I was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam from late 1966 to late 1967 with HMM-361, HMM-363 and HMM-362. While with HMM-363 I carried a Model 1911 .45 with the standard black holster. I preferred it over the .38 which was our assigned aircrew sidearm.

I never knew any pilot or aircrewman to carry the KABAR. We all used the Flight Survival Knife. However, I still have my KABAR in it's black sheath.

Tom Knowles

Ka-bars

Not to start anything, but all the crew chief/gunners I remember in '67-'68 caried Ka-bars knives on their belt, especially if they were flying at the time. I carried mine on the gunbelt with my sidearm, so that when I wasn't flying it wasn't around. They had many uses!
Joe

Adrian:

I didn't mess around. I was with HMM 363, HMM361 and HMM 163 in '67-'68. I carried an M3A1 "Grease Gun" around my neck for real S--- Sandwiches, a "Combat Masterpiece" S&W K-38 in my hoslter for accuracy and a Phillipine "Bola" knife for jungle operations.
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We all had our own ideas of what "Survival" meant. After a few survival training tours, I think I came up with the ultimate choice of weapons. The M3A1 had 40 round clips of .45 ammo, the K-38 was very accurate and the Bola knife was blade heavy to cut away the jungle. I was going to survive anything.........

Jack "The Screw" Warner

HELO UNIFORMS

I TOO, CARRIED A 45 CAL WITH TWO EXTRA CLIPS (MORE BANG FOR YOUR MONEY). ALSO CARRIED K-BAR ON MY WEB BELT. I AGREE WITH JOE, 67-68, SURVIVAL KNIVES WERE HARD TO COME BY FOR ENLISTED FLIGHT PERSONNEL. ALSO NOTE THAT MANY CREW CHIEFS ALSO KEPT EXTRA WEAPONS IN THEIR A/C. SEEN M-14'S, GREASE GUNS, SHOT GUNS, I PERSONALLY HAD AN M79 THAT I USED MORE THAN ONCE, A GREAT THING TO HAVE WHEN NEEDED.
SEMPER FI
POPS

In 70, most if not all gunners @ 463 had a kabar & at least a .38, along with their m-16, pen flares and sometimes maybe an m-79. I remember taking a blooper along on a couple of Lam San 719 flights. I have no idea what color holster I used for the .38 or the kabar. I haven't read the other thread yet, so I may be repeating something, but seems like someone was supposed to carry a thermite grenade or incendiary device to destroy some of the communication/nav equip (tacan?) in the event of a crash in hostile area if the equipment couldn't be removed. Maybe someone with a less foggy memory can elaborate/correct.

Tom Knowles-ya still have yours? Some supply clerk is probably still lookin for it. 😀

(edit) dang you guys type fast.

One of the most indespensible things I carried along with a stubby, & the only item I was able to get thru Okinawa. Still got it & still lovingly use it.

In 1967 a .38, M-14 set to Auto and a piece of armor plate for a seat. With SOG an M-79 was added.

Thinking of this subject, a bell went off in this old brain.
When I checked into Dong Ha with HMM-363, I now remember not only did some of the landscape and dust blowing around remind me of parts of the Texas landscape, but an awful lot of the flight crews were wearing their 38's in WESTERN STYLE holsters. All they needed was cowboy boots and Stetsons and they would have looked part of the wild, wild West. I remember also having to tell a couple of flight crews to stop practicing their quick draw on each other. Wonder if anyone brought their rig home with them.
Semper Fi
Pops

Larry,

Carried my 38 in a western style holster with K bar attached. Still have the holster and bought a KBar at a surplus store. They took mine away in Okinawa. Carried a M 14 on my plane with about 10 magazines.

S/F

John

Dummy

Jack
Right on, I could only keep up with one kind on ammo, 45. So it was grease gun and 45 side arm. We would make bombs in the hooch at night. Get glass jars from the mess hall and insert grenades with pin out. So glad to be here. The wire stock had to go, it was in the way all the time. Found a string to hang it around my neck. Not arthorized get up, but no one seemed to mind. I took my m-16 out of my foot locker to turn it in when I pulled out after a tour and a half, Heck I didn't even clean it up.
Roy (ARMed and dangerious) Pitt:D

More "unauthorized" weapons

This post has made me remember something I'd almost completely forgotten. My "mini" M-14! An M-14 just "turned up" one day with a screwed up flash suppressor and barrel end. Since it wasn't on our squadron inventory, and being the enterprising young Marines that we were, we just cut the end of the barrel off just forward of the stock. Since that looked so funny, and the sling had broken off the stock, we further trimmed the weapon by trimming the stock down to a modified Pistol type grip. Since this was a very short range, full automatic weapon, I figured we needed more rounds in the magazine. We had a few M-14 spare magazines, however, my buddy Culbertson had Gy/Sgt. Sitton, in the metal shop, weld up two M-14 magazines in an attempt to hold more rounds. We finally figured out that we needed more spring to make it work (we doubled up on 'em)! It would fire about 36 or 37 rounds out of what was supposed to be a 40 round clip before it would jam a round during the ejection process. We kept it in the crew's box, lest prying eyes spy the little "stinger". I never had to fire it in anger, but I always felt good about having it along for the ride! Firing it off of the fantail of the USS Tripoli was an experience! Even as a youngster I was about 235 lbs, and it used to raise me up like nothing when I fired full auto! I think it was VanDerwal that got it when I rotated, don't remember him firing it though! LOL!:D
Semper Fi
Joe

Did the same thing with an M-16 Joe. Got confiscated by some unknow Capt. Then went to the M3A1/1911A1 combination with an old WWII bayonet that my Dad carried during that disagreement and had given me before I shipped out. Carried the 45 in a "western" type holster.
Bob

I carried my .38 cal revolver in a Western style holster which was really made for a .45 cal pistol. I never had a K-Bar but I did carry a large knife on my gun belt. I've attached a picture of both.

This made me remember many of thew side arms 361 had in its planes. I don't see Marty Poloskie's "long" rifle mentioned here. Yes! a friggen long rifle, black powder thing he got from Sears! LoL And I think he used it to cover a prisoner one run. Ya'll are right about the 38s used by air crew enlisted. Very poor condition and couldn't hit a barn door at 30 feet. The cylinder(s) would flap back and forth when shook in the hands. The low cut holsters.
I had a 30-30 with two banna clips taped together with a leather cord to tote the thing.
Pilots though had the quest to carry the most insane survival weapons I had ever seen. These weapons mostly were given to the crewchiefs to hold in case we went down somewheres. The grease guns were the scariest! Hated to see those things under the seat. Thompsons were neat to look at, and there were a few who carried them.
Knives ran the range also. I had two. One was a "banna" knife. Prisoners would "obey" that one where a pistol only make them grin. And the survival knife was carried by all I think.
Having all those transports of every kind of troops in Nam, we , the crew, had picked up some crazy looking weapons that were left behind or "liberated" from their piror owners. M-16 weren't a heavy item, but the "old" M-14, a sure fire weapon, was seen on a lot of craft.
Then there were those who simply took extra 7.62 rounds for the M-60s . Some got real fast in the head and one guy ( I won't tell Chuck Mass old buddy) had one of his boxes FULLY loaded with tracers! lol But the long rifle of Marty's was the lasting impression. I think he also had a 9mm at the last. LD Hunt had a 357 mag. It made nice holes in the plane huh Larry? lol
semper fi,
jd "Falcon"

Weapons preferences

I couldn't resist sharing this:
I too was a good little guy and carried the less-than- venerable .38 issued sidearm in the cockpit (with a grease gun hanging from its sling at the back of the armored seat....with two 30 round clips taped together back to back)
Then one day; August 6th 1968, we got shot down in the Da Krong Valley (3-4 clicks south of LZ Stud). In the excitement of getting out of the very shredded Frog, and ripping out the radios so that Charlie couldn't use them to call in bogus missions, I, as the senior officer present, in all of my enthusiasm (if not intellect) shot the * out of the Fox Mike radio after it had been removed from the radio closet. One of the so-called bullets promptly bounced off of the steel case and hit me in the foot.....lesson learned! I soon found a 1911A .45 to wear over the family jewels for the rest of my time in '262. I recently (Pensacola) got a chance to review all of my memories of that day with my old friend (and co-pilot on that fateful day) Chuck Martin.....whose wife came up to me and mine....and said, "OK Moon, now about all of the stories I've been subjected to all these years...." Actually, I think she was surprised to hear that most of the stuff was true!
I can tell you that Chuck and I and our crew will for ever be grateful to Rich Herberg, who flew us out of there....getting the * shot out of himself.... Eddie Delezen, the leader of the Force Recon Team we had on-board has recently contacted all of us, and included us in a great new book he has written about the War....
We are all Brothers....and God has been looking after us all...those who are alive, and those of us that are on the real recon mission ahead........I wonder if The Big Boss ever replays the tape to settle arguments about war-stories.....naw.....I bet he just smiles.

S/F,

Moon

Just to add my two cents worth- in HMM-263 from Nov 66 to Nov 67. Was issued the short russet colored survival knife. Traded it for the longer black kabar carried on a green web belt. Carried a survival penflare pack on the back of the belt. Was issued a match quality .38 which I carried in a brown shoulder holster [ so I could use it if necessary without trying to get it untangled from the lap belt if it was on the web belt]. Still have the holster. A few others carried a .45 but had them wrapped in a plastic zipper bag to keep the dust/dirt out of the weapon. Personally carried a .30 cal carbine with two twenty round magazines taped with a few other sets in the helmet bag. Had one pilot carrying a .45 Thompson complete with round magazine and a second helmet bag with several extra boxes of ammo and a couple of grenades. It seemed if any type weapon was available, someone carried one. Semper Fi Joe

Okay Joe, enough of the old war stories from all you pilots. You know darn well you depended on the crew to keep you guys out of harms way...in the air and on the ground...we got ya all beat. Most crew members had 45's, usually a trench pump shotgun, other assorted weapons of various caliber, knives, hatchets, machetes, explosives (smoke & frag) and of course the old and trusty M-60...and lots of ammo for all. Now you guys know the real truth about those extra turns that were necessary to get our butts off the ground...;)

Aircrew Weapons (Humor)

I don't remember the gunners name but he probably still remembers me.
I believe it was with HMM 363, we were putting a strike in one morning NNW of Hill 22 (1/7 from Liberty Bridge I believe). We were briefed that it would be a hot zone and to expect heavy fire.
I checked my trusty Grease Gun and loaded up on clips.
We are over the insert zone and I can see fully uniformed NVA running around. I start firing with my Grease Gun, then I hear and feel the Crew Chief and Gunner open up. We are all firing and I hear the Gunner on the ICS screaming that he "Is hit", I ask him how bad, he doesn't know. I look out the left seat window and can see part of his helmet visible from my seat. I fire a few more rounds and realize that my empty cartridges are falling down and back and striking him on the helmet on their way to the ground. I ask him if he was getting hit in the head and he said, Yes Sir. I told him it was only my empty cartridges and he seemed to be fine from then on. It was always good for a laugh everytime I saw him.

That flight confirmed my faith in the .45. When you hit a NVA or VC from 2000', that .45 knocks them flatter than a linebacker. Plus, you don't need tracers because the round is so big and travels so slow you can bracket your target just like with tracers.

At night it was a different story though. The muzzle flash looked like a .50 cal.

THANK YOU CREW CHIEFS AND GUNNERS, THE PILOTS COULD NOT RETURN FIRE ON MOST OCCASIONS.

Semper Fidelis
Jack W.

Well thanks Gordon, for ruining most of my fantasies/war stories. Here all this time I thought the extra turns were because you guys were carrying something important- like Hardesty's 11 cases of beer hidden on the Skipper's bird. Second, aside from that sweet sound of the '60's keeping the bad guys heads down, you tell me that you were shooting all sorts of weird weapons. All this time I thought those strange explosive sounds from the cabin were stress-induced gastro-intestinal reactions to [a] the fine cuisine served at the chow hall, my feeble attempts at trying to do some of that " hot pilot stuff" which, according to the first few HAC's opinions, was only scaring the s**t out of everybody. Next I suppose you will be telling me the red smoke wasn't really an indicator of where the " Boom-Boom" girls were hanging out.