Aircrewman Revolvers
- Thread starter kwill1911
- Start date
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kwill1911
Member
Thanks to those who have shared numbers via PM.
Regards,
Kevin Williams
Regards,
Kevin Williams
I have a Red Chief Special Box for a J frame that would be in the baby Aircrew S/N range. Do you have this S/N in your data base as an aircrewman. It is possible it is just a civilian model.
S/N is: 27838
S/N is: 27838
OP
kwill1911
Member
That would be civilian. Thanks.
SO were the Baby Aircrewman numbered with the J frame sequence by S&W...the SCSW seems to indicate they did or at least I thought that... but the s/n in your description indicates an AF s/n completely different than a civilian s/n. Is that correct?
OP
kwill1911
Member
That's correct. The 5 shot Aircrewman had unique serial numbers from A.F.No. 1795 to A.F.No. 2399. I see nothing in the SCS&W that contradicts this. In fact, pages 145 and 151 say exactly the same thing. Where do you see the contradiction?
You are correct. I am actually thinking of a conversation I had this weekend where some were talking about the S/N range of the Baby Air-crewman being in the high 20-30K range.But the SCSW says nothing at all about that. In fact contradicts it. So when all else fails.. even collectors are mistaken once in awhile..
Kevin
To date how many S&W M13's do you have in your files??
Mine is complete and correct with a Jinks letter, but the blackstrap has been scrubbed.......you can just barely make out the letter P in the word Property.
Do you see these with scrubbed back straps often??
Regards,
Tom
To date how many S&W M13's do you have in your files??
Mine is complete and correct with a Jinks letter, but the blackstrap has been scrubbed.......you can just barely make out the letter P in the word Property.
Do you see these with scrubbed back straps often??
Regards,
Tom
OP
kwill1911
Member
Well over 400 including the fakes, rewelds and parts guns. Yes, filed off markings are pretty common.
Survival rate
Thanks Kevin,
If you take away the fakes and rebuilds that leaves an extremely low percentage.......less than 1% which certainly makes any legitimate survivor quite rare even if the back-strap is scrubbed.
Certainly an interesting piece of S&W history.
Thanks for keeping us up to speed on this, it's appreciated!
Cheers,
Tom
Thanks Kevin,
If you take away the fakes and rebuilds that leaves an extremely low percentage.......less than 1% which certainly makes any legitimate survivor quite rare even if the back-strap is scrubbed.
Certainly an interesting piece of S&W history.
Thanks for keeping us up to speed on this, it's appreciated!
Cheers,
Tom
One time only ad for S&W M13 revolvers - from the March, 1966 Guns & Ammo.
Only $5 more than a Llama!
opoefc
US Veteran
Kevin, I may have given you this info. before, but not sure. You list above the baby Aircrewman revolvers as being from ser. # AF1795 toAF2399. In a visit to the Springfield Armory, Rick Nahas and I found in a drawer in the upstairs storage room, four Baby Aircrewman revolvers, NIB in their red boxes. Serial numbers ran from AF2404 to AF2407. There were also four 6 shot Aircrewman revolvers numbered AF 2400 to 2403. No information was available from staff or other sources, at the time, to explain these high numbered guns. When Roy Jinks get back from his vacation, I'll ask him what the records show on these guns, and let you know. Ed.
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THE PILGRIM
Member
Way back in my puppy dog says, went on a ROTC field trip to Barksdale AFB, LA.
A SAC B-47 wing was stationed there and they were just starting to pull nuke alert. We were allowed to visit the alert area. It was a roped off guarded area down at the end of the runway.
They only had a few birds on alert, 3-4. The alert crews were in a trailer parked near the B-47s. We went in and talked to them. The aircrews were wearing revolvers. When we asked about the guns, one guy took his out , unloaded it, and passed it around. It was a Colt as described above.
Later when I had the pleasure of pulling SAC nuke alert, our guns were Smiths. They were locked in the mission folder box in the aircraft.
A SAC B-47 wing was stationed there and they were just starting to pull nuke alert. We were allowed to visit the alert area. It was a roped off guarded area down at the end of the runway.
They only had a few birds on alert, 3-4. The alert crews were in a trailer parked near the B-47s. We went in and talked to them. The aircrews were wearing revolvers. When we asked about the guns, one guy took his out , unloaded it, and passed it around. It was a Colt as described above.
Later when I had the pleasure of pulling SAC nuke alert, our guns were Smiths. They were locked in the mission folder box in the aircraft.
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kwill1911
Member
Thanks, Ed. I do have that information, either from you or Rick but would be very interested in any further information you get from Roy.
Regards,
Kevin
da gimp
Member
Were these two pistols purchased at Glen LaRue's Auctions in Sweet Springs, Missouri some years back? I want to say it was in the 1990's,but am not sure. Someone sold off a heck of a collection one night... these two were in it plus several Colt 1911's Russian contract pistols in magnificent shape & many other fine collectable handguns.........
da gimp
Member
Were these two pistols purchased at Glen LaRue's Auctions in Sweet Springs, Missouri some years back? I want to say it was in the 1990's,but am not sure. Someone sold off a heck of a collection one night... these two were in it plus several Colt 1911's Russian contract pistols in magnificent shape & many other fine collectable handguns.........
flagman1776
Member
This is very interesting. I had read this & other threads only to find my sighting was a false alarm.
opoefc
US Veteran
Kevin, I inquired of Roy about the Aircrewmans at the Armory at two different times and got two different replies - 1st. - There are no records at S&W about these out of range Aircrewmans at the Armory, and - 2nd.- It would take too much of his time to try to research any info. that might still be left at the factory. They are obviously over runs from the production, and as such, are not an uncommon event at S&W. I've had various models of S&Ws over the years that had serial numbers higher than what was listed on the production logs, sometimes they were complete guns and other times, unfinished or not fully complete or stamped. Ed
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kwill1911
Member
Ed,
There always seem to be some interesting but poorly documented guns at the beginning and the end of contracts like this. The same is true of the Colt version.
Thanks.
There always seem to be some interesting but poorly documented guns at the beginning and the end of contracts like this. The same is true of the Colt version.
Thanks.
Here's one that came out of a gun show in El Paso many years ago. Apparently the vendor had a whole box of these and at the bottom were a couple that hadn't been torched. Biggs AFB at El Paso had B 36s and later B 47s; these probably came from the B 36s. How come I'm always about 20 years too late for buys like these?
