Vietnam war US Model 10-5 round butt revolver

[Slufstuff]

Hi Guys. I have not been on the forum much lately, as my collecting focus shifted to US military weapons, but I thought this might interest some folks here.

Pictured below is a US Army S&W Model 10-5 round butt 4 inch revolver. It is US marked on the back strap and was shipped on July 1, 1969 at the height of the Vietnam war. It was delivered to the U.S. Government Transportation Officer, Boston, MA. The contract was for 1,000 revolvers to be marked U.S. on the back strap. This info is from a Roy Jinks signed factory letter.

Many, if not most, of these revolvers were issued to army helicopter pilots. While Model 10's are certainly not rare, these Vietnam US contract weapons are very hard to come by. Mainly due to the bulk of them being destroyed under the Clinton administration, when US military/government hand guns were barred from release as surplus. I have no idea how many are in private hands, but internet searches lead me to believe they are exceedingly rare.

The revolver is pictured with a Vietnam date US holster and a Vietnam era flight jacket.

 

[swagmeister]

Pretty cool. I don't recall ever seeing a 4" round butt Model 10. Thanks for showing. It is a great collectible. I like the holster too.

 

[skwchock]

Nice. Since the anti-gun clinton banned the release / sale of military handguns, didn't any subsequent REPUBLICAN President "undo" this ban?

 

[Drm50]

I think it was under Clinton they were paying $12.50 @ to have MI Garands destroyed. I never saw a m10 RB with Govt stamps. There were a ton of 38s floating around, 50% of them weren’t govt property. Guys would actually send home and have handguns sent over. Then guy would sell it when he Derosed. More S&Ws than Colts.
The few towns that they would put on limits, you couldn’t carry your weapon. A pistol in you pocket gave you a sense of relaxation when you never know when SHF. That was the don’t ask don’t tell pistol policy.

 

[murphydog]

Nice. Since the anti-gun clinton banned the release / sale of military handguns, didn't any subsequent REPUBLICAN President "undo" this ban?

Not sure if this officially "undid" the ban, but within the past few years the CMP had a fairly large number of surplus M1911s transferred to it from the Army, sales of which are still ongoing.

 

[sigp220.45]

What a timely thread!

I saw a RB 10-5 at Cabelas yesterday for $399. I didn’t look since I’m awash in 4” K frames.

I saw this thread, and went back today.

Lookie lookie!

I’ll do my own thread, just wanted to say thanks!

 

[Slufstuff]

What a timely thread!

I saw a RB 10-5 at Cabelas yesterday for $399. I didn’t look since I’m awash in 4” K frames.

I saw this thread, and went back today.

Lookie lookie!

I’ll do my own thread, just wanted to say thanks!

That one looks good! I wonder how many more are out there that are not recognized as a US military weapon? I think that was money well spent, I would have hurt myself getting my wallet out.

 

[Slufstuff]

I hope more of these are identified. It would be great to start a new collecting niche. I have been interested in the various US .38 revolvers for a while.

 

[F224]

What a timely thread!

I saw a RB 10-5 at Cabelas yesterday for $399. I didn’t look since I’m awash in 4” K frames.

I saw this thread, and went back today.

Lookie lookie!

I’ll do my own thread, just wanted to say thanks!

That looks exactly like the one I was issued back in the 1980's when I few Army National Guard helicopters in Iowa.

I'd buy one the moment I saw it today.

 

[L3964]

Another Shipment and letter

New here and I'm still reading the rules, so I'll just post the link I found to an older auction with information on 100 S&W M10-5 revolvers shipped to the Army during the Vietnam War. The description below the two photos includes a statement saying the revolvers were not martially marked.

U.S. Army Contract Smith & Wesson Model 10-5 Double Action Revolver Brought Back from Vietnam

 

[murphydog]

New here and I'm still reading the rules, so I'll just post the link I found to an older auction with information on 100 S&W M10-5 revolvers shipped to the Army during the Vietnam War. The description below the two photos includes a statement saying the revolvers were not martially marked.

U.S. Army Contract Smith & Wesson Model 10-5 Double Action Revolver Brought Back from Vietnam

Welcome! Links to closed auctions are fine.

 

[lkabug]

I carried model 10s at various times, can't say that I ever noticed any being marked US.

 

[Speedo2]

Here's another one that I picked up a few years ago; sn D1543xx with "U.S." on its backstrap. I've since given it to one of my sons who is currently a captain in the U.S.Army. I believe that it was never issued. -S2

 

[MajorD]

New here and I'm still reading the rules, so I'll just post the link I found to an older auction with information on 100 S&W M10-5 revolvers shipped to the Army during the Vietnam War. The description below the two photos includes a statement saying the revolvers were not martially marked.

U.S. Army Contract Smith & Wesson Model 10-5 Double Action Revolver Brought Back from Vietnam

From what I have seen documented some guns were U.S. marked, others not. Revolvers were issued to aviators, dog handlers, and a bunch of other specific jobs in the army. A dear friend of mine was an Army intelligence officer in Vietnam, and vividly recalls being issued a model 15.

 

[Muley Gil]

I really like 4" K frame round butt revolvers. I have a civilian 4" RB M&P from 1957 that I bought from a fellow forum member a few years back.

 

[Beemerguy53]

Here's another one that I picked up a few years ago; sn D1543xx with "U.S." on its backstrap. I've since given it to one of my sons who is currently a captain in the U.S.Army. I believe that it was never issued. -S2

Well, thanks to you, Speedo, I'm now on the lookout for another revolver to add to my collection...

 

[L3964]

Well, I know I'm going to get in trouble for posting this link to the Gunboards Forum, but the first post in this discussion thread has a copy of an excerpt from a S&W Historical Foundation letter stating 5,900 units marked "U.S." were shipped to the Army in April 1968. The letter erroneously references the D29840 serial number of the revolver as a Pre-Model 10. So who knows how many are out there, but they do exist and I'm going to find one lol.

Well, posting the link to the Gunboards Forum apparently is forbidden. Oh well, more rule reading.

 

[Frank46]

My ship was one of the Midway carriers built after WWII. I served aboard her from early 65 till late 67. Had a few conversations with a few pilots during our Westpac cruise. Generally they were issued with WWII revolvers. The ones I saw all had that brown patina. Frank

 

[Casual Smith Nut]

I have a round butt 4” 10-5. I don’t believe mine has the US property mark but I never looked closely at the backstrap. I’ll have to check it when I get home this evening

 

[Venom6]

Wondering what the rationale was for specifying the round butt. As an aside, if the jacket is genuine it is worth about the same as a plain-vanilla S&W revolver today.