USAF Aircrewman

[porkchop110]

I have been given an opportunity to buy what appears to be a very nice USAF Aircrewman. I will attempt to post photos for all of you experts to examine. The serial number is C 278xxx and the revolver appears to be in 98-99% condition. The cylinder is aluminum. A letter from Jinks is supposed to be coming. I know there are fakes out there and I appreciate any advise you can give me.

 

[murphydog]

Matching numbers on butt, rear cylinder face, barrel flat, rear extractor face? The barrel appears to be a replacement - the original was stamped "Aircrewman" on the right.

 

[kwill1911]

Looks right from the pictures but we need to know the serial and assembly numbers. Do you know all the places to check for matching serial numbers?

 

[Texas Star]

My "advise" is to give you my advice that this is NOT a 98% gun The barrel is clearly pitted.

It may be genuine, but is NOT a 98% or better gun. It even has a scratched sideplate!

T-Star

 

[hsguy]

Here are some photos of mine, it lettered as a government gun and a couple of advanced collectors of this model gave it their blessing. The guns were not all stamped "Aircrewman" on the barrel some of the guns were marked "Smith&Wesson" on one side and ".38 SPL CTG." on the other and at a later point thes markings switched sides and a * was added on either side of the caliber marking as seen in my photos, so this does not mean it is not legitimate, also some of the cylinders are not numbered. Is there a P on the left frame near the trigger guard? The frame looks rather dull and the anodized finish used on these guns is usually more glossy. This is the type of gun than is easy to make a $1500 mistake on, I would want the option to return it if it proves not to be legitimate. You might want to contact member opoefc and have him take a look at this thread.

 

[porkchop110]

I will have to check the rest of the numbers tomorrow. I already know the entire butt serial number but I will check the rear cylinder face, barrel flat, and rear extractor face. Is there anywhere else? Were there different barrel markings during production? I know that I need to buy Supica's book, but this offer came up very suddenly and I've never seen one in person before. I'll check on the pitting; in person I did not see any of that pitting when I looked at it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there. I was kind of nervous/excited to hold it.

 

[victorylarry]

This gun looks correct from the top strap and backstrap markings, especially if you can verify any matching serial numbers. The four screw version I owned, which lettered correctly, had the same barrel markings. Most four screw from the late 50's did not have the serial numbered barrel, some had cylinder serial numbers and most had either the ejector star (underneath) or crane serial numbered.

 

[porkchop110]

I checked the Aircrewman again today; as far as numbers go here is what I found. The rear of the cylinder has the full matching serial number as does the barrel. The crane and yoke both have 10773 stamped on them. There is a "P" on the left frame near the trigger guard. As far as condition is concerned, the flash seemed to wash out the blue on the gun. It shows much better in person and the blue is deeper and brighter in person. The "pitting" on the right side of the barrel are barely visible to the naked eye without a loupe. The scratch near the S&W logo is there but does not go all the way to bare metal. I apologize in advance to Texas Star for any spelling errors or poor judgements as to the condition of the revolver. As a nube here, I will refrain from any further comments. Here are a few more photos.

 

[Mr2A]

Nice photos.

 

[victorylarry]

I think you have a winner. Letter it and make it official.

 

[Double-O-Dave]

Nice looking piece. By the way, you're no slouch with a camera - very nice photos.

Best of luck,

Dave

 

[lonegunman762x51]

Does it have a "punch mark" on it someplace?

 

[safearm]

Porkchop,
I have a USAF holster, just like the one in hsguy's photos. If you are interested, PM or e-mail me at [email protected]. I have a 2" and 4" Model 15 like I carried in the AF, but I never used that type of holster.

 

[mel023]

Here's a question. There have been a lot of threads on the Forum regarding shooting +P ammo in alloy frame revolvers such as the Mod. 37 and older steel frame guns as well. Is there a consensus on shooting a Mod. 13 with an aluminum cylinder using even regular .38 spl ammo? Has anyone been brave enough to try it?

 

[murphydog]

Here's a question. There have been a lot of threads on the Forum regarding shooting +P ammo in alloy frame revolvers such as the Mod. 37 and older steel frame guns as well. Is there a consensus on shooting a Mod. 13 with an aluminum cylinder using even regular .38 spl ammo? Has anyone been brave enough to try it?

I think the consensus is no shooting any .38 Special aluminum cylinder guns. Even standard-pressure 130 gr military ball ammo was known to cause cracking, hence the widespread replacement with steel cylinders (and demilling of a whole bunch of now-collectible Aircrewmans). I bet someone on the Forum has tried it, though.

 

[porkchop110]

Aircrewman Letter Received

I am finally back from an overseas deployment and my letters from Roy Jinks were waiting for me. I had 2 other revolvers lettered as well, I'll do separate threads for those.

Mr. Jinks' letter states that my Aircrewman was shipped from the factory on 18 January 1954 and delivered to the USAF at Norton AFB in San Bernardino, CA. Of course the letter stated that they cannot authenticate whether the revolver is original or rebuilt.

I want to thank murphydog, kwill1911, hsguy, victorylarry, opoefc, and others for helping validate the authenticity of the Aircrewman. Attached is page 2 of Jinks' letter.

 

[kwill1911]

Thank you for following up! You've got a very nice example of a rare revolver. Congratulations.

Regards,
Kevin Williams

 

[hsguy]

porkchop110, thanks for updating us! I am very glad to hear you received your letter. These are great guns and yours is an outstanding example.

 

[bk43]

apologize in advance to Texas Star for any spelling errors or poor judgements as to the condition of the revolver. As a nube here, I will refrain from any further comments.

Please don't refrain from commenting. I always like to hear from the person who has the gun in hand since pics can be so deceiving.

Congrats on a great find! Like others I am enjoying seeing and hearing about the gun.

Bob