DMK
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I know he carried a single action .45 Colt and a Double Action S&W .357. What model was the .357?
What model was Gen. Patton's .357?
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Hkmp5sd
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IIRC, at the time, his S&W didn't have a model number. Later on, S&W designated the same gun the Model 27.
Wildalaska
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S&W Pre 27 (regsitered 357) N frame
WildtriviaboyAlaska
WildtriviaboyAlaska
Gen. Patton's .357 was one of the original ones made by Smith & Wesson starting in 1935 and continuing until 1941. The first ones were called "registered models" because the customer could special order any barrel length between 3 1/2 inches (which Patton had) to 8 3/4 inches (later 8 3/8 inches) Blue or nickel finish (Patton's was blued), and any kind of front and rear sight blade the company had available. I believe Patton's gun had a McGivern gold-bead front with white-outlined rear blade. Patton also ordered his favorite Ivory grips for what he called his "killing gun."
Once the specifications were determined the company registered the gun to the buyer, marked it with a special registration number, and included a registration cirtificate made out with the details and the owners name.
Once the specifications were determined the company registered the gun to the buyer, marked it with a special registration number, and included a registration cirtificate made out with the details and the owners name.
DoubleAction
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The N-Frame .357 magnum remained the flagship of Smith & Wesson for many years. They just do not make em like these anymore.
OP
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DMK
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DoubleAction, Nice! 
I've heard that he carried the SA .45 Colt on the right hip and the .357 on the left. I assume that the .357 was a "NY reload" since the SA would take to long to reload. Did he carry it cross draw?
I've heard that he carried the SA .45 Colt on the right hip and the .357 on the left. I assume that the .357 was a "NY reload" since the SA would take to long to reload. Did he carry it cross draw?
Hkmp5sd
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DoubleAction
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Very unforunate that Patton wasn't fond of the 1911.
OP
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DMK
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I'd imagine that it was probably due to his cavalry roots, which was also probably why the SA Colt was up at bat first over the DA S&W.
I understand that it was a long uphill battle for some of the old school soldiers to take to the 1911 instead of a revolver, even after it was proven reliable in WW1.
BluesBear
member
General Patton's S&W .357 Magnum carried serial Number 47022 and was shipped on 18 October 1935. Patton paid $60.00 for it which was a lot of money at the time.
Patton's guns are on display at the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, KY and I spent a lot of time drooling over them each year on school feld trips.
As I recall Patton's most worn leather was made for by S.D. Myers. He had them incorportate his old cavalry buckle into the belt.
He only wore both revolvers on "special occasions". He was often seen wearing the Colt by itself. I know of no photographs showing him wearing only the S&W.
There are however photos showing him behind the lines wearing a Colt .32 with 3 stars on the grip and a Colt Detective Special.
Sometime around 1970 Guns & Ammo Magazine (back when it was worth reading) had a very detailed article on Patton's guns and leather. I'd love to find that issue again.
Patton's guns are on display at the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, KY and I spent a lot of time drooling over them each year on school feld trips.
As I recall Patton's most worn leather was made for by S.D. Myers. He had them incorportate his old cavalry buckle into the belt.
He only wore both revolvers on "special occasions". He was often seen wearing the Colt by itself. I know of no photographs showing him wearing only the S&W.
There are however photos showing him behind the lines wearing a Colt .32 with 3 stars on the grip and a Colt Detective Special.
Sometime around 1970 Guns & Ammo Magazine (back when it was worth reading) had a very detailed article on Patton's guns and leather. I'd love to find that issue again.
farscott
Member
There is a story that says Patton was soured on the 1911 after he performed an "action job" on one. The story says that, while his 1911 was holstered "cocked and locked", he stamped his foot and it discharged. Rather than blame the poor action work, he blamed the pistol. I am not sure if the story is true, but it sounds plausible.
While there is little doubt that Patton was an excellent shot, he was a flamboyant leader who carried those guns mainly for show. AFAIK, he never fired either one at an enemy. (Unless the story of his firing at a strafing plane is true. If it is, he apparently did not bring the plane down.).
There is a story that at one point Omar Bradley, who was Patton's boss, was asked by a young reporter why he didn't carry a gun like Patton did. Bradley, according to the story, replied, "Son, at last morning report, I had 1,300,000 men under my command; if they can't stop the Germans, I don't think one lousy pistol is going to do much good."
Jim
There is a story that at one point Omar Bradley, who was Patton's boss, was asked by a young reporter why he didn't carry a gun like Patton did. Bradley, according to the story, replied, "Son, at last morning report, I had 1,300,000 men under my command; if they can't stop the Germans, I don't think one lousy pistol is going to do much good."
Jim
gunfan
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Patton's .357 S&W Magnum
George much preferred his "registered" .357 S&W Magnum whnen it came to killing either man or beast. I the day, the Maximum Casing Pressure of the then-new .357 S&W Magnum was 46, 000 C.U.P. ! THATS a powerful revolver! I believed that he used that very same revolver to kill a mule that refused to move out of the way of the advancing American forces.
Scott
George much preferred his "registered" .357 S&W Magnum whnen it came to killing either man or beast. I the day, the Maximum Casing Pressure of the then-new .357 S&W Magnum was 46, 000 C.U.P. ! THATS a powerful revolver! I believed that he used that very same revolver to kill a mule that refused to move out of the way of the advancing American forces.
Scott
Hkmp5sd
Member
It is true up to the point they could not get out the door because it was stuck. He never jumped out the window or fired at the German aircraft.
I sure wish the general who gives press conferences in Iraq would wear something like this. It's bad enough he wears a 9mm in a shoulder holster to ward off the reporters. Since he is a general he should exhibit some more class and have a nice custom pistol in a leather belt holster. I think Bianchi makes a nice general officer's rig.
It should be remembered that Gen. Patton carried his famous Single Action Colt as a badge of office, rather then a practical weapon. But that said, he was a competent marksman, and if occasion demanded he could hit what he shot at.
While he didn't favor the 1911 Colt he was photographed carrying one - with ivory handles of course - in an S.D. Myers shoulder holster while he was sitting in a tank. The picture was featured on a LIFE magazine cover on July 7, 1941.
He was also occasionally photographed carrying a Colt model 1908 .380 Pocket Pistol, which during World War Two was issued to General Officers, and a Colt Detective Special (again in a Myers' holster) which appeared to be stock, and might have been issued to him.
Few other officer carried fancy handguns, but Patton after all .... was Patton. Truely one of a kind, and we were lucky to have him.
While he didn't favor the 1911 Colt he was photographed carrying one - with ivory handles of course - in an S.D. Myers shoulder holster while he was sitting in a tank. The picture was featured on a LIFE magazine cover on July 7, 1941.
He was also occasionally photographed carrying a Colt model 1908 .380 Pocket Pistol, which during World War Two was issued to General Officers, and a Colt Detective Special (again in a Myers' holster) which appeared to be stock, and might have been issued to him.
Few other officer carried fancy handguns, but Patton after all .... was Patton. Truely one of a kind, and we were lucky to have him.
Quantrill
Member
Blues Bear,
While I can make out the famous initials on the .357, I cannot quite identify the engraving on the SAA in the picture that you posted. Does anyone know what it is? Thanks, Quantrill
While I can make out the famous initials on the .357, I cannot quite identify the engraving on the SAA in the picture that you posted. Does anyone know what it is? Thanks, Quantrill
HankB
Member
I recall reading that before WWII, a young George Patton competed in Modern Pentathlon, and lost because he put two pistol bullets through the same hole . . . and it was scored as a miss.
csmkersh
Member
Keenan wrote:
He used his Colt SAA while with Pershing's Expeditionary Force chasing Poncho Villa. He ran it dry and was not to happy with the slow reload while still taking fire. The Pershing thing was the last calvary charge and the first use of the 1911 in battle. The airplane shooting was apparently with his general officer's gun, a 1903 Colt Pocket Pistol he often carried under his jacket.
"a young George Patton competed in Modern Pentathlon
Tis true. When shooting military matches there's a course called the Patton Match. A real butt kicker. For pistol it involves running 2 miles in BDUs, boots, helmet, LBE, gas mask, 2 full canteens, butt pack, first aid kit and then engaging 4 targets with 32 rounds standing unsupported at 50 meters all withing 25 minutes. When I was shooting military matches the first thing you did when signing in was find out what day the Patton Match was held. It was to honor Gen Patton when he competed in the Olympics. Made you wish the silly bugger had competed in the beer drinking/chasing women contest instead. Actually, I came out better in the shooting comp than I would have the beer drinking/women chasing comp, it just wasn't near as much fun.
Tis true. When shooting military matches there's a course called the Patton Match. A real butt kicker. For pistol it involves running 2 miles in BDUs, boots, helmet, LBE, gas mask, 2 full canteens, butt pack, first aid kit and then engaging 4 targets with 32 rounds standing unsupported at 50 meters all withing 25 minutes. When I was shooting military matches the first thing you did when signing in was find out what day the Patton Match was held. It was to honor Gen Patton when he competed in the Olympics. Made you wish the silly bugger had competed in the beer drinking/chasing women contest instead. Actually, I came out better in the shooting comp than I would have the beer drinking/women chasing comp, it just wasn't near as much fun.
alamo
Member
His son died yesterday - from the NY Times today:
Gen. George S. Patton, 80, Son of World War II Commander, Dies
By DAVID STOUT
Published: June 30, 2004
WASHINGTON, June 29 - Maj. Gen. George S. Patton, the son and namesake of the World War II armored commander and a veteran of combat in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, died on Sunday at his home in Hamilton, Mass. He was 80.
General Patton, who retired from the Army in 1980, had been in poor health for years because of complications from hip surgery and other ailments, his wife, Joanne, said.
The younger General Patton was occasionally asked whether he felt overshadowed by his father, who gained fame for his exploits in North Africa, Sicily and France and who was introduced to new generations of Americans through George C. Scott's movie portrayal. "I've never worried about it," the son said in an interview in 1977. "I've been too busy."
The younger officer was wounded in one of his three Vietnam tours and was awarded a Purple Heart. He was twice awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest decoration for bravery in combat.
George Smith Patton was in his last year at West Point when his father, George S. Patton Jr., was killed in a traffic accident in Germany in December 1945. For a time, the younger man was known as George S. Patton III, but he eventually dropped the Roman numeral, his wife said.
General Patton acknowledged that, just as his father had, he demanded a spit-and-polish look from his soldiers. And like his father, he loved history and spoke French, Joanne Patton said. He received a master's in international affairs from George Washington University.
As a colonel, he commanded the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam. As a major general in 1975, he took command of the Second Armored Division at Fort Hood, Tex. His father had led the division in North Africa.
In 1964, the younger George Patton and other relatives objected to a new biography of the World War II commander, "Ordeal and Triumph," saying it used unauthorized material from the general's wartime diaries. Some material was deleted, and the book was published.
In retirement, the general ran Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton, north of Boston.
Also surviving are three sons, George, of Hamilton; Robert, of Darien, Conn.; and Benjamin, of New York; two daughters, Mother Margaret Patton, a nun in Bethlehem, Conn., and Helen Plusczyk of Saarbrücken, Germany; six grandchildren; and a great-grandson.
Gen. George S. Patton, 80, Son of World War II Commander, Dies
By DAVID STOUT
Published: June 30, 2004
WASHINGTON, June 29 - Maj. Gen. George S. Patton, the son and namesake of the World War II armored commander and a veteran of combat in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, died on Sunday at his home in Hamilton, Mass. He was 80.
General Patton, who retired from the Army in 1980, had been in poor health for years because of complications from hip surgery and other ailments, his wife, Joanne, said.
The younger General Patton was occasionally asked whether he felt overshadowed by his father, who gained fame for his exploits in North Africa, Sicily and France and who was introduced to new generations of Americans through George C. Scott's movie portrayal. "I've never worried about it," the son said in an interview in 1977. "I've been too busy."
The younger officer was wounded in one of his three Vietnam tours and was awarded a Purple Heart. He was twice awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest decoration for bravery in combat.
George Smith Patton was in his last year at West Point when his father, George S. Patton Jr., was killed in a traffic accident in Germany in December 1945. For a time, the younger man was known as George S. Patton III, but he eventually dropped the Roman numeral, his wife said.
General Patton acknowledged that, just as his father had, he demanded a spit-and-polish look from his soldiers. And like his father, he loved history and spoke French, Joanne Patton said. He received a master's in international affairs from George Washington University.
As a colonel, he commanded the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam. As a major general in 1975, he took command of the Second Armored Division at Fort Hood, Tex. His father had led the division in North Africa.
In 1964, the younger George Patton and other relatives objected to a new biography of the World War II commander, "Ordeal and Triumph," saying it used unauthorized material from the general's wartime diaries. Some material was deleted, and the book was published.
In retirement, the general ran Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton, north of Boston.
Also surviving are three sons, George, of Hamilton; Robert, of Darien, Conn.; and Benjamin, of New York; two daughters, Mother Margaret Patton, a nun in Bethlehem, Conn., and Helen Plusczyk of Saarbrücken, Germany; six grandchildren; and a great-grandson.
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