aircrew pistols in Viet Nam

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SD95B

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Hi CH47gunner,

I did not want to hijack Diamondback68's thread on the LH 624's so I am starting a new one. Could you please tell me what handgun you carried in Viet Nam? I know this has been brought up from time to time about aircrew weapons. The helicopter crews I saw in West Germany in the mid 80's all seemed to have the Model 10 round butt with a white metal colored extension hanging out from under the butt that served as a lanyard attachment point. It was an "L" shaped bracket that was secured under the grip plate. It was not a swivel. There were alot of Chinooks over in West Germany when I was stationed there.
Thanks for your service to our country.
 
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Hi CH47gunner,

I did not want to hijack Diamondback68's thread on the LH 624's so I am starting a new one. Could you please tell me what handgun you carried in Viet Nam? I know this has been brought up from time to time about aircrew weapons. The helicopter crews I saw in West Germany in the mid 80's all seemed to have the Model 10 round butt with a white metal colored extension hanging out from under the butt that served as a lanyard attachment point. It was an "L" shaped bracket that was secured under the grip plate. It was not a swivel. There were alot of Chinooks over in West Germany when I was stationed there.
Thanks for your service to our country.
 
SD95B -

We mostly carried S&W Model 10's w/ the 4" barrel.

Couple of reasons for this -
First, they gave Flight Platoon the choice of sidearms. Either a S&W M10 or a Colt 1911, the 1911 had such a poor reputation for accuracy and was so big & clunky, most of us chose the M10.
Second, the Six-gun was just racier. After getting our flight gear issued & first time we were able, we got down to the "gook" store and bought one of the fancy Buscadero "quick draw" rigs. Very Kool!
Being able to wear the Nomex flight suit & carry a six-gun low slung, it doesn't get any cooler than that. I don't think I wore regular fatigues again in RVN except when pulling perimeter or flightline guard.
We also were required to wear the all leather stateside style combat boots. As the Nylon sided jungle boots could melt into the pores of your skin if on fire. There's a pleasant thought.

Where, in Germany, were you stationed? I was stationed just outside of Stuttgart (Ludwigsburg) for a year. I had an absolute blast in Germany.

Thanks,

Bruce
 
Thanks for the quick reply Bruce. I have always found the weapons and equipment carried by aviators of all eras very interesting.
 
USAF pilots officially had the S&W M-15. But there weren't always enough to go around, so substitutions were made. Some carried .45 autos they had already been issued before the .38 was adopted about 1962.

Others carried personal sidearms, which was tolerated. Some were even told to bring their own handgun, as there weren't enough issue ones on hand.

Some Army helicopter pilots had snub .38's, S&W M-12 Airweights in many cases.
 
On my first carrier cruise to Vietnam (1965), I carried a beatup issue .38sp S&W Victory Model. Before each flight, I'd pull a tacky shoulder holster containing the revolver from a locker in the ready room. After the flight, I'd dump the rig back into that locker. So far as I know, no one ever did anything to them until the cruise was over. In any event, before my 1968 cruise, I bought a Browning High Power with two spare magazines. I picked up a surplus Air Force shoulder holster for the .45 1911, which was perfect for the High Power too. A parachute rigger set up two magazine holders along the chest strap and I was good to go. That was my personal weapon on my 68 and 72 cruises. When not flying, I kept it in the safe in my desk, beside a fifth or two of Old Crow picked up at Cubi Point -- a little night music. But don't tell anyone!
Cordially, Jack
 
I couldn't be in the military (medical/cancer) and always enjoy the stories you guys have. Thanks for writing it all down and thanks for serving.

Edit to add: Everytime I hear about Old Crow I think of Bud Anderson's P-51.
 
Yea, I saw all kinds of pistols in Viet Nam. I carried a Remington 1911 .45 I bought from a Veit Nam trooper for $100 American.

I was a ground pounder, and was not authorized to carry a side arm but we all did it anyway.

It jammed on me in a fire fight, and I threw it at a dink coming my way. That bayonet looked like it was 10 feet long. I ran like hell, and my buddys wasted him. Of course I never did live it down but I traded it off later in base camp to a HUEY gunner for his model 15 Target.

I still have that model 15, Lots of memories..

I'll never carry an auto again. You could buy most anything on the Black Market over there, and there were mostly S&W revolvers.
 
Hey Bruce,

I missed your question about Germany when I initially read your reply. I was stationed in Mannheim.The Hueys and Chinooks I saw all flew out of Coleman Barracks in Mannheim-Sandhofen.
 
I was a helicopter pilot during 1967 and 1968, flying Huey's in the central highlands. My unit issued S&W model 10 with 4in barrel, or model 1911 45's. I chose to carry the 1911in a shoulder rig. We flew in jungle fatigues. I always figured the handgun was to throw at the bad guys so insisted my crew chief and gunner brought an M-14 not the M-16. If we went down, my plan was the crew guys would use the door guns and carry them, pilots use the M-14 and we'd all have the same ammo. By the grace of God I never had to see how that would work out. 12months, 978 combat flying hours and never shot down. Shot up but never down, AMEN.
John
 
Here are a couple of pics that I've posted before of a 1963 vintage model 10 in a "hog leg" western style holster.

It was carried by an Army Major over a 30 month period in Viet Nam who served with the 1st Cav Div 1st Abn Brigade, Special Forces, and MACV Advisory Group:

gunSWmod10-5Vietnam1stCav.jpg


In 1971 or 1972, the revolver & rig was passed on to an Army Captain who served with a MACV Advisory Group in Qui Nhon:

gunSW10-5-5.jpg
 
I was in Combat News on the central coast and was issued a M15 for use whenever flying or doing a story with the army. The only time I used it was on convoy duty with the army.
 
jsuppok -
That was our SOP - have the crewchief & gunner pull the M60's. Both times I went down, there wasn't time to get 'em.
I was in III Corps, 1st Aviation Brigade @ Phu Loi, our AO was the Iron Triangle, Parrots Beak, & Fish Hook. 1st Av. had no ground assets other than Aviation so what we did was fly support for other units such as 1st Cav.(don't get me started), 11th Armored Cav., 1st Infantry Div., 25th Infantry Div., and of course the ARVN's.

digi-shots -
Thanks, that's the one. Had to be Water Buffalo skin. Way cooler than a .45.

SD95B - Been thru Mannheim but, don't know it. I was with the 7th Medical Brigade, 421st Medivac Co. in Germany. The 421st was the only Army Medivac company in Germany. But, I think the 7th Med. was dissolved in 1992. I didn't fly much in the 421st, I wound up on the Security Police for a while and then was made PFCIC of the Dump.

Bruce
 
Thanks guys for a very informative thread. Can any of you out there confirm the use of the S&W Model 39 by Naval Aviators?

Also, a big thank you to all you current and former members of our armed forces. I saw a quote recently that defined a veteran as "someone who at some point in their life, wrote a blank check payable to the United States of America, for everything up to and including their life". I thought that was most humbling.
 
S&W 5 shot alu framed .38 spl, model numbers did not mean much in those days.
 
You guys are killing me with those GREAT graphics in your signature line. Custom made or is there a website that does that?

I also had to chime in on the aircrew carry weapons. I was a Crewchief (68-69) in the 335th AHC and our pilots carried handguns while the enlisted crew had M16s. Never knew why this was except our Company name was "The Cowboys" so maybe there was some concerns over possible gunfights in the revetments!!
icon_eek.gif
 
lzhome -

First, welcome to the forum!
militarysignatures.com - sign-up for the small sigs are free but, you are limited to the amount of patches & awards. I'm still trying to figure out how to make mine a bit smaller. They have med. & large but, you'll need to subscribe.
Here's a link. http://militarysignatures.com/

huey -

Ever see anybody get zapped by the static charge? I was working the hole (we switched off) & after flying thru a small rain storm, we came in to pick up another sling-load. The Pathfinder standing on top of the load, for the hook-up, got zapped by the static electricity charge we had built up. Charge must have arced a foot & knocked him off the load. The Path-finders were a tough crowd.

Bruce
 
CH47gunner said:
lzhome -

First, welcome to the forum!
militarysignatures.com - sign-up for the small sigs are free but, you are limited to the amount of patches & awards. I'm still trying to figure out how to make mine a bit smaller. They have med. & large but, you'll need to subscribe.
Here's a link. http://militarysignatures.com/

huey -

Ever see anybody get zapped by the static charge? I was working the hole (we switched off) & after flying thru a small rain storm, we came in to pick up another sling-load. The Pathfinder standing on top of the load, for the hook-up, got zapped by the static electricity charge we had built up. Charge must have arced a foot & knocked him off the load. The Path-finders were a tough crowd.

Bruce
Click to expand...

oh yes I have.. zap.I went to the pathfinder school (8th ID).you need to use the grounding rod to the acft/load first.it takes the elect straight to ground.it makes you think when you have a sling load coming in with a bunch of H.E. rockets.a bigger kaboom than a glock
 
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