I, too, was issued a Model 15 as an SP in the USAF. I had one from 1983 until M9s actually started showing up around 1988.
I credit the Model 15 for converting me from a "Colt guy" to a Smith guy.
I'd love to find a legit USAF marked Model 15. One has been posted here from time to time, not sure who owns it now.
Some have leaked out - apparently some were surplussed and transferred to civilian police departments, who subsequently disposed of them through sale or trade-in.
I had a chance at a free one once. I was a Security Police Ops Officer at Bergstrom AFB in Austin, TX, when one of our ancient RF-4Cs crashed on the highway just outside the base. The pilot ejected and came down OK in a nearby trailer park. I was trying to sort out the madness on the highway when a local citizen came up to me holding a Model 15 with two fingers at arm's length like it was a dead rat. He'd found it in his yard. I stuck it in my belt and went back to work. I almost forgot about it, but went ahead and turned it in at the armory. With several million dollars worth of plane scattered around nobody would have cared about a couple hundred bucks worth of Smith and Wesson, but I'm not a thief.
Air Force did not relay warning of ill-fated jet 01/26/1990 | Archives | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle