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Thread: July 4th 1944...a pistol in aerial combat at Iwo Jima

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    Legacy Member Scott Gahimer's Avatar
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    July 4th 1944...a pistol in aerial combat at Iwo Jima

    This 1943 Remington Rand M1911A1 s/n 976207 is documented in the National Archives as being in service at Iwo Jima on 4 July 1944. The pistol is listed on a loss report date 31 July 1944 as being lost in a plane that crashed at sea while in aerial combat with the enemy on 4 July. The loss report was filed from the U.S.iconCabot CVL-28.

    The pistol



    The loss report in the National Archives
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    There is considerable official documentation provided from various sources to support this claim. I have a copy of the loss report from the National Archives, listing this pistol by serial number that was provided by author Charlie Pate when he was the historian at Springfield Research Service. Pate also provided a letter with background information about the pistol and the USS Cabot.

    Research on the Cabot resulted in finding an online book The History of the USS Cabot (CVL-28), written by an officer who served on the ship during WWII. He wrote the book in 1986 to preserve the history for family members of the crew. Here is a link to the book: The History of the USS Cabot - CVL-28

    Within that book, the author (Hudson) provides much detailed information directly from the ship's log and the U.S. Navy Air Group logs for for the squadrons that served on the USS Cabot during WWII. On 4 July 1944, Air Group 31 was serving from the USS Cabot. U.S. Naval Fighter Squadron VF-31 was engaged in aerial combat with the Japaneseicon at Iwo Jima. Information in Hudson's book and the VF-31 flight logs indicate this was some of the toughest aerial combat of WWII. Of course, the Japanese were then defending their homeland.

    The records actually list (4) F6F Hellcats being lost in the 4 July battle at Iwo Jima. Three of the four pilots (listed by name) were lost and not recovered. One F6F Hellcat pilot, Lt. (jg) Bob Wilson, managed to limp his badly damaged plane back to the U.S. Task Force. His plane was so badly shot up and his elevation was so low, he had to turn the plane over and bail out. He was quickly recovered by a U.S. destroyer in the area and survived to give a full account of the action in a military press release.

    In recent years, I found a web site for Air Group 31. Here is the link: Fighter Squadron 31 (VF-31) - Torpedo Squadron 31 (VT-31) - USS Cabot - USS Belleau Wood On that web site is a wealth of supporting evidence. Because I knew Lt. (jg) Wilson was the only survivor from the 4 Hellcats lost on 4 July 1944, I was really thrilled to find photographs of him on the site. He is standing on the right end of the 2nd row in the group photo of VF-31. You can click on the Air Group 31 Pilots tab to see a photo of him in his F6F Hellcat and read all kinds of information provided from the air group log books.

    You can click on The Missions Flown tab for information on the 4 July 1944 combat and read the military press releases with direct statements from the pilots.

    You can click on the Aircraft Carriers tab for information about USS Cabot (CVL-28). Besides the VF-31 site, Hudson's online book The History of the USS Cabot (CVL-28), I strongly recommend "The Iron Woman", written by Ernie Pyle, WWII war correspondent who was aboard the Cabot and shares details one can hardly imagine unless you served at that time. Here is a good link to The Iron Woman: USS Cabot (CVL-28) You have to read all the way down to the bottom to get to the article Pyle wrote, but there is other good background info there, as well.

    I purchase this pistol several years ago without any additional information. It took several years to run down all the facts I have now regarding the pistol, the ship, the pilot this pistol was most likely issued to, VF-31...the "Meat Axe" squadron and their impressive combat history. I would have been perfectly satisfied with history from another date on this pistol. I just think it is an added bonus that the documentation places this pistol in combat at Iwo Jima on the Fourth of July.

    It serves as a good reminder of one reason I collect what I do, to preserve the history of those who served with such valor. Happy Independence Day!
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    Legacy Member emmagee1917's Avatar
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    Any idea how it spent 65 ish years on the seabed and was recovered in such nice condition ?
    Chris

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    Legacy Member Scott Gahimer's Avatar
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    I don't think the pistol ever saw the sea bed. Lt. (jg) Bob Wilson parachuted and was immediately picked up by a destroyer in the Task Force. The pistol simply was not returned and the loss report was filed.
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    After flying so bravely and surviving aerial combat only to bail out of a plane that seems to have resembled a piece of Swissicon cheese, looking the other way is the least they could do. My dad flew 300+ combat missions in Vietnam, it's just to bad he never and until this day liked guns.
    Scott keep the pictures and the history lessons coming.
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    Quote Originally Posted by DaveN View Post
    My dad flew 300+ combat missions in Vietnam it just to bad he never and until this day liked guns
    I wonder if this is not often the case. My father returned from naval service in WWII and never had a firearm in our home. He did not ever discourage my intrest but never had any intrest himself.

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    I was just wondering if this was indeed the pistol Wilson was issued and he kept it , or did he give it as a " gift" to the Captain on the destroyer or one of the crew . Or perhaps it was a pistol that was issued to one of the other three and it was recovered on Iwo after it crashed there and not in the sea , or perhaps the wrong pistol was issued to the pilot and the wrong pistol's serial number was sent in that was lost.
    Chris

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    Legacy Member Scott Gahimer's Avatar
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    I don't think all the wondering in the world will tell you anymore than the official records do. According to the records, 4 planes crashed and 3 pilots were killed that day. One pilot who may have been issued the pistol (because he lost his plane at sea) in question survived. The record says the plane crashed at sea. When you start discounting everything the records indicate, you can imagine anything. Maybe they weren't even at Iwo Jima that day? Are we even sure there was a war?
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Gahimer View Post
    I don't think all the wondering in the world will tell you anymore than the official records do.
    Some pieces of a puzzle are far superior to none at all. I just wish I had a firearm in my collection that offered me more than just the oppertunity to imagine where, when and how.

    Nice piece of history there. Thanks for sharing.

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    Legacy Member emmagee1917's Avatar
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    No , no , I was not trying to be smart . I was thinking that there might be some info from the prior owner who maybe bought it from the family of a deceased destroyer sailer or a Marine that was on Iwo , that sort of thing . It is a very nice piece for sure. People always say to buy the gun , not the story . But in this case the gun and the story don't match , but both look to be true. Just wondering if there was more was all.
    Chris

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    Legacy Member Scott Gahimer's Avatar
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    Chris,
    I actually think the gun and story do match. Obviously, the pistol didn't stay submerged anytime at all. At most, perhaps a few minutes until Wilson got picked up. The military press release states he was immediately picked up.
    I've got a a pair of consecutive 1939 Colt Navy pistols with documentation in the Natl Archives showing they were transferred from a ship serving in the Med. Sea to combat units serving in the Pacific (most likely U.S. Marines). One of those pistols is nearly as good as this Remington Rand. The other is not quite that good, but I suspect some of that wear could be "after the fact" wear.
    Most pistols I've purchased from veterans or their families have been really nice. The ones that weren't that nice normally show more signs of poor storage (corrosion) than they do wear. The majority of pistols that have that "been there, done that" look, IMO anyway, don't look like they did when they came back home with someone.
    I've got one pistol documented as being carried with the 8th Marines at Guadalcanal, Tarawa and Saipan that looks far better then most guns I see for sale. There were a lot of nice WWII production pistols that came home with people after the war ended. It doesn't mean they weren't used. It simply means they were properly cared for.
    Last edited by Scott Gahimer; 07-06-2012 at 10:13 PM.
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