This wwas my SWCA 2024 Syumposium Dispaly. I recently aquired a NASA marked Model 49 Bodyguard that Roy Jinks lettered as having shipped directly to NASA headquarders in Washington D.C. To the best of Roy's memory this was the only gun he ever lettered as having shipped to NASA. With the help of 2 other SWCA members and Mike Helms a the S&W historical foundation we tracked down the other invoices of S&Ws shipped directly to NASA during the critical original space race. According to the shipping records there are a lot of other NASA guns waiting to be discovered.
Shooting For The MoonThe original space race between the World's two super powers, lasted only12 years. It began in 1957 when the USSR launched Sputnik I, and ended when the US astronauts planted an American flag on the moon in 1969. During those dozen years factory records show NASA purchased 999 S&Ws to protect America's space efforts. The M49 Bodyguard on this display was in the first documented NASA shipment in 1962.
Russia launches Sputnik 1 Satellite, starts the Space Race-1957 (Oct. 4)
NASA created, Eisenhower Adm.-1958 (July 9)
Pioneer 1, first US satellite-1958 (Oct. 11)
Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin makes first human space flight-1961 (April 12)
Alan Shepard, first US suborbital space flight-1961 (May 5)
Kennedy proposes Moon landing to congress-1961 (May 25)
John Glenn, first US orbital flight-1962 (Feb. 20)
**Cuban Missile Crisis** Oct. 1962
6 Model 19s, 6 Model 49s shipped to NASA Hdqtrs, Washington D.C. 1962 (Nov. 11)
Soviet Vostok 6 Puts 1st Woman in Space: 48 Orbits-1963 (June 16)
86 Model 10s shipped to Transportation Branch, Cape Canaveral , FL-1964 (Jan 24)
1 Model 36, 6 Model 10s shipped to Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH-1964 (June 26)
12 Model 18s shipped to Traffic Services, Kennedy Space Center, FL-1964 (July 29)
64 Model 10s shipped to Traffic Services, Cape Kennedy, FL-1964 (Sept. 24)
First American Space Walk by Ed White-1965 (June 3)
30 Model 10s shipped to Freight Traffic Section, Kennedy Space Center, FL-1967 (July 21)
+12 Extra Model 38 M&P Grip Adapters
Neal Armstrong & “Buzz” Aldrin Plant The American Flag On The Moon
1969 (July 20)
A NASA marked M36 Chiefs Special ownned by another SWCA member was loaned to the display. This gun was shipped to a distributor in 1985, and die stamped with NASA. My M49 was vibro pencil engraved with NASA and a rack or inventory number. In the photo next to the M36, I displayed a phot of documented Cold Woodsmans which had belonged to the US Coast Guard and transfered to NASAs employee recreation cented. Note the Colts are also vibro pencil engraved.
So, with a lot of help we have started the research into the S&Ws that played a role in the spacre race NASA archives are difficult to search but Mr. Helms believes there may be more to find in the S&W Historical Foundation archives.
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