 40 years ago today in the coldest stretch of the Cold War.
Official caption: “An elevated view of the refueling of an F-4E Phantom II aircraft undergoing maintenance. The aircraft belongs to the 81st Tactical Fighter Squadron, 52nd Tactical Fighter Wing. Spangdahlem Air Base, Rheinland-Pfalz, West Germany. 18 March 1985″

USAF Photo DFST8511926, National Archives Identifier 6389752

The photographer was TSGT Jose Lopez Jr., who was seriously skilled. NARA has over 200 images of his that are digitized and several of them are incredibly stirring, especially when you remember they were all snapped back in the analog manual camera days when you had to be in touch with your F-stops and film speeds.
Check these two out:

“An air-to-air right side view of two F-15 Eagle aircraft from Detachment 1, 318th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, passing the rear of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.” January 1, 1988. DFST8808317. National Archives Identifier 6427662. TSGT Jose Lopez Jr.

“A moisture cloud forms on the wings of a 96th Bomber Wing B-1B bomber aircraft as the plane executes a tight turn.” March 9, 1987. DFST9110024. National Archives Identifier 6462842. TSGT Jose Lopez Jr.

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