Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have a Smith & Wesson M13 Aircrewman, one of the scarce K-frame revolvers the Air Force issued to strategic bomber crews between 1951-1957. This was an attempt to create the lightest possible survival revolver, and it worked until the Air Force realized they’d created a safety hazard and ordered every M13 in inventory destroyed. The Aircrewman used an aluminum alloy frame and cylinder to save weight for aircrew survival kits. The thinking was sound – bomber crews flying long missions over hostile territory needed defensive weapons, and every ounce mattered when you’re talking about bailout gear. A lightweight .38 Special revolver made sense on paper.
The problem was the alloy cylinder. Steel components will bend or bulge under excessive pressure, giving you a warning before catastrophic failure. Alloy cylinders fracture. When they let go, they don’t deform gracefully; they come apart violently. The Air Force discovered this wasn’t theoretical, and in 1959, issued a directive to forcibly retire every alloy cylinder revolver still in service. M13s in government stores were crushed, cut, chopped, or otherwise rendered unserviceable before being sold as scrap.
That destruction order is why surviving M13 Aircrewmen are uncommon today. Most were literally destroyed by the same government that ordered them built. The ones that survive either left service before the 1959 directive or somehow avoided the scrapyard – likely guns that had already been surplused or transferred before the order came down.
Most of our POTDs utilize images from our friends at Rock Island Auction Company, the premier firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse their current auctions – who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!
Scarce U.S.A.F. Contract Smith & Wesson M13 Aircrewman Double Action Revolver with Holster | Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/1049/595/usaf-sw-m13-aircrewman-revolver-with-holster. Accessed 7 Dec. 2025.
Writer | TheFirearmBlog
Writer | AllOutdoor.com Instagram | sfsgunsmith Old soul, certified gunsmith, published author, avid firearm history learner, and appreciator of old and unique guns.
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