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Iron Brigade at Gettysburg
Our 1920-vintage Colt Police Positive Special had a serious affinity for Black Hills 148-gr.
Match .38 Special wadcutters. This is 5 shots at 25 yards.
What’s In A Name?
Ask Colt revolver fans to list as many D-Frame models as they can and chances are the results will include fairly well-known names — many decidedly snaky. We’re talking Cobra, Diamondback, Agent, Viper, Detective Special, etc. But the granddaddy of the D-breed was the Police Positive, introduced in 1905. The 1908 Sears Roebuck catalog lists it at $14. The optional “pearl handle” jacked the MSRP up by an additional $2! Here’s a bit of the accompanying copy:
“Has a splendid grip, smooth working action, blued steel finish with fancy rubber handle, but may be fitted a pearl handle … It is the revolver which is adopted by police departments of New York and other large cities.”
Naturally, those on the side of law and order weren’t the only fans of the Police Positive. A nickel-plated 4″ specimen once owned by Chicago’s Al Capone went for a cool $109,080 at the Christie’s Antique Arms, Armour and Collectors auction in 2011.
Smith & Wesson’s Model 10 (top) is larger and heavier than Colt’s Police Positive Special (bottom).
But both were state-of-the-art in their day.
The Last Of Its Kind
In 1977 Colt “updated” the Police Positive Special for the last time. One of the visible cues differentiating it from earlier versions was a shrouded ejector rod. Although this makes sense in a hard-duty gun, it did — in my opinion — remove a lot of the classic Hartford charm from the gun.
About 25 years before Colt brought the curtain down on the Police Positive Special — 1969 to be exact — it was listed at $93.50 (blued). By comparison, the larger blued Official Police was going for $110, while the also-heftier competition Model 10 was bringing S&W a somewhat friendlier $76.50. It might partially explain S&W’s eventual dominance in the LE market.
Winchester’s 158-gr. RNFP Cowboy ammo clocked a hair under 800 fps from our century-old PPS.
While not as accurate as the Black Hills Match Wadcutters, this is nothing to gripe about.
Lightweight Packer
Here’s a by-the-numbers “packability” comparison — the unloaded weight of a 4″ K-Frame Smith Model 10 is 30.5 oz. while Colt’s preeminent duty revolver, the .41-Frame Official Police weighs in at 38 oz. in its 4″ iteration. Our little Colt PPS? A mere slip of a thing at 23 oz.. It’s not much of a shock when you stop to consider it’s essentially an early-series 4″ Detective Special with a square butt. Being an absolute delight to carry is only one of its charms, as I soon discovered.
Feeding The Oldster
My ammo menu for checking our Police Positive Special’s range performance was somewhat limited. I wanted to at least make an attempt to stay within the bullet weight parameters of what was in vogue when the gun was made. I also wanted to do so at standard-pressure “stress levels.” I use Plus-P stuff frequently but I usually avoid shooting it in small frame guns this old. If it would’ve been a modern D-Frame, say a later Detective Special, I might have given the high-test stuff a spin. But why beat up a classic like this?
My three loads were Winchester 158-gr. Cowboy lead RNFP, Black Hills 148-gr. Match Wadcutter and Remington 130-gr. FMJ. I figured the Winchester stuff would be a pretty close approximation of most pre-war “service loads,” while the Black Hills stuff would be a good bet for demonstrating the little Colt’s accuracy potential. The Remington FMJs? These are pretty much a dupe of the service ball load used by pilots packing (usually) S&W K-Frames like the Victory Model in WWII. What I like about them is they’re “bulk-pack practice” cheap and pretty accurate in most guns. Plus, they’re “FMJ clean.” Most 4″ guns I’ve used them in generally produce velocities a bit over 900 fps — what I got with the Police Positive Special.
The 158-gr. Winchester stuff produced a 6-shot 2.5″ group at 25 yards while the Black Hills Wadcutters crowded 5 shots into a spectacular cluster at just under 1.5″. The Remington 130-gr. was almost on a par with the Winchester 158s.
Normally I’m the first guy to piss and moan about tiny, fixed U-notch-rear/blade-front vintage sighting arrangements like this one, but I’m gonna keep my mouth shut here — good bifocals and a nice group or three will do that! Whatever long-ago Colt craftsman regulated these sights knew what he was doing.
An offshoot of the Police Positive Special, the classic Detective Special is probably the most famous Colt D-Frame.
This mid-’60s specimen sports the relatively rare 3″ barrel plus the signature rounded grips.
Making It Go Bang
Trigger-wise, the Police Positive Special really shined in single action — 3.5 lbs. double action? Well, we’re talking about 11 lbs. Not “stagey” with the mid-hitch I remember from most old Colts but with quite a bit of takeup. As much as I love them, shooting one makes you realize why most serious DA guys (say, Ed McGivern) preferred Smiths. The best bet for effective double-action shooting with the old PPS was to take up the slack and pull straight through quickly.
The long-ago ad probably said it best when claiming the Police Positive was “The safest, simplest and most dependable revolver you can buy.”
I’ll “buy” it.
The following will be a brief introduction into the art of concealed carry of a handgun. Ever since Florida introduced a Carrying Concealed Weapons (CCW) Permit, with the other 49 states following, more people are legally packing heat as they go about their daily business in this country, and you need to be one of them, too.
Concealed Carry vs. Open Carry
Concealed carry is when someone cannot observe that you are carrying a gun. This can vary from lightly concealed, with your shirttail flipped over a semi-noticeable bulge on your hip, to deep concealed under a tucked in shirt. If the outline of the gun is visible, this is called “printing” and may be illegal in some states, whereas if the gun becomes exposed for any period of time, and that is illegal in some states, too.
Open carry is when you are not attempting to conceal a weapon. Some states allow open carry; some don’t. As an example, a policeman in uniform open carries; a detective in a suit carries concealed. Open carry is a personal choice that cannot be taken lightly, as I’ll explain later. Here, we will be discussing mostly the mechanics of concealing a handgun on your person.
Open Carry, properly done. (Dress nicely, and be discreet.)
You’ll note that I have said “legal in some states” a few times. Folks, you MUST know the laws of all states you intend to carry in. Cops can and will be ignorant of the laws they are supposed to enforce, and you could well end up dead if you don’t know them. Please do your research on the laws, and I recommend handgunlaw.us as your first stop. It will tell you what you can and can’t do, what states do and don’t have reciprocity with your own, and where you can and cannot go with your gun.
Methods Of Carrying A Handgun
I’ll touch briefly on the four popular carry methods: on your belt, suspended from your shoulder, in your pocket, and on your ankle. There are also “belly bands” for under your shirt deep carry, and there is even “codpiece carry” devices like Thunderwear if you want your junk to be of a higher caliber.
Women sometimes use “bra carry” and “purse carry” and I suppose a man can use “bag carry,” but I hesitate to recommend depending on a gun you have in a bag as you ‘re going to put that thing down at some time.
Belt Carry
The most popular method is to belt carry, and what position you use will depend on your style and your body. “Strong hand” or “trigger hand” means what side is your dominant hand, and “off hand” or “support hand” is your other side.
Starting at your front and going around your trigger side, we have Appendix Carry, 3 o’clock, and 4 o’clock. These are all variations of carrying near your hip bone. Appendix is in front of your hip, 3 o’clock is on it, 4 o’clock is just behind. Appendix and 4 o’clock are easier to conceal than it being right on your hip, and allow you to sit in vehicles with a little more clearance, and 3 o’clock is a good one for large, open carry holsters.
The pistol can have varying degrees of cant, from forward to neutral to reverse.
Outside the waistband (OWB) holster at the 3 o’ clock position. Neutral cant.
Crossdraw is slightly ahead of appendix carry, but on the weak side, with the butt of the gun facing your belt buckle so you can draw it across you. This one is really good for sitting in a vehicle. Small of the back (SOB) carry is often the most concealable, but can be hard to draw fast. Sitting while wearing a gun like that can hurt, and, if you fall on your back with one there, the chance of back injury is higher.
Do not carry Mexican, which is not using a holster and tucking the barrel of the gun into your pants with the butt hanging out. Pretty much every thug out there carries without a holster, and the prevalence of Glocks and their clones means that piece can and will blow your dick off while you’re fumbling for it if you hit the trigger.
The Mexicans had a legitimate reason to not use a holster during their revolution; if they got caught with a gun, they went to prison, and a holster meant “gun.” Same thing with thugs today, and you find guns everywhere from their shoes, their hoodies, and some women have even done “vagina carry.” Criminals don’t use holsters, law abiding citizens do; use a holster.
Homes here might be doing us a favor by carrying this way and possibly shooting his balls off; don’t be like him.
Let’s discuss “Outside of Waistband” (OWB) and “Inside of Waistband” (IWB). OWB means the pistol holster is either hooked to your belt via loops, or is attached to a paddle shaped piece that hooks over your pants. OWB is more comfortable than IWB, most people find, but you have to cover the whole gun as opposed to what sticks out above your pants in IWB. That means a long shirt or a jacket. OWB holsters carry bigger guns, have drop leg variants, and sometimes have retention latches.
In Waistband (IWB) 4:30 position carry with a slight forward cant.
IWB holsters fit inside the belt, and usually use belt loops to attach to your belt. You can flip your shirt over the whole thing, or tuck in behind the gun for partial concealment and wear something on top of it. “Tuckable” IWB holsters are relatively new, use clips, and allow room for the shirt to be tucked in in front of the gun. IWB holsters are a lot easier to conceal, but they do take some room in the pants.
Shoulder Carry, Pocket Carry, And Ankle Carry
The most common alternative to belt carry is shoulder carry. Shoulder carry relieves a lot of the space and ergonomic problems of belt carry and is done via a harness you put on like a backpack which holds your gun in a crossdraw position, and your spare magazines on the opposite side.
Shoulder rigs are very comfortable, but they pretty much require a jacket or a heavy, unbuttoned shirt to be concealed. They can handle the biggest handguns out there; Clint Eastwood packed the S&W Model 29 in Dirty Harry in one.
Although the 70’s most powerful handgun is a bit much for anyone but Clint, you can carry it in a shoulder rig. Early Galco Jackass shoulder rig was used.
Pocket carry is for little pistols. They make holsters that basically occupy your pocket and have a rough surface and are a pouch for the pistol. Reach in, pull iron, and the pocket holster should stay put with the gun coming out. Be sure to practice this a lot, and do not carry other things in the pocket, or fail to use a holster (see above comments about getting dick-shot.)
Ankle carry has its pros and cons. It’s easy to carry pistols, doesn’t bother your hips, and is fairly concealable, but is hard to draw fast from and is fairly size limited. It’s a good spot for backup guns, or when you have to deep conceal.
Loadout
You need spare magazines (or speedloaders for revolvers). Whether or not you are a big firefight thinker, or just want to get back to your rifle you should have never left (both common arguments in the gun world), you AT LEAST want 12 rounds or so, which means a spare mag, and a mag holder for it.
Multiple mags are a good step up to aspire to, and you can generally put a two mag holder on your weak side opposite the gun. Be sure to practice mag changes.
Magazine pouch on belt. This one is angled.
What about a backup gun? Semi-derisively called the New York Reload, sometimes pulling more iron is faster than reloading, plus it covers mechanical failure of your primary gun. Backup guns are often smaller versions of your main carry gun of the same caliber, or a small revolver or semi-auto of a smaller caliber. Some modern semi-autos like Glocks will run their “duty size” pistol magazines in their compacts just fine, which cuts down on your mag count needed.
Holsters themselves come in a variety of compositions. Leather is traditional, Kydex is an alternative, and nylon is cheaper. Make sure, if the pistol HAS a safety, that the holster COVERS it. Another holster of somewhat minimalist thinking is a clip on the frame of the gun itself for your waistband. This works, but be sure to get a little kydex cover for the trigger guard with a loop to attach to your belt. You pull iron, the loop pulls the cover off as you draw, and you’re good to go, otherwise you might (say it with me) get shot in the dick.
A variety of holster materials: Kydex, carbon fiber applique over kydex, leather over plastic, and leather.
You’ll need some wardrobe changes. Definitely a strong, thick belt to hold the holster up, maybe some larger pants if you want to IWB carry. You may need to untuck that shirt, or wear a light jacket when you would normally forgo. Start small, and get into it slowly.
Legality And Mentality
Carrying a gun is your right, but it’s also a massive responsibility. The fifty shades of grey bullshit of passive aggressive society gets reduced to black and white in a real hurry. You will have the ability to kill damn near anyone you meet, but your ass will go to jail for at least manslaughter if not murder two if you are wrong in your actions.
The key words to remember here is “I was in fear for my life.” Someone jacking your car is not something for which you can blast them, except maybe in Texas. However, if you are fairly certain that you or someone in the area is about to get wrecked or killed, either by the fact that the soon-to-be perpetrators have weapons of their own, or there is something called “disparity of force” (five of them and one of you) going on, feel free to use that weapon.
I cannot, in this article, articulate what to do if you are involved in a shooting. Call the cops, file a complaint, remember to say “I was afraid for my life” or “he was going to kill me” and then shut up and lawyer up. Do not just run off and hope no one notices; calling in establishes you as the victim. I highly recommend ANYTHING Massad Ayoob writes on this; start with In the Gravest Extreme and go from there. I’m an engineer, not a lawyer, so do your homework.
Your carry piece is not a status symbol and is not for anyone to know about until you have to use it for defense of life. Never start stuff when carrying.
There are certain places you cannot go with a gun, and that varies from state to state. A good general guideline is no schools, no government buildings, no bars. Restaurants serving alcohol is ok, but you should really not be drinking while carrying.
Your place of employment is up to you and your corporate masters; I leave mine in the truck. If you open carry, be prepared for people to notice; bad guys will try to take it from you or shoot you first, and others might call the cops for a MWAG complaint (man with a gun.) Never be an asshole when you are carrying, and this goes double for open carry.
I’m not going to get too political here, but this country does not have a gun problem; it has a problem with a lack of respect for human life. I’m not a sociologist; I don’t know how to fix it, but we need more pro-gun good people out there who can stop bad shit as or before it happens. Carry legally and quietly, and don’t get into arguments and fights just because you “got yo piece wid choo.”
But, for the sake of the dwindling number of good citizens and the American Way, if you happen to be in the position to stop a terrorist, wait until he’s not paying attention to you, get a good shooting rest if you can, give him an “Aloha Snackbar,” and send him straight to hell.
For those who enjoy hunting with Winchester lever-action rifles, we’ve got a pair of fantastic cartridges for this comparison, purposely suited to their particular rifles, with enough horsepower to fill the role of an all-around cartridge. The latter decades of the 19th century saw Oliver Winchester’s company dominating the repeating rifle market, with John Browning-designed Models 1886, 1892, 1894, and 1895. Millions of Model 1894s—later known simply as the Model 94—would see the deer woods each year, and the Model 1886, chambered in cartridges such as .33 Winchester and .45-70 Government, would become known as one of the strongest lever guns ever made.
Looking to upgrade the Model 1886, due to sales dropping off, Winchester developed the other half of their premium rifle duo: the Model 71. While the ’86 came in a number of different cartridges, the Model 71 would be chambered for a single, new cartridge—the .348 Winchester—with a handful of very rare exceptions. Based on the .50-110 blackpowder cartridge, necked down to hold bullets of nominal diameter, the rimmed .348 Winchester offered ballistic flexibility, with three different bullet weights offered in the factory-loaded ammunition. 150-, 200-, and 250-grain bullets were loaded, at muzzle velocities of 2890, 2530 and 2350 fps respectively.
While the 200 is what has survived, it was the 250-grain bullet that was reached for when the animals got large. The cartridge uses a 19-degree, 10-minute shoulder, culminating in a neck which gives excellent tension, though because of the tubular magazine of the Model 71 the bullets are crimped firmly in place. With a case measuring 2.255 inches and an overall length of 2.795 inches, the .348 predominately uses flat or round nosed bullets to prevent a magazine detonation. With a cartridge generating between 2,700 and 3,000 ft.-lbs. of muzzle energy, the .348 Winchester was well-suited to a top-eject lever gun, which predominately relied on iron sights.
The Winchester Model 71—in the Standard and Deluxe Grades—lasted from 1936 to 1958, when it was discontinued. It was replaced by a revolutionary new design—the hammerless Winchester Model 88, with a three-lug rotating bolt lockup very similar to a bolt-action rifle. This allowed for the use of more powerful cartridges, as well as allowing for the use of a scope mounted low, over the bore thanks to the side ejection. Initially offered in the relatively new .308 Winchester, it was soon available in the new-fangled .243 Winchester, and the cartridge designed to supplant the .348 Winchester: the .358 Winchester.
Simply the .308 Winchester case necked up to hold .358-inch-diameter bullets—much like the .30-06 Springfield necked up will yield the .35 Whelen—and using the same 20-degreee shoulder for headspacing, the rimless cartridge fed perfectly from the Model 88’s box magazine, as well as the in the Model 70 and Savage Model 99. Pushing a 200-grain bullet to 2475 fps, and a 250-grain bullet to just about 2300 fps, the .358 Winchester makes a great medium-range cartridge, well-suited to black bears, elk, and even moose, while handling deer and similar-sized game just fine.
The issue with both cartridges is the lack of choices when it comes to factory-loaded ammunition. While both remain as effective as they were upon their release—and for the majority of hunting situations inside of 150 yards they work perfectly—they have been regulated to nostalgic pieces at best. But not all cartridge choices are about practicality; if so we’d all be shooting a .30-06 Springfield. Should you be fortunate enough to find a Winchester Model 71 in good shape, and I know I’d have a hard time laying off that purchase, you’ll need a supply of .348 ammunition. You could easily say the same about a Model 88 or Model 70 in .358 Winchester, though a competent reloader can, quickly and easily, convert .308 Winchester or .338 Federal brass into .358 Winchester, and there are all sorts of good .358-inch-diameter bullets available for handloading.
Hornady is the one major manufacturer offering ammo for both cartridges, with the 200-grain FTX loaded in the LEVERevolution line for the .348 Win., and the 200-grain InterLock in the Custom ammo line for the .358 Win. Checking the Winchester website, neither cartridge is offered any longer, though they had been just a few years ago. There is always the boutique option, with Buffalo Bore and Choice Ammunition offering ammo for both cartridges.
While we are comparing the pair of cartridges, the rifle does, in my opinion, come into play. The attractive lines and classic profile of a Winchester Model 71 lend some weight to the .348 Winchester, though a pre-’64 Winchester Model 70 Featherweight in .358 Winchester or the unique Model 88 in .358 Winchester doesn’t exactly suck. The differences are entirely subjective.
Performance-wise, I don’t think the 75 to 100 fps difference between the two cartridges would matter much to any game animal. The frontal diameter advantage—albeit slight—goes to the .358 while the sectional density advantage swings back to the .348; no obvious winner based on those criteria. What might seal the deal is the sheer number of available projectiles in .358-inch-diameter. Simply put, you can use the pistol bullets for the .38 Special and .357 Magnum for plinking and practice, while taking full advantage of the rifle projectiles for the numerous .358-inch cartridges. The .348 Winchester is the only cartridge in that bore diameter, and while that’s part of the mystique, it can also be a handicap. Yes, there are good bullets available, like the 200-grain Swift A-Frame and the Barnes Originals 250-grain lead core flat point, but the choices pale in comparison to the .35-caliber choices.
Accordingly, my practical nature gives the nod to the .358 Winchester, for the flexibility and ease of creating brass cases. That said, a well-worn Model 71 in .348 Winchester is one of those bucket-list rifles, and I’m always on the prowl for a deal, hiding in the dusty corner of a gun shop.
8,000 miles South of the UK and 400 miles east of Argentina lie the Falklands Islands. The UK has held possession of the Falklands since 1833, and the islands are liberally populated with British subjects, some three thousand or so by 2006.
Starting with British Captain John Strong in 1690, various despots, regents, and tin pot administrators alternately claimed, occupied, or stole this desolate piece of dirt. At 4,700 square miles, the Falklands enjoyed a fair amount of space. However, its brutal Southern latitude made it an inhospitable sort of place. One of the first commercial endeavors back in the early 19th century actually involved the exploitation of feral cattle.
Now fast forward to 1982, and the nearby Argentines had their sights set on the windswept rocks of the Falkland Islands. The British had long since passed the apogee of their remarkable empire. Perhaps they wouldn’t notice if Argentina’s military junta government dispatched a few thousand troops to snatch up the Falklands. Sadly, Argentina’s Leopoldo Galtieri woefully underestimated the Iron Lady’s resolve. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was having none of that.
Buildup for War
With 8,000 miles of open ocean across which to stage a proper response, the Brits knew that air superiority during the upcoming amphibious counter-invasion was going to be critical. British Sea Harriers would bear the brunt of the air-to-air responsibilities. However, every Argentine airplane that could be neutralized was one less that the Harrier drivers would have to burn out of the sky.
On the Northern aspect of the western Falklands chain lies Pebble Island. This forsaken spit of dirt was home to some twenty-five English subjects and another 2,500 very English sheep. Since the Argentine invasion, the Pebble Island Aerodromo Auxiliar Calderon airfield also housed six FMA IA 58 Pucara twin-engine turboprop ground attack aircraft, four T-34 Turbo Mentor counterinsurgency attack planes, and a single Coast Guard Skyvan transport. Servicing, supporting, and defending these eleven aircraft were about 150 Argentine Marines and aviation personnel.
The Plan
22 Special Air Service Regiment was the foundation of the world’s modern Special Operations units. 22 SAS hearkens back to the Second World War and its first flamboyant commander, LTC Archibald David Stirling. Stirling’s mob of misfits tormented the Nazis from North Africa across Italy and occupied France. Subsequent generations of SAS men were shooting and scooting back when special operating wasn’t cool. In 1982 D Squadron 22 SAS Regiment stood ready to visit their own unique brand of chaos upon the Argentines.
The plan was audacious. After an eyes-on recce conducted by Boat Troop of D Squadron 22 SAS via Klepper canoe, it was determined that there were severe headwinds near the target area. This would ultimately limit the amount of time the commandos could spend on the objective. The operational objectives were therefore reduced from the destruction of the garrison to simply neutralization of the aviation assets.
The Mission
On the night of 14 May 1982, forty-five SAS D Squadron operators inserted via two Westland Sea King HC4 helicopters under cover of darkness. A single HC4 has the capacity to lift up to 28 combat-equipped troops. Members of the aforementioned Boat Troop provided approach navigation.
The SAS strike force landed six clicks from the airfield and unloaded some one hundred L16 81mm mortar bombs, demo charges, and a buttload of L1A1 66mm LAWs (Light Anti-tank Weapons). The SAS operators carried American-made M16 rifles along with a disproportionate number of M203 grenade launchers.
SAS operators are notorious for their simply breathtaking capacity to tab. Tab is short for Tactical Advance to Battle. This is British slang for a forced march across hostile terrain. The SAS assault force successfully infiltrated the airfield, avoiding the Argentine sentries on duty. They eventually set charges on seven of the Argentine aircraft without being detected.
On cue, the SAS operators blew the charges and opened up on the parked aircraft with small arms and LAW rockets. At the same time, naval gunfire from the British destroyer HMS Glamorgan joined in targeting the nearby fuel stores and ammo dump. The preponderance of their ordnance expended, the SAS raiders exfilled to the PZ (Pickup Zone) where they were extracted by the waiting Sea Kings to the HMS Hermes.
The Weapons
The standard British Army rifle at the time of the Falklands War was the L1A1 SLR (Self-Loading Rifle). This Anglicized FN FAL was used across Her Majesty’s armed forces. However, the SAS opted for the US M16 for its lightweight and high-capacity magazines. Today’s SAS operators wield Canadian-made versions of the M4 Carbine made by Diemaco.
The M16 has served in sundry guises for more than half a century in the US military and should be established dogma to anybody frequenting GunsAmerica. The M203 was the only component of the US Army’s long-running 1960’s-era Special Purpose Individual Weapon (SPIW) program to see adoption. Pronounced “Spew,” the SPIW had to have the coolest acronym in modern military history.
First adopted in 1969, the M203 fired the same 40x46mm grenade as did the standalone M79 break-open grenade launcher. The M203 mounted underneath a standard M16 and allowed the grenadier ready access to an automatic rifle in addition to the single-shot grenade launcher.
The 40mm grenades fired by these weapons operate on the High-Low Propulsion System first developed by the Germans during World War 2. The Germans referred to this concept as the “Hoch-und-Niederdruck System,” and it allows a relatively-heavy, low-velocity round to be safely fired via a handheld weapon.
The L1A1 LAW is a single-shot disposable 66mm unguided antitank weapon. Originally an American contrivance, the US designation was the M72. The solid rocket motor was developed in 1959 at Redstone Arsenal, and the M72 first saw service in 1963. The M72 replaced both the M31 HEAT (High Explosive Antitank) rifle grenade and the cumbersome M20A1 Super Bazooka.
The L1A1 LAW consists of a telescoping aluminum tube within an external fiberglass cylinder with pop-up front and rear sights. When collapsed and sealed the LAW is waterproof. A percussion cap firing mechanism ignites the rocket, and a mechanical setback safety built into the warhead does not arm the piezoelectric detonator until the rocket has accelerated out of the tube.
To fire the L1A1 LAW you pull the safety pin and remove the spring-loaded back cover. This allows the front cover to drop away as well, while the rear cover pivots down to serve as a shoulder brace. Grip the front and back of the weapon and extend it briskly. This movement releases the spring-loaded front and rear sights to deploy. Put the weapon on your shoulder, pull the striker handle forward to arm the mechanism, point the thing at something you dislike, and squeeze the trigger bar.
Firing the LAW is nothing like the movies. The entirety of the solid rocket motor is consumed prior to the rocket’s leaving the launch tube, and the open back of the tube makes the LAW essentially recoilless. The backblast, however, is subsequently ferocious.
Once the weapon is fired, six folding fins deploy to stabilize the rocket in flight. Muzzle velocity is 475 feet per second, and the thing makes a simply incredible racket.
Max effective range is 200 meters, and later versions of the standard HEAT warhead will burn through about 12 inches of rolled homogenous steel armor. The LAW rockets used in the Pebble Island raid weighed about 8 pounds and cost about $750 apiece. Though augmented in US service in 1987 by the Swedish AT-4, the LAW remains in use around the world today.
The Rest of the Story
As a result of intense shelling by the HMS Glamorgan the defending Argentines remained under cover for the most part throughout the raid. Presuming the attack to be the opening salvoes in a general invasion, the Argentine commander ordered the runway destroyed. The Argentines detonated prepositioned area denial charges underneath the runway and cratered it. Shrapnel from these charges injured one of the SAS operators. The Argentinian commander was subsequently killed by British small arms fire during the attack.
The original plan had the assault force redirecting their fire on the Argentinian garrison after ensuring the destruction of the attack aircraft. However, after exfilling the wounded man the ground force commander made the decision to return to the Hermes. This on-the-spot decision no doubt ultimately saved a great many lives.
The Pebble Island raid accounted for all eleven aircraft as well as the ammo and fuel dump and was considered a rousing success. Considering that destroying airfields full of Axis aircraft during WW2 was considered a bit of an SAS specialty, the Pebble Island raid seemed fitting.
Sadly, CPT Gavin John Hamilton, the ground force commander, was killed three weeks later while on a covert reconnaissance mission some forty miles behind Argentine lines. Colonel Juan Ramon Mabragana, the commander of the Argentine Commando unit that killed CPT Hamilton, later described him as “the most courageous man I have ever seen.”
Who Dares Wins.
