Category Archives: weapons

Baa, Baa .45

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While on the ground at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas last month, we came across a Government Issue .45 1911 that looked more at home in the South Pacific in 1943. 

As part of its Air Aces Series, Auto-Ordnance had its new Black Sheep 1911 on display. Crafted by the folks over at Outlaw Ordnance, the artists start with an Auto-Ordnance Stainless 1911 and then apply a carefully researched red, white, and blue Cerakote finish that emulates a World War II aircraft associated with famed Marine air ace Major Gregory “Pappy” Boyington. 

A functional work of art, underneath the custom Cerakote finish, the Black Sheep 1911 is still an Auto-Ordnance Stainless 1911 in .45 ACP. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Note the “rivet” pattern, the sheet of Rising sun victory stencils, and the correct “Lucybelle” nose art. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

lso, note the “belly” of the gun is left in the white to emulate the aluminum body of an F4U Corsair. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The aircraft Boyington was photographed with in November 1943, White 86 (BuNo.18086), was an F4U-1A Corsair of the same type he flew with the Black Sheep. Ironically, no records confirm he ever flew it in combat and the bird was made up specifically for the photoshoot. As such, it included 20 Kyokujitsu-ki rising suns, one for each confirmed Japanese aircraft he had shot down by that time, his name, and the nickname (“Lucybelle”) of his then-girlfriend, Lucy Malcomson. He would later fall out with Malcomson, leading to a bitter court case and, when the 1970s TV show “Baa Baa Black Sheep” would recreate this plane, Boyington, then on his fifth wife, advised the producers the plane was named “Lulubelle” instead.

A late model Goodyear FG 1D Corsair (BuNo 92246), one of only about 100 Corsairs left, is painted to emulate White 86 and is on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com) 

It has Boyington’s name stenciled under the cockpit but no “kill” flags or Lulubelle/Lucybelle nose art. I guess NNAM didn’t want to wade into that controversy

x

Smith J-frame for the win

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The odd thing about carry guns, even in a day when the market is awash in micro-compact 9mm pistols like the P365 and Hellcat, is that the snub-nosed revolver still sells and sells very well. I have often carried one over the past 30 years, either as a BUG to my primary or when in a non-permissive environment.

This thing has tagged along with me more than I care to admit

Billed as the ultimate small-frame carry revolver, S&W debuted a new line of SAO aluminum J-frame snub-nosed wheel guns at the SHOT Show this year. 
 
The new Ultimate Carry line is offered in a Model 642UC (stainless) and 442UC (black) Airweight Centennial format in a 5-shot .38 Special as well as a new 632UC and 432UC in 6-shot .32 H&R Magnum. All feature a fresh style of .140-inch XS Tritium front sight with a dovetailed .160-inch black serrated Novak-style U-notch rear sight and flush-cut “High Horn” VZ G10 boot grips. Going past that, the internals have been beefed up with titanium pins (rather than the standard aluminum) as used with the Scandium frame models to add durability over the years and a much-improved trigger pull. 

They both look and feel great.

The weight on the Smith & Wesson Ultimate Carry is right at 16 ounces. Note the enclosed ejector rod shroud, beveled cylinder front edge which aids in carry, and VZ G10 boot grips that have been updated to provide a higher backstrap on the gun.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Satisfied Lions

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80 years ago today: A “Free Belgian” lance corporal of the British Army’s No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando inspects his rifle with sniper scope in a village in Italy, 6 February 1944. Note his kit that includes not only an optics-equipped No. 4 Enfield but also Mills bombs, a toggle rope, and a cap comforter, the latter two pieces of gear considered standard issue among Commando units post-Dieppe. Further, take note of his fellow Commandos, many wearing a green beret with Belgian Lion insignia.

Official caption: “Italy. 5th Army. Belgian Commandos. Commando checking over the sniper sights on his rifle with a satisfied look. (La Vaglie) Taken by Sgt Bowman.” IWM NA 11813

The Free Belgian troops, formed in England around a 400-man kernel of the Royal Belgian Army that had escaped from the Continent in June 1940, eventually rose to include the 2,200-man Piron Brigade after its commanding officer, B. Gen. Jean-Baptiste Piron.

Volunteers from the Free Belgians for No. 10 Commando soon numbered enough to man a full Troop (No. 4), which, besides lending small groups for service to support the SOE in Belgium (all members had to be fluent in French, Dutch and English), would ship out to Italy in November 1943 to join the Special Service Brigade there and would continue to fight up the Italian “Boot” for most of the year, switching to Northwest Europe in November 1944 with Operation Infatuate: the liberation of the Dutch island of Walcheren.

Denison smocks, toggle ropes, and green berets with lions: Belgian Commandos in Training in Britain, 1945. “Men of the Belgian Army learn to use a Bren gun as part of their Commando training at a British Commando School. The NCO records to the second the time allowed for firing.” IWM D 23711

There were so many volunteers that a spin-off unit, Capt. Edouard “Eddy” Blondeel’s oversized Belgian Independent Parachute Company, became the 5th SAS in 1944 (and would become the 1er Regiment Parachutiste in the Belgian Army in 1946).

Post-war, No. 4 (Belgian) Troop, No. 10 Cmdo, would form the Belgian Army’s Commando Brigade (now 2e Bataillon de Commandos), in 1945. The organization still wears British-style para wings and its unit badge is a British Commando Fairbairn-Sykes dagger.

Steadfast, departing

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The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast (WMEC 623), the 9th Reliance-class 210-foot cutter built, had a very long career.

Laid down in the midwest at the American Ship Building Company of Lorain, Ohio, on 2 May 1966, she commissioned 7 October 1968– the same year as the Tet Offensive.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast side-launched at the American Shipbuilding Company, Lorain 1967

Following an extensive refit in 1994 that aimed to add another 20-25 years to her service, she made it an additional 30 and was just decommissioned over the weekend.

The crew aboard U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast (WMEC-623) stands in formation on the ship’s flight deck while underway off the coast of Central America Memorial Day, 2022. An embarked MH-65 Dolphin helicopter detachment crew from Air Station Port Angeles hovered overhead for the photo in recognition of the day of remembrance. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Brad O’Brien)

Originally home-ported in St. Petersburg, Florida for her first 24 years, she shifted to Astoria, Oregon for the second half of her career.

The service put her to bed on Saturday. 

Five prior Commanding Officers of USCGC Steadfast (WMEC 623) attended the ceremony over the weekend

As noted by the service:

Since commissioning in 1968, she has completed over 340 Search and Rescue cases, interdicted over 1.6 million pounds of marijuana and 164,000 pounds of cocaine, seized over 80 vessels, and stopped over 3,500 undocumented migrants from entering the United States. Steadfast was the first and is one of only two cutters, awarded the gold marijuana leaf, symbolizing one million pounds of marijuana seized. Legend holds Steadfast was named “El Tiburon Blanco” (Spanish for “The White Shark”) by Caribbean drug smugglers in the 1970s for being such a nemesis to their illegal drug operations. To this day, the crew uses the symbol of “El Tiburon Blanco” as one of their logos to epitomize Steadfast’s assertive law enforcement posture.

Steadfast is a multi-mission platform and is under the Operational Command of the Coast Guard Pacific Area Commander. As a Coast Guard resource, Steadfast deploys in support of Coast Guard Districts 11 and 13 as well as Joint Inter-Agency Task Force South (JIATF-S). During deployments, Steadfast patrols along the western seaboard of the United States, Mexico, and North and Central America conducting search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, living marine resource protection, and Homeland Defense operations.

In her years of service, Steadfast has been awarded the Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbons for Campaign Caper Focus and for Operation Martillo, 8 Coast Guard Excellence Ribbons, 5 Coast Guard Unit Commendation Awards, and 4 Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendations. In July 2019, Steadfast broke the record for the most cocaine seized during a single deployment among all 15 cutters of her same class and size.

In all, Steadfast served 55 years, 3 months, and 26 days. Not a bad run.

She is the fourth of 16 Reliance class cutters to get the ax, and will probably be sent overseas as military aid as two of her sisters have already been.

A view of the Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast at sunrise off the coast of San Diego, California., Dec. 2, 2019. The crew of the Steadfast was transiting north to their homeport of Astoria, Oregon, following a 60-day patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jonathan O’Connor.)

Battleship Landing Party Bill, circa 1950s

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Ensign Schuyler F. Heim and other members of the landing party from the South Carolina-class battleship USS Michigan (BB-27) preparing to disembark, on 22 April 1914, at Vera Cruz. Their whites are made khaki through the use of coffee grounds. NHHC NH 100612

The Battleship New Jersey Museum just found the ship’s organization book from 1956 and posted a great video detailing the landing party bill.

Of note, the Korean War-era landing party 201-man rifle company (6 officers, 195 enlisted), was commanded by the Marine detachment’s skipper (a captain) and made up of a platoon of 36 Marines (presumably led by a Marine LT) then fleshed out by 165 bluejackets organized into a company HQ section (commanded by a second Marine LT), a 2nd and 3rd infantry platoon, and a machine gun platoon. The senior Navy officer would be a LtJG who would act as the company executive officer while the company’s First SGT would be a Marine MSgt and the company Gunnery Sergent would be a PO1, likely GM1.

Inspecting USS New Jersey’s Marine detachment, 1944. Of note, this was one of the first Marine Detachments to hit the fleet with M1 Garands. Catalog #: 80-G-82699

Armament included 154 M1 Garands, 20 M1911 sidearms, a whopping 27 M1918 BARs, and 6 light machine guns (probably M1919s).

The three infantry platoons (at least in the case of the two Navy-staffed platoons) would be further divided into 9 four-man fire teams, each with a team leader (M1), rifleman (M1), BAR gunner (M1918) and assistant BAR gunner (M1), combined into three squads each with an additional squad leader, with the whole thing led by a platoon leader, for 40 men per platoon. No platoon Sgt/CPO, and no HMs or commo at the platoon level. Hey, it was 1956…

Anyway, good stuff, and a quick explanation of why a Cold War-era Marine Det on a battleship or cruiser included a captain and two lieutenants for a platoon-sized element.

The last Marine Carrier Dets, useful shipboard for guarding admirals, performing TRAP missions, and keeping an eye on “special munitions” (aka nukes) were disbanded in 1998.

Milsurp .30-06 Ammo Update!

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So for all of you guys with M1 Garands, M1917 “American Enfields,” and M1903 Springers, this could be of interest to you.

Sorry, it’s not cheaper (in both cases running close to $1 per round, which is actually more than the new-man S&B 150-grain that you can find on Ammoseek).

CMP has surplus ammo back in stock, including 400-round cans of Lake City M2 Ball, sadly not in en bloc clips but in cardboard cartons.

Here are the deets:

Surplus ammo is now available on the CMP E-Store. Visit the CMP E-Store at https://shop.thecmp.org/browse/Ammo.

Lake City M2 Ball 150 Grain FMJ 20 rd Boxes
Item #: 4S3006LCM2-400
$392 plus $21 s/h (Limit 1 can per person per year)

.30 Carbine 240 rds per box 10 rd clips in bandoleers
Item #: 4S30CARB-240
$132 plus $12.95 s/h (Limit 2 boxes per person per year)

.22 Caliber Surplus Ammunition 500 rounds per brick
Item #: 4S22PISTOL-500
$40 plus $12.95 s/h (Limit 2 boxes per person per year)

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 that 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.

Further, RTI has West German 200-round .30-06 battle packs

Deets:

We now have original West German .30-06 ammunition now available! This ammunition is post WWII 1960’s manufactured and has been in storage until now. This ammo was manufactured by MEN, Metallwerk Elisenhutte. The cartridges are berdan primed. This ammo is non corrosive. This ammo can be run in M1 Garands, 1903s, 1919s and more.

Please note that the rubber on these battlepack’s may be torn or ripped.

Photo I.D. required for purchase, please email a photo I.D. along with your order number to ffl@rtifirearms.com. Thank you for your business!

No ammunition sales to Alaska, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Washington D.C.

No ammunition sales to Chicago IL, New York City, NY and Cook County Illinois

Cannot Ship to a PO Box

Want to know the coolest thing I saw at SHOT Show?

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Probably the coolest story coming out of SHOT Show involves one of the largest state-owned firearms plants in the world spooling up to send pallets of iconic guns to anxious consumers in the U.S.
 
PT Pindad (Persero) dates to 1808 and since 1950 has been the primary domestic arsenal for the Indonesian military. Back in the mid-1960s, with the Pacific Rim country’s shift to embrace the West, Pindad began to acquire a series of licenses to make firearms locally in Java. These included two from Beretta to manufacture the PM12 9mm submachine gun and the BM-59 battle rifle in 7.62 NATO. In 1984, Pindad secured the same sort of technical package and license to produce the FN FNC 5.56 rifle. Of note, Indonesia was the first country to adopt the FNC, even before Sweden and Belgium. 
 
Now, commercial variants are headed to American shores. 

 
I interviewed Pindad reps, along with their importer, Nevada-based Terratek USA, at the SHOT Show last week to get the details. Terratek, a Type 08 FFL, has signed an MOU with Pindad for joint marketing, manufacturing, and assembly of Pindad’s products in the U.S.
 
“We hope to leverage Pindad’s long history and expertise in this industry to create jobs and diversify the economic footprint in the Las Vegas Valley,” said James Ferguson, General Manager of Terratek USA. “What Pindad brings to the table extends beyond the defense industry as their portfolio spans across heavy machinery manufacturing, electronics, and a plethora of commercial applications.”

Kate Ferguson, Director of Terratek USA, Samuel with Pindad with a PM-1 9mm, Yayat Ruyat (VP of Marketing, Sales, Business Development) with a PM-3 9mm, and Tom Saras with Pindad with an SS1-C. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

More in my column at Guns.com.

A Tale Told in 8 SHOT Shows

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For the record, this was not a factory option from Hudson (Photos: Chris Eger)

I was on the scene when the H9 had its first debut back at SHOT ’17 as well for the introduction of the updated H9A the following year. Sadly, I also covered the pistol’s demise along with its parent company in early 2019 – a short but spectacular run. This downfall came immediately after Hudson failed to appear at SHOT that year.
 
Shortly after came a federal bankruptcy sale, with several Billie Hudson’s patents acquired by Daniel Defense, followed by market research pointing at the Georgia-based black rifle maker seriously looking to reboot the pistol.

Fast-forward to SHOT ’24, and the new Daniel Defense H9 has made its return to the market.

More in my column at Guns.com.

What a difference 21 years makes

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How about this great shot of an Italy-based 173rd Airborne paratrooper during Op Joint Guardian II at the Heritage Drop Zone in Kosovo, in January 2003.

Scene Camera Operator: SPC Ryan C. Creel, USA. Release Status: Released to Public. National Archives Identifier 6625420

He’s got an early flat-topped M4 (which only started issuing around 1997) with a detachable carry handle, the almost universally hated vert grip, and a PEQ-2 held on with a liberal amount of field expedient tape.

The Sky Soldier is clad in what seems to be ECWS pants and a standard M81 BDU blouse in bright four-color woodland camo– which continued in service until 2008– and has a set of Ranger beads on the suspenders of his ALICE Load Carrying gear. A bulky M9 bayonet is at the ready next to the compass pouch.

Not going to lie, I always thought M81 was the best camo. 

Accomplishments of the Impossible

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80 years ago today, an absolutely beautiful profile shot of the spick-and-span new USS Reno (CL-96) outbound in the Golden Gate, while leaving San Francisco Bay, California, on 25 January 1944. Reno is painted in Camouflage Measure 33, Design 24d.

Photographed by Naval Air Station Moffett Field, Sunnyvale, California. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives. Catalog #: 80-G-215947

The Atlanta (Oakland)-class light anti-aircraft cruiser was built in the Bay area at Bethlehem and commissioned in December 1943. The above image is of her leaving on trials and shakedown.

Joining Mitscher’s Task Force 58 by May 1944, in early November Reno ran across Japanese B2-type submarine I-41 and came away with two Type 95 torpedos in her hull– one of which was still live. Filled with 1,850 tons of seawater, she somehow limped to Ulithi for temporary repairs before making it stateside, where she finished the war in repair.

At one point, she had an 18-foot draft forward and a 30-foot draft at the stern with a 16-degree list. Keep in mind her mean draft at max load was 20 feet.

USS Reno (CL-96) under salvage after she was torpedoed by the I-41 on 3 November 1944, while operating off the Philippines. Photographed on 5 November, with USS Zuni (ATF-95) alongside. NH 98473

The full 99-page report on her torpedoing and epic damage control efforts is in the National Archives. 

This is from the report:

Reno earned three battle stars for her World War II service and decommissioned in 1946, never left mothballs until it was time to be turned into razor blades in 1959.

However, one of her twin 5-inch/38 gun turrets has been preserved at the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, long exhibited in the WWII Pacific section of Bldg. 76.

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