589

Gen. Curtis E. LeMay's S&W Model 559 Pistol

Currency:USD Category:Firearms & Military Start Price:1,750.00 USD Estimated At:3,500.00 - 6,000.00 USD
Gen. Curtis E. LeMay's S&W Model 559 Pistol
Auction Location:

16600 Aston Street
Irvine, CA
Gen. Curtis E. LeMay's Personal Smith & Wesson Model 559 Semi-Automatic Pistol, #A719400, 9mm, 4'' barrel, blue finish, factory checkered black plastic grips, with three (3) factory magazines, in original box. Right forward portion of slide engraved ''Gen. Curtis E. LeMay'' in stylized script. Curtis LeMay (1906-1990) has been described as the ultimate Cold Warrior, having built the Strategic Air Command up from a flight of worn-out WWII era bombers to the ultimate nuclear deterrent. He commanded the 8th and the 20th Air Force during WWII and was Air Force Chief of Staff throughout the Kennedy and into the first part of the Johnson administration. In the early 1980s he could be seen at the San Gabriel Gun Club shooting various rifles and pistols. Gen. LeMay was a long-time friend of former Smith & Wesson President C.R. Helstrom, and in 1954 LeMay tried to sell the U.S. Government on purchasing alloy frame semi-auto S&Ws for the Air Force. We acquired this pistol from a long-time Newport Beach resident who purchased it from the General's estate in the early '90s. Condition is excellent showing only the slightest handling marks. Original box with taped top label handwritten ''General Curtis LeMay USAF'', and with the address of PM Air Services, Ltd., in Huntington Beach, which may have been the ship-to point. Est.: $3,500-$6,000. (Modern/PPT) (High cap mag not available to Calif. residents.)