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The US Air Force purchased a small number of customized Smith & Wesson Model 41 pistols for SR-71 pilots in 1967. The .22LR caliber Model 41 was already in service in limited numbers with competitive shooting teams. The Model 41 has an identical grip angle to the Colt 1911 pistol which was the standard service pistol at the time, allowing for effective and lower-cost marksmanship training using live ammunition. However, this set of 30 pistols featured several interesting modifications. The 7” barrel was replaced by a 5” threaded barrel. The pistol shipped with a “sound depressor”, an unusual term when sound suppressors were already common enough in military arsenals at the time. They also featured a triangular slide lock at the back of the slide, allowing the user to fire a single round without cycling the action. This was useful in reducing the sound of firing when used in conjunction with subsonic ammunition, or to maintain a spent cartridge without leaving it behind. Most notably, the pistols were equipped with an Oxford Corporation illuminated dot sight, virtually unheard of in that era. The sight contained a small lightbulb which reflected light through an unmagnified tube and lenses but was blocked from sight at the rear of the tube. This allowed the shooter to see a lighted dot floating in front of both eyes which was in focus at any range, and with unlimited eye relief. Although USAF records regarding these enigmatic pistols have yet to be declassified, in March 2026, Smith and Wesson published a social media post indicating they were intended as survival weapons for SR-71 pilots in the event they were shot down over unfriendly territory. The Model 41s were procured with no military markings and acquired via the Arthur Cook Supply Company of Laurel, MD. Arthur Cook was a former Olympic pistol competitor and a USAF Reserve officer. His company’s involvement may have been intended to obfuscate the provenance of these unusual weapons. Little else is known about the 30 specialized Model 41s, but at least three of them made it into private collections decades later. #usaf #smithwesson #handgun #optic #sr71