High Standard USAF Pilot Survival Pistol
- Thread starter BillCnKC
- Start date
If Mr. Stimson is the recognized authority on H-S pistols, I hope he would provide a letter authenticating those Air Force guns, hopefully based on factory records. Otherwise, they are just plain guns that could have been marked by anyone with an electric pencil, and the marking reduces the value.
Jim
Jim
Bill DeShivs
New member
The markings on the OP's pistol are not done with a mallet or an electric engraving pencil. They are etched with an acid marking pen.
This is the Reply from Mr Stimson
John J. Stimson, Jr
Model G-B USAF marked.
Mon Aug 31, 2015 09:22
2602:306:3001:e310:75b0:324:1eb6:d8b
Hello James,
318,275 shipped as a catalog number 9011 on 8/23/1949 to the U. S. Government.
From an article I did on Government purchased High Standard pistols:
"The next U. S. Government purchase was by the ordnance department purchased the 6.75” barrel Model G-B, catalog number 9011, for use as a survival pistol for Air Force air crews. This was a single shipment of 1,104 to the government account number 9872 on 8/23/1949. Bill Donovan in a memo reporting on a trip to the Ordnance department mentions these pistols and when asked about business he said that the East Haven pistol plant needed some work. Even though these pistols were made at the East Haven plant and the corporate headquarters was in Hamden and had been since 1941, the pistols still carried the New Haven address. This USAF marked model (marked by hand stamping) is not well known and is seldom seen but survivors are known and appear in my research files posted on my website. Although this was a relatively small order, the lowest serial numbers are outliers that had been in inventory for some time."
John Stimson
John J. Stimson, Jr
Model G-B USAF marked.
Mon Aug 31, 2015 09:22
2602:306:3001:e310:75b0:324:1eb6:d8b
Hello James,
318,275 shipped as a catalog number 9011 on 8/23/1949 to the U. S. Government.
From an article I did on Government purchased High Standard pistols:
"The next U. S. Government purchase was by the ordnance department purchased the 6.75” barrel Model G-B, catalog number 9011, for use as a survival pistol for Air Force air crews. This was a single shipment of 1,104 to the government account number 9872 on 8/23/1949. Bill Donovan in a memo reporting on a trip to the Ordnance department mentions these pistols and when asked about business he said that the East Haven pistol plant needed some work. Even though these pistols were made at the East Haven plant and the corporate headquarters was in Hamden and had been since 1941, the pistols still carried the New Haven address. This USAF marked model (marked by hand stamping) is not well known and is seldom seen but survivors are known and appear in my research files posted on my website. Although this was a relatively small order, the lowest serial numbers are outliers that had been in inventory for some time."
John Stimson
The most likely scenario is the unit armorer etched the "USAF" on the weapon.
I spent 30 years in the Air Force, and it was very common for the responsible person to crudely mark items of value, tools, electronic equipment, and weapons as government equipment to discourage theft.
My M-16 had the number 007 hand painted on the butt, it was known as the butt number, which was used for inventory. As a young airman, I spent many happy hours etching "USAF xxx Squadron" on tools.
The sandpaper job was probably an attempt by the person who decided to "keep" his weapon to obliterate the marking.
The Army had manufacturers factory etch "US Government Property". About 20% of the old wartime Colt 1911 pistols floating around have the marking sanded off.
I spent 30 years in the Air Force, and it was very common for the responsible person to crudely mark items of value, tools, electronic equipment, and weapons as government equipment to discourage theft.
My M-16 had the number 007 hand painted on the butt, it was known as the butt number, which was used for inventory. As a young airman, I spent many happy hours etching "USAF xxx Squadron" on tools.
The sandpaper job was probably an attempt by the person who decided to "keep" his weapon to obliterate the marking.
The Army had manufacturers factory etch "US Government Property". About 20% of the old wartime Colt 1911 pistols floating around have the marking sanded off.