Kicking around a book idea. 1950s-1970s LEO weapons

[redneckemt]

Kicking around a book idea. Just a little past time of mine fighting boredom and working the old brain.

Cliff Note version

Idea is Marine Vet back from Korea recruited to join local Sheriff's Dept in the deep South. His personal gun is a Bring Back 1911.

What if any guns would a local Dept have been issuing/ in common use back then (1955ish)

Would M1's, M1 Carbines, Thompson's and BAR's been in use?

Saps, Blackjacks, Ax handles used?

What kinds of flashlights were carried?

When did Radios go into cars? How were calls dispatched?

What would have been a common Police Car?

Common personal car?

I know has this idea grows I'll have more questions. Idea is for this to be 1st Generation Cop, progressing to son joining in the 1970's.

 

[safearm]

I can't help much with the 50's; when you get to the 70's, let me know as I have first-hand knowledge.

You may want to look at some of the old police shows, i.e., Dragnet (1952-9), Highway Patrol (1955-9), Code 3 (1956-7), Sheriff of Cochise County (1956-7).

 

[UncleEd]

The '50s police:

M&P .38, Official Police .38, Police Positive .38, M&P .38,
Official Police .38, .38/44, Combat Masterpiece .38,
Detective Special .38, M&P .38, Official Police .38, Police
Positive .32, Police Positive .38, 1911A1 .45, Official
Police .38, Government Model .38 Super, M&P .38,
Auto .32, Combat Masterpiece, Police Positive .32, Cobra .38
Victory Model .38 S&W, Auto .380, Official Police.

(And a few Smith or Colt target model .38s.)

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I was far from the South and well along in years before I saw any LE carrying any auto.

 

[Absalom]

....
Idea is Marine Vet back from Korea recruited to join local Sheriff's Dept in the deep South. His personal gun is a Bring Back 1911.
.....

I was far from the South and well along in years before I saw any LE carrying any auto.

I don't know about the South specifically, but I also suggest you'd make it more realistic by going with one of the revolver suggestions.

The whole bringback idea is a bit too embedded in our collector culture, if you want my semi-educated opinion (which you might not ). Looking at the number of 1911s and also Victorys and other small arms out there which Grampa or Uncle Bill supposedly carried through WWI or WW II or Korea, you'd think soldiers and Marines being discharged were told by Uncle Sam to just keep any guns they wanted. Didn't happen. I'm sure some managed to hang on to stuff, but many more likely picked up a gun "just like they carried" surplus sometime later, and over the decades and after their passing, it turned into "the pistol Grandpa carried in the war."

For general resesrch, Google image search is your friend. Put in something like "1950s (name of state in the South) police car", and you get historic photos like the attached 1952 Mississippi Highway Patrol troopers with revolvers and patrol car.

 

[UncleEd]

Good grief Absalom,

Those Miss. troopers are certainly hi tech.

I bet they could call ahead and have their
meatloaf dinners ready when they reach the
diner.

 

[StakeOut]

The NYPD had the Thompson with stick mags on the Police Emergency Squad Trucks until replaced by the S&W Model 76 9mm submachine gun in the later half of the 1960s.

The NYPD was the largest purchaser of the 1919 Thompson.

In the trunk of many patrol cars until the mid 60s were Winchester 30-30 saddle ring carbines.They were not pretty.

 

[Lt JL]

there would have been some 38-44s, and some .44s, also, the occasional Peacemaker in some small Andy-and-Barney depts. Some cars would have had motorola radios, with maybe only one or two channels. There were no portables. everybody would have had a sap , fewer a blackjack because of their lethality. I think you have too many military arms in the OP. There may have been some pocket autos, and some of those may have been military bring backs. Shotguns would have included Remington, Ithaca, and Winchester pumps.

 

[Protocall_Design]

Just watch Mayberry reruns. Sheriff Taylor and Barney had it all!

 

[Farmer17]

1897 pump 12 gauge shotguns were still around in police departments in the 50s and 60s and New York seemed to be fond of Savage side x side shotguns. If I had to pick one side arm that was the most popular I would say it was the 4" pencil barrel S&W M-10 and some 5" barrels were seen occasionally.

 

[rockquarry]

You can only write about what you know. Rather than get erroneous /maybe information from the Internet, do some research and contact some agenices located in the part of the world you want to write about. They won't be able to answer your questions, but can likely put you in touch with someone who can. A little more work, but it would be interesting and the very best way to do it right. Writing is a lot of work.

 

[redneckemt]

I was far from the South and well along in years before I saw any LE carrying any auto.

Why is that? I know the local Cops around here carried wheel guns ( Mostly 66's) on up into the late 80's.

Why? With such a high percentage of the Male population having served. Why were 1911s uncommon? Surely most all of the Veterans would have some familiarity with the .45. Weren't 1911s easy to come by as surplus? Why did the Revolver hold on until the plastic fantastic (Glock) came along?



Would it have been uncommon for surplus M1s to land in the Racks at the Local Jail? Was there nothing similar to the DRMO program of today?


Were Saps local made or was there a major supplier?


Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[redneckemt]

You can only write about what you know. Rather than get erroneous /maybe information from the Internet, do some research and contact some agenices located in the part of the world you want to write about. They won't be able to answer your questions, but can likely put you in touch with someone who can. A little more work, but it would be interesting and the very best way to do it right. Writing is a lot of work.

Oh I am. I know a lot of the later years. It's just the early stuff that I'm tracking down. This forum is a much better source for some of the information I'm looking for. If I asked how much a pre27 3.5" cost in 1956 somebody here would most likely know.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[UncleEd]

A lot of soldiers, Marines, who carried 1911s
probably never really used them or found the
worn out Korean era weapons to be jam-a-matics.

Revolvers were also common in Korea and by the
early 1960s the Air Force switched to Model 15s.
The 15s served the Air Force from 1963 until
1993. I had a major in the 1960s who was an MP
and also found himself in intelligence. He abhorred
the 1911 and wished the Army bought the Model 15s
as well.

The U.S.in the 1950s into the 1970s was
a revolver nation when it came to police. Top
police forces, NY, Chicago, LA, all were revolver
forces by regulation.

Of course, in the 1950s there was author Mickey Spillane
with his 1911 toting character Mike Hammer.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

IFor general resesrch, Google image search is your friend. Put in something like "1950s (name of state in the South) police car", and you get historic photos like the attached 1952 Mississippi Highway Patrol troopers with revolvers and patrol car.

That Halliburton case is from 1952? Not challenging; just asking.

 

[Ingramite]

I can tell you that I had a Motorola Miniature(Walkie Talkie) that was the size of a brick and just as heavy on my left hip. That radio did a fair job of balancing the weight of my 4" revolver on my right hip.

I had a Sergeant that would kick my slats if he caught me without my lid on. He also hated night stick rings on your gun belt. Gawd forbid if he ever rolled by a traffic stop to check on you and you didn't have your lid on and night stick tucked under your left arm.

You could always tell coppers who were lucky enough to walk a beat because they would wear stuff on the backside of their gun belts. My handcuff case was also on my left side and two double dump ammo pouch on my right, just in front of my holster.

When I was promoted to my own foot beat I learned how to control space around me by twirling my night stick. As soon as I made the walking crew I went and had a rosewood stick that was 22 inches long with German silver tips. It was perfectly balanced by an old guy who turned them out on a lathe. He wouldn't make one for the scout car guys, just us street walkers.

I learned how to signal the guy on the beat next to me. He would tap his stick against the side of the mailbox.....remember mailboxes? We also had cast iron light poles and believe it or not, each one had a little different ring tone when tapped with that silver tipped stick.

My stick was used to touch anything (or anyone) who I didn't want to put my hand on. You can really light up somebody with a rap to the shins and you can deflate the biggest hot air balloon with a jab to the sternum.

I never stood in front of a door I had to knock on. I used my stick to rap on the door while I stood just a shotgun blast to the side.

When I was in a scout car in the public housing projects my fear was roof top snipers. Once I got on that foot beat it was crowds of the congested downtown streets. That is where swinging and spinning that stick kept people back from me. Crosswalks? man, I hated to cross the street in front of stopped traffic.

At 5pm all of the pretty girls came down out of those office buildings and I had to swing traffic in a busy intersection for an hour every afternoon. Yeah, whistle, white gloves.....and by Gawd, that nightstick under my arm the whole time.

I'm sorry, not much there to help you in a rural police setting. Oh wait, maybe you could throw in something about badge bunnys.....no, probably not.

 

[Absalom]

That Halliburton case is from 1952? Not challenging; just asking.

I don't know anything about the details. I don't even know what a "Halliburton case" is

That was just the label on the photo.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

I don't know anything about the details. I don't even know what a "Halliburton case" is

That was just the label on the photo.

The Halliburton case is sitting under the front bumper of the automobile in the photo. By the latches, it is one of the earlier ones, but I was not aware that they made them quite that early.

 

[jtcarm]

Just watch Mayberry reruns. Sheriff Taylor and Barney had it all!

And all the bad guys Barney brought to justice with just that one green bullet.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Halliburton's have been made since 1938.
I have seen a fair number of fairly recent ones, have never seen any really old ones.
Pistolas and Cameras.