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Sidearm for missions over hostile territory
Military pilots are usually issued and carry a handgun when flying over hostile territory. The rest of the time they don’t.
However, pulling out your pistol and shooting at the enemy is the absolute WORST thing you can do. You are FAR better off trying to evade capture. Even if capture is imminent, you have a better chance of being rescued by spec ops. than you do fighting 8+ heavily armed men with backup.
So, why are they carried? For hunting small game.
Why a handgun is undesirable for a fighter pilot?
Tim Hibbetts, former US Navy F/A-18 Hornet pilot, recalls on Quora;
‘When I went downtown in ’98, we sported the SIG Sauer P226. Later, the Navy shifted over to the P228, designated the M11, which was smaller and lighter.
‘This was a good thing, because with all of the gear we carry in the SV-2 survival vest, that extra pack was really annoying. Of course, any change in the arrangement of the SV-2 was like having popcorn stuck between your teeth. Honestly, though, after the first night, I stopped carrying it. It was just too distracting. I just couldn’t see myself shelling out and shooting up the place. Granted, I’d like it for the Grizzly Snakes and five-pincered scorpions, but facing down the dudes you just bombed has never sounded like a winning proposal.
‘Another aspect that made it undesirable was the accounting. Losing a single bullet held some heinous, nebulous punishment. They doled out the rounds just prior to the flight. You counted them out, signed for them, then vowed to return them, on pain of a poor fitness report. A pilot in our sister squadron had an “office pop” in the ready room, putting a 9mm hole in the linoleum. I can’t recall what happened to him, but he walked funny for the rest of the cruise.
Outrageous weapons
‘I’ve heard of several pilots in Vietnam, Korea, and WW2 who brought some outrageous weapons, from Thompson submachine guns to sawed off shotguns to M1 Garands. Until after the Vietnam conflict, the standard issue was the Smith & Wesson .38 Victory model, either long or snub nose. Once the DoD went to the Beretta M9, the pilots just didn’t like the bulk, so local commanders just waffled on various solutions until the SIG came into the acquisition pipeline.’
Hibbetts concludes;
‘When I was deployed to Afghanistan, I was assigned to a joint command and went in via the Army path for individual augmentees. Under those circumstances, I carried the standard Beretta. Many of my shipmates that went in with Navy units were allowed to bring their Colt .45 1911.’
Photo credit: U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force
