Not all Turknellis are garbage, apparently

Posted on by Leave a comment

Stoeger has kept calm and carried on with a line of low-key defensive autoloading shotguns for a while and the M3000 Freedom Defense series feels – and performs – really well.

Follow me on the lineage here. Turkey’s Stoeger is owned by Beretta, which, in turn, also owns Benelli. Stoeger doesn’t advertise that, but it’s probably a big reason why the M3000 feels (and even looks) so much like the $1,400 Benelli M2 Tactical combat shotgun. Keep in mind the M3000 Freedom Defense is half as much, which is the mic-drop moment.

Speaking of lineage, Stoeger first introduced the M3000 series in 2013 as a field gun with full-length screw-in choked barrels. Then came the Defense version, with shorter (18.5-inch) cylinder bore barrels in 2017. Since then, Stoeger has made a series of quiet upgrades to the line to give us the M3000 Defender Freedom series that we have today.

Underappreciated for sure, I’ve about 500 shells downrange with the M3000 Freedom Defense with no issues to report so far other than the magazine knob spinning loose every now and then (keep an eye on that), and the “buttpad” just shouldn’t be called one.

More in my column at Guns.com.

So long, SharpSHooters (for now)

Posted on by Leave a comment

This is probably the last time 18 F-18C/D models will be in the air in a single formation again:

U.S. Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron (VMFAT) 101, Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, conduct a mass formation launch known as “flying the barn,” to honor the squadron’s legacy on the day of its deactivation at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, Sept. 29, 2023. For more than 50 years, instructor pilots of the VMFAT-101 “SharpShooters” have qualified combat aviators and sent them to operational squadrons worldwide. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Samantha Devine)

With the end of the line– at least in U.S. service– for the nimble but aging F-18C in favor of the mammothly larger F-18E “Rhino” Super Hornet, since October 2019, the “SharpShooters” of Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron (VMFAT) 101 has trained Navy and Marine Corps aviators as the only remaining F/A-18C Hornet Fleet Replacement Squadron in the Department of the Navy.

That ended on 29 September when the 3rd MAW deactivated the squadron aboard MCAS Miramar. As outlined in the 2022 Marine Corps Aviation Plan, the Hornet will continue to operate and provide combat capability until its complete transition to the F-35 Lighting II in 2030. Still, the dedicated training mission of new Hornet crews (if needed) will be curtailed and transferred as an ancillary mission to the “Death Rattlers” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 323, a 3rd MAW operational F-18C squadron co-located at Miramar. Besides VMFA-323, the Marines still cling to six Hornet squadrons including those in the reserves. 

VMFAT-101, commissioned at El Toro on 3 January 1969 as a Vietnam-era F-4 Phantom training unit,. Some 125,000 flight hours later, it flew its last 10 operational Phantoms to Davis-Monthan in 1987 then returned to El Toro to pick up the Hornet, ultimately feeding 11 active Marine fighter attack squadrons.

Now, capping 36 years with the bird, they once again put a classic type to bed in style and opted to “Fly the Barn” putting its 18 aircraft up in a single flight during the sundown ceremony.

As for a deeper dive, The Fighter Pilot Podcast sat down with the final VMFAT-101 Commander, LtCol Ryan “Yoshi” Franzen, and Operations Officer Maj Erik “Tucker” Rheinhart to share Sharpshooter history and legacy, and what’s next.

Take me out to the ballgame

Posted on by Leave a comment

With the 1943 World Series some 80 years in the rearview this week, one famed offshoot of that 5-game near-blowout by the Yankees over the Cards comes to mind.

The aviators of the newly-formed Marine Fighter Squadron 214, better known to history as one-time Flying Tiger, Maj. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington’s “Black Sheep” Squadron (AKA “Boyington’s Bastards), based in sunny Vella Lavella in the recently liberated Solomon Islands, urgently wanted ball caps– which were in short supply in the remote outpost– to help keep the rays out of their eyes.

Boyington duly wrote to the League, the story goes as told by the Baseball Hall of Fame, “that the airmen agreed to shoot down one enemy plane in exchange for every ball cap they received from players in that year’s World Series. Sure enough, upon conclusion of the World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals sent 20 baseball caps along with a few bats and balls to the Black Sheep Squadron.”

This earned a few snapshots of the Black Sheep with their new swag, complete with Corsairs, and 20 corresponding Rising Sun stickers.

As VMF-214 accounted for 100 enemy aircraft while flying combat missions for just 83 days from September 1943 to January 1944, the return to Major League Baseball was actually closer to 5:1.

Major Greg “Pappy” Boyington’s Cardinals cap, complete with EGA, is in the NMMC collection, next to his wings

The Mighty Miss headed West

Posted on by Leave a comment

80 years ago today. The much-modified New Mexico-class super-dreadnought USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 41), port view, 45 degrees of centerline while off San Francisco, California, 8 October 1943

National Museum of the U.S. Navy photo 19-LCM-Box 196-2

Another shot, taken the same day, shows a great profile of BB-41.

Note that giant new SK radar. 19-LCM-Box 196-3

The third USS Mississippi was laid down on 5 April 1915 by Newport News Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, Va.; launched on 25 January 1917; and commissioned 18 December 1917– some eight months after the U.S. entered the Great War.

Her WWI service was limited largely to exercises and working up– plus the British wanted coal-fired battleships for service with the Home Fleet and Mississippi and her sisters had an advanced turbo-electric engineering suite of four Curtis turbines with steam provided by nine oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers.

Modernized in the mid-1930s (changing to a more efficient 4 sets of Westinghouse geared steam turbines powered by 6 Bureau Express boilers in addition to a myriad of other, more minor, changes), Mississippi escaped the great battleship slaughter at Pearl Harbor as she was on the other side of the globe– keeping neutrality watch in Icelandic waters on December 7, 1941.

While she was rushed to the West Coast afterward, limited refueling abilities past Oahu left her there, only venturing out on the occasional convoy run to Fiji and heading north to participate in retaking the Aleutians from the Japanese in 1943. Finally, by October of that year, it was deemed there were enough oilers and Mississippi had enough new anti-aircraft barrels installed (20 Bofors 40mm in 4×4 & 2×2 mounts, as well as 21 Oerlikon 20mm guns) to head to the West Pac.

The above images were taken just before Mississippi sailed from San Pedro on 19 October to take part in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands.

She would end up with eight battle stars for World War II service then live on into the Atomic era as a guided missile anti-aircraft training ship and test ship (EAG‑128), remaining in service into 1956– the last American Great War era battlewagon on active duty. Of note, her two sisters were broken up in 1947.

SAMs and casemates! USS Mississippi (EAG-128) Fires a Terrier surface-to-air missile during at-sea tests, circa 1953-55. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. 80-G-K-17878

70 Year Throwback: Operation Seagull

Posted on by Leave a comment

October 1953, French Indochina. A locally recruited paratrooper of 2e Bataillon du 1e Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes (2/1er RCP) posted in observation and firing position, on the edge of Phu Nho Quan (Nho-Quan district) during Operation Mouette (Seagull). As a sign of being in an elite unit, he is armed with a new 10-shot 7.5mm MAS 49 rifle outfitted with an APX L806 scope– a decent setup for the time– and clad in a combination of TAP 47 uniform and American “Beo Gam” duck hunter camo. Also, note the American bino case and canteen. 

Ref: TONK 53-112 R83 ©Pierre.Ferrari/ECPAD/Defense

Mouette, which ran throughout October and into December, would see a 24,000-man French force attempt to encircle and defeat a Viet Minh divisional-sized element around the Phu Nho Quan area, south of the Red River Delta. In the end, the French withdrew, claiming a tactical victory, and the area “pacified,” citing that the Viet Minh had suffered “at least 10 times the casualties” they had inflicted in return (~750) on the men of the Republic.

As for the 1er RCP, it was formed 80 years ago this month in Oujda, Morocco on 7 October 1943, 11 months after the Torch Landings, made up of 10 companies and an HHC group, with a cadre from the old 1re Compagnie parachutiste, which had been formed in 1941 from remnants of two earlier French air force paratrooper companies (601e GIA, 602e GIA) that had shifted to Oued Smar aerodrome outside of Algiers post-Fall of France.

The original pre-WWII 601e and 602e GIA (Groupe d’infanterie de l’Air) companies were part of the Air Force but some cadre were folded into the 1er RCP

They had already been bloodied in service to the Allies, with volunteers accompanying the U.S. 2/509th Parachute Infantry Regiment during the raid to destroy a bridge in El Djem, Tunisia on Christmas Eve 1942.

The French paras trained side-by-side at Oujda with the U.S. 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (82nd Airborne Div) and, by D-Day, sent several sticks over Normandy in 15 small jumps on June 6, 1944, to help establish bases in the German rear in association with SOE and BCRA.

Their first company-size operation was on 5 August, when 84 men of 2nd Coy and 83 of 3rd Coy, as part of the French 3rd battalion of Special Air Service, jumped in Operation Derry 1, 2, 3, to protect bridges around Ploudaniel, Saint-Jean du Doigt, and Finistère, France. Later jumps were made in the enemy’s rear to harass the German withdrawal from Southern France while more men were detached for service and embedded with Allied paratroopers for the Dragoon Landings.

Trained and typically operating with American sky soldiers, the men of the 1er RCP used GI arms and equipment in WWII, with the 1937-established French paratrooper insignia

Then came lots of use as traditional infantry in the Vosges and Colmar regions.

Later in the war, they would make small jumps into Holland as late as April 1945.

When it came to Indochina, the RCP would send two companies in late 1946, making their first (of 21) combat jumps in the region there at Sam Neva, Laos on 23 March 1947 before the whole unit was eventually deployed, even turning to local recruitment and an in-theatre parachute school to keep it flush.

Some of the biggest Indochina missions for the regiment included dropping 450 men in Operation Papillon 1, to capture Hoa Binh in April 1947, a 532-man airborne inserted search and destroy operation between Cu Van and La Hien dropped on 26 November 1947, Operation Pingouin, where 283 men were dropped to neutralize a Vietminh unit at Hoang Xa in September 1948; seizing Son Tay with a full 734-man airdropped battalion in November 1948, a 1,000-man raid on Day in December (revisited the next year in Operation Pegase with a similar force), 331 men recapturing Nam Dinh in 1949’s Operation Anthracite, and their Indochine swan song– setting down among 2,650 massed paratroopers to establish a base at a remote place known as Dien Bien Phu on 20 November 1954.

Then came Algeria, Lebanon, Chad, the Central African Republic, Bosnia, Afghanistan, the Ivory Coast, Haiti, Mali, etc.

Today, the regiment is part of the 11th Parachute Brigade (11e BP) and their motto is “Vaincre ou mouri“– Victory or Death.

And they very much remember their past. 

They maintain the French parachutist badge first established in 1937, and their regimental flag has honors for Vosage (1944) Colmar (1945) Indochine (1947-50, 53-54), and AFN (Algeria) 1952-62. Besides the traditional amaranth (red) airborne beret, they also wear a blue Air Force cap on occasion, to mark the old 601e/602e GIA linage.

CMP Update

Posted on by Leave a comment

Ohhhh, baby.

Rec’d via CMP, lots of interesting news including the news that they have set aside some surplus ammo to sell in FY 24, some M1917 Enfields are coming up, some 5,000 M1 Garands have recently come in as returns from the Turkish military, and the full 10,000 M1911s from the Army have been received for the upcoming draw ( I just managed to get my packet in last week, so, yay!).

Without further, the presser:

By Gerald O’Keefe, CMP Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

A key role for any CEO is to communicate with customers – to have an open dialogue, get feedback and continue to foster organizational improvement based on a variety of inputs. I’ve met many of you at our events in AL, OH and around the country and I very much appreciate your support and your passion. As I complete my first year in this role, I thought it would be useful to reach out via this website to the literally hundreds of thousands of CMP customers and competitors to keep you better informed. The narrative that follows includes an update of CMP’s existing operations, planned projects, events and future endeavors. I plan to provide these updates going forward on semi-annual basis. 

The Civilian Marksmanship Program has had a busy and successful FY23 thanks to our hardworking staff members, our many partnerships with prominent organizations in the field, and, of course, our dedicated supporters. Thank you to all of you as you participate and support CMP’s efforts to promote marksmanship and to be the Home of Marksmanship.

Fiscal Year 2023 Summary.  

Sales. Our sales program remained strong. We received approximately 5,000 M1 Garands from the Government of Turkey, 10,000 surplus M1911s from the Army and a significant quantity of surplus ammunition from the Army. These assets on top of our existing inventory allowed for a full year of rifle and pistol sales both online and in our three physical stores. These assets are critical to our mission and business as the proceeds fund our many programs and also the general expenses to run the CMP. 

Programs/Mission. Also, a strong year. Some highlights follow, but my ask here is for those of you who come to our matches to spread the word about the great experience and to get that word out especially to younger and junior competitors. At the CMP, we are working hard to further our mission of “promoting marksmanship” and are diligently working to get more competitors to our events. We appreciate your support – let’s work together to grow and sustain the sport.

National Matches. The CMP saw encouraging signs over the month-long event, with increases in participation in pistol, smallbore rifle and highpower events. We’d like to thank all those who made the trip out to Camp Perry this year as well as those sponsors and vendors who helped give our guests an overall rewarding experience. The 2023 First Shot Ceremony kicked off the month-long event – if you didn’t get a chance to attend, check out the video recap at https://youtu.be/DeXPZlnvkLs?si=TCPHDeJCLhP9Huyo. The National Matches are the CMP’s premier annual event and we’ll continue to resource them and improve them.

CMP Bianchi Cup. This past year, CMP conducted our first “CMP” Bianchi Cup action pistol championship in Hallsville MO. The competition was professionally conducted in a joint effort by CMP staff and the local Green Valley Rifle and Pistol Club. We are very excited to continue the CMP Bianchi Cup – Mark your calendars for May 21-24, 2024.

Talladega Marksmanship Park. Our operations at the TMP continue to thrive. It is increasingly a destination venue and we are holding more competitions. We will continue to operate and sustain the Park as the premier shooting destination in the United States. This year we made several upgrades to the Park to include new, covered shotgun stands, more steel targets on the pistol range and we’ve begun work to add five new action pistol bays which when complete, will give us 20 bays.

Smallbore Electronic Targets. The addition of the Smallbore Electronic Targets has been a game changer for match officials and competitors alike. The 2023 National Smallbore Matches welcomed 246 individuals to Camp Perry in July, making it the largest Smallbore competition held in the United States this year. Five competitions have already been conducted on the new targets. The CMP will also host the first Dixie Double 3×20 Smallbore competition at the Talladega Marksmanship Park in November 2023.

JROTC Air Rifle Postal. Last year’s JROTC air rifle series of events and National Championship was extremely successful. This Fall’s JROTC Postal Competition is officially open for registration. This competition is open to all High School JROTC Programs at no cost to the schools or cadets. Over the next two months, the CMP will print and mail over 20,000 paper targets to thousands of students across the country. Each school will shoot the targets at their home range and return them to the CMP. The best teams and individuals from each JROTC service will be selected to attend the second stage of this competition series, the JROTC Service Championship.

Laser Shot Simulation Systems. The CMP continues to invest in technology. We feel this is critical to the future of the sport and also critical to attracting junior competitors. The CMP has acquired two laser shot simulation systems, which are now operational at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center at Camp Perry. Many competitors from the National Matches and many of our air gun athletes were able to give the simulators a try, and the systems continue to be available to guests of the air range throughout the year. These systems are great for experienced and new competitors, hosting military marksmanship instruction, offer significant law enforcement applications and are also frankly, just a lot of fun. For FY24 we are considering adding more simulation systems to our facilities in Anniston and Talladega AL. Watch a short reel on the Laser Shot Simulator Systems at https://youtube.com/shorts/wV-o-Dyhkls?si=sBm-j_RdlpOw-xea.

Fiscal Year 2024. This next year will be another exciting one for the CMP.  Some highlights:

Sales:  

Surplus Rifles.  We project a full year of sales for M1 Garands. In addition to the Garands we will be releasing a small quantity of M1917 rifles. You’ll see these on our website and in our stores. Also, effective October 1, 2023, the CMP’s new yearly limit on M1 Garands will be 6 per calendar year. If you have already purchased 6-8 M1 Garands in calendar year 2023, you will not be allowed to purchase more M1 Garands until January 2024. While a relatively minor change, the rationale here is to spread these amazing, historic and increasingly scarce guns to a larger number of customers. We’ll relook at this limit again next year. 

Surplus Pistols.  As mentioned earlier, the CMP received 10,000 surplus M1911 pistols at the beginning of the summer in 2023 and will continue selling through next year. Round 4 of the CMP 1911 Pistol Program is currently open for orders and we’ve upped the quantity that an individual can buy to two (per lifetime)! The yearly limit is one per calendar year until you’ve reached your lifetime limit. More information on these firearms and how to purchase them is available through our website: https://thecmp.org/sales-and-service/1911-information/.

Surplus Ammo. As mentioned earlier we received a significant quantity in Jan 2023. We intentionally set aside some to sell in FY24. And as we did in FY23, we’ll reserve a subset of the ammunition for CMP competitors at an additional discount. 

Stores. All three of our home stores will be open this year to include Anniston. Anniston re-opened in January 2023 and has seen all of our faithful customers back and so many new faces ready to support CMP.

Programs/Mission/Other Events. We will conduct the full suite of competitions in FY24 and hope to see you and any new competitors you can bring along! Please see the list of events at the bottom of this message or visit the CMP website for additional information.

Garand Collectors Association (GCA) Conference. This year’s GCA Conference will be held at the CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park in Alabama from 6-8 October. We look forward to accommodating the GCA, which has always been a generous contributor to CMP programs, including the CMP Scholarship program.

CMP Premier Shooting Expo. The CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park will also be hosting the CMP’s Inaugural Premier Shooting Expo on Oct. 18 – a tradeshow for marksmanship and non-marksmanship vendors, spread across the 500 acres of the facility. The event is open to the public, with several hands-on opportunities and exclusive insights into the latest products available today. Visit https://thecmp.org/ranges/talladega-marksmanship-park/cmp-premier-shooting-expo/ to register or for more information on how to become a vendor.

New CMP Board Members. The CMP Board provides strategic guidance and oversight to the company. At our recent Board meeting in Boise ID, we added two new members: Mr. Fabian Lobera and Mr. Mark House. Both bring significant competencies to the board. Please visit https://thecmp.org/about/board/ to read their short bios. And speaking of the board meeting, while in Idaho the Board took some time to visit the Parma Rod and Gun Club for some recreational shooting and to gain insights from a well respected club and cadre. It was a great day – some pictures are included with this press release.

Advanced Maintenance Class (AMC). We are bringing this fan favorite back for FY24. The Custom Shop will be hosting 8 AMCs. Be on the lookout for the announcement coming soon. Our all-time favorite buddy class is back on the roster too!

CMP E-Store Update. The CMP E-Store is currently down for maintenance. A new look and upgrade are underway to improve your shopping experience – look for more details mid-October. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working hard to get this capability restored as soon as possible.

New CMP Coin. Below is the new CMP Coin. They highlight the four pillars of our mission (Safety, Competitions, Training and a Youth Focus) and also our “Home of Marksmanship” motto. While very different to include being a slightly bit larger than the previous coin they maintain the lineage of the “eagle” on the front side of the coin and have various representations of our CMP history. The new CMP Coin will be available on the E-Store along with various CMP Memorabilia items.

Closing Remarks. I’ve had a great first year in leading this top notch and professional organization. I’m honored to have this job and I look forward to many great things ahead. I want to thank you again for your commitment and passion to the CMP and to shooting sports. The CMP will continue to actively advance our mission to promote marksmanship with a focus on junior competitors and as always on safety. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our events and I know you’ll continue to let us know how we are doing. Your feedback is critical as we continue to improve and evolve as an organization. Feel free to share you feedback with me at info@thecmp.org.

As always, the CMP has several upcoming indoor air gun and outdoor rifle and pistol events to enjoy throughout the fall months. CMP’s facilities also host public events on a daily and weekly basis, so be sure to keep an eye on our social media pages and our website for all the latest news.

The CMP — The Home of Marksmanship!

CMP Upcoming Events:

We hope you will continue to help CMP fulfill its mission and help to grow the sport of marksmanship. We encourage you to introduce a friend to marksmanship or bring them along with you to a CMP event.

DATE EVENT LOCATION
Through December 14 American Legion Postal Official targets sent to participants
Through 13 November JROTC Postal Air Rifle Competition Official targets sent to JROTC units
Through November 15 CMP Aces Postal Official targets sent to participants or electronic scores are submitted
5-15 October IDPA Nationals Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
6 – 7 October GCA Convention & Matches Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
7-8 October Archery Tournament Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
10-15 October Western Games – Fall Classic Ben Avery Shooting Facility – Phoenix, AZ
14 October CMP Monthly Air Gun Matches
60 Shot Standing – Rifle & Pistol
3-Position Air Rifle		 Anniston, AL – Judith Legerski CMP Competition Center and
Camp Perry, OH – Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center
14-15 October Sporting Clays Monthly Registered Target Shoot Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
15 October – 15 Jan CMP Postal Official targets sent to participants
18 October CMP Premier Shooting Expo Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
21 October USPSA Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
21 October Rimfire Sporter Match Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
28 October 3-Gun Match Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
2-5 November Dixie Doubles – Air Rifle & Smallbore Match Anniston, AL – Judith Legerski CMP Competition Center and
Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
4 November Match Tracker Steel Challenge Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
6-12 November Talladega 600 Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
7 November CMP Range Officer Level II – Highpower Rifle/Bulls Eye Pistol Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
18 November CMP Monthly Air Gun Matches
60 Shot Standing – Rifle & Pistol
3-Position Air Rifle		 Anniston, AL – Judith Legerski CMP Competition Center and
Camp Perry, OH – Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center
18 November Women’s Defensive Pistol Class Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
18-19 November Sporting Clays Monthly Registered Target Shoot Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
25 November 3-Gun Match Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
1-2 December Gary Anderson Invitational Anniston, AL – Judith Legerski CMP Competition Center and
Camp Perry, OH – Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center
2 December Match Tracker Steel Challenge Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
2 December Lincoln High School Athletics Fundraiser Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
8-10 December Winter Airgun Camp Perry, OH – Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center
9 December Practical Defensive Handgun Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
16 December USPSA Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
23 December 3-Gun Match Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
5-7 January Air Gun Olympic Trials, Part 3 Anniston, AL – Judith Legerski CMP Competition Center
6 January Match Tracker Steel Challenge Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
20 January USPSA Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
20 January CMP Monthly Air Gun Matches
60 Shot Standing – Rifle & Pistol
3-Position Air Rifle		 Anniston, AL – Judith Legerski CMP Competition Center and
Camp Perry, OH – Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center
27 January 3-Gun Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
3 February Match Tracker Steel Challenge Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
     
8-10 February JROTC Regional Championships Sandy, Utah and Anniston, AL
15-17 February JROTC Regional Championships Anniston, AL and Camp Perry, OH
17 February USPSA Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
24 February 3-Gun Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
2 March Match Tracker Steel Challenge Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
2 March Dovetail Landing Pulling for Patriot Sporting Clays Event Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
8-10 March SSSF (Scholastic Sport Shooting Foundation) Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
12-17 March Talladega Spring Classic Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
16 March CMP Monthly Air Gun Matches
60 Shot Standing – Rifle & Pistol
3-Position Air Rifle		 Anniston, AL – Judith Legerski CMP Competition Center and
Camp Perry, OH – Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center
16 March USPSA Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL
21-23 March JROTC National Championship Camp Perry, OH – Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center
23 March 3-Gun Talladega Marksmanship Park, AL

Check out CMP Sanctioned Matches & Clinics on our website at https://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php?do=matchRegistrationListUpcoming.

The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and to the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States. For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto www.TheCMP.org

Avengers Inbound

Posted on by Leave a comment

80 years ago today: Formation of at least 17 early Grumman TBF-1 Avenger aircraft in flight over Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, and Aoba Island, Tuesday, 5 October 1943. Note that one plane, White 124, still wears the old “wingless” national insignia roundel, which was discontinued in June 1943.

National Archives photo 80-G-54790

As noted in the official caption about the above torpedo bombers, “They had a cover of 24 F4Us during this training maneuver, and were “attacked” by P-40s of the New Zealand air force. Maneuvers ended with an “attack” on the “enemy” fighter strip.”

Sorry guys, no squadron markings, tail codes, or BuNos visible to dig deeper.

However, there was a series of combined fleet exercises for Task Force 38 off Espiritu Santo in early October with Carrier Air Group 12 aboard the recently-repaired USS Saratoga (CV-3) along with Carrier Air Group 23 aboard the newly-commissioned light carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23) in preparation for Operation Shoestring 2. Therefore, these Avengers could be from VC-23 or Torpedo (VT) 12, sans tail codes yet.  

Like 1911s? Two Legacy Companies Just Announced They Are Now Making Them

Posted on by Leave a comment

Colt had a lock on John Browning’s Model of 1911 design for just two years, being forced to allow the Army’s Springfield in 1914 to begin production of the pistol.

Before the Great War was out, the War Department leaned on Colt to allow Remington Arms-UMC and Winchester to also get in on the game with contracts for 500,000 guns each at a price of $15 (U.S.) per pistol delivered (of which Remington only managed to make 22,000 and Winchester none.) Added to this were late 1918 War Department contracts for another 1.7 million M1911s divided among the North American Arms Co. (Quebec), A. J. Savage Munitions Co. (San Diego), National Cash Register Co. (Dayton, OH), Lanston Monotype Co. (Philadelphia), Caron Brothers Manufacturing Co. (Montreal), Savage Arms Co. (Utica, NY), and the Burroughs Adding Machine Co. (Detroit), of which only NAA was able to make about 100 toolroom samples before the Armistice.

Colt was able to claw back production after the lights came back on in Europe, licensing small runs to military arsenals in Argentina and Norway in the 1920s and kept the gun back under its control– especially after the M1911A1 standard was adopted in 1924– until the drums of world war sounded once again.

WWII production included components and guns made by H&R, Ithaca, Union Switch, Remington Rand (the typewriter folks), and the Singer Sewing Machine Co., with these makers combined dwarfing Colt’s wartime 1911 run.

Then, once again, when peace broke out, Colt was able to consolidate itself as The 1911 Maker and kept introducing new models (and patents/trademarks) such as the Commander, Delta, Gold Cup, MK IV, Defender, New Agent, 80 Series internals, etc, to keep it that way legally.

However, by the late 1970s, this game started losing ground as folks like Essex, Detonics, Randall, Auto-Ordnance, AMT, LAR, and Viking entered the marketplace with incrementally improved clones and stole share from the “Prancing Pony.”

That paved the way for Springfield Armory Inc, Kimber, Les Baer, Magnum Research, Ed Brown, and others to follow by the early 1990s. Then the huge guys like S&W, SIG Sauer, FN-owned Browning, and Ruger to launch their own lines a few years later.

Heck, even Stevens makes a 1911 now.

Speaking of which, a pair of firearm manufacturers typically known for their black rifles and affordable polymer-framed pistols just announced they are working in the 1911 space– Diamondback and Bear Creek.

And the beat goes on…

The new Diamondback Limited Edition DB1911

Old School LST…Maybe Cool Again?

Posted on by Leave a comment

Check out this short (1 minute) moto reel of a Greek Jason-class tank landing ship HS Samos (L174) hitting the beach during exercise “Parmenion-23” on the Island of Chios and disgorging a series of vehicles including M113s, M48A5 MBTs, Humvees, and M109 SPGs in a very dated “right on the beach through scissor doors” kind of way.

You know, ala D-Day and Iwo Jima kinda stuff.

The U.S. got out of the LST biz almost a quarter century ago when we retired the excellent Newport-class tank landing ships.

The Newports went big, the 1960s designed vessels pushing some 8,500 tons or so, but could carry a light battalion of troops (430~) and almost 30 vehicles in as close to 17 feet of water as they could and, using a causeway, get them feet dry on the beach.

U.S. Navy crewmen stand at the end of a causeway as the Newport-class tank landing ship USS San Bernardino (LST-1189), with bow open, prepares to lower its ramp off Coronado, August 1979.

However, the Greek LST above is, as you can see, pretty handy. At just 4,500 tons, they can float with their back end in 11 feet of seawater and carry 350 troops and two dozen vehicles. They also have a helicopter pad for S-70-sized birds and four 36-foot LCVPs in davits.

They have a modest self-defense suite including an OTO Melara 76/62 gun, 2 twin BOFORS 40L/70 anti-aircraft guns, and 2 Rheinmetall 20 mm anti-aircraft guns.

Something like the Jason class, which was built in the 1990s and only has a 120-man crew, could be the off-the-shelf answer to the U.S. Navy’s Medium Landing Ship (LSM) program, previously called the Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) program, which aims to land small Marine Littoral AShM detachments on isolated Pacific atolls.

The Navy wants 18-36 LSMs about this size and capability, so it seems a good fit. 

Swap out the OTO for a 57mm MK110, the 40mm guns for a C-RAM launcher, and mount a couple of 25mm or 30mm Bushmasters for small work– all equipment that can be taken from decommissioned LCSs!

Food for thought rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. Just look at somebody else’s wheel. Plus, the Greeks have been in the littoral biz for more than a couple of millennia so they may know a thing or two.

Warship Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023: Shipping Green

Posted on by 4 comments

Here at LSOZI, we take off every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1833-1954 period and will profile a different ship each week. These ships have a life, a tale all their own, which sometimes takes them to the strangest places. – Christopher Eger

Warship Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023: Shipping Green

Photo by Gilbert Milne, Government of Nova Scotia Virtual Archives H.F. Pullen NSARM accession no. 1984-573 Box 2 F/34

Above we see one of the 67 hardy River class frigates used by the Royal Canadian Navy, HMCS Swansea (K328), shipping green in January 1944 while off Bermuda. As acknowledged by Jane’s in 1946 about the class, following hard wartime service: “These ships have shown very good endurance and sea-keeping qualities.”

While the crew of Swansea— commissioned 80 years ago today– may have had something to say about that, the tough environment of the North Atlantic wasn’t enough to slow their business of slaying U-boats– and business was good.

The Rivers

While today the Royal Canadian Navy is often seen as a supporting actor in the North Atlantic and an occasional cameo performer elsewhere, by the end of World War II the RCN had grown from having about a dozen small tin cans to being the third-largest fleet in the world— and was comprised almost totally of destroyers, frigates, corvettes, and sloops! The force traded 24 of its warships in combat for a butcher’s bill that was balanced by 69 Axis vessels but had proved decisive in the Battle of the Atlantic.

One of the most important of the above Canadian ships was the River-class frigates. Originally some 1,800 tons and 301 feet in length, they could make 20-knots and carry a twin QF 4-inch gun in a single forward mount as well as a modicum of 20mm AAA guns and a wide array of sub-busting weaponry to include as many as 150 depth charges.

In addition to her twin 4″/45 forward, Rivers also carried six 20mm Oerlikons in two twin mounts — one seen here in a LAC Kodachrome of HMCS Thetford Mines– and two singles. Note the wavy lines on the Canadian lieutenant’s sleeve, denoting his status as a reserve officer. The running joke in Commonwealth Navies that used the practice was so that, when asked by an active officer why the braid was wavy, the reservist would answer, “Oh good heavens, so no one would mistake that this is my real job.”

Produced in five mildly different sub-classes, some 50 of the 150ish Rivers planned were to be made in Canada with others produced for the RCN in the UK. This resulted in a shipbuilding boom in the Land of the Great White North, with these frigates produced at four yards: Canadian Vickers in Montreal, Morton in Quebec City, Yarrow at Esquimalt, and Davie at Lauzon.

River-class frigates fitting out at Vickers Canada, 1944

Canadian River-class frigate HMCS Waskesiu (K330) with a bone in her mouth, 1944. Kodachrome via LAC

Meet Swansea

Ordered in October 1941 from Yarrows Ltd., Esquimalt, our little frigate remains the only vessel ever named for the Lake Ontario-facing Swansea neighborhood of Toronto, which until 1953 was an independent village. Yard No. 83 was laid down on 15 July 1942, launched almost exactly five months later, and commissioned on 4 October 1943.

Her skipper had already accounted for German U-boats a few times before.

Fifty-seven-year-old A/CDR Clarence Aubrey King, RCNR, DSC, DSO, had served in the British merchant service then switched to the Royal Naval Reserve in the Great War where he served in “Q-ships” and commanded one of those dreaded U-boat killers for the last 15 months of hostilities. During this time, he was credited with “one sure kill and two probables,” earning the Distinguished Service Cross in June 1917. Rejoining the colors with the RCN when WWII started, he commanded the corvette HMCS Oakville (K 178) in her battle with U-94 in August 1942 which ended with the latter’s destruction. This earned him the DSO.

Shipping out from Victoria, B.C., where Swansea was brought into service, her crew did their shakedown cruise to Halifax via the Panama Canal, arriving six weeks later on 16 November.

War!

Swansea clocked in for the Battle of the Atlantic right away. Her first convoy was SC 154 from Halifax to Liverpool in February-March 1944 and, briefly, the West-bound HX 281.

From there, she was detached to join Escort Group 9 at Londonderry, Northern Ireland. EG9 was all-Canadian, including the frigates HMCS Matane, Meon, Port Colborne, St. John, and Stormont in addition to Swansea.

Her first “kill” was a Type IXC/40 German submarine, U-845 (KrvKpt. Werner Weber) on 10 March 1944. In this action, south-west of Ireland, Swansea’s depth charges– joined with those from the British destroyer HMS Forester, the Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Laurent, and the Canadian corvette HMCS Owen Sound– sent U-845 to the bottom, with the group picking up 45 waterlogged survivors, KrvKpt. Weber not among them.

Then came U-448, a Type VIIC, sunk on 14 April 1944 north-east of the Azores by depth charges and naval gunfire from Swansea and the British sloop HMS Pelican, who afterward picked up 42 survivors. 

HMCS Swansea # 2 gun in action SWN0228

CANADIAN FRIGATE HMCS SWANSEA GETS ANOTHER U-BOAT. 1944, HMCS SWANSEA ACCOUNTED FOR HER SECOND U-BOAT. A NUMBER OF SURVIVORS WERE RESCUED. (A 24331) U-boat survivors clinging to a yellow inflated life raft, wait to be picked up after the U-boat had made its death dive. In the lower left-hand corner SWANSEA’s sea-boat is coming alongside with survivors, and (top left) is the sloop HMS PELICAN which also picked up survivors. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205156236

CANADIAN FRIGATE HMCS SWANSEA GETS ANOTHER U-BOAT. 1944, HMCS SWANSEA ACCOUNTED FOR HER SECOND U-BOAT. A NUMBER OF SURVIVORS WERE RESCUED. (A 24329) SWANSEA’s seaboat alongside U-boat survivors helped out of the sea and onboard the frigate. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205156234

CANADIAN FRIGATE HMCS SWANSEA GETS ANOTHER U-BOAT. 1944, HMCS SWANSEA ACCOUNTED FOR HER SECOND U-BOAT. A NUMBER OF SURVIVORS WERE RESCUED. (A 24330) One of the U-boat survivors, still dazed, rests on the deck as his sea-soaked clothes are stripped off by men of the SWANSEA. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205156235

CANADIAN FRIGATE HMCS SWANSEA GETS ANOTHER U-BOAT. 1944, HMCS SWANSEA ACCOUNTED FOR HER SECOND U-BOAT. A NUMBER OF SURVIVORS WERE RESCUED. (A 24332) Petty Officer G Ardy, of London, Ontario, standing by the gunshield on which are painted symbols indicating SWANSEA’s U-boat kills. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205156237

U-448’s skipper, the Iron Cross-daubed Oblt. Helmut Dauter, was famously photographed walking off Pelican’s deck into captivity at Greenock, his war over.

U-BOAT PRISONERS ARRIVE AT A BRITISH PORT. 20 APRIL 1944, GREENOCK, THE ARRIVAL OF U-BOAT PRISONERS PICKED UP AFTER BEING SUNK BY HMS PELICAN. (A 22935) The Captain of the U-Boat (U448) Helmut Dauter, wearing an Iron Cross, leaving HMS PELICAN. Behind him is Liuet J Bathurst, the Captain of HMS PELICAN. Dauter, who earned the German Cross in Gold, would survive the war, and pass in 1987. The fact that the skipper and 41 of his crew lived through a four-hour-long creeping attack and 56 depth charges, with their boat’s batteries damaged and depth gauge broken, as well as a 6-inch hole in the after part of U-448’s pressure hull, then surfaced into heavy fire from both of the greyhounds that chased her down and were able to abandon ship to be recovered alive, was a small miracle. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205155072

Swansea’s third sub, U-311 (Kptlt. Joachim Zander), another Type VIIC, was sent to her eternal patrol on 22 April 1944 south of Iceland by depth charges from Swansea and her sister, HMCS Matane, with all hands lost.

22 April 1944, HMCS Swansea, commanded by A/Cdr Clarence A. King, DSO, DSC, RCNR, with HMCS Matane commanded by A/Cdr A. Frank C. Layard, DSO, RN, using depth charges, together sink U 311 south of Iceland. This was Commander King’s third submarine “kill” in 7 weeks. LAC photos

Then came another escort, that of Convoy OS 077KM, in May.

After that, she was detailed as part of EG9 to Operation Neptune, the naval component of Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion.

HMCS Swansea was present on D-Day, assigned to Plymouth Command to cover the lift across the Channel, and for the next four months patrolled the Channel in support of the ships supplying the invasion forces, coming to the aid of downed Allied aircraft when she could.

It was in this mission that, on 1 September 1944 in the English Channel near Lands’ End, Swansea, and her sister HMCS Saint John, sent U-247 (Oblt. Gerhard Matschulat) to the bottom with all hands.

Depth charge exploding astern of HMCS Swansea, 1944

She rode shotgun on the tail end of HX 307 the next week, making sure it made Liverpool.

Swansea was also a lifesaver, and notably rescued seven men from an adrift Mulberry artificial harbor segment on 24 September.

November 1944 saw Swansea on outbound Convoy ON 264, sailing for Nova Scotia where she would be given a six-month refit and overhaul, where she was on VE Day.

The ship’s company of HMCS SWANSEA, pictured on 30 November 1944

Her crew marched in Halifax’s victory parade.

HMCS Swansea crew VE celebration parade in Halifax NS in 1945. Note the Great War era Ross rifles

Ordered to work up for a Pacific deployment where she would lend her guns to the march on Tokyo, instead VJ Day found her in the Caribbean on post-refit shakedown.

Swansea was paid off on 2 November 1945 to reserve in Bedford Basin. She earned three Battle Honors (Atlantic 1943–44, Normandy 1944, English Channel 1944).

Jane’s 1946 entry on the 18 Canadian Rivers still in RCN service, noting all but one was in mothballs.

As for the legendary Capt. King, who had been on the bridge of Swansea for three of her U-boat kills and Operation Neptune, he would add a bar to his DSC and commanded the frigates HMCS Prince Rupert and Runnymede before moving to the Retired List in 1946. He crossed the bar in 1964 at Osoyoos, British Columbia, aged 77.

What of her sisters?

Of the 90 assorted Canadian River-class frigates ordered, a good number were canceled around the end of WWII. Four (HMCS Chebogue, HMCS Magog, HMCS Teme, and HMCS Valleyfield) were effectively lost to German U-boats during the conflict. Once VJ-Day came and went, those still under St George’s White Ensign soon went into reserve.

Graveyard, Sorel, P.Q Canadian corvettes and frigates laid up, 1945 by Tony Law CWM

Several were subsequently sold for peanuts to overseas Allies looking to upgrade or otherwise build their fleets including Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Chile, Israel, Peru, and India.

Others were de-militarized and sold on the commercial market including one, HMCS Stormont, that became Aristotle Onassis’s famous yacht, Christina O. HMCS St. Lambert became a merchant ship under Panamanian and Greek flags before being lost off Rhodes in 1964. Still others became breakwaters, their hulls used to shelter others.

One, HMCS Stone Town, was disarmed and tasked as a weather ship in the North Pacific in the 1950s and 1960s.

But, Swansea still had some life left in her. 

A different war

Swansea, by benefit of freshly refitting right before she was placed in reserve, was twice re-commissioned (12 April 1948-September 1949 and May 1951- 10 November 1953) for the purpose of training officer cadets and new recruits.

These periods saw her range as far north as Baffin Island and Godthab, Greenland, a three-week Caribbean training cruise, a Med cruise to the French Riveria, and Queen Elizabeth II’s Spithead review (34th in Line E).

She was paid off on 10 November 1953 and returned to storage once again.

Swansea was then selected to be rebuilt from 1956 to 1957, as a Prestonian class ocean escort with “FFE” pennant numbers, with our vessel becoming FFE-306. This conversion included a flush-decked configuration, an enlarged bridge, and a taller funnel. Deleted were the 20mm Oerlikons in favor of some 40mm Bofors. Further, they had their quarterdeck enclosed to accommodate two hulking Squid anti-submarine mortars in place of the myriad of depth charges/Hedgehog formerly carried. The sensor package was updated as well, to include ECM gear. One, HMCS Buckingham, was even given a helicopter deck.

Swansea recommissioned on 14 November 1957, ready to mix it up with Soviet subs if needed.

Seen in 1959, the Second World War frigate HMCS Swansea has been considerably modified to improve its anti-submarine capabilities. Although frigates like Swansea had been effective anti-submarine vessels during the Second World War, by the mid-1950s their weapons and equipment were of limited effectiveness against newer Soviet submarines. This photograph shows a number of the modifications made to Swansea between 1953 and 1957, including new guns and a bigger bridge for commanding and operating the ship (center). Other changes included the installation of two Squid anti-submarine mortars that replaced many of the ship’s depth charges. George Metcalf Archival Collection CWM 19780155-001

Swansea’s subsequent Cold War service was quiet, typically just involving assorted NATO exercises that ranged from Europe to the Caribbean.

Canadian aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure and HMCS Swansea, pictured on 18 May 1959

HMCS Swansea, Autumn 1962, 9th Squadron’s visit to Churchill, Manitoba. Photo by Angus Gillingham

HMCS Swansea color postwar DND photo

HMCS Swansea postwar note Maple Leaf on funnel CTB025222

Swansea, steaming postwar, note her 306 pennant numbers

HMCS Swansea (306) in Halifax circa 1950s. The stern of the Tribal-class destroyer HMCS Iroquois (G89/DDE 217) is in the foreground. The big Duracell battery-looking things are three-barrel 12-inch (305 mm) Squid ASW mortars that could lob 440-pound shells out to 275 yards. Photo Courtesy of Claus Mathes, via For Posterity Sake. SWN0284

She was paid off for a final time on 14 October 1966 and broken up in 1967 at Savona, Italy.

Epilogue

Little of Swansea remains.

A scale model of her is on display at the Canadian War Museum while a very detailed For Posterity’s Sake site exists chronicling the ship and her crew. 

Most of the remaining Canadian Prestonian/Rivers were discarded alongside Swansea as the new St. Laurent– and Restigouche-class destroyers joined the fleet.

Two endured in auxiliary roles for a few more years: HMCS St. Catharines as a Canadian Coast Guard ship until 1968 and HMCS Victoriaville/Granby as a diving tender until 1973.

None of the Canadian-built ships were retained as museum ships, which is a shame. 

In the end, two Canadian Rivers still exist, HMCS Stormont/yacht Christina O, and HMCS Hallowell/SLNS Gajabahu, with the latter a training ship in the Sri Lankan Navy until about 2016 and possibly still afloat.

Starting life in WWII as a Canadian Vickers-built River-class frigate HMCS Stormont, Christina O was purchased in 1954 by Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, who transformed her into the most luxurious private yacht of her time. She went on to host a wealth of illustrious guests, ranging from Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra to JFK and Winston Churchill.

Canadian River-class frigate, ex-HMCS Strathadam, built in 1944 by Yarrow, Esquimalt. Sold 1947 to the Israeli Navy and renamed Misgav. Subsequently sold to the Royal Ceylon Navy as HMCyS Gajabahu. Photo via Shipspotting, 2007.

For more information on the RCN in WWII, please check out Marc Milner’s North Atlantic Run: The Royal Canadian Navy and the Battle for the Convoys.

Ships are more than steel
and wood
And heart of burning coal,
For those who sail upon
them know
That some ships have a
soul.

If you liked this column, please consider joining the International Naval Research Organization (INRO), Publishers of Warship International

They are possibly one of the best sources of naval study, images, and fellowship you can find. http://www.warship.org/membership.htm

The International Naval Research Organization is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the encouragement of the study of naval vessels and their histories, principally in the era of iron and steel warships (about 1860 to date). Its purpose is to provide information and a means of contact for those interested in warships.

With more than 50 years of scholarship, Warship International, the written tome of the INRO, has published hundreds of articles, most of which are unique in their sweep and subject.

PRINT still has its place. If you LOVE warships, you should belong.

I’m a member, so should you be!

« Older Entries Recent Entries »