USAF Model 15s

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ladoniacop

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looking at a Model 15 that has been parkarized that falls within the range of the 15-3s the AF bought according to the Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson. However it is not USAF marked. Were there 15s that were not marked?
 
Apparently so, since you're looking at one. There were many M15's that didn't go to the USAF; that must be one of them, maybe it was Parkerized to try passing it off as a military-owned gun. The serial number range the M15's were within also included other K- frame models than M15's so the SN's aren't consecutive with any given model. To know the precise history of the gun, you'd need to have it lettered by SWHF.
 
Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass! I believe all the AF guns were blued. So, a Parkerized gun would have an incorrect finish if USAF marked. And, I don't believe S&W offered a phosphate finish as special order done in-house. So, it is highly unlikely to be an original commercial finish on a non-USAF marked gun. Bottom line: it has little to no appeal to a collector and should be priced as a shooter.
 
I was issued a succession of Model 15s in Uncle Sam’s Air Force - none were parkerized and all were marked USAF.

They all had magnas, except for the cool guys on EST (AF SWAT) who had Pachmayr Presentations. I stuck a pair on mine, which the armorer would take off and then explain I couldn’t use them. This went on for a while until he got exasperated and said “Damn, Lt - you gotta have wood grips!” I put some targets on and when I turned it in he said: Hell, I give up.
 

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IIRC, Tom Ferguson, who wrote for GUN WORLD, did an article about the AF gunsmiths at Lackland and included some remarks about the M15s being refurbed there.
They were all new when I was in!
 
There was a good thread a few years ago detailing USAF Model 15's.
My memory isnt what it used to be but IIRC the USAF 15-2 (&-3?) 's were pulled from existing (made for civilian consumption) inventory then had the USAF mark applied.

I'm not certain but my foggy memory is they had a wide TT/TH with Magna stocks,
Also seem to recall an article saying that Uncle Sam seemed it fit to dump large amounts of them into the ocean .

IIRC Lee knows alot on this topic.
 
Legit, marked, lettered USAF Model 15s are pretty rare birds on the civilian market. Some leaked out through theft, and some were surplussed to police departments and then escaped.

I could have had one when an RF4-C crashed outside the base I was at. Both fliers punched out and came down ok. I was trying to get a cordon set up when a civilian walked up holding a Model 15 by the end of the barrel. I stuck it in my pants and went about my business. I later turned it in at the armory because I’m not a thief, but I doubt anyone was concerned about an old revolver with all kinds of classified airplane parts laying on the road.
 
I picked up several 2" M-15s from DRMO at Ft. Bliss in the '90s for a department I was working for. All were NIB, blue, and all had lanyard swivels. They might have been Army or Air Force, as the DRMO there handled all DOD in the region, then the DRMO moved to Holloman AFB about '98.
 
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I served in the USAF as an air policeman from 1964 to 1967. We had M15s issued to us. They did not have any USAF or US markings on them. I am guessing that as the war progressed M15s had to be refinished by parkerizing them.
 
Sorry, duplicate post.... Double tap.
 
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biku324 said:
I picked up several 2" M-15s from DRMO at Ft. Bliss in the '90s for a department I was working for. All were NIB, blue, and all had lanyard swivels. They might have been Army or Air Force, as the DRMO there handled all DOD in the region, then the DRMO moved to Holloman AFB about '98.
Click to expand...

Funny you mention this.

I was just explaining to someone a few days ago how I pricked up a half dozen Full Auto M-14's through the program.

Now the laugh.... each rifle cost us, $6.71.

I took the M-14's because they were available immediately.

M-16's would have taken a couple of months.

They would give us the rifles... but, postage was too much for them to handle.
 
Well, we also got 7 M-14s with the selector switches removed; they cost nothing, as we picked them up. All were still full of cosmoline. We cleaned and tried them all; the most accurate we had drilled and tapped for our countersnipers with the rest issued to inner perimeter SRT who covered entry teams.

These all had Bakelite upper hand guards.
 
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I was stationed at McCoy AFB, Orlando Florida, from 1964-1967. When I assigned to security, we were just getting the M16. We still had the M1 carbine until early 1965. I was assigned to base police from mid 1965 until my separation in September 1967. Our service revolvers were old Colts marked "Property U S Navy".
 
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I was an SP from 1973 to 1993. All the M15 revolvers I carried during my 20 years were blue steel with service stocks, TT and TH. When I was a member of HQ USAF Security Force at the Pentagon in the early 1980's we had M15's with Pachmayr grip filler adapters and some with the Target Stocks. Even had some with Pachmayr "Presentation" and "Gripper" rubber grips. When the Beretta 92 came into service in the late 1980's there were some M15's issued that were parkerized--probably arsenal rebuilds. At my last Base before retiring some of the female SPs continued to carry the M15 revolver mainly because they were having a very difficult time qualifying with the Beretta due to its size and long "trigger reach"
 
A search will get you lots of threads about the USAF Model 15s. Pictures too:
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