Japanese Phantom Pharewell

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The Japan Air Self-Defense Force phased out their combat-duty F-4EJ Phantoms when the Samurais of Tactical Fighter Squadron Hitokai 301 took off their “Phantoms Phorever” patches last November. Now, the JASDF has retired the type for good when last week– on St. Patrick’s Day– the last three F-4EJs of the country’s Air Development and Test Wing quietly completed their final sortie.

“The pride and spirit of protecting Japan’s sky for about half a century will surely be passed on to the next generation with the dawn of a new era,” notes the JASDF as the force transitions to the F-35A.

The type made it 49 years with Japan but is still flown across the Tsushima Straits in South Korea not to mention by the Hellenic, Turkish and Iranian air forces.

Fairly Well Preserved Ammo for 50 Years in the Drink

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Vietnamese media recently reported on a pile of vintage small arms ammo that was recovered from the mud of the Tiền River that looks like it just came from the factory. 

Local media showed members of the Vietnamese Army inspecting the ammo, reportedly illegally salvaged from the river near Thuong Phuoc on the Cambodian border and confiscated by Border Guards. It has been underwater for decades, purportedly in a deep-sixed PCF, perhaps one that was put there in 1975 by its ARVN crew during the final days of the regime. 

The fact that it was in fresh water and likely covered by a layer of mud surely helped but either way, you have to hand it to the quality of those green ammo cans, much of which likely dated to WWII anyway. 

Want some Mustard with that Shell?

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For you CBRN/NBC/CBW fans, courtesy of High Caliber History: Drilling into a Mustard Gas Shell!

Filmed in 1918, soldiers in the AEF’s Chemical Warfare Service are taking apart a 155mm German shell filled with mustard gas by drilling into it.

The next time you think your job might be dangerous, be thankful that you’re not somewhere in France during World War I literally drilling into a poisonous mustard gas shell.

The Best Concealed Carry Piece of 1903 Still Looks Good Today

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Compact, slim, accurate, and simple. All mantras for the most modern concealed carry pieces today. They all apply to a design introduced 118 years ago as well – the Colt M1903.

While well-engineered semi-auto pistols abound today, the same statement simply wasn’t true in the early 20th Century. Most early autoloaders were downright funky (see the Bergmann 1896), had bad ergonomics (Borchardt C93), were overly complex (C96 Broomhandle, which are notoriously hard to disassemble), and proved to be evolutionary dead-ends (the Luger – not a lot of toggle actions in production these days). 

Enter the gun guru of Ogden, Utah, Mr. John Browning, who largely hit it out of the park with his freshman semi-auto handgun, the FN M1900 of 1896, the first pistol with a slide – let that sink in. A simple blowback single-stack chambered in .32ACP – which he also invented – he followed that up in 1897 with his short-recoil operated Colt Model 1900, a larger gun whose action was recycled into the Colt M1902, which we have talked about before, then scaled down to make the Colt M1903. 

And with a “carry melt,” easy maintenance, and outstanding ergonomics, the new gun is surprisingly modern when compared to today’s offerings.

Boom, sweetheart. 

More on the Pocket Hammerless in my column at Guns.com.

Leap of Faith

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Some 77 years ago today, in the remote mountainous frontier area between India and Burma, an extremely understrength parachute light infantry brigade began an epic week-long battle against a Japanese force that was both much larger and much better armed– never an ideal task for airborne troops.

The place was Sangshak and the paras were from the 50th Indian Parachute Brigade, made up of 152 (Indian) and 153 (Gurkha) Parachute Battalions along with supporting troops.

The battle was never supposed to happen, it turned out that the Japanese 15th and 31st Divisions, infiltrating toward India, blundered into the Indian/Gurkha paras while the latter were working patrols. Nonetheless, it was a nightmare for all involved.

As noted by Paradata:

The Indian Parachute Brigade group held up the Japanese advance for six days, in appalling conditions, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy but at great loss. Fierce hand-to-hand fighting revolved around the Sangshak church within 200 yards of Brigade headquarters. Counter-attacks with bayonet and Kukri drove the Japanese back.

And from The Museum of the Parachute Regiment & Airborne Forces in Duxford:

On the 26th March, with both sides nearing complete exhaustion, the arrival of the 5th Indian Division allowed the Brigade to ‘fight its way out’ back to Imphal, having lost 40 officers and 585 men.

Patched back up, the Indians and Gurkhas would later finish the war with a drop into Rangoon.

“Rangoon Assault – As The Chutes Of Three Gurka Paratroopers Open Up Over Their Dropping Zone Near Rangoon, Three More Gurkhas Stolidly Step Out Of USAAF’s C-47’S Of The Combat Cargo Task Force, Eastern Air Command. This Is Precision Jumping In The Airborne phase of the land, sea, and air attack launched south of the Japanese held capital of Burma. Parapacks, containing equipment and supplies needed by the paratroopers, are carried like bombs under the bellies of the plane. They will be dropped as soon as the men have cleared the aircraft. U.S. Signal Corps photo via NARA 342-FH-3A37292-A57336AC

“Killing Japanese Is Great Sport To This Husky Gurkha Paratrooper, Who Smiles As A Fellow Member Of His Unit Helps Him Buckle On His Equipment While He Waits His Turn To Board A Usaaf C-47. Pilots Of The Combat Cargo Task Force, Under Major Gen. George E. Stratemeyer’s Eastern Air Command, transported these fighters to the jumping ground behind Japanese lines. U.S. Signal Corps photo via NARA 342-FH-3A37291-57336AC

LIFE Magazine Archives – Jack Wilkes Photographer

Mind the Kukri! Gurkha Paratroopers prepare to drop into Burma during Operation Dracula on May 1, 1945. The Gurkha Paratroopers were dropped from C-47s of the 2nd Air Commando Group on Elephant Point at the mouth of the Rangoon River where they captured/destroyed several Japanese gun positions overlooking the sea approaches to Rangoon. LIFE Magazine Archives – Jack Wilkes Photographer

Note the weapon bag with Enfield .303 inside. LIFE Magazine Archives – Jack Wilkes Photographer

One anecdote from the formation of the Gurkha parachute unit at Delhi in October 1941 was that the hardy mountain men were absolutely ready to jump out of a moving airplane to fight, but were greatly relieved when later told they would do it with a parachute!

Gurkha Paratrooper going into action against the Japanese near Rangoon, Burma SC photo via NARA 342-FH-3A37293-B57336AC

Batty Corsairs

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Vought O2U-1 Corsair (Bu. No. A-7528) floatplane in flight during fleet maneuvers off Cuba, circa 1928. The plane is from Observation Plane Squadron Three, Scouting Fleet (VO-3S), and is based on the Omaha-class “peace cruiser” USS Trenton (CL-11). Note the distinctive VO-3S bat insignia on the forward fuselage.

Description: Collection of Vice Admiral Dixwell Ketcham. Naval History and Heritage Command Catalog #: NH 100489

How about from the other side?

Vought O2U-1 Corsair (Bu No.A-7536) of VO-3S, from Trenton’s sistership, USS Raleigh (Cruiser No. 8), 1926. US Navy photo from the collection of the San Diego Air and Space Museum, ID:44464473

Formed in 1923, VO-3S was organized to be the holding squadron for floatplane dets assigned to the Atlantic Scouting Fleet, aka cruisers. This style of designation was modified for such units after 1941 to “VCS” for Cruiser Scouting Squadron, however, VO-3S would cycle through VS-5S and VS-5B designations before becoming VCS-2 and finally, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6S during WWII, retaining their bat logo throughout. Notably, they would remain on the same Omaha-class cruisers no matter what the squadron’s name.

As for the plane, first delivered to the service in 1926, the U.S. Navy received a total of 289 Corsairs for use as both floatplanes and, with wheels, from air stations and carriers. The fabric-covered biplanes could carry three .30-caliber machine guns, two on the wings and one in the observer’s station, as well as ~500 lbs of bombs. It was a pretty high-performance aircraft for its age. 

As noted by Histomin:

The O2U-1 broke several world records. On 14 April 1927, it broke the altitude record at 22,178 feet. On 23 April 1927, it broke the 100 kilometer (km) speed course record at 147.263 mph. On 30 April 1927, it broke the 500 km speed course record at 136.023 mph. On 21 May 1927, it broke the 1000 km speed course record at 130.932 mph.

Some 140 Corsairs were still on the books when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, although by then they were primarily in training and liaison roles, replaced with the fleet by the newer Curtiss SOC Seagull and Grumman J2F Duck after 1935. As far as I can tell, none saw combat with the U.S.

Buffs. Still clocking in at 67 years later

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Few weapons systems survive active use longer than a generation before they are replaced by something more advanced developed from lessons learned from the previous system’s hard use in the field. Scratch that when it comes to the B-52 Stratofortress.

Below is an image of B-52A #1 at the Boeing employee rollout ceremony, Seattle, Washington March 18, 1954– 66 years ago today. The tailfin was too high for the hangar door and was later hoisted into place.

Now, in the platform’s 7th decade in service, the good old Buff is still ready and willing to go in harm’s way– and does so regularly.

Please don’t feed the Buffs…it will ruin their diets.

The last production Strat, B-52H AF Serial No. 61-0040, left the factory on 26 October 1962. As they are expected to remain in service until 2050, the youngest of the fleet will still be flying at age 92.

The Micro 9 Race is Heating Up

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Every 25 years or so, handguns catch a big developmental wave. For instance, the last one prior to modern times occurred with the “Baby” Glocks of 1994, when the company debuted subcompact 10+1 shot pistols to make the most of the federal assault weapon ban. Those guns proved so successful that Glock now makes a subcompact model in all of their calibers– including the only company that makes a 10mm Auto pocket gun– while others have increasingly tried to imitate, duplicate or one-up the concept.

This brings us to 2018 when Sig Sauer brought their new “micro-compact” P365 to SHOT Show. Even smaller than the Glock G26 but with the same magazine capacity, it was a smash. Since then, Springfield Armory has brought their Hellcat to the market, with much the same concept, as had Taurus with the G3C.

Well, on the same day this week, both Ruger and Smith & Wesson announced their own separate P365/Hellcat/G3C competitors, the MAX-9 and the Shield Plus, respectively.

Ruger’s new MAX-9 Pistol, which, importantly, is optics-ready for under $500.

S&W M&P Shield Plus

Here is a snapshot of who they stack up when it comes to specs:

As for how they compare against each other in real life, the jury is still out on that one.

Have a Spare Mk 1 Fire Control Computer in your Garage?

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This thing:

If you do, the battleship USS Massachusetts (BB-59) museum wants to talk to you.

From the museum:

The Mk 1 Fire Control Computers that served onboard Big Mamie has been missing for decades and it is becoming difficult to find replacements to restore the plotting room without them. They were removed while the ship was in mothballs and then stricken from the inactive list. In time we have found two incomplete computers and even got one struck below into the Plotting Room. Both of these do not have their star shell computers on top either.

We are still trying to locate these items and need your help out there in the wide world of parts.

Rumor has it that there is a few floating around and one was said to be in the Michigan area, part of a Computer museum that went under. We haven’t been able to chase it down. So if you know of it or any others, please let us in on it so we can restore our battleship to a better exhibit of her past beauty. Thank you all for any help. Trying to keep history alive and well for everyone to enjoy is a team effort.

Warship Wednesday: March 17, 2021, Shamrock Cans

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Here at LSOZI, we take off every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1833-1954 time 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, March 17, 2021: Shamrock Cans

In deference to the date, St. Patrick’s Day, we are departing from our normal Warship Wednesday format and instead are touching on the U.S. Navy’s interesting shamrock-carrying destroyers– the Spru/Kidd-Cans USS O’Brien (DD-975) and USS Callaghan (DDG-994). If you want a more Irish WW experience, I’ve covered the story of the doomed Irish schooner Cymric and the Irish Naval Service’s Long Éireannach (LÉ) Cliona (03) in years past.

Also, yes, I know about the three-time battlestar earning Casablanca-class jeep carrier USS Shamrock Bay (CVE-84) and Sea Control Squadron 41 (VS-41) “The Shamrocks,” but today we are talking about destroyers. 

DD-975

O’Brien was named in honor of old-school swashbuckling patriot, Capt. Jeremiah O’Brien, of the Massachusetts Colonial Navy– effectively one of the first American naval heroes. The skipper of the armed sloop Unity, who flew the Appeal to Heaven pine tree flag, he captured the British schooner HMS Margaretta off Machias, Maine, just two months after Lexington and Concord, the first naval battle of the Revolutionary War. Several ships were later named for the legendary Irish-American before DD-975, including a 1900s torpedo boat (TB-30), an early class-leader four-piper destroyer (DD-51) that served in the Great War, a Sims-class destroyer (DD-415) that was sunk by a Japanese torpedo in 1942, a Liberty Ship and an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer (DD-725) that received 14 battle stars across WWII, Korea and Vietnam.

Our Spruance, like all the others of her class, was built at Pascagoula and commissioned 3 December 1977 and, during the Cold War and follow-on unrest in the Med and the Persian Gulf, would complete seven WestPac cruises and another seven in the Persian Gulf.

An aerial port side view of the Spruance class destroyer USS O’Brien (DD 975) underway, 1985. (Photo PH3 C. Yebba, NARA DN-SC-85-06885)

It was while in the Sandbox that O’Brien took part in one of the few naval surface actions since WWII, being part of the surface action group that sank the Iranian guided-missile frigate Sahand during Operation Praying Mantis in 1988. She would later go on to be front and center for Desert Sheild.

She ran a three-leaf clover on her bridge wing in honor of the ancestral origins of Capt. O’Brien. Her NECG callsign on the leading edge of the house, under the CIWS, is done in shamrock-shaped flags as well. Note the sandbagged M2 mount and pintel M60. This would be while the ship was in the Persian Gulf during Praying Mantis. (Photo by PH2 M.A. Harnar, NARA DN-SN-89-03402)

What? Me, worry? Official caption: Members of the Stinger anti-aircraft missile detachment man their stations aboard the destroyer USS O’Brien (DD-975), 4/18/1988 (Photo PH2 Harnar/DN-SN-89-03405)

O’Brien had a shamrock on her official crest and assorted ship’s patches as well.

Unloved by Big Navy in the end, O’Brien would be decommissioned in 2004 after 26 years of faithful service and disposed of in a SINKEX less than two years later.

Can-Do Callaghan

A port bow view of the guided-missile destroyer USS CALLAGHAN (DDG-994) underway in the harbor, 7/16/1993 NARA DN-ST-93-05601

A better-armed offshoot of the Spruance-class, the Kidd-class guided-missile destroyer USS Callaghan (DDG-994) was commissioned at Pascagoula on 29 August 1981. She was the second ship named for RADM Daniel Judson Callaghan (USNA 1911), a naval hero who was killed on his flagship San Francisco in 1942 when his cruiser/destroyer task force intercepted and spoiled the attack of two Japanese battleships headed to plaster the Marines on Guadalcanal. Sadly, the first warship named in honor of the late admiral, Callaghan (DD-792), was also lost in WWII, sent to the bottom off Okinawa after being struck by a kamikaze.

The second (and so far final) Callaghan was much luckier, spending much of her career in sometimes tense but relatively bloodless Cold War service in the Pacific. She circumnavigated the globe with the Kitty Hawk Battle Group in 1987, escorted reflagged tankers in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war, and missed the first Gulf War due to spending a year in New Threat Upgrade (NTU) overhaul.

Like O’Brien, Callaghan’s crew used lots of Shamrocks on their caps, cruise books, and coins.

In 1994, while in the Persian Gulf enforcing sanctions against Saddam, her embarked helo spotted something strange in a floating fishing net.

Per DANFS:

In a most “unusual yet fulfilling” search and rescue (SAR) mission, Cmdr. Joseph J. Natale, Callaghan’s commanding officer, led a team in the ship’s boat to assist the trapped mammal. Crewmembers cut through the fishing line, and the dolphin, dubbed “Shamrock” by the crew, swam free.

On 31 March 1998, Callaghan was decommissioned at age 17, stricken from the Naval Vessel Register, and laid up at Bremerton. Five years later, she was transferred to Taiwan along with the rest of the Kidds.

There, she still serves as ROCS Su Ao (DDG-1802), although her crew likely doesn’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

However, the tradition has been maintained by USS The Sullivans (DDG-68) since 1997: 

USS The Sullivans (DDG-68), Nov 2021, after escorting the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth on her first overseas deployment

***

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