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Nylon XM9 holster..1989 date


Rhscott
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Anyone seen or know of a OG nylon US marked snap closed flap holster with a contract date of 1989 made by London Bridge marked as “XM9” 9mm pistol. Has a regular brass belt hook like the leather ones do plus a belt slot under it.  Slightly padded but not nearly as much as a M12 holster is.

Saw one at a consignment shop today, pretty much as new condition.  Being Im right outside Camp Lejeune I run across some odd things occasionally. US on outside of flap, maker and DSA marking on inside of flap.

Neat but unknown story.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Took pix of the holster in question. Seller has it improperly tagged as a 1960s X holster.  Still do not know what this is all about.

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C920076E-8738-4EAA-9F78-CF9B0023DFF1.jpeg

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Looks like it has a Navy contract number on it.   Pretty cool looking thing, like a modernized version of a M1916 holster, I like it.

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6 hours ago, mohawkALSE said:

Looks like it has a Navy contract number on it.   Pretty cool looking thing, like a modernized version of a M1916 holster, I like it.

 

Navy is entirely possible.  I live right around Camp Lejeune MCB and do see odd webbing upon occasion. If real I wonder what the Navy/USMC might have been trying to come up with in 1989?  The M12 aways seemed ok to me….but perhaps they just wanted to hang it from the belt like the M1916 .. just to be different.

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Swamps Lejeune...was there 50 years ago myself. Used to visit a surplus store in Jacksonville on occasion. Either way, considering what the holster is and where it is, for sixty bucks I would buy it and worry about the specifics later...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got it.  Paid $40 for it and the Davis buckle belt that it was on.  

With that, a M9 9mm will NOT fit at all.  A M1911/A1 fits like a glove.

This is a M1916 clone in nylon.  Nice holster at any rate.  Perhaps the Navy or MC wanted something modern to carry remaining M1911 pistols in while the M9 was being fielded.  Who knows?????

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Interesting holster. As it is marked 9mm and the M9 Berretta does not fit, but the 1911A1 does, what 9mm is similar in size to the 1911A1? What other 9mm were in the running against the Berretta in the trials for a new pistol?

BKW

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4 minutes ago, Brian Keith said:

Interesting holster. As it is marked 9mm and the M9 Berretta does not fit, but the 1911A1 does, what 9mm is similar in size to the 1911A1? What other 9mm were in the running against the Berretta in the trials for a new pistol?

BKW

A Browning HP and S&W 59/5906 series are real close in size.  I am figuring the Marines wanted a nylon holster that dried faster until the M9 which was already adopted (I think) got issued out. I think it was 88-89 that I saw my first M9 in the Army and even then not all had them…unit dependent.

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Charlie Flick

RHScott:

 

That is an interesting holster.  I have seen 2 or 3 over the years but have never been able to get a satisfactory explanation as to their purpose and history.

 

The holster is remarkably similar to an experimental canvas holster evaluated by the Army in the 1930s.  It was rejected.  Apart from being nylon and having a snap fastener rather than a Lift-The-Dot fastener, the two holsters appear almost identical.  Scott Meadows book on U.S. Military Holsters has several pages on it.  Significantly, his encylopedic book has zero on this London Bridge example.

 

One clue are the markings on your's of XM92F and 9MM.  The Beretta M9 adopted in 1985 was derived from the Model 92F and 92FS and, of course, those guns were in 9MM.  However, the fact that your holster has a contract date of 1989 leads me to conclude that it was not for the Beretta pistol.  The corresponding Bianchi M12 holster for the M9 was adopted shortly about the same time as the pistol, so it would seem that any need for the London Bridge holster in '89 or later was non-existent if it was intended as a holster for the M9 pistol.  And, again, as you say it won't fit an M9 pistol anyway.

 

Perhaps the easiest way to solve this little mystery might be for you to directly contact the folks who put their name on it.  London Bridge is still in business.  It's contact information is here:  https://lbtinc.com/pages/contact-us  

 

Let us know if you learn anything else about your holster.  Good luck.

 

Regards,

Charlie

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  • 3 months later...

How does the M9 not fit? Does the flap not close or other?

The US Navy and I believe the USAF originally issued the Black M1 holster for the M9

Can you show pics of the holster with the M9?

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268th C.A.

London Bridge Trading makes mostly specialized gear for seal teams, law enforcement, SWAT,  specialized tactual gear, they can make almost anything you want. They have been around, I see there gear everywhere. High quality as it has to be govt. approved.  

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/5/2023 at 4:14 PM, Charlie Flick said:

RHScott:

 

That is an interesting holster.  I have seen 2 or 3 over the years but have never been able to get a satisfactory explanation as to their purpose and history.

 

The holster is remarkably similar to an experimental canvas holster evaluated by the Army in the 1930s.  It was rejected.  Apart from being nylon and having a snap fastener rather than a Lift-The-Dot fastener, the two holsters appear almost identical.  Scott Meadows book on U.S. Military Holsters has several pages on it.  Significantly, his encylopedic book has zero on this London Bridge example.

 

One clue are the markings on your's of XM92F and 9MM.  The Beretta M9 adopted in 1985 was derived from the Model 92F and 92FS and, of course, those guns were in 9MM.  However, the fact that your holster has a contract date of 1989 leads me to conclude that it was not for the Beretta pistol.  The corresponding Bianchi M12 holster for the M9 was adopted shortly about the same time as the pistol, so it would seem that any need for the London Bridge holster in '89 or later was non-existent if it was intended as a holster for the M9 pistol.  And, again, as you say it won't fit an M9 pistol anyway.

 

Perhaps the easiest way to solve this little mystery might be for you to directly contact the folks who put their name on it.  London Bridge is still in business.  It's contact information is here:  https://lbtinc.com/pages/contact-us  

 

Let us know if you learn anything else about your holster.  Good luck.

 

Regards,

Charlie

 

The owner/founder of London bridge is a collector and and also deals in militaria and surplus. Really nice and friendly guy, he can usually be found at the local gun shows selling some pretty interesting stuff. I've bought, sold and traded with him at the shows for years. It would not at all surprise me if he copied or was inspired by the experimental canvas holster. 

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  • 9 months later...
Recon3690

Any Idea how a Mk 25 (SIG P226) fits 1988-89 right time to early for 45 ACP H&K Mk 24

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Rhscott
On 3/15/2024 at 10:48 AM, Recon3690 said:

Any Idea how a Mk 25 (SIG P226) fits 1988-89 right time to early for 45 ACP H&K Mk 24

 

I see no way a SIG226 would fit any better than a M9 does as both share a similar size and trigger guard shape.  A Colt/Browning slim pistol is what it was made to fit and be able to snap closed.

Odd for sure.

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