I'm not speaking of anything like a young Pegasus.
Rather, this is about two different Colt revolvers, each designed for use by the crews of airplanes.
Some of us have long known of the first one. It is the Colt M13 Aircrewman, an extremely light .38 Special snub-barrel revolver that was procured by the USAF for use as a survival weapon.
Here's a link, but read on, first.
www.forgottenweapons.com/colt-m13-aircrewman-revolver-so-light-it-was-unsafe/
Its light weight was achieved in part through the use of an aluminum cylinder. The cylinder was not strong enough for regular .38 ammunition, and the Air Force issued a special reduced power round for it.
The fact that a standard round would also fit the gun created a danger, and the Air Force decided to destroy all examples. Some escaped the torch, however, and those few are very valuable collectors' items. And of course , counterfeits appeared.
I have sometimes wondered why such an extreme weight reduction would be needed for carry in a six-engine SAC B-47 bomber that was capable of carrying a big early-generation atomic bomb for long distances.
The fellow in the above link suggests that if may have been to reduce the weight of the airman's equipment for safety, in the event that the crewman had to use the ejection seat. That makes sense.
Here's another, a rare, special revolver that never went into production. Read on, and come back to this link.
www.forgottenweapons.com/colts-special-revolver-for-airline-pilots/
It arose from a request from Eastern Airlines, who were being plagued by high jackings.
They wanted a gun for the air crew that could be fired at a high jacker without penetrating through his body and injuring other passengers.
It was to fire a low powered round containing a projectile made of frangible plaster of paris that would have very limited penetration.
The ammunition came in a pre-loaded, non-reloadable, removable, single-use six-shot plastic cylinder that was sealed to protect the plaster bullets from humidity.
I had never heard of it.
The concept was never put into operation.
There you have it.
Rather, this is about two different Colt revolvers, each designed for use by the crews of airplanes.
Some of us have long known of the first one. It is the Colt M13 Aircrewman, an extremely light .38 Special snub-barrel revolver that was procured by the USAF for use as a survival weapon.
Here's a link, but read on, first.
www.forgottenweapons.com/colt-m13-aircrewman-revolver-so-light-it-was-unsafe/
Its light weight was achieved in part through the use of an aluminum cylinder. The cylinder was not strong enough for regular .38 ammunition, and the Air Force issued a special reduced power round for it.
The fact that a standard round would also fit the gun created a danger, and the Air Force decided to destroy all examples. Some escaped the torch, however, and those few are very valuable collectors' items. And of course , counterfeits appeared.
I have sometimes wondered why such an extreme weight reduction would be needed for carry in a six-engine SAC B-47 bomber that was capable of carrying a big early-generation atomic bomb for long distances.
The fellow in the above link suggests that if may have been to reduce the weight of the airman's equipment for safety, in the event that the crewman had to use the ejection seat. That makes sense.
Here's another, a rare, special revolver that never went into production. Read on, and come back to this link.
www.forgottenweapons.com/colts-special-revolver-for-airline-pilots/
It arose from a request from Eastern Airlines, who were being plagued by high jackings.
They wanted a gun for the air crew that could be fired at a high jacker without penetrating through his body and injuring other passengers.
It was to fire a low powered round containing a projectile made of frangible plaster of paris that would have very limited penetration.
The ammunition came in a pre-loaded, non-reloadable, removable, single-use six-shot plastic cylinder that was sealed to protect the plaster bullets from humidity.
I had never heard of it.
The concept was never put into operation.
There you have it.
