June 1, 1986. A crewman aboard the battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) prepares to fire a shot line from an M-14 rifle to another ship in preparation for an underway replenishment. PH2 Jeff Elliott. 330-CFD-DN-SC-87-09414
If you have been a fan of the blog for more than five minutes you know we love highlighting the contents of ship’s small arms lockers over the years– for example see our Warship Wednesday yesterday, which spends two paragraphs on the 1938 authorized SAL on the Coast Guard’s 165A (Algonquin) class cutters.
That said, Ryan Szimanski over at the Battleship New Jersey Museum has a great video going over the ship’s circa 1980s small arms allotment, not covering the guns of the embarked MARDET.
Of interest:
- 40 M14s (likely some paired with Mark 87 line-throwing attachments).
- 28 1911A1s issued with two mags and 10 total rounds.
- 14 Mossberg M500 12 gauge riot guns.
- 10 M60 machine guns.
- 4 Ruger Security Six .38s, likely for pilots.
- 4 M-79 40mm bloop guns.
- 5 22mm Sedgley Mk5 flare guns.
- 3 37mm AN/M8 Pyrotechnic pistols.
- 5 22LR S&W Model 46 Match semi-auto pistols.
- 6 .22LR Colt Ace pistols.
On the 1911s, Ryan was good enough to include the serials they had on file.
Of interest, one (SN 13097 ) is from one of the Navy’s earliest 1,000-gun 1911 contracts (SN range 12501-13500) delivered in 1912. Another (SN 363824) is of Great War vintage. Most of the others are M1911A1 WWII-era guns:
As the CMP has been (will be?) sending out some 100,000 surplus M1911s, including lots of former USN guns, the likelihood is high that some of these may be floating around so check your CMP .45s, guys.
Mine, alas, is not on the list.
And of those curious about the use behind all the M60s, check out these shots of “The Pig” in use around the fleet from the 1980s, where they seem to be fitted either with tripods and bipods, and used in a variety of improvised mounts.
You have to love that talker helmet! Members of a Navy M60 lightweight machine gun crew stand watch at a deck-edge station aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Okinawa (LPH 3), January 14, 1988. PH2 Alex Hicks. 330-CFD-DN-ST-88-03212
Good vibes! Persian Gulf. A boatswain’s mate seaman stands lookout watch next to an M60 machine gun aboard the dock landing ship USS Mount Vernon (LSD 39) October 29, 1987. Note the dungarees and talker set. PH2 (Sw) Jeffrey A. Elliott. 330-CFD-DN-ST-88-01835
A crew member aboard the amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) aims an M-60 7.62mm machine gun during small arms qualifications. The Blue Ridge is among the U.S. Navy ships deployed to the region in support of Operation Desert Shield.
A sailor manning an M-60 machine gun aboard the patrol combatant missile hydrofoil USS Taurus (PHM-3) keeps an eye on a small merchant ship that was stopped after it made an abrupt course change, circa November 1, 1989. The Taurus and the other hydrofoils of PHM Squadron 2 patrol the waters around Florida as part of the nation’s drug interdiction program. PH2(Ac) Mark Kettenhoffen. 330-CFD-DN-SC-90-09320