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Aircrewman Revolver Cheat Sheet
Copyright, Kevin Williams, April 29, 2013
In 1950 the Air Force began developing a lightweight survival and personal defense weapon (PDW) for aircrew. Both Colt and Smith & Wesson submitted aluminum alloy revolvers with two inch barrels for testing. After the initial round of testing, the Air Force ordered 1,189 Colt and 1,210 S&W "Aircrewman" revolvers. The Colts were numbered A.F. No. 1 through A.F. NO. 1189. The S&W guns consisted of 605 six shot revolvers numbered (on the butt) A.F. No. 1190 through A.F. No. 1794 and 605 five shot revolvers numbered A.F. No. 1795 through A.F. No. 2399. All 2,400 revolvers were considered prototypes.
Eventually, S&W won the contract and supplied almost 40,000 six shot Aircrewman revolvers. A special low pressure cartridge was developed (Cartridge, Ball, Caliber .38 Special, M41) and a purpose built leather holster was supplied by the Service Manufacturing Company of Yonkers, New York based on a design patented by N.N. Murray. Technical Manual 9-2027 covered both the Colt and S&W versions. Aircrewman revolvers did not have lanyard rings.
The distinguishing characteristics of the Colt Aircrewman revolvers are:
• Aluminum cylinder.
• Left side of barrel marked AIRCREWMAN/38 SPECIAL CTG.
• Right side of barrel marked COLT'S MFG. CO./HARTFORD CT. U.S.A.
• Butt marked A.F.No. XXX (above 1000 this changes to A.F. NO. and the direction of the marking changes from toe—heel to heel—toe.) These A.F. numbers do not correlate to Colt's standard serial numbers which are stamped on the frame inside the crane. Aircrewman revolvers were numbered in the same series as Colt's Cobra and Courier (commercial) revolvers.
• Back strap marked PROPERTY OF U.S. AIR FORCE
• Special stocks designed by Col. F.S. Allen with USAF medallions in place of the Colt medallions.
• Top straps unmarked. (Most S&W revolvers are marked REVOLVER, LIGHTWEIGHT, M13).
• No military inspection or acceptance marks.
In April, 1953, Smith & Wesson revolvers purchased for the Air Force were standardized as REVOLVER, LIGHTWEIGHT, M13, and the designated back strap marking was "PROPERTY OF U.S. AIR FORCE" in large and small capital letters. However, in June, 1956 the Air Force concurred with a request from the U.S. Army Chief of Ordnance to use the simple marking "U.S." on major items of equipment to designate government property.
There are three major variations of the S&W Aircrewman revolvers, and a number of relatively minor changes in markings.
The distinguishing characteristics of the S&W Aircrewman revolvers are:
• A.F. No. 1190—1794 (Qty. 605) AF Contract No: DA-19-059-ORD-721
o 5 screw, 6 shot KA frame with steel bolster bushing.
o USAF medallion in stocks, right stock serial numbered.
o 3 digit assembly numbers stamped on frame opposite the yoke, on the yoke and inside the side plate.
o PROPERTY OF U.S. AIR FORCE on back strap.
o A.F. No. xxx on butt reads toe to heel. Also, the four digits are stamped on the bottom of the barrel, on the rear face of the cylinder, on the front face of the extractor star, and on the rear face of the yoke.
o AIRCREWMAN / .38 SPECIAL CTG. on right side of barrel.
o SMITH & WESSON on left side of barrel.
o No markings on top strap.
o Blue/anodized black finish.
o P factory proof mark above the front of the trigger guard on the left side.
• A.F. No. 1795—2399 (Qty. 605) – "Baby Aircrewman," AF Contract No: DA-19-059-ORD-721
o 4 screw, 5 shot J frame with steel bolster bushing.
o USAF medallion in stocks, right stock serial numbered.
o 3 digit assembly numbers.
o PROPERTY OF U.S. AIR FORCE on back strap.
o A.F. No. xxx on butt reads toe to heel. Also, the four digits are stamped on the bottom of the barrel, on the rear face of the cylinder, on the front face of the extractor star, and on the rear face of the yoke.
o AIRCREWMAN / .38 SPECIAL CTG. on right side of barrel.
o SMITH & WESSON on left side of barrel.
o Blue/anodized black finish.
o No markings on top strap.
o P factory proof mark above the front of the trigger guard on the left side.
• C prefix serial numbers (~40,000) AF Contract No: DA-19-059-ORD-1546
o 5 screw KA frames, some with 6th bug screw.
o 4 screw KA frames later (1st observed is C269249).
o Bolster bushing dropped at some point.
o PROPERTY OF U.S. AIR FORCE on back strap.
o U.S. only on back strap towards end of production. C402350 1st observed.
o A few unaltered revolvers have been observed with no back strap markings.
o C prefix serial number on butt. No A.F. No. The six digits of the commercial serial number were stamped on the flat on the bottom of the barrel, on the rear face of the cylinder, on the front of the extractor star, and on the rear face of the yoke.
o A matching four-digit assembly number was applied to the left side of the frame opposite the yoke, on the yoke opposite the frame, and inside the side plate.
o Standard S&W medallions in stocks, right stock serial numbered.
o REVOLVER, LIGHT WEIGHT, M 13 on top strap.
o Spaces taken out around C277238 (1st observed).
o .38 SPL. CTG. on right side of barrel.
o SMITH & WESSON on left side of barrel.
o Barrel markings reverse at about C367647 (1st observed).
o P factory proof mark above the front of the trigger guard on the left side.
o 3 variations of thumb latch.
o Blue/anodized black finish.
According to TM 9-2200 (dated October, 1956), the Aircrewman revolver was also used by investigative agents in the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations (OSI), the Army's Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) and by the Corps of Military Police. "No holster is required."
By 1959 a number of Aircrewman had become unserviceable due to ruptured cylinders or cracks at the front of the frame where the barrel screws in. It was determined that the M13 revolvers were unsuitable for sustained fire as in target practice and unsafe for use with commercial ammunition loaded with lead bullets. For these reasons, the commander of Air Materiel Command directed that any M13s surplus to Air Force needs be destroyed and sold for scrap, since other potential government users could not obtain the low-pressure M41 Special Ball ammunition.
A number of the S&W revolvers somehow survived. However, since the remains of the destroyed revolvers were sold as scrap, many parts were salvaged and have since been used to put together bogus examples of these unique revolvers. Also, some commercial Military & Police "Airweight" revolvers (sometimes referred to as the "pre Model 12") have had spurious markings added so that they can be passed off as Aircrewman guns. One spurious M13 revolver recently offered for sale was found to have been assembled with parts for seven different revolvers. Fakery has even extended to welding destroyed cylinders back together from parts. Collectors are well advised to examine Aircrewman revolvers offered for sale to make sure they are authentic. Genuine unaltered Aircrewman revolvers will have aluminum cylinders and markings, assembly and serial numbers as specified above.
At this time I have logged approximately 75 Colt Aircrewman survivors, 6 of which are fakes.
On the S&W versions I've logged 26 A.F. numbered KA frame revolvers but only 8 of those are complete and original. There are about 15 known original, complete Baby Aircrewman (5 shot) revolvers known and about as many fakes or parts guns. I've recorded over 400 Aircrewman revolvers from the production contract and about 10% of those are spurious. Much of this empirical data is based on the work of Rick Nahas and Charlie Pate.
Copyright, Kevin Williams, April 29, 2013
In 1950 the Air Force began developing a lightweight survival and personal defense weapon (PDW) for aircrew. Both Colt and Smith & Wesson submitted aluminum alloy revolvers with two inch barrels for testing. After the initial round of testing, the Air Force ordered 1,189 Colt and 1,210 S&W "Aircrewman" revolvers. The Colts were numbered A.F. No. 1 through A.F. NO. 1189. The S&W guns consisted of 605 six shot revolvers numbered (on the butt) A.F. No. 1190 through A.F. No. 1794 and 605 five shot revolvers numbered A.F. No. 1795 through A.F. No. 2399. All 2,400 revolvers were considered prototypes.
Eventually, S&W won the contract and supplied almost 40,000 six shot Aircrewman revolvers. A special low pressure cartridge was developed (Cartridge, Ball, Caliber .38 Special, M41) and a purpose built leather holster was supplied by the Service Manufacturing Company of Yonkers, New York based on a design patented by N.N. Murray. Technical Manual 9-2027 covered both the Colt and S&W versions. Aircrewman revolvers did not have lanyard rings.
The distinguishing characteristics of the Colt Aircrewman revolvers are:
• Aluminum cylinder.
• Left side of barrel marked AIRCREWMAN/38 SPECIAL CTG.
• Right side of barrel marked COLT'S MFG. CO./HARTFORD CT. U.S.A.
• Butt marked A.F.No. XXX (above 1000 this changes to A.F. NO. and the direction of the marking changes from toe—heel to heel—toe.) These A.F. numbers do not correlate to Colt's standard serial numbers which are stamped on the frame inside the crane. Aircrewman revolvers were numbered in the same series as Colt's Cobra and Courier (commercial) revolvers.
• Back strap marked PROPERTY OF U.S. AIR FORCE
• Special stocks designed by Col. F.S. Allen with USAF medallions in place of the Colt medallions.
• Top straps unmarked. (Most S&W revolvers are marked REVOLVER, LIGHTWEIGHT, M13).
• No military inspection or acceptance marks.
In April, 1953, Smith & Wesson revolvers purchased for the Air Force were standardized as REVOLVER, LIGHTWEIGHT, M13, and the designated back strap marking was "PROPERTY OF U.S. AIR FORCE" in large and small capital letters. However, in June, 1956 the Air Force concurred with a request from the U.S. Army Chief of Ordnance to use the simple marking "U.S." on major items of equipment to designate government property.
There are three major variations of the S&W Aircrewman revolvers, and a number of relatively minor changes in markings.
The distinguishing characteristics of the S&W Aircrewman revolvers are:
• A.F. No. 1190—1794 (Qty. 605) AF Contract No: DA-19-059-ORD-721
o 5 screw, 6 shot KA frame with steel bolster bushing.
o USAF medallion in stocks, right stock serial numbered.
o 3 digit assembly numbers stamped on frame opposite the yoke, on the yoke and inside the side plate.
o PROPERTY OF U.S. AIR FORCE on back strap.
o A.F. No. xxx on butt reads toe to heel. Also, the four digits are stamped on the bottom of the barrel, on the rear face of the cylinder, on the front face of the extractor star, and on the rear face of the yoke.
o AIRCREWMAN / .38 SPECIAL CTG. on right side of barrel.
o SMITH & WESSON on left side of barrel.
o No markings on top strap.
o Blue/anodized black finish.
o P factory proof mark above the front of the trigger guard on the left side.
• A.F. No. 1795—2399 (Qty. 605) – "Baby Aircrewman," AF Contract No: DA-19-059-ORD-721
o 4 screw, 5 shot J frame with steel bolster bushing.
o USAF medallion in stocks, right stock serial numbered.
o 3 digit assembly numbers.
o PROPERTY OF U.S. AIR FORCE on back strap.
o A.F. No. xxx on butt reads toe to heel. Also, the four digits are stamped on the bottom of the barrel, on the rear face of the cylinder, on the front face of the extractor star, and on the rear face of the yoke.
o AIRCREWMAN / .38 SPECIAL CTG. on right side of barrel.
o SMITH & WESSON on left side of barrel.
o Blue/anodized black finish.
o No markings on top strap.
o P factory proof mark above the front of the trigger guard on the left side.
• C prefix serial numbers (~40,000) AF Contract No: DA-19-059-ORD-1546
o 5 screw KA frames, some with 6th bug screw.
o 4 screw KA frames later (1st observed is C269249).
o Bolster bushing dropped at some point.
o PROPERTY OF U.S. AIR FORCE on back strap.
o U.S. only on back strap towards end of production. C402350 1st observed.
o A few unaltered revolvers have been observed with no back strap markings.
o C prefix serial number on butt. No A.F. No. The six digits of the commercial serial number were stamped on the flat on the bottom of the barrel, on the rear face of the cylinder, on the front of the extractor star, and on the rear face of the yoke.
o A matching four-digit assembly number was applied to the left side of the frame opposite the yoke, on the yoke opposite the frame, and inside the side plate.
o Standard S&W medallions in stocks, right stock serial numbered.
o REVOLVER, LIGHT WEIGHT, M 13 on top strap.
o Spaces taken out around C277238 (1st observed).
o .38 SPL. CTG. on right side of barrel.
o SMITH & WESSON on left side of barrel.
o Barrel markings reverse at about C367647 (1st observed).
o P factory proof mark above the front of the trigger guard on the left side.
o 3 variations of thumb latch.
o Blue/anodized black finish.
According to TM 9-2200 (dated October, 1956), the Aircrewman revolver was also used by investigative agents in the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations (OSI), the Army's Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) and by the Corps of Military Police. "No holster is required."
By 1959 a number of Aircrewman had become unserviceable due to ruptured cylinders or cracks at the front of the frame where the barrel screws in. It was determined that the M13 revolvers were unsuitable for sustained fire as in target practice and unsafe for use with commercial ammunition loaded with lead bullets. For these reasons, the commander of Air Materiel Command directed that any M13s surplus to Air Force needs be destroyed and sold for scrap, since other potential government users could not obtain the low-pressure M41 Special Ball ammunition.
A number of the S&W revolvers somehow survived. However, since the remains of the destroyed revolvers were sold as scrap, many parts were salvaged and have since been used to put together bogus examples of these unique revolvers. Also, some commercial Military & Police "Airweight" revolvers (sometimes referred to as the "pre Model 12") have had spurious markings added so that they can be passed off as Aircrewman guns. One spurious M13 revolver recently offered for sale was found to have been assembled with parts for seven different revolvers. Fakery has even extended to welding destroyed cylinders back together from parts. Collectors are well advised to examine Aircrewman revolvers offered for sale to make sure they are authentic. Genuine unaltered Aircrewman revolvers will have aluminum cylinders and markings, assembly and serial numbers as specified above.
At this time I have logged approximately 75 Colt Aircrewman survivors, 6 of which are fakes.
On the S&W versions I've logged 26 A.F. numbered KA frame revolvers but only 8 of those are complete and original. There are about 15 known original, complete Baby Aircrewman (5 shot) revolvers known and about as many fakes or parts guns. I've recorded over 400 Aircrewman revolvers from the production contract and about 10% of those are spurious. Much of this empirical data is based on the work of Rick Nahas and Charlie Pate.
