War Movie: "Dauntless - Battle of Midway" - Victory Model

[Bedfordtec]

I just watched the movie "Dauntless" and was not impressed but it killed an evening so to speak. Anyway it is so-so accurate. As of yesterday it was not listed on the IMBD Guns in the Movie Database. The Movies main character had a revolver in a shoulder holster. When he was strapped into the cockpit prior to takeoff I could not distinguish if there were cartridges in the loops on the front. Anyway, later in the movie he tries to fire it and the rounds would not ignite after 24+ hours in the salt water. I thought ammo would last at least 48 hours. The revolver does not appear to be a S&W Victory model as the ejector looks like a Colt Model and not snapped to the end of the barrel. Also, the cylinder seems to be too short for a .38. I do not know when the Victory started to be issued to Navy Aircrews. I know S&W sold 3,000 in early 42. Midway was in June. I will check Pates book. Does anyone know when they were first issued? Some of the early pictures of aircrew like those of the ill fated Vindicator Squadron show 1911s. This is not a firearm intensive movie and how hard is it to get a simple piece right.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I just watched the movie "Dauntless" and was not impressed but it killed an evening so to speak. Anyway it is so-so accurate. As of yesterday it was not listed on the IMBD Guns in the Movie Database. The Movies main character had a revolver in a shoulder holster. When he was strapped into the cockpit prior to takeoff I could not distinguish if there were cartridges in the loops on the front. Anyway, later in the movie he tries to fire it and the rounds would not ignite after 24+ hours in the salt water. I thought ammo would last at least 48 hours. The revolver does not appear to be a S&W Victory model as the ejector looks like a Colt Model and not snapped to the end of the barrel. Also, the cylinder seems to be too short for a .38. I do not know when the Victory started to be issued to Navy Aircrews. I know S&W sold 3,000 in early 42. Midway was in June. I will check Pates book. Does anyone know when they were first issued? Some of the early pictures of aircrew like those of the ill fated Vindicator Squadron show 1911s. This is not a firearm intensive movie and how hard is it to get a simple piece right.

If you're referring to Torpedo Squadron 8, they flew Douglas Devastators. Vought Vindicators were flown by 2 Marine Corps squadrons from Midway Island proper.

 

[Bedfordtec]

Yes the Devastators of Torpedo 8. Anyway, all the early aircrews carried 1911s I think. Checked Pates book and Victory Models were not really in service. Anyway would like to ID the piece, thanks

 

[Alaskan Ironworker]

I was disappointed to see Jan Baalsrud packing a 1911 in “The 12th Man” when he clearly referenced cleaning his revolver daily in his interviews. I guess filmmakers just dont care. Other than that the movie was quite accurate and I recommend it, and the book “We Die Alone.” Im gonna watch “Dauntless” now lol.

 

[bannockburn]

My Dad's best friend was a Navy pilot in the Pacific (flew a TBF Avenger), and he carried a S&W Victory model. Seemed to be the prevailing thought among some Naval aviators that if you were shot down you might still be able to manually turn the cylinder on a revolver to get it to work after being in salt water. They also believed that a 1911 would totally rust shut and not function at all.

 

[CajunBass]

This is kinda off topic, but regarding the 45 auto in salt water, I forget the name of the book, but it's Eddie Rickenbacker's account of his epic survival at sea when the B-17 he was traveling on had to ditch in the Pacific. He and others (details are fuzzy now) drifted for days, weeks actually before being rescued. In the book they had at least one Colt automatic that did continue to function for quite some time I thought, even though they have to resort to manually operating it.

"The History Guy tells the story here.



There is a follow up that I haven't watched. Pretty much the same story, just with updated pictures and video.

(If you haven't ever watched "The History Guy"...well, it's history worth remembering. I enjoy it.)

Ok, I seemed to have remembered that the pistols did work for a while, and they used them to shoot at a shark at some point without any luck. Still, I remember being impressed at the time how long the pistols did work in that environment.

 

[AK103K]

Anyway, later in the movie he tries to fire it and the rounds would not ignite after 24+ hours in the salt water. I thought ammo would last at least 48 hours.

I ran a little test in this respect awhile back after a discussion on ammo getting run throught the wash. Threw a handful of my reloads into a glass of water and let them sit for a couple of days to see what would happen. Took them out, and fired them. All of them "fired". Had a couple of "light", squib sounding reports, a couple that sounded normal, and then this....



Now, thats just with my reloads. A lot of the older military stuff Ive shot over the years, had sealant on both the primers and the necks. I would think they would last longer, but who knows. I guess you get what you get.

The downside to that going on in a revolver is, it could get ugly in a hurry if the squib pushed past the face of the cylinder or into the forcing cone, tying the gun up, or went into the barrel and more were to quickly follow. Not good with an auto either, but at least with the auto, you get indicators things went wrong, and short of a squib stuck in the barrel, likely wont tie the gun up.