Category Archives: weapons

Jaguar diplomacy

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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Withdrawn from French service in 2005, fittingly, the Jaguar placed on display in 2023 at the Musee Air et Espace, A91, is in camouflé Afrique tan and had served with EC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.

Perhaps it is now la diplomatie du Rafale?

Seperated by 9,000 miles: 66 & 77

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80 years ago.

Two Gator (LST Mk 2) sister ships, built almost side-by-side in the same yard in Indiana (Jeffboat), were hard at work on opposite sides of the globe in two very different campaigns in the same week.

USS LST-66 disembarking troops while beached at Red Beach #2, Tanah Merah Bay, Dutch New Guinea (Hollandia Operation), 23 April 1944. (US National Archives Identifier 205584995, Local Identifier 26-G-2184, U.S. Coast Guard Photo # 2184. by Coast Guard photographer Struges)

USS LST-77 lands Fifth Army M-4 Sherman medium tanks on the Anzio Waterfront, Italy, on 27 April 1944. National Archives SC 189668

USS LST-66, under the command of LT. Howard E. White, USCGR, had been built by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co., Jeffersonville, Indiana between August 1942 and April 1943. Sailing for the Pacific, she joined LST Flotilla Eleven where she landed troops and equipment during the Bismarck Archipelago operation (Cape Gloucester, Admiralty Islands), Eastern New Guinea (Saidor), Hollandia, Western New Guinea (Toem-Wakde-Sarmi, Biak, Noemfoor, Cape Sanaspoor, Morotai), Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, and Balikpapan, earning eight battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation. Decommissioned, on 26 March 1946 and struck soon after, she was sold for scrap in 1948.

USS LST-77, under the command of LT(jg) Anothy Kohout Jr., USNR, had been built by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co., Jeffersonville, Indiana between February and July 1943. She sailed to Europe and fought off German attacks as part of the hard-luck Convoy UGS-37, landed troops and equipment at Anzio, and participated in the Dragoon Landings in Southern France– delivering troops to Grande Beach on 24 August 1944 and St Tropez the following week. Loaned to the Royal Navy in December 1944, she was sailed around the Adriatic as a part of the 11th Flotilla, carrying troops, partisans, and civilians until October 1945 when handed back over to the USN. She was stricken from the NVR in 1946 and sold the following year for scrap, having earned two battle stars.

Polaris Surface Surprise

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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.

The 10mm Baby Glock, Now in its 5th Generation

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Whether straying into the backcountry or just a fan of the 10mm Auto, Glock has long had one of the smallest carry guns offered in that caliber and I’ve been kicking around its latest variant for a couple of months.

The Glock 29 first hit the market when the Stone Temple Pilots were in the charts and Val Kilmer was Batman. It has since evolved through two generational cycles to stand here today as the Gen 5 G29. Coupling the flat trajectories and renowned performance of the 10mm Auto– a cartridge that has never been more popular– with a proven and well-liked sub-compact handgun that can easily be carried concealed and still clock in with 11 rounds when needed, is a strong platform on which to stand.

There is a lot to like about the welcome changes now bestowed to the Gen 5 G29, and there is still room to grow, for instance, with an optics cut (perhaps with a direct mill RMR footprint, just saying), but it remains tough to beat for someone who wants to carry a 10mm.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Mosel Weasle Stack

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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.

Milsurp M1911s, Surplus .45 Update from CMP

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Photo by PH3 Gregory A.Pinkley/National Archives 6450632

The April monthly director’s organization update from the Civilian Marksmanship Program has lots of interesting news, including these two tidbits for those who either want a surplus M1911 or have one they want to keep fed.

M1911 Pistol Options: A couple of months ago, we received the fiscal year 2024 tranche of surplus M1911s from the Department of the Army – 10,000 of them, which is fantastic. In terms of orders and availability, we are still in the process of filling M1911 orders for Round 4. We expect to announce Round Five this fall, once Round 4 starts winding down. And, I’ll give you a status update on that in October in my next update. While we are still assessing the pistols we just received, it looks like the quality is pretty good.

Surplus Ammo Transfer: We received a tranche of surplus ammunition from the Army in January of this year. While most of it was .22, we did get some .45 caliber ammo, and we’ll begin selling that on the CMP e-store on May 1, with a set amount reserved for competitors at reduced pricing. We have just over 400,000 rounds of .45, and we expect the demand to be high. So, as we stressed in our CMP Sales Update . . . please get your paperwork in order before May 1!

FYA from that 10 April email update:

Customers may update their documentation in person at any of our CMP Store locations or may update through:

• Email – custserve@thecmp.org
• Mail – Civilian Marksmanship Program, ATTN: Sales, 1401 Commerce Blvd, Anniston, AL 36207
• Fax – (256) 831-8331

Documentation to order ammo includes proof of U.S. citizenship and membership in a CMP Affiliated Club or Special Affiliate (see https://thecmp.org/cmp_sales/eligibility-requirements/ for detailed information).

Customers placing a surplus ammo order through the CMP E-Store will not need to provide Form 2A (those individuals will check a box that states they are not a felon before completing their order). Customers who purchase surplus ammo in person at our stores or at CMP events must provide Form 2A if they do not have one on file or if it’s expired.

Please help us keep our sales running smoothly by updating your customer file before making a purchase on our E-Store. We appreciate your cooperation. Visit the CMP E-Store at https://shop.thecmp.org/.

May the odds be forever in your favor…

RCAT, is that you?

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Via the Cape Cod National Seashore although, as the wreckage seems totally absent of marine growth, I am taking it with a grain of sand:

Last week, a man-made object washed up on Marconi Beach. It appeared to have been in the ocean for some time, and staff worked together to get it off the beach before it was swept away by the incoming storm.

Photo: NPS/Hohman

Park historian Bill Burke examined the object and determined that it was in fact the fuselage of an RCAT (Remote Control Aerial Target).

Photo: NPS Archives

RCATs were drone planes used for target practice for anti-aircraft training off Marconi at a former United States military training camp (Camp Wellfleet) during the 1940s and 50s.

Aircraft equipped with an RCAT would take off from a now-defunct runway located in the woods of Wellfleet. The RCAT would then be rocket-launched off the aircraft at 0 to 60 mph within the first 30 feet, and then controlled remotely from the bluff.

Photo: NPS Archives

Beauty, in Commercial C96 Small Ring Format

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Got a chance to spend some time with this beauty lately.

Pre-WWI commercial C96 models generally have a serial number that falls into the 30,000 to 274,000 range, and the VL&D marked pistol that recently came through the GDC Warehouse is No. 81976– putting it as roughly a 1905 production handgun. As such, it hails from the peak of Mauser’s golden era, with excellent fitting, fire-blued small parts, a “strawed” trigger, and deeply varnished wooden grips.

Further, it is kind of rare, being one of just 1,900 guns shipped directly from Oberndorf-on-the-Neckar to the firm of Von Lengerke & Detmold in New York City.

What? You don’t know VL&D?

More after the jump. 

No. 30, is that you?

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At the turn of the 20th Century, the U.S. Army fielded an impressive array of “disappearing” guns along the American seacoast and few remain. In all, the Army would order some 75 “super heavy” 12-inch disappearing guns, 128 slightly smaller 10-inch guns on similar mounts, 64 8-inch disappearing guns, and the most common type: 152 assorted 6-inch models.

Of the Army’s mixed bag of 419 disappearing guns in various sizes, just four survive in the U.S. today still mounted on disappearing carriages. Two 10-inch guns are currently located at Battery Worth at Fort Casey on Whidbey Island, Washington, and a pair of remaining 6-inch “sister” guns are installed at two locations 2,200 miles apart– one at Battery Chamberlin on the Presidio in San Francisco and the other at Battery Cooper on Fort Pickens near Pensacola, Florida.

I recently visited with the latter and delved into its strange history.

I present to you, a 6-inch rapid-fire rifled gun, Model of 1905, Serial No. 30, on Disappearing Carriage, Model of 1903, located at Battery Cooper near Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island in West Florida, just a few miles off Pensacola Beach. Once common, it is one of just two still in existence in the country in its original format.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Jamming out with your Westinghouse out…

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Saw this great image passed around the interwebs without much detailed explanation and had to nerd out on it.

After some digging, I am fairly certain it is a USAF F-4E-44-M Phantom II, SN 69-7298, with its nose cone pivoted and Westinghouse AN/APQ-120 X-band fire control radar showing. The Phantom’s “ZF” tail flash would put it as the 31st TFW (307th and 308th TFS) out of Udorn AB, Thailand, circa April 1972 to June 1973.

Note the full-color 31st TFW’s flying sea horse shield on her intake. 

Founded in 1940 as the old 31st Pursuit Group– which, flying Spitfires, had been the first American unit to engage in combat in Europe– when it came to Vietnam the 31st TFW more than paid their dues, earning the Presidential Unit Citation and ten campaign streamers flying over 100,000 close air support sorties between 1965 and 1970 out of Bien Hoa and Tuy Hoa in the venerable F-100 Super Sabre.

Finally rotated back home to Homestead AFB, Florida in 1970, where they transitioned to new 1969-model 44/45 block F-4Es, they were tapped to return to Southeast Asia two years later, hence the above image.

As noted in the unit’s history:

From April to 13 August 1972, the 308 TFS deployed to Udorn Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand to augment tactical air forces already deployed to that country. It was followed in July by the 307 TFS. In June 1972, Captains John Cerak and David B. Dingee of the 308 TFS were shot down and captured by the North Vietnamese and confirmed as prisoners of war. In March 1973 both were released and returned to the United States. On 15 October 1972, Captains James L. Hendrickson and Gary M. Rubus of the 307 TFS, who replaced the 308 TFS at Udorn, Thailand, shot down a MiG-21 northeast of Hanoi. This marked the first and only aerial victory for the 31 TFW. The 308 TFS completed the wing’s final deployment to Southeast Asia from December 1972 to June 1973.

The particular bird shown above, as detailed by Baugher, originally flew with the 4th TFW before switching to the 31st TFW. By 1977 it was with the 68th TFS (347th TFW). 

Converted at the Ogden Air Logistics Center along with 115 of her circa 1969 sisters to the F-4G Wild Weasel SEAD standard in 1979 (with the same Westinghouse radar but with digital processor added), she flew with various squadrons of the 37th TFW until 1991 and then for a few years with the 35th TFW before being shipped off to the Idaho Air Guard’s 190th FS/124th FW in 1993. 

F-4G SN 69-7298 was then sent to the boneyard at AMARC as FP1004 in December 1995, converted by Tracor Flight Systems to QF-4G drone AF183 three years later, and expended in missile test in 2002. 

As for the 31st TFW? They transitioned from F-4s to F-16s in the 1980s and moved out of Homestead after it was all but destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Since then, they have been pushing their Vipers out of Aviano, which is surely an upgrade. Over the past two decades, they have been the “tip of the spear,” so to speak, in operations in the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya.

A U.S. Air Force F-16CM Fighting Falcon (SN 89-2047, Block 40E) from the 31st TFW’s 510th Fighter Squadron soars above Aviano Air Base, Italy, March 16, 2020. “The 31st Fighter Wing is dedicated to remaining lethal and rapidly ready” (U.S. Air Force photo 200316-F-ZX177-1037 by Airman 1st Class Ericka A. Woolever)

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