Category Archives: weapons

Auf Wiedersehen, SB 105

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The Austrian Air Force, long fond of flying unusual Swedish types to stay as neutral as possible during the Cold War, is saying a hard goodbye to the Saab 105ÖE after 50 years of long and hard use.

The Saab 105ÖE in Austrian service. Easy to maintain and operate, it was also less likely to ruffle Soviet feathers

Evolved from a turbofan business jet concept by the Swedish firm, the 105 first flew in 1963, and in all less than 200 were produced over the course of a decade.

Featuring side-by-side seating for its two-man crew, in many ways, it was similar to the Cessna T-37 Tweet/A-37 Dragonfly as it could serve as either a training or light attack aircraft, although it was nowhere near as popular. In fact, outside of Sweden, Vienna was the only buyer of the type, ordering 40 in 1970 to replace aging second-hand Saab 29 Tunnan “flying barrels.”

Don’t be fooled, these Saabs could be deadly

The Austrians had a wide array of options for their SB 105s, across rockets, gun pods, and light bombs. They added Sidewinders in the early 1990s.

In regular service with the Austrians ever since, the 105ÖE (ÖE= for Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte) not only served a dual-hatted peacetime training/combat ground attack role, it was used by both of the country’s demonstration teams and in surveillance and air sovereignty missions until it was replaced in the latter by reconditioned Saab 35 Drakens in the late 1980s. (The Drakens proved useful, chasing down errant Yugoslav MiG-21s on more than one occasion.)

Plus, as with most of Saab’s aircraft, it could operate from unimproved sites and roadways

The Austrians currently run two understrength squadrons of Tranche 1 Typhoons, with Pilatus PC-7s providing training, although that is subject to change. Nonetheless, the SB 105’s time will cease at the end of the year.

The Austrian Air Force currently has two of their 18 remaining SB 105s painted in amazing livery and a terrific photo dump is online.

ZEV’s New Pocket Rocket

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Washington-based ZEV Technologies and New Hampshire’s Sig Sauer this week lifted the curtain on an exciting mod for the latter’s P365 micro-carry 9mm, the new Octane Z365.

As you would expect, the Z365 is packed with semi-custom offerings from ZEV’s catalog including a PRO Barrel, Combat Sights, and the optics-ready Octane slide.

It’s easy on the eyes, but is it worth it?

More in my column at Guns.com.

Welcome back, HMS Anson

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After a 63-year break, the Royal Navy is set to have another HMS Anson on the list as S-123, the fifth Astute-class submarine, currently under construction, was announced last week. She will be the eighth to carry the historic name which dates back to a 60-gun warship in 1747, in honor of the 1st Lord of the Admiralty, George Anson.

The seventh Anson was a King George V-class battleship, which commissioned on 14 April 1942. Cutting her teeth chasing KMS Lutzow and Hipper around the Arctic while escorting convoys to Russia, she later assisted with a diversionary effort to support the Husky landings in the Med and screened the carrier groups that attempted to sink Tirpitz.

Refitted for service with British Pacific Fleet in 1945, Anson was on hand for the liberation of Hong Kong and served as a guard ship in Tokyo for the occupation there.

KGV-class battleship HMS Anson (79) dressed in Sydney Harbor for the Australia Day sailing regatta, 1946.

The mighty battlewagon was sent for breaking in 1957.

Black Ice, with a few chips

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For the past several months, one of the handguns I have been testing and evaluating is the Rapide (Black Ice) M1911A1 model from Kimber in 10mm Auto.

Don’t get me wrong, it is a beautiful gun– it should be at $1,500 smackers– and it is loaded with standard features that John Browning would have never imagined.

I mean just look at it.

But I did have some issues.

While reliable (I ran over 600 rounds of Sig ammo through it with zero hiccups) Kimber says the gun needs a break-in period of about that much, which I think is a big ask for a pistol that costs this much and is in such a pricy caliber. Also, the super busy G10 grips and finish show a lot more wear after what I consider basic use than a bargain bin polymer-framed striker-fired 9mm that costs 1/5th as much.

Still, it’s pretty, even after some wear and tear.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Somebody lose a sub? Or twice sunk, twice found!

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Word from Maryland is that a dive team from Atlantic Wreck Salvage spotted something interesting on their side-scan sonar off the coast of Ocean City. On further research, it appears they have located ex-USS R-8 (Submarine No. 85).

USS R-8 found by Atlantic Wreck Salvage,

The 569/680-ton R-type diesel boat, some 186-feet overall, was laid down in 1918 at Fore River in Quincy, Mass but was completed too late for the Great War.

USS R-8 (SS-85) In a harbor, during the 1920s, with a great view of her 3-inch deck gun. In addition, she carried, as did the rest of her class, four forward torpedo tubes. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph Catalog #: NH 41516

R-8 fitted out at Boston during the fall of 1919 and spent some time in the Gulf of Mexico and points south, operating out of P-cola, prior to transfer to the Pacific Fleet in June 1921. Based at Pearl Harbor for almost 8 years, she notably searched for the missing Dole Flight Aviators in August 1927.

Ordered back to the east coast for inactivation in 1930 at the ripe old age of 11, she was decommissioned 2 May, berthed at Philadelphia until 1936, accidentally sinking at her moorings that February. Raised, the ruined sub was stricken and towed off Hampton Roads in August to be used as a target vessel for an aerial bombing test.

As noted by DANFS, “Four near misses with 100 lb. bombs sank her 71 miles off Cape Henry, Va.”

USS R-8 (SS-85) in near-miss by a 100-pound aircraft bomb during target tests in the Atlantic, 18 August 1936. Splashes around the ship are from bomb casing fragments. NH 85199

Atlantic Wreck Salvage reportedly will continue to document the wreck, which was previously undiscovered.

Goodbye RIVRONs, hello MESF

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The Navy announced recently they have “officially changed the name and mission of the Coastal Riverine squadrons to reflect their role amid a new era of great power competition; they are now known as the Maritime Expeditionary Security Force.”

The prerequisite moto video, tying the new units to the old Brown Water PBR gang of Southeast Asia (although the SWCC guys of SBT22 will most likely dispute ownership of this lineage, as they carried the dim candle of the small boat shop at Rodman for decades):

“As we maintain a connection to our legacy we must honor those warriors that come before us and learn from their heroism,” said RADM Joseph DiGuardo, commander NECC, “we must continuously evolve to meet the needs of the Navy and the Nation for Great Power Competition, crisis, and conflict. The change to Maritime Expeditionary Security Force clearly articulates the mission of our sailors to reinforce lethality in the blue water and dominate in the littorals.”

The MESF now consists of two groups; one in San Diego and one in Virginia Beach. The force includes two expeditionary security detachments in Guam and Bahrain, seven Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadrons, and 31 Maritime Expeditionary Security Companies.

The original three Coastal Riverine squadrons of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (RIVRON 1, 2, and 3) were all formed in 2006-07, modeled after the Marines Small Craft Company (SCCO) of 2D MAR Div– then the only specialized small boat company in the Marines– which had been disbanded the year prior although that forgotten unit of Devil Dogs in tiny boats had been bloodied and proved their mandate in the marshes and reservoirs around Haditha, fighting the kind of war that was familiar to Vietnam. Their Riverine Assault Craft, zodiacs, and Raider boats were handed over to the Navy, although Big Blue soon bought lots of new go-fasts.

Marines from Small Craft Company tether their Riverine Assult Crafts together during a break in training. Marines from Small Craft Company, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, demonstrated their capabilities to Paraguayan Marines in the Joint Training Exercise Unitas. The exercise was conducted in Asuncion, Paraguay. USMC Photo by LCPL Tyler J. Mielke. 29/09/1999

“People think it’s money or manpower problems, but no one knows for sure why they’re getting rid of us,” said Marine Gunnery Sgt. Brian Vinciguerra, who had spent 14 years with the SCCO, on the occasion of the unit’s disbandment in Feb. 2005. “The capabilities we provided to the Marine Corps, Special Forces, and Navy SEALS in Iraq are too big to be gone for long. We’re leaving an avenue of approach open for the enemy now,” he said. “I think Small Craft Company will be back in a few years when people realize what we brought to the fight.”

Now, after a similar 14-year run, the Navy’s trio of RIVRONs have a name change, and, notably, are moving to more 80+ foot platforms such as the MKVI. Not a lot of “river” about that.

Oh well, at least SBT22 and NAVSCIATTS are still around, keeping that lamp tended for the next time.

Pardon me, is that a Daewoo on Your Roof?

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South Korean carmaker Daewoo International, founded in 1967 by Kim Woo-Choong, a figure seen as something of the Henry Ford of Seoul, looked to diversify into other avenues of manufacturing in the 1970s. This led to a spin-off, Daewoo Precision Industries, which soon launched an effort to gen up a modern rifle/carbine that could replace both the license-produced M16A1 and WWII/1950s-vintage M3 Grease Guns, M1 Garands, and M1 Carbines in ROK service.

The effort, borrowing a little from just about every modern autoloading rifle that preceded it, resulted in the Daewoo K-series rifles, which were adopted in the early 80s. These interesting guns, which used a DGI system in its first generation before moving to an adjustable gas piston setup for the second, were imported in sporter format to the U.S. in two brief runs from 1984-89 and 1995-96, making them hard to find for black rifle collectors here in America.

But they are distinctive in every way.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Harrier Carrier, 1976

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As we did Warship Wednesday on a Monday this week, try these historical maritime shots on for size, taken 44 years ago today.

Official Caption: “USS GUAM (LPH-9) Operating with Marine AV-8A Harrier VTOL aircraft in the Mediterranean Sea, 9 December 1976, she drew these planes from USS FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT for her goodwill visit to Kenya.”

Note the four airborne Harriers in a diamond formation, flown by VMA-231 “Ace of Spades” squadron Marines, and at least five more on deck. Catalog #: USN 1169189

Guam, a 17,000-ton Iwo Jima-class large amphibious transport (helo), commissioned 16 January 1965 and had already been extensively used by the Navy, first off the Dominican Republic in the intervention there, then in the space program.

Marine AV-8A Harrier of VMA-513 hovering over USS Guam (LPH-9) 1972

Importantly, she had served between 1971 and 1973 as the Interim Sea Control Ship, derived from ADM Elmo Zumwalt’s idea for a 15,000-ton light carrier equipped with Sea Kings for ASW and Harriers for self-defense/anti-shipping, which made her ideal for embarking the V/STOL craft once again in squadron-quantity in 1976.

The entry for Guam as sea control ship in the 1973-74 Jane’s

USS Guam (LPH-9) Underway in the Indian Ocean, off the east coast of Africa, on 9 December 1976. Her crew is forming KENYA 76 on the flight deck in conjunction with her visit to Mombasa, Kenya for the celebration of that nation’s independence. Adams-class destroyer USS Claude V. Ricketts (DDG-5) is steaming in company. Guam is shown carrying 13 AV-8A Harrier jet aircraft and two Marine CH-53D helicopters on her flight deck. FDR had deployed with 14, meaning one Harrier is either airborne or below-deck. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, Photographer: PH3 Greg Haas, Atlantic Fleet Audio Visual Command. NH 107675

Guam would go on to serve off Somalia and in the first Gulf War, then was decommissioned and stricken on the same day, 25 August 1998, and disposed of as a target three years later.

As for the accident-prone AV-8As, derived from the original British Hawker Siddeley aircraft, the Marines purchased 102 AV-8A and 8 TAV-8A models between 1971 (just two years after the Harrier GR.1 entered service with the RAF) and 1976, later replacing them with the larger, marginally safer, more advanced, and more American-built McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II in the mid-1980s.

Which brings us back to the Aces of VMA-231, who are still flying the Harrier today, one of the few who are.

Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 231 “Ace of Spades” AV-8B+ at Boca Chica Field, NAS Key West, Dec.1, 2020. U.S. Navy photo by Danette Baso Silvers

USAF Goes B&T

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Last Spring, the U.S. Army announced they would be buying a small quantity (~350) of Sub Compact Weapons, ultra-compact 9mm SMGs for use by the special teams tasked with protecting high-value officers and dignitaries. The first decent sub-gun contract by the Pentagon this century, there were lots of bragging rights on the line and 10 different companies both foreign and domestic threw their hats in the ring, with Swiss-based B&T coming out the winner with their downright tiny APC9K.

Well, the USAF just jumped on the same train last month, ordering a smaller quantity, likely for similar uses.

After all, could you blame them?

More in my column at Guns.com.

Forging a Marine, the Garand Way

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The saying goes is that “you join the Army, you join the Navy, you join the Air Force, but you become a Marine.”

With that in mind, check out this circa 1961 training film, Making of a Marine, featuring recruits at MCRD Parris Island with M1 Garands, an interesting time capsule of “carrying yesterday’s rifle tomorrow” as the M14 had been officially adopted four years earlier and the M16, ushered in with Vietnam, would be inbound in roughly the same amount of time. 

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