laststandonzombieisland

CMP may get into the 1911 business

Posted on May 12, 2015 by laststandonzombieisland One comment

An add-on to the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act that passed committee includes a plan to transfer the U.S. Army’s remaining stock of .45 ACP 1911A1 pistols to the Civilian Marksmanship Program.

Added as an amendment by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, while the NDAA was in debate in the House Armed Service Committee, it could see potentially the largest remaining stock of military surplus World War II-era handguns in government hands sold to the public.

The lawmaker disclosed that the military currently spends about $2 per year to store 100,000 Model 1911s that are surplus to the Army’s needs. While 8,300 have been sold or disposed of in recent years – largely through the controversial Department of Defense’s 1033 Program, which offers eligible law enforcement agencies up to one pistol per full-time officer – the guns still on hand have in many cases been stored since the 1980s when they were withdrawn from service in favor of the then-new Beretta 92F (M9).

The 101 on Trujillo’s indig rifle

Posted on May 12, 2015 by laststandonzombieisland 2 comments

A while back I wrote a piece for Guns.com on the Hungarian-designed (by Pal Kiraly, who made guns for SIG back before WWII then the Danuvia 39M and 43M models of lever-delayed blowback submachine guns for the Hungarian Army during the war) .30 select fire Cristóbal carbine produced in the Dominican Republic in the 1960s.

It was a neat little rifle and some 250,000~ were made, seeing service in Cuba during ‘La Revolucion as well as in the DR for a few decades.

San Cristobal carbine on display at US Army Airborne Museum at Fort Benning. The Army captured a few of these back during the U.S. Intervention in the DR in 1965-66 (great 250-page U.S Army paper on that here) and click on the image to big up if you want

Well, I just ran across a really neat manual/sales sheet for the Cristóbal (in English!) that I thought was cool enough to share below:

Why throw it away?

Posted on May 12, 2015 by laststandonzombieisland Leave a comment

Until the Iowa-class battleships joined the fleet during World War II with their powerful Mark 7 guns, the 16″/45 (40.6 cm) Mark 6 was the biggest and best that the U.S. Navy had to offer. An improvement of the 1920s era 16-inchers used on the Colorado-class battleships, they were used (9 per ship in 3×3 mounts) in the six ships of the North Carolina and South Dakota-class dreadnoughts to heavy service in the war, being credited with knocking out at least two Axis battleships in surface combat and countless instances of naval gunfire support.

Bow turrets of USS North Carolina BB-55. Note CXAM-1 radar above the main battery director, which dates this photograph as being sometime shortly after 27 August 1941 U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # 80-G-K-13971 via Navweaps

A good number of these tubes still exist as North Carolina (BB-55), Massachusetts (BB-59), and Alabama (BB-60) all still exist as museum ships, mounting no less than 27 of these guns between them.

And you can add at least one more tube, recently discovered still at work for Uncle Sam.

From a February report by the Naval Heritage Command:

Bob Fish, author and USS Hornet Museum trustee, recently visited NASA’s AMES Research Center in Sunnyvale, CA, to investigate the possibility of cooperation and collaboration of STEM-related programming. While there, Bob visited the Hypervelocity Flight Test Facility with their engineers.He was then guided into the original 1960’s era hyper-velocity test lab which consisted of an old projectile acceleration tube that is now rarely used.

To his surprise, Bob noticed the inscription on the breach of the barrel read “US Navy.” It was in fact a Mark 6 16-inch battleship gun!

The rest here

Happy 109th Mr. Overton

Posted on May 11, 2015 by laststandonzombieisland Leave a comment

Today is the birthday of the country’s oldest living WWII vet, Richard Arvine Overton (born May 11, 1906). A veteran of the 188th Aviation Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army, he volunteered for duty and served in the Pacific Theathre of Operations from Pearl Harbor to Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

My friend Ben Phillipi over at Guns.com caught up with Richard in Austin and asked him about his firearms, and what he wanted for his birthday.

Thank you for your service, sir.

The Baby Nambu and its importance to Ruger

Posted on May 11, 2015 by laststandonzombieisland Leave a comment

The company that we know and love today as Sturm, Ruger got its start in a way from a certain Kijiro Nambu, who, in a twist of fate, was a Lieutenant General in the Imperial Japanese Army. Would you like to know more?

Who was Nambu?

He seems really fun at parties

Kijiro Nambu, born September 22, 1869 in Saga prefecture to a former samurai retainer of the Nabeshima clan, went off to the Imperial Army Academy at a young age. By 1897 Nambu was an Artillery Lieutenant assigned to the Tokyo Arsenal where he worked under a cat by the name of Nariakira Arisaka on a rifle that later became the standard for the Imperial Army.

In 1902 the 33-year old Nambu’s first solo project, his Type 4 (aka Type A) pistol, was finished and in the prototype stage. This recoil-spring single-action pistol with a thin fixed, low bore axis 4.61-inch barrel was very simple. It did however incorporate an automated grip safety under the very snug trigger guard and a range adjustable rear sight to maximize its accuracy.

In grip angle, it mimicked the Swiss-German Luger pistol although its caliber, the downright anemic 8x22mm Nambu round (yes, he invented that, too) with its 102-grain lead bullet, was underpowered. Still, the cartridge and the Type A pistol was adopted by 1903 and remained in service with the Japanese military through World War II.

Type 14

By 1906 the design had been changed to use a newer, more modern magazine (the original 8-shot magazine incorporated a wooded floor plate!), a widened trigger guard and other minor differences to include deleting the Also adjustable sights and grip safety. A final version in 1925, the Type 14 went into mass production and more than 400,000 were made, becoming the most common Japanese semi-auto pistol of all time.

This led to American collectors in later years to dub the original Type 4/Type A as the “Grandpa Nambu” while the modified improved Type 14 version was the “Papa Nambu.” This of course leads one to wonder, what about the Baby?

Enter the cute little Type B:

Read the rest in my column at Ruger Talk

Cruiser-killer HMS Urge rediscovered after 74 years overdue

Posted on May 11, 2015 by laststandonzombieisland Leave a comment

When compared to the large U.S. fleet boats used in the Pacific in WWII, the Royal Navy’s 49 U-class submarines were downright tiny. At just 700-tons submerged and 191-feet oal, these boats were originally designed as coastal training subs. However, with the Italians and Germans giving the UK a run for their money in the Med, the Brits started churning these craft out in numbers.

Armed with a half dozen 21-inch tubes, they could carry 8 warshot torpedoes and a 3-inch pop gun on deck. They gave a good account of themselves, sinking a large number of Axis transports and freighters carrying much-needed supplies to Rommel and his Italian compatriots in North Africa– although they suffered severe losses of their own, with 19 U-class sisters going down during the war.

Photograph FL 3433 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums (collection no. 8308-29)

This brings us to HMS Urge. Commissioned 12 December 1940 at Vickers, she lasted 17 action-packed months during which she managed to torpedo the Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto, damaging her in the First Battle of Sirte. She had better luck on 1 April, 1942 when she torpedoed and sank the 6844-ton Italian Giussano-class light cruiser Giovanni delle Bande Nere.

The Regia Marina’s Giovanni delle Bande Nere, some 10-times HMS Urge’s size, was bushwacked by the hearty British submarine with two torpedos and sent to the bottom on April Fools Day, 1942, breaking in half and taking 381 Italian sailors with her.

However, Urge went missing at the end of that month and was never heard from again.

— That is until 76-year old Belgian diver Jean-Pierre Misson, poking around off Tobruk, Libya, came across something very submarine-like. It now appears that Italian dive bombers reaped retribution for their lost cruiser.

The rest here

Combat Gallery Sunday : And we have more Mort!

Posted on May 10, 2015 by laststandonzombieisland 2 comments

Much as once a week I like to take time off to cover warships (Wednesdays), on Sunday, I like to cover military art and the painters, illustrators, sculptors, and the like that produced them.

Combat Gallery Sunday : And we have yet more Mort!

As you are probably aware, I am a huge pulp art and military art fan. One of the best there ever was in the business is the famous Mort Kunstler (official site) — America’s Artist.

In the past I’ve posted several of the Master’s works in the pulp art category from the 1950-60s and have found enough (new to me) ones to make a fifth extensive post. As always with this blog, “click to big up” and feel free to save for posterity.

Without further “adoo”…bring on the Mort!

Mort Kunstler. Not sure the cover, but this looks like the best possible outcome for this lost British paratrooper

Mort Kunstler, Strange Suicide Crate, Male cover, September, 1961, Via Heritage Auctions http://fineart.ha.com/itm/illustration-art/mort-kunstler-american-b-1931-strange-suicide-crate-male-cover-september-1961-gouache-on-board/a/7001-87018.s

Mort Kunstler, Strange Suicide Crate, Male cover, September, 1961, Via Heritage Auctions The image is one excellent depiction of a German Ju-88 “mistle” (mistletoe) bomber slaved to a Me-109 fighter, likely seen attacking the Oder bridges in 1945

Mort Kunstler

Mort Kunstler, Saigon Sally’s Sin Barracks, For Men Only magazine cover, May 1965. Via Heritage Auctions. Mort did very little Vietnam work, so this one is rare– and you have to love the AKMS by the bed, although the use of the Tommy gun is largely an anachronism.

Mort Kunstler, another Vietnam installment

Mort Kunstler, The Stubborn Leatherneck Who Took China Wall, Men cover, March, 1960. Via Heritage Auctions http://fineart.ha.com/itm/illustration-art/mort-kunstler-american-b-1931-the-stubborn-leatherneck-who-took-china-wall-men-cover-march-1960/a/7001-87015.s

Mort Kunstler, The Stubborn Leatherneck Who Took China Wall, Men cover, March, 1960. Via Heritage Auctions. A great depiction of the Boxer Rebellion relief expedition in 1900 that saw unlikely allies of the U.S., Japan, France, Germany, Imperial Russia (note the Tsarist dragoon being helped out by the Marine) and Austria unite for a common purpose– screwing China.

Mort Kunstler

Mort Kunstler. Art for the movie poster of “The Bedford Incident,” later used for Male cover, September, 1964. The funny thing was that a British destroyer, HMS Troubridge, actually filled in for the fictional USS Bedford in the movie

Mort Kunstler

Mort Kunstler, The G. I. s Who Took Over Germany’s Castle, Stag cover, January, 1968. Via Heritage Auction

Mort Kunstler showing U.S. Army Air Force B-25 Mitchell gunships coming in low and slow over a Japanese port in WWII. The B-25H, with as many as 18 x .50 caliber machine guns as well as a 75mm cannon were the premier ship-busters of the Pacific.

Mort Kunstler, Only 17 Survived the Atrocity Sub, Stag cover, October, 1963. Via Heritage Auctions.

Mort Kunstler aka Emmett Kaye. Cold War art showing a SH-3 Sea King overhead of the Polaris ‘Boomer” USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608) and an undisclosed Soviet sub

Mort Kunstler, America's Worst Naval Defeat, Stag cover, May, 1963. Via Heritage Auctions. http://fineart.ha.com/itm/illustration-art/mort-kunstler-american-b-1931-america-s-worst-naval-defeat-stag-cover-may-1962-gouache-on-boar/a/7001-87028.s

Mort Kunstler, America’s Worst Naval Defeat, Stag cover, May, 1963. Via Heritage Auctions. Depicting what is likely the 1942 Battle of Salvo Island– although the central ship, the Gearing-class destroyer USS William Rush (DD-714) wasn’t actually commissioned until 1946 and, with the exception of some brief naval gunfire support in Korea, led a charmed and peaceful life.

Mort Kunstler. Showing USAF HH-3 Jolly Greens fighting it out with persons unknown on the Empire State building

Mort Kunstler. Men in Combat cover. Via Heritage Auctions

Mort Kunstler. More Cold War art showing a RAF Avro Vulcan in 1960s scheme coming in low over Moscow, with the Kremlin just ahead.

Mort Kunstler, 1,000 to 1 Shot of Guy Gibson’s Dam Busters,, February 1962. Via Heritage Auctions

Mort Kunstler. Navy Skyraiders and a great flare gun.

Mort Kunstler. Hey be careful with that hand buddy…

Mort Kunstler

Mort Kunstler. Reckless Commando Raid, Male cover, c. 1958. This is a much more correct use of the Thompson submachine gun as the British Commandos loved the controllable but effective room broom for up-close work Winston’s ungentlemanly fighters relished. Via Heritage Auctions.

Mort Kunstler. Who really stops at Soviet border crossings anyway? Bunch of crybabys is who.

Mort Kunstler. Prisoner, Stag cover, June 1960-- note the great BAR although I don't think those hot-pants are official Imperial issue. Via Heritage Auctions http://fineart.ha.com/itm/illustration-art/mort-kunstler-american-b-1931-prisoner-stag-cover-june-1960-gouache-on-board-15-x-15-in/a/7015-87025.s

Mort Kunstler. Prisoner, Stag cover, June 1960– note the great BAR although I don’t think those hot-pants are official Imperial issue, also, how is the BAR gunner suspended in mid-air?. Via Heritage Auctions A

Mort Kunstler

Mort Kunstler. The Marine Who Hid the Pacific’s 12 Most Wanted Women, Men Only cover, April 1961. Via Heritage Auction. He really did like Tommy guns and titties didn’t he? I guess that’s the magic pulp formula.

Mort Kunstler. Wipe Out the 11th Panzer Division, Stag magazine, True Books Bonus story illustration. Via Heritage Auction http://fineart.ha.com/itm/illustration-art/mort-kunstler-american-b-1931-wipe-out-the-11th-panzer-division-stag-magazine-true-books-bonus-story-illu/a/5185-72172.s

Mort Kunstler. Wipe Out the 11th Panzer Division, Stag magazine, True Books Bonus story illustration. Via Heritage Auction The 11th, who saw heavy action on the Eastern Front, had been sent West around the D-Day period and, up until Ramagen Bridge, was perhaps the strongest Wehrmacht tank unit in Western Europe.

Thank you for your work, sir.

150 Years ago in Firearms History…

Posted on May 9, 2015 by laststandonzombieisland Leave a comment

A little over a month after Robert E Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, the president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis and his wife Varina were taken into custody by the Fourth Michigan Cavalry on May 10, 1865 in Irwinville, Georgia–an act that effectively dissolved what was left of the CSA.

1855 Percussion Paris-made rifle by Devisme, was owned by Jefferson Davis and confiscated by Union troops when he was arrested

click to big up. Photo by the NPS

This 1855 Percussion Paris-made rifle by Devisme (serial #10973), was owned by Jefferson Davis and confiscated by Union troops when he was arrested. As a USMA graduate, Mexican War veteran (1st Mississippi Rifles) and former Secretary of War, Davis was an avid arms collector and acquired this rare European gun for his own personal armory.

This rifle was designed to fire .74 caliber explosive projectiles similar to artillery projectiles– which with the technology of the era was likely a hit and miss idea for military shoulder arms. The unorthodox projectiles used by this weapon might be the, “infernal machine,” described by a contemporary report when the Confederate leader was captured. Media spin on guns is nothing new.

(Via Springfield Armory who has more images and more info on this interesting arm that has been in their collection for generations )

The Greatest Generation

Posted on May 8, 2015 by laststandonzombieisland 3 comments

William R. Wilson (right) and brother Cpl. Jack Wilson (left) standing by a German 88 mm gun at Verdun, France on VE Day] via LOC

Update: above caption was from the LOC, as sharp-eyed Roger noted, its actually a “captured French Model 1930 AA gun on a 1917 wheeled mounting. The 3 rings on the barrel denote Allied aircraft shot down by this effective weapon.”

The Arsenal of Democracy

Posted on May 8, 2015 by laststandonzombieisland Leave a comment

In honor of the 70th Anniversary of VE-Day today, there will be a 50-plane flyover of the Nation’s capitol by WWII-era military aircraft that range from B17s to P-40E War Hawks to TBF Avengers and C-53 transports.

The flyover – scheduled to begin at 12:10 p.m. ET – is open to anyone who can get to a viewing spot as the planes head down the Potomac River, turn inland at the Lincoln Memorial, and fly past the WWII Memorial (where 500 World War vets will be on hand), Washington Monument, White House and Jefferson Memorial. Planes will fly to the U.S. Capitol before heading back toward the river.

So if you are in DC today, look up at lunch time, it will be a sight you unlikely to ever see again.

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laststandonzombieisland

Weapons, Wars, Preparation and Security from a recovering gun nut turned bad writer

CMP may get into the 1911 business

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The 101 on Trujillo’s indig rifle

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Why throw it away?

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Happy 109th Mr. Overton

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The Baby Nambu and its importance to Ruger

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Cruiser-killer HMS Urge rediscovered after 74 years overdue

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Combat Gallery Sunday : And we have more Mort!

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150 Years ago in Firearms History…

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The Greatest Generation

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The Arsenal of Democracy

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