Category Archives: weapons

Going Inland

Posted on by One comment

80 years ago today. Operation Detachment. Iwo Jima, 20 February 1945 0900, D-Day plus 1.

Official wartime caption. “Going Inland, Determination written on their countenances, Marines start the drive to the interior of Iwo Jima. Running at a crouch, they dart across the tableland in the shadow of Mount Suribachi, taking advantage of the scant protection offered by small rises in the volcanic sand.”

(From the Thayer Soule Collection (COLL/2266) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division)

Note the M1 Carbine with rifle grenade attachment and said grenade on the side of the Marine’s pack. For close-in work, the Marine is the distance has a 12 gauge shotgun.

For reference, Canfield notes that the U.S. military purchased more than 500,000 12 gauge combat shotguns for use in WWII (not counting guns used for training or guard duty) including models from Ithaca (Model 37), Savage (Model 720), Stevens (Models 520-30 and 620A,) Remington (Models 11 and 31), and Winchester. The Marines, specifically, preferred Winchester Model M97 and M12 pump guns and had a TOE for 306 such scatterguns per division.

The Iwo Jima Campaign would include 35 days of active ground combat which still reverberates through history.

 

30 million + ‘Black Rifles’ in Circulation

Posted on by Leave a comment

Back in 1986, the Colt AR-15A2 HBAR was where its at…

Recent firearms industry production numbers point to modern semi-auto sporting rifles, such as AR-15s and AK variants, as being extremely popular with consumers.

The figures, updated via the recent ATF Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Exportation Report– which includes data on guns made and imported in 2022– combined with past reports by federal regulators, show some 30,711,000 such rifles entering the market since 1990 and 2022.

The data, compiled by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade organization for the American firearms industry, details the rise in demand and production of “black rifles” over 32 years. 

In 1990, with such guns tightly regulated by the federal “assault weapon” ban, just 74,000 were produced or imported– and those had to be made compliant via featureless stocks and 10-round magazines.

By 1994, when the ban had expired, those figures had climbed to 274,000.

They approached 500,000 in 2007 and hit 1 million in 2009– a span covering the campaign of President Obama for the White House and his first year in office.

In 2013 it hit over 2 million.

In 2021, 3.7 million. 

That’s per year, btw.

Figures don’t even count…

Detachable magazine semi-auto rifles have been a go-to for Americans for generations.

Remember that these figures don’t include privately made firearms crafted from 80 percent AR lowers or AK/G3 receiver flats, or guns that entered the marketplace before 1990.

While black rifles were not as common as they are today, Colt produced SP-1 sporter-style ARs going back to the mid-1960s, the Ruger Mini-14 entered the market in 1973, and the Springfield Armory M1A in 1974.

“If you’re a hunter, camper, or collector, you’ll want the AR-15 Sporter,” reads the circa-1963 ad copy. By 1969, something like 15,000 SP1s had been made.

Plus you have more than 250,000 M-1 Carbines that were sold as surplus through the Director of Civilian Marksmanship program during the 1960s along with warehouses of clones made specifically for consumers by companies like Universal (426,000 made), Iver Johnson (96,700 made) and Plainfield (112,000 made). 

These things were sold by the hundreds of thousands in the 1960s-80s

GIs find Uruguay

Posted on by One comment

80 years ago this week. Company B, 638th Tank Destroyer Battalion. Official wartime caption: “Cpl. Elliot Roy, Brooklyn, N.Y., Pvt. Claude Patton, Ashland, Ky., and T/5 Oscar Schnell examine a German anti-tank rifle. Seven feet three inches long, the rifle is reputed to be able to penetrate three inches of armor. Germany, 25 February 1945.” While the location isn’t disclosed, the 638th had just crossed the Roer River at Unnach in support of the 84th Infantry Division’s 334th Infantry Regiment and pushed on to capture Grantcrath, Doverhahn, Dovenrn, and Huckelhaven.

U.S. Army Signal Corps Photo SC 201377

The rifle held by the above members of the 638th TD Bn is a Polish-made Karabin przeciwpancerny wzór 35, a 22-pound bolt-action anti-tank gun chambered in the very long 7.92x107mm DS. It is missing its 4-round detachable box magazine but is easy to identify due to its donut-style muzzle break and centerline reinforcing bolt for the wooden stock.

The rifle was man-portable either on foot or in mounted service

Developed in the 1930s under great secrecy by the cash-strapped Poles, the wz. 35 was code-named “Uruguay” when introduced.

Capable of zipping through 33mm of steel armor plate at 100 yards with its diminutive 245-grain lead core steel jacketed bullet– which sat over 187 grains of nitrocellulose powder to gain a velocity of 4,180 ft/s– it was able to penetrate the 13mm of armor on the Pz.Kpfw. I. and the 15mm of plate on the Panzer II but stood no chance of taking down later model medium or heavy tanks of any sort.

Still, the Poles made some 6,500 of these guns and enough of them fell into German hands in 1939 that they were pressed into service as the PzB 35(p)/PzB 770(p) and passed on to the Finns and Italians who used them as the kiv/38 and FC 35(P), respectively.

kiv/38 (Wz. 35) seen in Finnish use in an SA-kuva pic taken at the Niinisalo Garrison on July 1 1942

Marianas Lightning Storm

Posted on by Leave a comment

Exercise Cope North 2025 has seen at least four different F-35 fifth-gen fighter operators conducting combined operations from Guam. These include the U.S. Air Force (134th Fighter Squadron), Royal Australian Air Force No. 75 Squadron, Japan Air Self Defense Force F-35As, and U.S. Marine Corps F-35B STOVL variants of VMFA-121.

Allies from the United States, Japan, and Australia come together for a group photo on the flight-line in front of three F-35A Lightning IIs to celebrate the end of exercise Cope North 2025 at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Feb. 21, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Tala Hunt)

Japan Air Self-Defense Force Col. Takeshi Okubo, flight group commander, 3rd Air Wing, poses for a photo in front of an F-35A Lightning II during exercise Cope North 25 at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Jan. 30, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Tala Hunt)

A Royal Australian Air Force maintainer prepares to work on a F-35A Lightning II for exercise Cope North 25, at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Jan. 29, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Tala Hunt)

A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II is flanked from top to bottom by a Royal Australian Air Force F-35A, a Japan Air Self Defense Force F-35A, and a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II during a formation over the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility, Feb. 7, 2025, as part of exercise Cope North 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Thomas Hansford)

From left to right, a Royal Australian Air Force F-35A, a U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II, a Japan Air Self Defense Force F-35A, and a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II fly together over the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility during exercise Cope North 2025, Feb. 7, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Caleb Roland)

Also joining the fun were RAAF 33 Squadron’s KC-30 tanker transports and a 2 Squadron E-7A Wedgetail, JASDF E-2D Hawkeyes and a KC-46 refueling tanker, U.S. Navy EA-18G Growlers, and USMC F/A-18C Hornets. Meanwhile, the USAF also had F-16CMs, KC-135s, and E-3s in the air with MH-60S running SAR. In all, some 62 aircraft and 2,300 personnel were surged to Anderson AFB from across the Pacific– with some USAF units coming from as far away as Tinker and Tyndal.

A Royal Australian Air Force E-7 Wedgetail is flanked from top to bottom by a U.S. Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon, a RAAF F-35A Lightning II, a USAF F-35A, a Japan Air Self Defense Force F-35A, U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II, a USMC F/A-18C Super Hornet, and followed by a U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler during a formation over the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility, Feb. 7, 2025, as part of exercise Cope North 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Thomas Hansford)

A Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail is flanked from left to right by a U.S. Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon, a RAAF F-35A Lightning II, a USAF F-35A, a Japan Air Self Defense Force F-35A, a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II, and a USMC F/A-18C Hornet, with a U.S Navy EA-18G Growler in the center rear during a formation flight over the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility as part of exercise Cope North 2025, Feb. 7, 2025.  (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Thomas Hansford)

As noted by the USAF:

CN25 showcases the importance of cooperation and partnership in maintaining a stable and secure Indo-Pacific region and highlights the U.S. commitment to working with Allies and partners to promote peace and prosperity. The F-35A provides next-generation stealth, enhanced situational awareness, and reduced vulnerability to the realistic combat training and scenarios in CN25.

Meanwhile, B-1B Lancers from the South Dakota-based 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron showed up for the fun as well. Formed up as Bomber Task Force 25-1, they are visiting the Philippines and other countries in the Rim.

A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer assigned to the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., is parked at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, in support of Bomber Task Force 25-1, Feb. 10, 2025. Bomber missions provide opportunities to train and work with our Allies and partners in joint and coalition operations and exercises. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brittany Kenney)

B-ONE Vibe Check

Posted on by Leave a comment

19 February 1985. 40 years ago this week. Official caption: “Airman First Class Peter Warner, 3902nd Air Base Wing, Security Police Squadron, Wheaton, Illinois, provides security for a B-1B bomber aircraft (background) during a stopover. He is armed with an M16A1 carbine.”

USAF Photo DFST8600723, National Archives Identifier 6400254

Despite the caption, Airman Warner is sporting a GAU-5AA, Colt Model 649, XM177 carbine with its distinctive 11.5-inch barrel. Note the lack of forward assist and the characteristic beefy muzzle device.

Also, you have to love the hard 1980 vibe check to include the OG-107 cotton sateen olive drab uniform with the rolled sleeves and blue service stitching, the camo ascot, and the Casio digital watch with the OD flex band. You just know he has a Coleco Electronic Quarterback game in his desk drawer back at the guard shack, or a Rubik’s Cube.

Finns on point in the G-I-UK Gap

Posted on by Leave a comment

Since the Black Knights of the 57th FIS pulled its F-15Cs out of Keflavik NAS in 1995, ending its 41-year run providing air defense over Iceland– and the only full-time fighters in the 2,000 miles between CFB Goose Bay in Newfoundland and RAF Stornoway in Scotland– Iceland has relied on a rotating NATO-supplied occasional Air Policing mission to provide for more muscular patrols of Icelandic airspace than the helicopters of the Icelandic Coast Guard can supply.

Since 2008 (there was a 13-year peace gap when Russia was seen as a tame bear), the detachments have been provided by the French, Danish (5 rotations), Norwegian (8), U.S. (14), German (2), Canadian (3), Portuguese (2), Italian (7), Czech (3), British (2), and Polish air forces.

The newest kid on the Icelandic beat is four F-18Cs of the Finnish Air Force’s Lapland Air Wing’s (Lapplands flygflottilj) No. 11 Squadron (Hävittäjälentolaivue 11), which arrived with a 50-member detachment under Lt. Col. Lasse Louhela in late January.

Photos by Anne Torvinen, Finnish Air Force:

Note the old Cold War USAF hardened shelters and the reduced-sized white and blue donut roundels on the F-18C

Toting AIM-9s and AIM-120s along with DTs. Note the tailhooks, which the Finns use for reduced-distance operations on railways

Keflavik has never been forgiving, especially in February, but as HävLLv 11’s normal base is in Lapland, they are probably used to it

The Finnish gray livery is almost light blue in color, which works great in polar regions.

They rely on the Icelandic CG EC225 Super Puma for SAR duties and have been conducting operations with Finnish aircrew.

In addition to operations out of Keflavik, the Finns plan to operate remotely from airports in Akureyri and Egilsstaðir, spreading the love.

The Finnish mission is expected to conclude at the end of February.

The Czechs will return with their JAS 39C Gripens for their 4th rotation this summer.

Looking for an Iraq-used DARPA XM3?

Posted on by Leave a comment

Just listed on CMP’s auction site, an Iron Brigade Armory DARPA XM3 sniper rifle with scope, was issued to Marine units in Iraq, where it logged 127 rounds. 

Deets:

Serial Number: S6544479
Receiver: Remington 700 Short Action
Caliber: .308
Bolt: Large Ball, Last 4 of SN on the bolt handle
Scope: Nightforce NXS 3.5-15×50, SN: Q04935 noticeably clear and crisp
Rings: Nightforce
Receiver mount: Iron Brigade Armory, Last 4 of SN stamped on the bottom
Markings & Other information:

Iron Brigade Armory assembled DARPA XM3 Sniper Rifle system in STORMCASE iM3200 case.

• The entire rifle is painted camouflage.

• Barrel is clean and well maintained. The last 4 of SN are stamped on the left side.

• USMC Weapon Record Book (part 2) which indicates 127 rounds fired in Iraq with an estimated 700 total rounds fired. The record book has a mistake in the listed SN leaving out one of the 4s.

• Rifle case also includes:
• J. Dewey cleaning rod
• serialized tool case w/ basic hand tools and a torque wrench.

This rifle has not been test-fired or worked in any way by CMP personnel and is in As-received condition. It is sold AS IS with no warranty expressed or implied.

The auction runs 12 days, starting 17 February, and, like all CMP rifle sales, goes to help support the program’s youth marksmanship training missions.

Buckeyes in Manila

Posted on by Leave a comment

A great moment showing in time, 80 years ago today. AP Photo caption, “During the hard street fighting against Japanese strongpoint at the New Police Station, Pandacan district, GIs of the 129th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division, climb through some Japanese barbed wire in Manila, Philippines. 13 February 1945.”

Check out this inset, with details showing a rifle grenade launcher on the Joe’s M1 Carbine to the left, what looks to be a religious medal hanging from the neck of the man to the right, large eye bale netting on the M1 helmets for attaching camo, and grim, determined faces.

A National Guard Division from Ohio, the 37th was known as the Buckeye Division for obvious reasons. Activated for federal service on 15 October 1940 under native son Maj. Gen. Robert S. Beightler, they shipped overseas to Fiji just six months after Pearl Harbor on 26 May 1942 and, from there went into combat in the Solomons at New Georgia the following year, campaigning around Bougainville through 1944.

January 1945 saw them, under Kruger’s Sixth Army, landing on the beaches of the Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines where they would race inland to Clark Field and Fort Stotsenburg, fight through Manila, and into Northern Luzon where they ended the war processing the last Japanese forces to surrender there post-VJ-Day.

The 37th Infantry Division suffered 5,960 battle casualties during WWII, surpassing their butcher’s bill for the Great War which stood at 5,387.

Meet the New Army Small Arms Ammo Facility

Posted on by Leave a comment

In WWII, the Army had 12 War Department-owned and operated plants dedicated to making small arms ammunition, around the clock.

These plants slowly shuttered post-war, with brief respites caused by Korea and Vietnam, until the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant, which had been placed on “standby” in 1976, was finally closed in 2005, leaving only Lake City AAP in Independence, Missouri as the only remaining Army small arms plant.

Even at that, Lake City was run on contract at first by Olin-Winchester, then Northrop Grumman, and, since 2019, by Olin-Winchester once again.

Well, the Army is moving ahead with the construction of its first new small arms ammunition factory in decades, and it will be dedicated to making ammo for the Next Generation Squad Weapons.

The new 450,000 sq. ft., facility, built on the Lake City AAP campus, had its groundbreaking on Feb. 5.

It will feature modern manufacturing systems capable of producing “all components” of 6.8×51 Common Cartridge ammunition as part of the NGSW program.

The 6.8x51mm, seen in SIG-loaded 113-grain ball for the NGSW program and a .277 Fury commercial load (white tip). (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The Army specified this includes “cartridge case and projectile manufacturing, energetic operations for loading and charging ammunition, product packaging, process quality controls, testing laboratories, maintenance operations, and administrative areas.”

Opening by 2028 (ish), it is expected to be able to make upwards of 400 million rounds a year– against Lake City’s legacy capacity to make 1.4 billion rounds of all other calibers. Until then, 6.8 is sole-sourced through SIG.

More in my column at Guns.com.

T-AGSEs Surface

Posted on by Leave a comment

An interesting addition to the Bollinger-built 87-foot Marine Protector class patrol boats for the Coast Guard in 2008 was four units– paid for wholly by the Navy– that would serve in two special Maritime Force Protection Units, assigned to the Submarine bases at Kings Bay and Kitsap, tasked to escort submarines (particularly SSBNs) heading in and out on patrol.

Each MFPU, which numbers 150-200 personnel, also has a dozen smaller craft (33-foot RIBs, etc).

In a nod to their taskings, these Navy-paid-for/assigned and CG-manned patrol boats carried the names of historic fleet boats of WWII fame:

  • USCGC Sea Dragon (WPB-87367) MFPU Kitsap
  • USCGC Sea Devil (WPB-87368) MFPU Kings Bay
  • USCGC Sea Dog (WPB-87373) MFPU Kitsap
  • USCGC Sea Fox (WPB-87374) MFPU Kings Bay

Armed with three 50 cal. machine guns (instead of the standard two for the class) these MFPUs carried their “extra” BMG in a permanently installed forward mount that was stabilized and remotely controlled.

TAMPA, Fla. – Coast Guard Cutter Sea Dog, a newly-designed 87-foot coastal patrol boat, transits Tampa Bay, Fla.,, Wednesday, May 6, 2009, during sea trials. The Sea dog is scheduled to be commissioned July 2, 2009, and is homeported in Kings Bay, Ga. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/PA3 Rob Simpson)

However, last year all four of these still rather young WPBs were withdrawn from CG service, decommissioned, disarmed, and relegated to auxiliary service with the Navy and Marine Corps.

For instance, the two Kings Bay-based boats were transferred to MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina to be used as range/target towing boats.

Disarmed and without her racing stripe, the ex-USCGC Sea Dragon WPB-87367 at MCAS Cherry Point for target support

Their replacements?

Meet T-AGSEs

The civilian mariner crewed Military Sealift Command has a small flotilla of eight vessels tasked with “Submarine and Special Warfare Support.”

These vessels, typically oilfield supply boats operated by Louisiana-based Hornbeck Offshore Services, include a quartet of 250-foot EDF type who have been christened as U.S. Naval Ships with hull numbers.

They also carry fixed armament, something extremely rare for the MSC, namely two Mk. 38 25mm mounts, operated by a USCG Tactical Boatcrew. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had MANPADs, AT4s, and M2s stowed as well

  • USNS Black Powder (T-AGSE 1)
  • USNS Westwind (T-AGSE 2)
  • USNS Eagleview (T-AGSE 3)
  • USNS Arrowhead (T-AGSE 4)

Built by Leevac Industries of Jenerette, these four brand-new 250EDFs were operated by HOS between 2009 and 2015 on a Navy contract and then purchased outright for $152 million.

The MSC has their file pictures all still in their HOS livery:

HOS Black Powder 200819-N-IS698-0004

HOS Eagle View 200819-N-IS698-0007

HOS Arrowhead

Since 2015, these craft have been Navy (MSC) owned and operated by HOS, typically for 215 days per year at a rate of about $30,000 per day.

Arrowhead and Eagleview are out of Kitsap while Black Powder and Westwind are out of Kings Bay.

Being some 250 feet in length, they are often referred to as “Blocking Vessels” in operations.

They rarely get any attention, with the USCG operating their guns and providing an MLE team for intervention/boarding if an escort gets…weird. Why the Coasties pull the gig is that they are federal law enforcement with a pretty far-reaching jurisdiction around U.S. flagged vessels in U.S. waters. 

USNS Black Powder and USNS Westwind. Note the 25mm Mk 38 Mod 2 mounts, and the MSC blue and yellow stripes around Westwind’s pilothouse. Wiki commons

Ohio class USS West Virginia (SSBN-736) USNS Black Powder

U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft from Moody Air Force Base, Ga., escorted ballistic missile submarine USS Wyoming (SSBN 742), July 15, 2024. The aircraft conducted a live fire exercise and U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Force Protection Unit Kings Bay, USNS Black Powder (T-AGSE-1), and USNS Westwind (T-AGSE-2) also participated in the escort of the submarine. Joint operations, such as this one which involved the Air Force, Coast Guard, and Navy, ensure the U.S. military is ready to meet its security commitments at home and abroad

Being three times the size of the 87s, they can also help serve as mini-tenders and, during Covid, were used to swap out Blue/Gold crews on SSBNs at sea, as well as replenishment for parts and stores transfers via a moving brow.

Note the USCG ensign on Black Powder’s mast and her USNS designator on her bow. 

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Jan. 24, 2022) Sailors assigned to the Blue Crew of the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Wyoming (SSBN 742) prepare to execute an exchange of command and crews at sea. This regularly scheduled exchange of command at sea demonstrates the continuity and operational flexibility of our sea-based nuclear deterrent operations and our ready, reliable ballistic submarine force. The efficiency of exchanges of crews at sea allows Sailors to reunite with their families and provides a ready, resilient submarine force. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Xavier Saldana/Released)

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Jan. 24, 2022) USNS Black Powder supports the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Wyoming’s (SSBN 742) exchange of command and crews at sea. This regularly scheduled exchange of command at sea demonstrates the continuity and operational flexibility of our sea-based nuclear deterrent operations and our ready, reliable ballistic submarine force. The efficiency of exchanges of crews at sea allows Sailors to reunite with their families and provides a ready, resilient submarine force. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Xavier Saldana/Released)

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Jan. 24, 2022) Sailors assigned to the Blue and Gold Crews of the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Wyoming (SSBN 742) execute an exchange of command and crews at sea. This regularly scheduled exchange of command at sea demonstrates the continuity and operational flexibility of our sea-based nuclear deterrent operations and our ready, reliable ballistic submarine force. The efficiency of exchanges of crews at sea allows Sailors to reunite with their families and provides a ready, resilient submarine force. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Xavier Saldana/Released)

They just popped up in a DOD Contract list this week, as noted below, with the current daily rate being more like $50K per vessel including operation and maintenance:

Hornbeck Offshore Operators, Covington, Louisiana, is being awarded a $48,360,544 firm-fixed-price contract (N3220525C4134) for the operation and maintenance of four government-owned Transportation Auxiliary General Submarine Escort (T-AGSE) vessels. The vessels under this award include USNS Arrowhead, USNS Eagleview, USNS Westwind, and USNS Black Powder. The contract includes a six-month base period with a six-month option. The contract will be performed in Kings Bay, Georgia; and Bangor, Washington, beginning March 1, 2025, based on the availability of funds clause at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.232-18 and will utilize fiscal 2025 working capital funds (Navy), and will conclude Feb. 28, 2026, if the option is exercised. This contract is a Sole Source Bridge and was not competitively procured, under the authority of 41 U.S. Code 3304(a)(2), as implemented by FAR 6.302-2 Unusual and compelling urgency. Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

« Older Entries Recent Entries »