Vietnam S&W question

[Alfonso]

What model S&W would have been used by special forces, aircrew etc during the second Indochine war?

Thanks

 

[AK]

It would have been a 4" or 2" Model 12 IIRC. Alloy frame, .38 Special.

 

[can14]

Model 39's were also issued...

 

[B]

SEAL teams used the 39 as well, among others.

Looks like I type too slow.

 

[Canuck223]

Special forces tended not to use revolvers. When Sweden cut off exports of the Carl Gustav sub machine gun, S&W produced a near copy.

Air crews tended to be issued Model 12. Some models had an aluminum cylinder, but most were removed from service when they proved less than durable.

Sentrys were likely carrying standard model 10's if they had something other than the 1911 or M-16. (I believe the Airforce M-16's were the origional non-forward assist model)

 

[Brutus]

If one reads read a bit about SEAL history, the revolver had a special niche in thier water borne operations. Something about taking the handgun right out of a submerged environment and quick shake or two and you can use it without destroying your piece.
Weird but true. IIRC, even UDT frogmen also did this for a bit.
They started with 38s, (Model 15?) and it took some convincing for the USN to purchase them 'expensive' 357s (Model 19?) as the 38s were already in Navy inventory.
Not so with the magnums. Those sixguns are probably just a piece of history now. I think many of us are aware of the Model 39 Hush Puppy.

 

[enefgee]

The 686 was also issued to the original members of Seal Team 6.

 

[Brutus]

The 686 was also issued to the original members of Seal Team 6.

Interesting tidbit......

 

[teddy49]

Revolvers were also popular with tunnel rats as well, since the muzzle blast from the 45 was something else inside a tunnel. Evidently Colt Police Positives were popular, but I think M-10s were well represented as well

 

[dan belisle]

The 686 was also issued to the original members of Seal Team 6.

Not in Vietnam however. They weren't built at the time. - dan

 

[8ball]

Col. Charles Askins used to bring his own personnal gun in Vietnam and he was the first to kill a man with a Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum.

h ttp://www.tactical-life.com/online/tactical-weapons/col-charles-askins/

 

[t-star]

you can incude the 59 as well as the browniing hi-power ( although that was more "the company" -the 59 was in response to the lack of capacity of the 39, and my 71 series manual lists the model 10 as toe- funny thing is that it doesn't list the stoner , but the m60 as the lmg- rad miller, seal team 1 or 2- i don't remember which, relates riding in the back of a duce carrying a 44 mag in a shoulder holster, and having an a/d- it was single action, and he had one UNDER THE HAMMER- blew a hole in the floor- message is that these guys carried just about anything they happened to like-or came across, as his job was radio op and he carried the 16/with the bloop tube- which he has VOLUMES to say about the QUALITY of that gun at the time- none of it good

 

[enefgee]

Not in Vietnam however. They weren't built at the time. - dan

Seals had trouble counting past 2 in Viet Nam - and then had multiple personality disorder -frog/seal? seal/frog?

 

[t-star]

you have to remember that the SEAL programme was only started in 62, under kennedy- it took a lot of infrastructure back then to field a seal team- the head of in-country was a rear by the name of ELMO ZUMWALT- any "problems" went directly through him- period-udt was a whole different ball of wax- but you had to go through udt at the time to get into bud/s and this was not lost on the higher ups- that's why the frog missions

 

[Claven2]

Air Crews were often issued with WW2 vintage S&W Victory Model revolvers in .38 SPL with either 4" or 5" barrel. These are essentially identical to a model 10 but with a parkerized finish and smooth grips.