U.S. Air Force retires the last of its S&W Model 15 revolvers

[Texas Star]

All of the photos shown are taken of Strategic Air Command Elite Guard Air Police, except for the last image. The Elite Guard used plated Victory Models with Franzite stocks. Except for the 4th and 5th color images, the lanyard rings on the butts of the revolvers can be seen. In USAF service lanyard rings were not found on Model 15 revolvers.

The last image does not show Air Force personnel with Model 15 revolvers. Rather, that photo shows late war (1945) carrier based Naval Aviators with Victory Model revolvers.

Charlie-

Thanks. That last photo seems to show one man with stag grips on what may be a personally owned gun.

Thanks for those photos. Good point about no lanyard rings on M15's.

 

[ABPOS]

I got an email reply from the CMP this morning:

"Sir,



We will not be getting those. Congress would have to change our legislation in order for that to happen.



Thank you,









CMP Customer Service

[email protected]

256-835-8455"

 

[jkingrph]

Sometimes I wish I had bought one of those Combat Masterpieces. Back in early 69 I had to qualify with one in USAF OCS, It was rather easy to ace the marksman qualification, really a laugh, although a lot of guys did not do very well. I had one advantage, upon graduating college the year before I gifted myself a K 38, same gun with a longer barrel, so I was very familiar with the M 15.


A couple of years later I was transferred to Robins AFB. By that time I had also acquired a K 22, and one of the gents working there obtained two sets of the large target grips which both of those guns still wear.


I met my wife there and my father in law worked civil service until he retired about 40 years ago as section chief in the area that disposed of old, obsolete and unused material. Once a month it was opened to military personell to go through and pick out items they might want. I actually met him there before I had met my wife.

 

[Absalom]

Sometimes I wish I had bought one of those Combat Masterpieces.....

.....and my father in law worked civil service until he retired about 40 years ago as section chief in the area that disposed of old, obsolete and unused material. Once a month it was opened to military personell to go through and pick out items they might want. I actually met him there before I had met my wife.

Maybe I'm misreading your story flow, but are you saying that these revolvers were among the stuff that your father-in-law sold as obsolete and old to any military personnel who wanted one?

 

[Muley Gil]

NO...They were ''APs''.. Air Police in US Air Force uniforms..

''AP'' arm bands.. ONLY relation to US Army was to their training.

All APs and MPs were trained in the same location.. At that time

US Military Police School was located @ Ft Gordon Ga.. Now its

Ft Rucker Alabama... After Viet Nam in 1972 l was assigned to

Ft Gordon Ga... While there we did quite a bit of work for the

MP School.. The plastic shop at Training Aids made quite a few

rubber S&W revolvers and 1911 Colts... Smiths were RB 4'' K

frame M&Ps...

Wasn't the MP school at Ft McClellan for a while?

I remember going over to Ft Benning in the early '70s. The male MPs had .45s and the female MPs had revolvers.

 

[Texas Star]

Maybe I'm misreading your story flow, but are you saying that these revolvers were among the stuff that your father-in-law sold as obsolete and old to any military personnel who wanted one?

I think he's referring to old items other than guns. But maybe some gun parts would be there.

I scrounged a new firing pin stop for my own M1911A-1 .45 from an armorer. No cost, just a favor. They probably had a bunch of parts and the guns were being phased out of USAF service. I don't know if things like that would be available in shops like that described.

My gun was a British one, maybe or maybe not Lend-Lease. Don't recall any US property markings, just British ones. I bought it at a Denver sporting goods store and about a year later, the firing pin stop broke. I was surprised, as the gun was in NRA Very Good condition. Maybe a prior user had dry-fired it a lot.

 

[Flip18]

Way back in 86-87 I was an SP in the armory at VAFB in CA. I was lucky enough to get the two man detail to transport all of our obsolete .38's to Camp Pendleton in SD. Imagine two guys, in an AF truck, loaded AR's and boxes of soon to be decommissioned revolvers roaming the Cali highways now. They would flip out.

 

[Frank46]

I picked up my M15 at a local gun show for $235 and walked away with a smile on my face. No markings as to what military branch or unit were on it. So safe to assume possibly a civilian sale. Cosmetically probably could use a blue job but she worked as she was designed to. The right grip was slightly chewed up so I expect that it belonged to a police officer.Still all in all she shoots very well. Frank

 

[Nick B]

What was the thinking behind wearing the gun butt forward like what is seen in the above pics ?

 

[murphydog]

I got an email reply from the CMP this morning:

"Sir,

We will not be getting those. Congress would have to change our legislation in order for that to happen.

Thank you,

CMP Customer Service

[email protected]

256-835-8455"

There, fixed the spacing for you.

I think it is unlikely these will be sold to civilians unless all the stars line up just so. First they would have to be put into arsenal storage, then just the right legislation at the right time would have to be passed and signed...it took several tries with the CMP 1911s. Wouldn't hold your breath waiting.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I knew I had seen this patch before.
It's a WWII US Army Air Force CBI - China. Burma, India patch.

 

[Seven High]

How about petitioning the president to issue an executive order to save and sell the M15s to the public?

 

[ABPOS]

Wasn't the MP school at Ft McClellan for a while?

I remember going over to Ft Benning in the early '70s. The male MPs had .45s and the female MPs had revolvers.

Yes. My wife is from that town and as I understand it, they did that there. Currently ANAD is still there. If my acronym is right. It's where they refurb M4's and M16's.

Clinton shut McLellan down. People were not happy. I think there is some kind of ordnance depot too, for heavy rounds. I think. Or a chemical depot. Something like that. Or both.... Or maybe that's all part of ANAD.

 

[Gdogman]

I think TexMex is on to something!!!!!! If someone can whisper in the President's ear that he do an Emergency Declaration to sell all the M15's still in inventory, to build the border wall, he would do it and we would all buy M15 surplus guns.!!!!!!!!!!! Its a win, win, win, win, win,

 

[Texas Star]

What was the thinking behind wearing the gun butt forward like what is seen in the above pics ?

I didn't see the pics you mean, but Army female MP's had some holsters styled like Civil War types. I think it was just for tradition. Surely, you don't mean the cross draw or shoulder holsters in this thread?!

But originally, it was to let a cavalryman reach a revolver with either hand. The reverse draw is used with the right hand. Bill Hickok was said to draw very quickly that way. But it does mean bringing the gun's muzzle past your body during the draw. If one is cocking a SA revolver during the procedure, it could be dangeous if a slip occurred.

 

[ABPOS]

He might have meant about the pics I posted. Every pic shows them with it on the left side, butt forward. It does seem like it was more for tradition than perhaps what is optimum for drawing under stress.

 

[austintexas]

1911s

When I was stationed at Wheelus Field , Tripoli, Lybia 1962-1964 All the gate guards carried 1911s. Each squadron orderly room had 1911s in the armory. only 38s I saw were Colt 2 inches. E-4s could check out weapons and go to the base range on the weekend and shoot. I checked out a 1911 and kept it stored in my locker at the Rod and Gun club my whole tour.
SWCA 892

 

[shawn mccarver]

The U.S. Air Force is retiring the last of its Smith & Wesson Model 15 revolvers.

The USAF Is Finally Ditching The Last Of Its Cold War Revolvers For New Semi-Auto Pistols - The Drive

Until now, they have remained in service within the Military Working Dog (MWD) training program, where they have been used in blank-fire exercises (firing blanks being a function for which semi-autos often require at least temporary modifications).

Anyone else notice that SIG poster in the article which shows an option for a "tabbed safety trigger?" I suppose someone at SIG feels right stupid for not moving forward with an obvious inertial safety device like everyone else. Just think of the millions of dollars that could have been saved, not to mention the bad publicity and the silly re-design (making all of the parts lighter by skeletonizing them so that they do not have the same inertia). The silly re-design makes the parts more subject to breakage, and it does not prevent inertial firing from any height, only from heights less than it would take to overcome inertia.

 

[vistafjord]

M15 USAF revolvers

These are fine weapons with beautiful fit and finish.
I do hope that they are surplused officially via the CMP so that civilians can enjoy them and perhaps become converts from plastic semi autos to "walnut and blued steel" wheel guns!

 

[sigp220.45]

These are fine weapons with beautiful fit and finish.
I do hope that they are surplused officially via the CMP so that civilians can enjoy them and perhaps become converts from plastic semi autos to "walnut and blued steel" wheel guns!

There are none to be surplussed. The ones in the article are a few that were retained for dog training since they worked with blanks. The rest have long since been destroyed. Some were provided to civilian PDs through DRMO, and some leaked out through other means.

CMP couldn't sell them without new legislation, since their charter says .30 and .22 caliber rifles. They did it for the 1911s, but there was a bunch of them.