S&W Aircrewman

[lonegunman]

I recently purchased a K-frame USAF M-13 revolver in about 80-85%. I know it is as real as they come, since it was this guys seat kit equipment and it followed him home in the early 1960's. I have not seen one in twenty years before this one came up in a conversation and I offered to buy it.

Any ideas on price? Is it worth getting an S&W letter for it?

 

[jlrhiner]

Absolutly letter that puppy. You'll not regret it.

 

[Brian Williams]

Any where between 3 and 5000 dollars get it lettered.

 

[elrod]

Is it worth getting an S&W letter for it?

Absolutely. You may know for a certainty the origins of the gun, but if you wish to sell it, the letter verifies the history. For 30 bucks, you can't go wrong.

Welcome to THR!

 

[XavierBreath]

I would highly recommend getting a notarized letter authenticating your Aircrewman from the man who carried it as well.

The Aircrewman revolver is one gun that a Jinks letter does not absolutely authenticate. The reason is a large number of M-13s were destroyed. Unscrupulous fakers take demilled revolver serial numbers and use them on their fake "Aircrewman" revolvers. They then obtain a Jinks letter based on the new serial number. Roy works by the description and serial number given. The result is not unexpected.

The Aircrewman barrel markings are actually a more positive indicator than a serial number, but a notarized letter from the man who carried that particular gun as a member of the USAF, including a description of his service will do wonders for authenticating the gun. Try to get a photo of him holding the revolver as well. Then, of course, get a letter from Roy anyway.

 

[lonegunman]

So here is the update. The gun finally arrived. The finish was a bit thinner than promised. It appears to be all original and to have spent a lot of time in a holster. It was been carried for years by the old guy but never fired and is mechanically perfect. It has all of the correct markings on every part and everything is serial number matching including the grips. Nicely stamped property mark down the backstrap.

The finish varies from near 97% on barrel, cylinder and front of frame to very thin on the back strap and thin behind the cylinder. It looks like it was handled a lot while holstered.

It came with a small brown holster with an unreadable rectangular stamp and a small "EA" stamp on it. Any ideas for the maker? Every part of the gun not covered with leather was worn from handling.

The gun is so rare that I had to grab it and gamble a bit. So what would you think a real value for it would be? I have pics and will get a letter off to S&W in the next week or so. I'll post results if anyone is interested?

 

[flounder22]

Yes, please let us know what you find out and please post some pics. if you can.

 

[lonegunman]

update

I got my letter from S&W the other day. While Mr. Jinks did not positively say it was so, it is actually so. My gun was one of the early K-frames shipped to the USAF.

I actually got it from the retired AF pilot who kept it in a little holster by his bed thirty years and never fired it. He didn't help the finish but it is a keeper all the same.

It is a very neat gun and the letter is very nifty as well. I have digital pics and they are huge. I have no idea how to post them, sorry.

 

[bannockburn]

lonegunman

Try going to a website like photobucket, set up an account, and then download your pix there. Just follow their instructions and you'll be all set. Then when you write your quick reply, paste the image from your account and come back to the reply window and click on the little box in yellow (it will say "insert image"), then hit Ctrl and v on the keyboard. Your pix will then be attached to your reply and will appear with it when it is posted. As you can guess, I really would love to see your Aircrewman.

 

[savetheclaypigeons]

here, try this

Here are some directions. I tried to be very basic
I used Image Shack (http://www.imageshack.us)
This is the site's main page



Click on the browse button and select a file.To select either double click that file or click it once and press "open". In order to view files as images as I have depicted, left click in the space between files. Put your cursor on view and select thumbnails.



Your page should then look like this. Press "Host it" and wait.




Eventually your page will reappear and look like that below. Your image will be where mine is on the left side



Scroll down and copy the text in the box which reads hotlink to forums. Easiest way is to put your cursor on the text and double click so it is all highlighted. Then, left click and press copy



Open the thread you want to post on and simply paste it. Left click in the text box and press paste.