Hi folks,

My dad flew F-100 Super Sabres in South Vietnam in 1966-1967. He flew 426 missions and was shot down once. He carried a Smith and Wesson Combat Masterpiece (38 Special) in a custom gunbelt and holster, and he is almost sure it had a three-inch barrel. He used his revolver to defend himself while he waited for the rescue helo to recover him after he was shot down.

Some of you are serious collectors with a wealth of knowledge, and I could use your help. Could any of you confirm the existance of the 3" Combat Masterpiece (1965-1967)? My dad really liked his revolver, and I would like to give him one if I could find one.

Thank you for your help.

Happy Independence Day to my fellow American Citizens!
Rushbeau

I'm sure that many will chime in with your requested info.

I just wanted to say thanks for sharing
your story about your Dad. 426 missions
is very impressive.
You should be very proud of him. I am
thankful for what he did.

If it was USAF issued then it was a 4" M15. If he measured the barrel from the front of the frame then it would be close to 3". True measurement is from the front of the cylinder.

I went to law school with a retired Air Force Master Sergeant who was an F-100 combat mechanic in Viet Nam. He had some wild and wooly tales about patching up shot-down F-100s just enough so they could be flown back to base, sometimes taping pieces of beer cans over bullet holes, and of the warriors who were their pilots. Told me about one pilot who allegedly carried 3 1911s, who was adamant that the mechanics hang some ordnance on his shot-up plane, so he could go blow up some more enemy troops on the way back! Your father has my deepest respect and admiration. If his gun was a Combat Masterpiece, it pretty much had to be a 4-incher.

Could you kindly relate details about your dad's use of his Model 15 to defend himself. I'd be very interested in actual combat use of the Model 15 and would enjoy your dad's harrowing experience.

Did his revolver have an aluminum or steel frame? Was it stamped M13 or Aircrewman? If it was an aluminum frame gun it would have been an M13 Aircrewman revolver, probably with an aluminum cylinder also but some had steel cylinders. This is known as the most faked S&W as it was the first to gain a real premium price. In fact MOST of the M13's out there are fakes, and some even have faked factory letters. Most of these guns were destroyed by the Air Force in the 1950's, but since your dad was flying F100's it is possible that he might have had one of the steel cylinder examples; the aluminum cylinders didn't stand up to firing and led to the replacement & destruction of most of these guns.

Thank you to all who responded!

Bmc,

My dad was shot down while he was turning final into Phan Rang Air Force Base. Though most of Vietnam is jungle, Phan Rang looks alot like West Texas - flat ground covered in grass stubble with thin woods about two hundred yards from the overrun (end of the runway). The VC had an encampment in the woods and would fire on aircraft as they approached the runway.

When my dad ejected, the shroud lines for his parachute became entangled in his seat so he took the opening shock across his left shoulder (rather than down the center of his back), which shattered three of his vertebrae and tore the tendens and ligaments in his left shoulder. He landed about two hundred yards from the tree line in the open field. He could hear the VC in the tree line whistling to each other while they were trying to find him. He lay flat on the ground while he coordinated RESCAP (Rescue Combat Air Patrol) with the rest of his flight. He had two F-100s rolling in on the tree line to strafe the VC when the helo set down in their way, which forced him to call off the RESCAP. Just before he jumped up and ran for the helo, he unloaded his revolver on VC who were running after him. When his revolver ran dry, he sprinted the hundred yards to the helo, all-the-while dragging his revolver on the ground behind him on a six-foot lanyard. The helo co-pilot was laughing so hard while watching my dad, he was unaware the VC were chasing him.

After ten days, my dad resummed flying. He flew for another ten years (F-4C, T-38, FB-111). Because of his injuries, he could not turn his head while pulling G (manuvering the aircraft), but he never lost an ACM (Air Combat Manuvering) engagement. Today, the lasting effects of his injuries really bother him, and he has had two strokes which have affected his memmory and emmotions, he has nerve dammage, and he has tinnitus (constant ringing in the ears). He thinks the tinnitus is the result of a Chicom mortar that exploded on the other side of a tree against which he was sitting while he was writing a letter to my mom, but he also expended in excess of 80,000 rounds of 20MM (the F-100 had four 20MM cannon). I thank God I still have him.

I also thank God for those of you who have sacrificed your own liberty and pledged your sacred honor to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

CmDermott,

My dad tells me his revolver was completely steel, which leads me to believe it was indeed a Model 15.He has fond memmories of that revolver. Thanks for the information.

Happy Independence Day!
Rushbeau

Rushbeau:

Your dad is a man's man! I was in the Army and once I left, it took more than 20 years before anyone ever thanked me for my service - and this was in peacetime! God bless America, and all that keep her safe. Thanks to your dad and all who have gone into harm's way to keep our country safe.

Warmest regards,

Dave

Amen.....

USAREUR 81 - 84

I was with the Marines in Viet Nam during '69 & '70. I was language trained in Viet Namese, and during a CAP training exercise had the chance to interview an NVA colonel. One of the guys asked him if there were units or any of our troops that he went out of his way to avoid wile commanding his troops. His immmediate answer was " The Air Force ".

Take from a guy on the receiving end. Your Dad and his wing mates cast a long scary shadow everywhere they went. I know I was always glad to see them, and it gave me a lot of satisfaction knowing that the bad guys were dreading the possibility of seeing them as well.

A belated but sincere Thank You to your Dad from one of the guys he covered for.

Please relay my heartfelt thanks to your dad for his service to our country.

I'm in for $25 toward a fund to finance a model 15 to present to your dad in our collective appreciation of his service.

PM me with a PayPal address if you have one, and I'd be honored to contribute.

Thank you so much for sharing his story with us. Please tell that some folks on the S&W Forum are grateful to him for his service to our country.

I've had and still have some guns that look dragged on the ground but would cherish one that suffered such treatment under those circumstances.

btw: here's a related thread

http://smith-wessonforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/530103904/m/9821015472/p/1

Your father and men and women like him made our country what it is todayand kept it safe for the rest of us, and for that he has my complete respect. And thanks God bless

now the F-100 and the F-4 they were fighter planes.not the crap we see today.and the navy had the F-8 crusader.thanks for your dads service.can you post a picture of him maybe ?one with the F100 in it.that is my favorite fighter plane.my stepdad worked on them in the late 50s and early 60s when he worked atlockeheed.I have many big color prints he got from lockheed with the planes in them.