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Anyone know what kind of .38 cal this crew would have had?


stratasfan
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I got part of a report about a Vietnam aircrew that was killed when their plane exploded. It mentions that each crewman carried a .38cal revolver and gives the serial numbers. Anybody know what type of gun this would have been? They were the crew of a AC-130 "Spectre" that was shot down Dec 1972 over Laos.

 

Thanks!

 

post-151812-0-63867800-1508018051_thumb.jpg

 

 

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Based on the S/N's I'd say K frame Smith & Wessons. Perhaps some of the Model 15's the USAF had.

I agree about the serial numbers. I believe all of these are out of the serial number range of the Model 56s the USAF had at the time.

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So, you are thinking it is one of these types?

 

post-151812-0-08193700-1508075611.jpg

post-151812-0-18209000-1508075615.jpg

 

I sent an email to the Spectre Association website, asking if anyone knew what kind they carried. Would love to find out, as it would be fun to include in the shutterfly book. :) Thanks for the help! Oh, by the way, what does the "K-frame" mean?

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Yes, one of those two.

 

Smith & Wesson revolvers are categorized by frame size. "K" is one of those sizes.

 

Basically the 38 special and 357 magnum revolvers most policemen carried before 1990 were "K" frame models (model 10, 13, 15, 16, 19, 64, 65, 66 & 67).

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I agree with the others and have owned several of these guns. All the SNs listed would have been S&W Model 15-2 revolvers with 4" barrels. They were marked "U.S.A.F." on the left side of the frame underneath the cylinder window.

post-403-0-33645400-1508086930_thumb.jpg

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Patchcollector

When I attended the Combat Arms Training & Maintenance (CATM) School we trained with the .38 Revolver and then the Air Force transitioned to the 9mm shortly thereafter.IIRC,the full name of the Revolver was the Smith & Wesson K-38 Combat Masterpiece, Revolver Model 15.

I enjoyed shooting the Revolver,and I qualified "Expert" with it,something I didn't do with the M16.(The M16's we had were all old and "loose" and hardly anyone qualified "Expert" on them. :) )

 

I found this discussion with some interesting info on the Smith-Wessonforum.com:

 

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-revolvers-1961-1980/216495-model-15-s-w-usa-air-force.html

 

If you scroll down around post # 9 the Vietnam War era posts start.

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