1956 Milsco M13 Aircrewman Holster/Sling

Sling on the rifle found in the TSBD Nov. 22, 1963

WTS Rare 1956 NOS Milsco M13 Aircrewman Holster/Sling & Original Box - Oswald JFK

I have a rare NOS (new old stock) 1956 Milsco (Milwaukee Saddlery Company) USAF M13 Aircrewman revolver holster/sling (produced in 1956 for the United States Air Force Smith & Wesson .38 Aircrewman revolvers).

Also included is the original 1956 Milsco box and the original string that was tied around the assembly when I removed it from the box.

Lee Harvey Oswald used a sling exactly like this on his 6.5 Carcano rifle that he allegedly used to assassinate President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas.

As the K-38 Combat Masterpiece, this revolver was first purchased in 1956 for the Strategic Air Command Elite Guard of the United States Air Force (USAF). From 1960 - 1969 the Air Force bought large numbers of Model 15-1, 15-2, and 15-3 revolvers with a 4" barrel. The only distinctiving markings are "U.S.A.F" on the left side of the frame. Originally all were blued, though some were reparkerized (see parkerizing) while in Air Force Service.The Model 15 was the standard issue sidearm of the U.S. Air Force Air/Security Police from 1962 until 1992. It was also issued to security personnel in other branches of the U.S. armed forces, including the Naval Security Forces (NSF).

You have an example of one of the variations of the holster designed by Norris Murray. A US patent on this design was granted in January, 1958. Murray was from Dayton, OH and is believed to have been employed by the USAF at Wright Patterson AFB.

The two inch version of this holster is usually encountered in black leather and is marked on the flap USAF. It was intended to carry the Colt and Smith & Wesson .38 Special Aircrewman revolvers. The four inch version was intended for the S&W .38 Special revolvers with fixed sights. These holsters were manufactured by MILSCO, formerly known as Milwaukee Saddlery. The brown variation is encountered much less frequently than the black.

I have examples of the two inch and four inch holsters in black and brown in my collection. All are marked USAF on the flap, and I have a couple of others that are not marked at all, similar to your example. The attached pic of one of mine shows a brown two inch version marked USAF.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/Ordnanceguy/Holsters/ACholster004.jpg

Your example is particularly nice because it is complete by having the shoulder strap. Quite often these are found with the shoulder strap missing.

Again, while I can't be certain I would say that without the USAF marking your example is probably a civilian version rather than military. Either way it is a beautiful holster.

Charlie Flick

THE COLT AIRCREWMAN SPECIAL: THE ALL ALUMINUM .38 CALIBER

by Chris Eger   

https://www.guns.com/news/2013/02/06/the-colt-aircrewman-special-the-all-aluminum-38-caliber

In the early 1950s, the newly born US Air Force needed a brave new handgun for its atomic cowboys. The main thing, for better or worse, was that the gun be lightweight. The solution, in classic 1950s style, was aluminum Aircrewman revolver, which, much like a lot of 1950s style was both a success and a failure at the same time.

US Air Force Pilot with Aircrewman revolver.

In World War 1, pilots and aircrew often found themselves lost, crashed, or shot down in areas that were less than friendly. This led to those daring young aviators to begin carrying handguns and in some cases rifles with them for those unexpected stops. Throughout World War 2, US Army Air corps, personnel and glider pilots often carried full sized .38 revolvers of various manufacturers supported by the occasional M-1 carbine.

In 1947, the US Air Force was carved off from the Army and the new brass realized the need for a modern space age handgun for the occasional aircrew emergency, survival situations, and nuclear weapon’s security breach. In a time where every ounce of weight was sliced from huge bombers like the Convair B-36 “Peacemaker” to allow them to carry atomic weapons to the Soviet Union, the watch word was ‘lightweight.’

Design of the Aircrewman

Colt answered this call for a small and effective, but super lightweight handgun, with a modified version of their then-new Cobra line of snub-nosed revolvers.  It was named the Aircrewman.

Colt Aircrewman.

The Cobra itself was a revamp of the company’s earlier 1927-era Detective Special. Both were ‘D-frame’ six shot .38-specials with small profile rounded butts and 2-inch barrels. To carve weight away from the Cobra, Colt used space age aluminum for the frame and cylinder instead of the normal ordanance grade steel.

The Cobra already used an aluminum side plate, but to throw out all of the steel except in the barrel and replace it with the wondermetal was a bold step forward. To be safe, the Air Force used low-pressure rounds instead of commercial .38 SPL loads.

Whereas the Detective Special was 21-ounces and the Cobra was 16-ounces, the superlight Aircrewman tipped the scales at just 11-ounces with six rounds of 38-Special loaded. In comparison with the snubs of today, the 5-shot, S&W 637 Airweight comes in at 13.5. So yeah, the Aircrewman was about as light as you could get.

Colt made just 1189 of these guns in 1950-51. Records from Colt show that some 1,123 were shipped to the US Air Force from 12/21/1950- 4/23/1952. The largest lot of these, some 255 revolvers, was sent to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska in 1951. This is not unexpected as at the time Offutt was home to the bombers of the US Strategic Air Command, whose crews sat on constant ramp alert to scramble towards the Soviet Union with a cargo of atomic weapons.

Recall and destruction

Besides the Colts, between 1953-54, Smith and Wesson produced about 40,000 aluminum framed M-13 snub-nosed pistols to augment the small numbers of Aircrewmen in circulation. 

Colt Aircrewman at Springfield Armory Museum.

130-grain jacketed round nosed bullet grew scarce, users loaded their aluminum guns with full power stuff. This turned a couple of them into small hand grenades and kabooms were quickly reported.  In October 1959, both the Colts and the Smiths were recalled to their depots and crushed, their frames deemed unsafe.

To quote the USAF order at the time, “Because of the peculiarities of the M13 revolver, i.e., requirement for special ammunition, limited use and potential danger if used for other than the purpose for which it was designed, all M13 revolvers excess to Air Force requirements will be mutilated to prevent further use as a weapon. Residue will be disposed of as scrap.”

Though most ended up demolished, a few guns, already in the hands of retired flight officers escaped the wholesale slaughter.  Steel framed S&W 10s, 12s and 15s replaced them and kept aircrews company until as late as the 1990s.

Collectability Today

Today it is thought that less than fifty surviving Colt Aircrewmen exist. Many of these are in museums such as the Autry, and the Springfield Armory Museum but a few are in private circulation. To say they are counted as one of the most collectable of all Colt revolvers is something of an understatement.

One Colt Aircrewman recently sold for over $25,000 at auction. Of course, it was serial

On authentic Aircrewman pistols, “Property of US Air Force” is marked along the backstrap.

numbered AF-1 and had been presented to General Vandenberg, but still it shows that the market is there for these once derided guns. Even unexceptional guns bring $3000-4000 due to their sheer rarity.

With prices such as these, it’s not hard to see why a few bad eggs try to fake them.  Always be wary when trying to buy the real deal. Sometimes Colt Cobras or Detective Special, worth about $300, are converted with fake serial numbers in the proper range and markings and given real or reproduced Aircrewman grips (stripped off many models before melting) to be passed off on unsuspecting buyers.

So, how do you spot a fake?  First, the frames and cylinders has to be aluminum, not steel. If either attracts a magnet, watch out as this Aircrewman is anything but. The barrel will be steel and marked as such. . 

Aircrewman fell in the Colt serial number range between.

On the buttstrap of real Aircrewmen here will be a USAF-issued serial number between AF-1 and AF-1189.

2901LW and 7775LW. All authentic models will fall in this range. ‘Property of US Air Force” is marked along the backstrap and on the buttstrap is a second, USAF-issued serial number between “AF-1” and “AF-1189.” The original grips had silver buttons with the USAF crest inlaid in them. Remember, this was the big blue wonder of Curtis Lemay, and he expected his new service to have a little panache.

The original craft paper box, cleaning rod, and desiccant pack, all add to the value as does any documentation that supports how it escaped the great alumi-gun melt down of the Kennedy era.

Occasionally one will show up without the Air Force markings, which isn’t unusual if a new owner feared its legality and ground them off. In these cases, have the gun checked by an expert knowledgeable in Colts and always get a letter from Colt themselves vouching for the gun’s serial number.

Sgt Neutron

The Air Force also issued the S&W model 56. Disappointed with the Lightweight aluminum cylinder/frames of the light weight revolvers, the Air force contracted with S&W to produce a small revolver that was more durable. The Model 56 was an adjustable sight 2" barrel K-Frame revolver with a 6 shot cylinder. Normally adjustable sight S&W revolvers have a grooved back strap & barrel rib. The only exceptions to this rule are the Model 28 Highway Patrolman & the Model 56. The model 56 was only produced for the USAF, and were marked with "US" on the back strap. Today they are extremely rare on the civilian market, and when encountered for sale, are usually in the $5,000 range. I was stationed on Titan 2 crew in the early 80's, and each silo had 4 Model 56's in the weapons cabinet (one for each crewmember). They were worn by the two officer crewmembers when anyone other than the crew was on site (i.e. maintenance). The two enlisted rarely wore sidearms.

We qualified on the 4" Model 15 revolvers, and as such the Model 56's remained in good shape, having rarely (if ever) been shot. As aircrew in the late 1980's, on alert aircraft, S&W Model 15's were issued with the gunbox staying on the aircraft (we never wore them on alert). During the Gulf War, many personal sidearms were carried, as some units did not have enough to issue (this was about the time that the USAF was transitioning from the various revolvers to the M-9 Beretta, so there may have been a situation where the old ones were returned to depot, but new ones hadn't arrived). So, if the unit didn't issue, guys simply grabbed their personal pistol and a shoulder holster and off they went. There was a rumor that a F-16 unit at Shaw AFB was about to deploy in to the Gulf, but didn't have ANY sidearms for the pilots, so the Squadron Commander went to a local gun store, and used the Squadron Gov't. purchase card to equip his pilots with Glock 19's.

Some years ago when in competitive shooting I recall talking in the pits to an older guy who had served in the Pre 1968 Air Force when Curtis Lemay's influence was at its peak.

Curtis Lemay was an advocate of Air Force personnel being very well trained in small arms, and as such was a driving force in the AR15 design, survival arms and Air force competition. I recall the guys saying if you were in completion you got a standard competition kit from the Air Force with a M1 APG, 30-06 M70 target rifle .22 cal M52 rifle and various pistols for NRA 3 gun (.45. center-fire and .22)2700 course.

I seem to recall this fellow saying, (though I am at the age my memory is not always 100% reliable) that the Air Force use of revolvers in this period was because Lemay liked revolvers and believed they could be shot much more accurately than the rebuilt model 1911 pistols that the Air force could get from the department of the Army.

I also seem to recall that at least officers and possibly airmen on the big bombers (B36, B52) could carry their own pistols as long as they were 38 special or .45ACP. That might be wrong, he might have said they could use their own pistols in competition, but the reason I think I was amazed is that this was after the first gulf war, and at that time (1991) no arm was allowed for use by soldiers that was not government property. So I am pretty sure he said personal owned arms were allowed by crewmen in the Air Force in the 1950s/60s, but I am not sure.

I did know a Navy helicopter pilot who in the 1980s while in Honduras keep a personnel owned stainless S&W as his side arm, though the mode I do not recall. So the practice may have been larger than just the Air Force, I do not know.

I do have an Air Force completion arm manual form 1959 and it lists the following arms as Air Force competitive issue:

.22 cal High Standard Supermatic
.22 cal Ruger MK I (target model, barrel 6-7/8")
.38 SP S&W masterpiece (model 14, I think)

From an October 1971 manual:

Colt Gold cup (.45ACP)
Colt Gold cup (.38 Automatic)
.22 cal High standard Supermatic tournament
.22 Cal S&W model 41
.22 Cal S&W model 46
.38 Cal Automatic Model 52

In the early days following WWII when the Army Air Corps became the USAF, they used the .45 auto, S&W Model 12 and S&W Model 15. The Model 15 became the preferred standard issue and was used by both air crews and the USAF Security force that guarded SAC bases and nuclear storage bunkers.

In later years the Beretta M9 became standard, with probably some other weapon, probably a Sig model used by intelligence people.

Over the years, you can bet that any American made .38 revolver was used in some quantity by some users with special needs.

Following post-war military practice, when a smaller or special unit needed a special gun, the government just bought them commercially with no attempt to make them an "issue" gun.

As example, I've seen video of SAC missile bunker crews wearing S&W Model 36, Model 60 stainless, Colt Detective Specials, and in one video a silo member wearing a 2 1/2 inch S&W Model 66 revolver.

General Lemay ordered special S&W and Colt aluminum frame and cylinder short barrel revolvers for use by SAC bomber crews. It's thought that there was a need for an especially light, small revolver because early ejection seats could throw the crewman around so violently he could be injured by a steel gun.

The Colt model was the Colt Aircrewman. S&W apparently made a "J" frame and possibly "K" frame version.

When it was discovered that the aluminum cylinders didn't stand up, all of these were recalled for destruction.

It's believed that only about 25 Colt Aircrewman revolvers escaped destruction.

So, there was a rather fine line between an official issue pistol and a limited issue gun that was just purchased as needed.

Eric Schlosser’s book “Command and Control” – “the commander and deputy commander at every Titan II site were issued .38 caliber revolvers in case an intruder penetrated the underground comlex or a crew member disobeyed orders.”

That was the holster rig we had in SAC alert aircraft. They were locked in the combat mission boxes with the mission data. You normally only saw them if you were involved in the box inventory. Otherwise the box was locked and boxcar sealed.

The holsters for the Model 13 Aircrew snubs were definitely unique.

There are a few original S&W Mod. 15 USAF revolvers out there, but not many. The originals have USAF stamped below the cylinder on the left side of the frame. They had target triggers and hammers, but the small wood grips, anyway the ones that I carried through two tours in Vietnam did have. These pistols were issused to aircrews, and some were carried in hip holsters, and some in shoulder rigs. They had commerical blue(beautiful) finishes.

When the Air Force became the Air Force after WWII they used WWII era S&W Victory Model .38 Specials and commercial Model 10's.

General Curtis LeMay wanted a light weight revolver to arm SAC crews so the Air Force had both Colt and S&W develop special aluminum framed and cylindered snubby revolvers.

All were called the "Aircrewman".

The Colt version was based on the aluminum Cobra, the S&W Model 13 Aircrewman was a "K" frame 6 shot, the so called "Baby Aircrewman" was a 5 shot aluminum "J" frame.

These aluminum cylinder guns failed to stand up to standard .38 Special ammo, so they were recalled and destroyed.
It's suspected that no more than 25 Colt Aircrewman revolvers survived destruction with no more than that of the two S&W models.

These are very valuable collectors guns so, they've been faked and counterfeited.

In the 50's the Air Force began buying the S&W Model 15 revolver to arm Air Police and air crews and these were "more or less" the standard through the Vietnam War and later.

SAC missile crews were armed with 2" barreled revolvers, some Colt's but most S&W Model 36's and later Model 60 stainless.

As the K-38 Combat Masterpiece, this revolver was first purchased in 1956 for the Strategic Air Command Elite Guard of the United States Air Force (USAF). From 1960 - 1969 the Air Force bought large numbers of Model 15-1, 15-2, and 15-3 revolvers with a 4" barrel. The only distinctiving markings are "U.S.A.F" on the left side of the frame. Originally all were blued, though some were reparkerized (see parkerizing) while in Air Force Service.[8] The Model 15 was the standard issue sidearm of the U.S. Air Force Air/Security Police from 1962 until 1992. It was also issued to security personnel in other branches of the U.S. armed forces, including the Naval Security Forces (NSF).wiki

The FBI and Treasury also issued large numbers of Model 15s back in the day.

The "Aircrewman" was a failed experiment, a K frame with an aluminum cylinder, most were destroyed and remaining examples are unsafe to shoot.

Model 15, also known as the "Combat Masterpiece":