General Patton's Pistol

[Hobie]

We all know about General Patton's Colt SA and S&W .357 Magnum but what does he have in his holster here?

[Modoc ED]

I have no idea but it looks like he's got a tank on his left hip!!

[Terry Murbach]

IT LOOKS LIKE AN EARLY COLT MATCH TARGET WOODSMAN WITH THE SLIDE LOCKED BACK, AND THE OLD EXTRA LONG STOCKS ON IT. I THINK THEY CALLED 'EM ELEPHANT EAR STOCKS.

[Rexster]

I can't see the photo clearly enough tell anything, as I am using my Sony P-series at the moment, but GSP also famously carried a couple of pocket pistols, a 1903 Colt .380 and a very slim Remington, the model name of which eludes my memory at this point.

[Hobie]

You know, if you click on the photo it gets real big.

Terry, that's what I thought but I was wondering, what the heck was he going to shoot with it out there?

[Terry Murbach]

You know, if you click on the photo it gets real big.

Terry, that's what I thought but I was wondering, what the heck was he going to shoot with it out there?

RATTLESNAKES OR ANYTHING ELSE IN DIRE NEED OF A 22 CALIBER BULLET HOLE.
LIKE MOST OLD TIMERS IT DID NOT MUCH MATTER WHAT YOU WERE CARRYING AT ANY GIVEN TIME, IT ONLY MATTERED THAT YOU WERE ARMED, ALWAYS.

[Rexster]

You know, if you click on the photo it gets real big.

Not on a Sony P-series. The original photo almost filled the available vertical space; clicking on the image only made it about half an inch taller.

Edited to add: Ah, I clicked again, and it grew more. (Learned something new today!) I do think it looks like a Woodsman with extended grip panels.

[Mac in Mo]

I vote Woodsman also

[2ndovc]

I agree w/ Mr. Murbach.. looks like my Match Target.

jb

[Big Bore 94]

The Patton Museum at Ft Knox will close for good later this year. All of his belongings will be returned to his family. The rest of the Museum's equipment will be transfered to Ft. Benning as the Armor Center is moving. You can take an interesting "Virtural Tour" online. What an interesting convoy that will be on the way to Georgia!

[Sixgun]

I have no idea but it looks like he's got a tank on his left hip!!

Thanks for the laugh--that was good --------Sixgun

[Rusty]

Right, click on the photo and then click it again and you can see it looks like a .2 auto. Maybe he figured with all the big guns around he might run into something that needed to be shot just a little bit.

[JerryB]

I reckon that I'll vote for .22 also. I bet he had a ball with it out there in the desert. A shooter can have as much fun with a .22 auto as anything.

[Hillbilly]

I was thinking a High Standard or Woodsman... but the grips did not make sense... I did not know about extendted grips on those Colts until Terry mentioned it.

I learn something everyday here.

[Ysabel Kid]

Certainly not the 1903 or 1908 Colt - unless it has the most extended grips ever made! I'd vote for a Woodsman as well!

[jeepnik]

Don't know what the handgun is, but I know where he is. The California/Arizona desert during the training maneuvers in the early part of WWII. They have a pretty good museum near Indio, California. Since dad (Sixth "Super Sixth" Armored divison) didn't like him very much, I thought it would be a good place to visit.

[.Dirty-.Thirty]

Of the 8 pistolas that i've read he owned the Colt Match Target Automatic .22 was one of em.

[KCSO]

Colt Match Target Woodsman, if I remember right it's still in his collection.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
When you are riding a M3A4 Stuart with 4 caliber 30 Brownings and a 37mm cannon it is not a real issue what your side arm is.
Sadly though, as good as General Patton was with tactics and understanding of the role of Armor.. he overlooked the value of "Blending In with the surroundings".
The German gun crews Loved the BIG White stars on the turret sides and front slopes... Wonderful aiming points. If the Stuart was not such a fast tank many more lives would have been lost to a simple overlooked point.
Many crews after the first battle took to slopping mud over the whole vehicle to cover up all the nice unit markings, stars, and eye wash of the Stateside Army.
Thanks for the photo Hobbie.

[Old Savage]

Well apparently 357s and 45s are good show pistols but ...... they are no 22 LR.

[jeepnik]

Good morning
When you are riding a M3A4 Stuart with 4 caliber 30 Brownings and a 37mm cannon it is not a real issue what your side arm is.
Sadly though, as good as General Patton was with tactics and understanding of the role of Armor.. he overlooked the value of "Blending In with the surroundings".
The German gun crews Loved the BIG White stars on the turret sides and front slopes... Wonderful aiming points. If the Stuart was not such a fast tank many more lives would have been lost to a simple overlooked point.
Many crews after the first battle took to slopping mud over the whole vehicle to cover up all the nice unit markings, stars, and eye wash of the Stateside Army.
Thanks for the photo Hobbie.

The M4 Sherman had a nickname. "Ronson" Because that's the way the burned. One of the bad things about American tanks is that they were gasoline powered. So, while they were faster, and started easier in cold climates, they did have one very big disadvantage. The panzer faust, while not having a particularly large explosive payload, was hard on Shermans due to the vulnerability of the gas tank. And let's not even talk about the dreaded 88. Dad had some hairy stories.