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Civilize ’em with the…Hotchkiss

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Official caption: “A bullet-marked Hotchkiss gun of the American Army, at Malolos, Philippians, circa 1899.”

New York, N.Y. : Strohmeyer & Wyman, Publishers, 1899. LOC LC-DIG-stereo-1s48423 (digital file from original) LC-USZ62-80482 (b&w film copy neg.) https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/stereo.1s48423

Note the blue-uniformed U.S. Volunteers in the background.

The photo should be taken into account with this one, “Malolos, Philippines: Advancing on Malols – taking a Hotchkiss gun over a bridge destroyed by insurgents,” 1899. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/stereo.1s48355

The light 5-barreled 37mm Gatling style gun weighed only 1,045 pounds and could fire an 18.51-ounce shell out to 4,700 yards when at a 30-degree maximum elevation. All up, in its heavy configuration with an armored shield with carriage and limber, 300 shells, and all needed accessories, the weight was 4,510 pounds.

Note the loading via a 10-shell clip

They were most often seen in the P.I. with volunteer artillery units, in particular, the First Battalion of California Heavy Artillery, and the Utah Batteries.

Hotchkiss 37mm Revolving Cannon, 1st Battalion California Heavy Artillery, P.I.

Hotchkiss 37mm Revolving Cannon, 1st Battalion California Heavy Artillery, P.I.

As noted by the U.S. Army Artillery Museum at Fort Sill, which has one on display:

In 1879, Captain Edmund Rice took a Hotchkiss Cannon on the campaign on the Western Frontier; the first time a revolving cannon was taken into the field. The Army Hotchkiss Revolving Cannons were little used until the Philippine Insurrection (1899 – 1902) where they served admirably, mounted on field carriages, trains, and riverboats, and in fixed positions. The Hotchkiss would prove to be excessive in the waste of ammunition. By 1908, it was replaced by a conventional single-barreled cannon.

U-Boat, Cheap, As-is, Where-is

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Some 80 years ago today, the Kriegsmarine delivered a scratch-and-dent high-mileage Type IXC U-boat, in an example of East-West Axis solidarity against the Allies, to the custody of the Imperial Japanese Navy at Kure. The former U-511 thus became the Emperor’s new (to him) Ro-500 on 16 September 1943.

Photos were dutifully snapped of the warm exchange, with the outgoing U-511’s crew mingling with that of the oncoming Ro-500.

The amount paid for on U-511 is up for debate, with Combined Fleet noting:

Axis propaganda asserted U-511 was a “gift” from Hitler to Emperor Hirohito. Actually, the Germans treated U-511 as a partial payment for Japanese supplies (raw rubber and torpedoes in particular) already delivered by surface blockade runners. The Japanese and Germans always dealt on a strictly hard currency (or gold) basis.

The short version of U-511’s background was that she was built by Deutsche Werft AG, laid down on 20 October 1939, and commissioned on 8 December 1941– ironically, the day of the Japanese strike on Pearl Harbor as recorded in Tokyo.

The boat conducted four combat patrols, all with 10. Flottille, first under Kptlt. Friedrich Steinhoff and then under Kptlt. Fritz Schneewind, the latter a recipient of the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold, which ranked between the EK1 and below the Ritterkreuz.

She was notable for trialing the deck-mounted Wurfkörper 42 rocket system in the Baltic in May 1942, one of the first experiments in submerged rocket/missile launching.

Underwater launch of a 300mm Wurfkörper 42 Spreng from Type XIC U-Boat U-511 during trials in the Summer of 1942. The reason U-511 was chosen was due to the fact that her skipper at the time, Kptlt. Friedrich Steinhoff, was the brother of scientist Dr. Ernest A. Steinhoff, the latter “Paperclipped” to the U.S. Army after the war. Doc Steinhoof passed at Alamogordo, New Mexico after a long career in rocket development for the Air Force. A park on Holloman AFB is named after him.

Her war record included a patrol in the Caribbean under Steinhoff in the late summer of 1942, which tallied with sinking two large tankers and damaging a third. Schneewind would take over for her second (unsuccessful) patrol, her third (which netted a 5,000-ton British freighter), and her fourth, the trip to Japan via the Indian Ocean, sinking a pair of 7,000-ton American Liberty ships along the way.

On her trip to Kure, U-511 carried a number of East-bound dignitaries including Ernst Woermann, the German ambassador to Japanese-puppet Chūka Minkoku China; VADM Naokuni Nomura, the Japanese naval attaché in Berlin who hadn’t been to sea since her commanded the aircraft carrier Kaga a decade prior; and assorted German scientists and engineers. Among the cargo was a set of Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet blueprints later used by Mitsubishi to develop the J8MI Shusui (“Sword Stroke”) rocket-powered interceptor.

Anyway, once the transfer was affected on 16 September 1943, the Germans remained around to train the new owners for six weeks until leaving for Japanese-occupied Singapore aboard the Italian freighter Osorno in November, later making their way to Penang to fill in as replacement crews for Gruppe Monsun U-boats on the Indian Ocean/Pacific beat.

For instance, former U-511 skipper Schneewind took command of U-183 (another Type IXC, painted in Japanese colors) at Singapore and completed four patrols in her, sinking a British merchantman and damaging two others. He came across USS Besugo (SS-321) on 23 April 1945, with the American Balao-class boat sending U-183, Schneewind, and all but one of his crew, to the bottom of the Java Sea.

Fritz Schneewind, the image on the right while he was on U-183

As for U-511/Ro-500’s service with the Combined Fleet, it was non-spectacular. She was used primarily for testing and training purposes, typically as an ASW OPFOR to simulate U.S. submarines for subchaser/kaibokan crews.

In August 1945, she made a brief (daylong) sortie to attack the Soviets in Sakhalin waters before returning to port.

Surrendered to the Allies post VJ-Day, the interesting boat was scuttled by the U.S. Navy off Kanmuri Jima, Wakasa Bay alongside I-121 and RO-68. The trio was located in 2008 by a team at 290 feet.

The Pistol Brace Clock Just Hit Zero

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While a series of preliminary injunctions for certain plaintiffs have been issued, for most owners of stabilizing pistol braces, June 1 hits a little differently. 

The Biden Administration’s controversial and arbitrary rule on pistol stabilizing braces set a May 31 deadline for owners of upwards of 40 million large-format pistols equipped with such long-legal devices to comply with the new regulations as enforced by the ATF. 

Acceptable options included (1) removing the brace (which was explained by the ATF director to Congress although many legal scholars wisely contend that may not be enough), (2) destroying the firearm altogether, (3) surrendering the firearm to ATF, (4) reconfiguring the pistol as a rifle with a barrel at least 16 inches long, or (5) registering the braced pistol as a “tax-free” NFA-regulated short-barreled rifle with the ATF. 

As for me, since I have several braced pistols that I am publicly tied to, I did a mix of Nos. 4 and 5 above as, in my opinion, No. 1 was too vague and Nos. 2 and 3 just plain out of the question.

Other than that, those found with a pistol fitted with a stabilizing brace installed– currently seen as an unregistered SBR by the federal government– starting June 1, could face felony charges that carry up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. 

Is anyone coming through the window to find out what is in your safe? No, but should you choose non-compliance, don’t pull the dummkopf move of taking your “illegal SBR” to the range and have someone see you with it, or ever taking a photo of it.

When it comes to legal challenges, sadly, there was no 11th-hour “Hail Mary” style nationwide injunction of the rule although there are several cases filed in federal court as to the constitutionality of the ATF’s final brace rule. 

There are some pro-gun member organizations, however, that have secured more limited preliminary injunctions while their cases are being litigated– with courts signaling the challenges are likely to prevail in the end. Be aware that a final ruling on these could be years in the future.

These injunctions cover members of the Firearm Policy Coalition via Mock v. Garland, members of the Second Amendment Foundation via SAF v. Garland, and those of Gun Owners of America via Texas v. ATF. Likewise, the latter order, which the State of Texas signed on to as a plaintiff, may also exempt some Texas state employees. I say “some” because this is all very gray legally and some 2A attorneys caution that not all members of all groups may have legal protection due to the wording of the various orders and how courts interpret them. 

In short, the pistol brace rule is now chugging along for better or worse and lots of legal miles are still to be covered before it is all said and done. 

Be safe out there.

Vale, Capt. Brown

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Besides a long and distinguished career as a Hall of Fame running back for the Cleveland Browns, the recently departed James Nathaniel “Jim” Brown was commissioned as a second lieutenant through Army ROTC in 1955 from Syracuse University.

Jim Brown in his ROTC uniform in 1955 with Archbold Stadium in the background

He served his military training commitment at Ft. Benning, continued his reserve service for four more years, and was eventually honorably discharged from the Army Reserve in 1959 with the rank of captain. He was selected for induction into the inaugural class of the U.S. Army ROTC National Hall of Fame in 2016.

He also had one heck of a screen presence in some of the best war movies of the 1960s including as Jefferson in The Dirty Dozen, Capt. Anders in Ice Station Zebra, Sgt. Ruffo in the Congo merc-sploitation film Dark of the Sun, and in the tremendously underrated heist flick, The Split (in which he carried a Registered Magnum).

Plus, let us not forget that great 1996 documentary, Mars Attacks.

Give the People What they Really Want!

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There are tons of Colt 1911 fans out there, after all, the pistol has been in (near) continuous production by the company for 122 years.

There are also tons of CZ 75 super fans out there, and for good reason, and the excellent shooting Czech 9mm has been cloned by almost as many people as the 1911.

There is a big Venn diagram of overlap between these two groups (myself included), and, with the CZ Group acquiring Colt back in 2021, this was one of the things the people who live in that overlap wanted to see– a limited-run of matched semi-custom CZ75 M1911s sets.

The 50 Tribute to Legends edition serial number range is COLT2021001 to COLT2021050 for the Colt 1911 and CZ2021001 to CZ2021050 for the CZ 75, which refers to the year of the Colt and CZ merger. The same unique serial number engraved on each pistol can also be found on the gold-plated base plate of its corresponding magazine.

CZ is holding an auction for NFT “Right to Purchase” tokens on its in-house Collector’s Hub for three of these sets which is actually kind of interesting in itself as, one could always hold on to the NFT for apparently years and then trade it on the Colt CZ Group marketplace for bitcoin or whatever without having to have the pistols shipped to an FFL and do a transfer.

Everything old is new again, DW 1911 edition

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If you have followed this blog for more than a week or so, you’d know that I have a soft spot for 1911s. Well, at Indy last week, it was obvious that Dan Wesson is keeping a foot in both the vintage and contemporary 1911 market.

The newest version of the DW Specialist debuted at the 152nd NRA Annual Meetings in Indianapolis over the weekend, adding an optics-ready slide to the .45 ACP rail gun. The factory cut has three optic plate options while a front fixed Novak-style fiber optic night sight and a tactical rear sight are also mounted.

Dan Wesson 1911 Specialist Optics-Ready includes a tactical hammer and a long solid trigger in addition to an ambi safety.

Note the Picatinny accessory rail, G10 VZ Operator II grips, and 25 LPI front strap checkering. The forged stainless steel frame and slide has a matte black duty finish.

Then there is the Heirloom.

The company’s Heirloom 1911 series are typically only offered in limited runs each year, usually just in .45 ACP. Now, for the first time, Dan Wesson is rolling with a .38 Super chambering for this top-shelf Government Issue-sized pistol. Made with premium parts while remaining eminently shootable, the pistol uses hand-fit 70 Series frames and slides paired with a match-grade barrel.

One of the big selling points is that these are rock-solid guns and that DW refuses to use any MIM small parts in the construction of an Heirloom. The idea is that it is built to withstand the test of time and is made to be handed down from one generation to the next– still as accurate and dependable as it was on day one.

Note the Black DLC high-polished finish, scrollwork, brass front sight, and Ivory-colored G10 grips.

The Heirloom ships with a solid medium-length trigger, undercut trigger guards, hand-polished flats, a beveled magazine well, and an overall carry bevel treatment.

I wouldn’t toss either one out of my safe. 

Ruger does what it should have done in the first place

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When the Ruger Wrangler popped out in 2019, it was a basic no-frills .22 LR single-action revolver styled on their well-liked Single-Six but cheaper. 

Made with a zinc alloy frame and finished in Cerakote, it had basic fixed sights but it worked.

I handled the above early model at NRAAM four years ago and thought it was okay, but wished it had better sights, a longer barrel, and was sold with an option to swap out the .22 LR cylinder for a .22 Mag, which would make it a lot more capable. After all, Heritage makes their little single-actioned rimfires in Georgia with much the same convertible option, and for a bargain basement price.

Well, Ruger has heard me and legions of others and today, I can share that I have been evaluating the new Super Wrangler. As you may have figured out, it has better sights, a longer barrel, and is sold complete with a .22 LR cylinder and one for a .22 Mag.

Behold, the Super Wrangler! Notably, it comes in at half the price of Ruger’s Single-Six convertible.

More on the new Super Wrangler in my column at Guns.com.

Torpilleur!

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“Torpilleur numéroté de retour au port,” a circa 1895 painting by Henri-Edmond Rudaux, shows a French coastal torpedo boat steaming back home.

National Maritime Museum in Paris.

As touched on by this week’s Warship Wednesday, the French were on the leading edge of torpedo boat tactics around the turn of the century.

They clung to the concept well into the Great War, still fielding almost 200 obsolete steam-powered “Torpilleur de défense mobile” in the 80-to-97-ton range. Carring hull numbers between 149 and 369, they had been completed between 1894 and 1909 and carried two or three tubes.

Restricted to coastal operations, French doctrine held they would be used in harbor and roadstead defense, a job for which they were well suited, as all could float in less than two fathoms. 

As detailed in Jane’s 1914 edition:

Kale Slushy Bobcat and Tomcat?

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Beretta’s small frame pistols with a tip-up barrel design that provides easy access to the chamber and no need for slide retraction to load the first round, these ultra-concealable pistols are a snap to use– especially for those without the hand strength to crush a brick.

I’ve carried a Bobcat, alternating with a Ruger LCP, as a backup gun for the past 15 years or so, and the little .22 is a joy to shoot.

These small 7-shot pocket pistols were first introduced back in the 1950s– giving them over 70 years of experience to build on– and Beretta has come pretty darn close to perfecting them over the generations.

New creatively-named Cerakoted color schemes in both the Tomcat (32. ACP) and Bobcat-A (.22LR) include Kale Slushy, Ghost Buster, and Silver Black Gorilla (a name that will surely change after someone pearl clutches). Plus, they are all fitted with threaded barrels– something that is a common mod on aftermarket guns.

The price, across all colors and calibers, is $649 (suggested).

The Kale Slushy Tomcat, left, and the Bobcat, right

The Tomcat, Beretta’s little .32, weighs just 14.5 ounces.

Tomcat Kale Slushy

The smaller Bobcat, the company’s even smaller .22LR, weighs just 11.5 ounces.

Bobcat Kale Slushy

21 A Bobcat Silver Black Gorilla

21 A Bobcat Ghost Buster 

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