Can anyone give me some more info on this?  I'm not sure how old they are (I have a few).  My dad was in the Air Force in the mid 60s and they were his, but I'm not sure that's where they came from. I've also got some old .50 cal ones that open from the front instead of the side like usual.  Are these anything special?[img]http://www.imira.com/Album/photo.asp?PID=770837&ImgType=0[/img]
Thanks, Sydwaiz

I was in the Air Force in the early '60s, March 1960 to Dec. 1964 and the A.P.s were issued 38special revolvers.  I remember them in '64 at George AFB.   (Had to correct my spelling)

Thanks.  What kind of revolver was it?

Up until the adoption of the Beretta the Army was still issuing the .38 to it's female MP's.

[size=2]When they were busy trying to put down Philipinos[/size=2] [:P]

Maybe when imbroglio was enlisted.

I'll bet they didn't shoot 'em gansta-style!

I was one of the last Marine Security Guards to carry a revolver Model 19 S/W.  We were issued Nyclad .38 +Ps.  Nyclad is a blue plastic bullet.  Guess it was meant to limit penetration or splatter within the embassies.  However, we were allowed to use 1oz slugs in the shotguns!

The army used them in 1900s right befor they got the 1911. it's why they got the 1911!

It was a Colt but I don't the model, The history can. rules! [8D]

I also qualified with a .38 back in 1988. I don't remember the course of fire but I got the marksmanship ribbon for it. Some time later I earned a star for the ribbon for the M-16.

The Air Force had 38's floating around till the late 90's. I think they were M15's, The AF actually had a couple of dfferent 38's.the last time I shot one was 1997. The AF still issues 148 GR 38 wadcutter ammo for use in SW M52 -1,-2 target pistols ( sweet shooting pieces ! ) The ammo in the can you have was probably made in 1960 by the lot #, the first 2 digits in the lot # are the year.Tan....

Bwa ha ha!  Nyclads aren't plastic, they are [b]PURE[/b] lead core bullets COATED with plastic!  Because they were +P, if they didn't have the plastic coat, the rifling in the barrel would just strip off the outer coating of lead.  

Really, they mushroom quite well...

I was issued a .38 special in the Army both at Ft Hood, TX (1st Cav, 1987-1989), and in the ROK (1990-1991).  .38 Specials have been issued by the US military first during WWII, then Korea, then Vietnam, and afterward.  The last M1911A1 was delivered in 1946.  Through wear, loss, transfer as foregin aid, etc. the stockpile of .45's was far short of what we needed.  By the time the M9 competition rolled around, the Army alone was short tens of thousands of handguns.  This shortage was made up by purchases over the years of .38 Special revolvers.

What they did was keep the .45's in ground line units, and use the .38's in units that they could find a use for them.  Supposedly .38s were available for female MPs and dog handlers, aviation crews, CID, etc.  It was a pretty haphazard affair, but resistance to adoption of anything to replace the .45 was too strong to get the guns the Army needed (i.e. enough handguns of one standard model), so they kept purchasing blocks of revolvers.  

Ours (Aviation unit) were Ruger Speed Six's with a round butt and lanyard loop, or S&W M10's with tapered barrel and round butt.  Matte blue and wood grips on the Rugers.  Commercial blue and wood grips on the Smith's.  Every unit that had them (in AVN at least) had both types in the arms room.  We nearly always got a choice of which model, which was really a switch from the norm in the Army.  I always picked the M10, because the trigger was was better and the gun was ligther.  Some chose the Rugers.  Most didn't care either way.  

The M41 ball is a terrible round.  It's FULL METAL JACKET!  I think the muzzle velocity was in the neighborhood of 900fps.  It was probably better than target wadcutters, but not by much.  I could never understand how so much resistance to the 9mm could exist, yet they would purchase a weaker .38 to avoid the 9mm issue.  Never could get that point.

Still, I always shot expert with it.  They were good shooting guns, just not much in the stopping power department.  When you'd deploy overseas many locals would ask questions about it, since it was the "cowboy" image.  I never felt undergunned with it, as "battlefiled upgrade" was pretty much my plan.  I was happy to get issued a NIB M9 though.  

Ross

The Air Force used 2 inch revolvers in .38 Special for some air crew survival weapons and Security Police were issued 4 inch Model 15 Smith and Wessons until the Beretta became standard issue.  I cannot remember the exact weight of the bullet, but the .38 Special round that was used was typical GI ball ammo, round nose jacketed type bullet.  I still have a few boxes around somewhere.

This is a WWII issue S&W Victory in .38 special:

[IMG]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=192182&a=1409106&p=49959397&Sequence=0&res=high[/IMG]

Thanks guys.  This has been very educational for me.  As for the M41 being a crappy round, I can attest to that.  I remember shooting some about 15 years ago and in the right light, you could actually see the bullet and watch it drop!  I too still have some boxes of this stuff laying around, should be good for teaching newbies.

I was issued a 38 snubnose to carry when I flew F-89 interceptors in 57-59. I qualified with 38's every year from 56 till 64 when I quit flying.

When we were flying we could stop by and get as many rounds as we wanted and go blast away. Couldn't hit much with the snubbies though. After 59 when I qualified we used to use combat masterpieces. All is ancient history now.

Joe

[pistol]