The Pistol. NO. 1962xxx. This pistol was manufactured by Remington Rand in 1944 and arsenal rebuilt by Springfield Armory some time later, and has a slide that is obviously Colt. A friend argued the receiver was Colt and he even called Colt customer service with the serial number. They told him it was made by Colt. Now, it is well documented that Colt production SN’s over lapped with Remington Rand, Ithaca and US&S but not this particular SN. However, the SN prefix of NO. (very faint but readable under a loop), the SN itself, inspector mark FJA and other details, such as the inspector marks on the trigger guard (both sides), clearly indicate it is a Remington Rand receiver. There is a faint Ordnance cross canon mark on the right rear of the receiver and a P below the slide release and on top of the slide. It wears Keyes grips and came to me with a M.S. Little magazine.
The SA rebuild mark on the right side above the trigger guard is a little puzzling to me because Springfield Armory stopped refurbishing revolvers in 1942 to concentrate on more critical manufacturing, but I have no knowledge of their activity with regard to these pistols. The activities of the previous owner might shed some light on that issue. When I purchased the gun it had some problems. The hammer would follow the slide so I replaced the appropriate parts then gave it a new recoil spring. Other than that, it is just as I got it. It led a hard life but it is very tight and accurate.
The History. I purchased the pistol from the wife (widow) of the actual owner/user several years ago, and the information below is all verified by her. I will explain later why the validity of this information is so strong. The previous owner served in a sort of contractor capacity in China around WW II time, military/civilian capacity during Korea, and with Air America in SE Asia during the 1960’s/70’s. All this is blended in what is referred to as Dual Status (military/civilian). He was involved in experimental projects for the U.S. Air Force as well. Because of my involvement in Vietnam and Cambodia I am especially interested in his time in SE Asia.
This individual is not listed in the Air America section of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilot’s Association directory but I can assure you he did fly with Air America. I have personally seen his pilot’s log book, a complete roster of Air America pilots stationed all over the world, his 18kt AA ID bracelet and many other artifacts from his service. As to the log book, strangely, it might seem, every entry showed a flight from Tan Son Nhut Air Base to Cam Ranh Bay and back. I know several AA pilots and this is not an uncommon practice. They had to put something in their log books to account for their flight time, regardless of where they might have been. It’s also important to note that the lady I purchased the pistol from actually lived at Tan Son Nhut AB with her husband. That was unheard of within the ranks of Air America pilots, but then he was not your typical line pilot.
She told me of a couple stories that he would relate to her upon his return to their quarters at Tan Son Nhut. One that especially interested me was when he was working with one of the aboriginal hill tribes. The tribe’s people had a problem with a tiger that was killing their people and animals. He went out in a helicopter and found the tiger in a jungle clearing. The tiger was not too happy about a helicopter hovering above him but stood his ground. He was able to put a .45 bullet from this gun to the tiger’s head, killing it. The yards were thrilled and considered the armed pilot their savior and rewarded him in their own way.
These pictures make the pistol look much better than it is.
The SA rebuild mark on the right side above the trigger guard is a little puzzling to me because Springfield Armory stopped refurbishing revolvers in 1942 to concentrate on more critical manufacturing, but I have no knowledge of their activity with regard to these pistols. The activities of the previous owner might shed some light on that issue. When I purchased the gun it had some problems. The hammer would follow the slide so I replaced the appropriate parts then gave it a new recoil spring. Other than that, it is just as I got it. It led a hard life but it is very tight and accurate.
The History. I purchased the pistol from the wife (widow) of the actual owner/user several years ago, and the information below is all verified by her. I will explain later why the validity of this information is so strong. The previous owner served in a sort of contractor capacity in China around WW II time, military/civilian capacity during Korea, and with Air America in SE Asia during the 1960’s/70’s. All this is blended in what is referred to as Dual Status (military/civilian). He was involved in experimental projects for the U.S. Air Force as well. Because of my involvement in Vietnam and Cambodia I am especially interested in his time in SE Asia.
This individual is not listed in the Air America section of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilot’s Association directory but I can assure you he did fly with Air America. I have personally seen his pilot’s log book, a complete roster of Air America pilots stationed all over the world, his 18kt AA ID bracelet and many other artifacts from his service. As to the log book, strangely, it might seem, every entry showed a flight from Tan Son Nhut Air Base to Cam Ranh Bay and back. I know several AA pilots and this is not an uncommon practice. They had to put something in their log books to account for their flight time, regardless of where they might have been. It’s also important to note that the lady I purchased the pistol from actually lived at Tan Son Nhut AB with her husband. That was unheard of within the ranks of Air America pilots, but then he was not your typical line pilot.
She told me of a couple stories that he would relate to her upon his return to their quarters at Tan Son Nhut. One that especially interested me was when he was working with one of the aboriginal hill tribes. The tribe’s people had a problem with a tiger that was killing their people and animals. He went out in a helicopter and found the tiger in a jungle clearing. The tiger was not too happy about a helicopter hovering above him but stood his ground. He was able to put a .45 bullet from this gun to the tiger’s head, killing it. The yards were thrilled and considered the armed pilot their savior and rewarded him in their own way.
These pictures make the pistol look much better than it is.
