{"id":149623,"date":"2022-06-26T15:14:18","date_gmt":"2022-06-26T19:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=149623"},"modified":"2022-06-26T15:14:18","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T16:29:12","slug":"ben-baker-the-real-world-q","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/ben-baker-the-real-world-q\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Baker: The Real-World “Q”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
007 is the world’s most notorious spy. His support gear helps define his suave yet lethal persona.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ian Fleming conjured his fictional MI6 agent 007 based upon his personal experiences as a spy during WW2. The name James Bond was pirated from that of an obscure ornithologist of the day. Fleming wanted his secret agent to have a name that was both pedestrian and unremarkable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The .25ACP Beretta 418 really was a fairly androgynous little gun.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bond originally carried a .25ACP Beretta 418. According to the novels he kept the weapon \u201cskeletonized\u201d with the grips removed. This seems like a great way to accumulate pocket lint to me. Additionally, the .25ACP is hardly a proven man-stopper. Apparently, I\u2019m not the only guy in the world to draw that conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This steamy chunk of English manhood is Geoffrey Boothroyd. Boothroyd was just a gun nerd who struck up a friendship with esteemed novelist Ian Fleming.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A British firearms enthusiast named Geoffrey Boothroyd wrote Fleming and gently explained that he felt that the Beretta 418 was really more of a lady\u2019s gun. A friendship ensued, and, with Boothroyd\u2019s guidance, Fleming swapped out the 418 for the iconic Walther PPK. In From Russia with Love, 007 attempts to draw his suppressed 418 only to have it catch on the waistband of his trousers and nearly get him killed. That served as an impetus to justify the change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Walther PPK is an undeniably cool piece of iron. However, it is not renowned for its downrange thump.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fleming later described the PPK as \u201chitting like a brick through a plate glass widow.\u201d Oddly, that\u2019s not been my experience with the .32ACP round. That literary construct clearly involved a spot of poetic license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

British actor Desmond Llewelyn played Bond’s put-upon quartermaster Q through seventeen movies. In The Spy Who Loved Me Russian spy Anya Amasova addresses Q as “Major Boothroyd.” That thing in his left hand looks like some kind of tactical hairdryer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In appreciation of the technical assistance, Fleming wrote Boothroyd into the narrative as Bond\u2019s armorer. In the films his character was rolled into Bond’s longsuffering quartermaster Q. According to the backstory, Q\u2019s given name is Geoffrey Boothroyd. By the early 1960s, the American version of Q was hard at work in Southeast Asia conjuring up special ops gear in the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gadgets Galore<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some rarefied human pursuits require a lot of fancy kit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are few more equipment-intensive human undertakings than deep penetration special operations missions. Spaceflight or deep-sea diving, perhaps, but most other pursuits pale in comparison. A major modern gear manufacturer had its genesis when a Navy SEAL had a piece of kit fail while traversing a minefield in Iraq. That guy swore if he survived he\u2019d go home and do it better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special Operations during World War 2 were some of the boldest in military history, but they were not quite so refined as is the case today.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During the Vietnam War modern special operations were just finding their legs. There was certainly no shortage of audacity and bravery in WW2 and Korea. It was simply that those awesome old guys in the OSS, Rangers, and Airborne had to write their own manuals. When MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam\u2014Studies and Observations Group) stood up in January of 1964 the need for specialized weapons and equipment became acute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Art Imitates Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
During WW2 Ben Baker worked for this guy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Conrad \u201cBen\u201d Baker was part of General Douglas MacArthur\u2019s headquarters staff during WW2. A savant at navigating and energizing the military procurement system, Baker served in the Pacific supporting the Engineers. By 1963 he was stationed in Okinawa alongside Special Forces Captain David Watts as part of the Counterinsurgency Support Office (CISO). Baker served as Deputy Director of CISO from 1963 until 1972. He drove procurement for special operations forces in theater throughout the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike most rear area support troops, Ben Baker gravitated towards places like this Special Forces camp at Plei Me.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ben Baker was technically a REMF. If you aren\u2019t familiar with that term then Google is your buddy. However, in contrast to many comfortable rear-area support pogues, Baker took his job very, very seriously. He made more than 80 excursions downrange to forward base camps deep in the suck to find out straight from the users just what they needed to accomplish their dangerous unconventional missions. Along the way, he laid the foundation for modern practical military procurement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben Baker did what it took to get the job done.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The key to Baker\u2019s effectiveness was his willingness and enthusiasm to accomplish the mission independent of military bureaucracy. By living and working near the front Baker could remain responsive. Unfettered from the cumbersome Army procurement system, he just did whatever it took to get the gear his guys needed. In his own words, \u201cWe had no \u2018must buy American\u2019 mandates. Our job was to get the best supplies needed for our troops, plain and simple.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben Baker contrived “Eldest Son” exploding ammo for both AK and SKS rifles as well as 81mm mortars. Abandoned where enemy forces might find them, these rounds exploded when fired.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By sourcing gear in places like Australia, Japan, and Thailand, Baker got the stuff the special ops guys needed into their hands when and where they needed it. A few examples included Seiko watches, custom gloves, machetes, ammunition pouches fitted to support the specialized weapons used by SOG operators, jungle sleeping bags, ponchos and liners, replicas of enemy equipment and uniform items, and rucksacks that were appropriately scaled for small-statured indigenous troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben Baker’s PIR rations helped feed the indigenous troops who supported American forces in Vietnam.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Baker\u2019s best-known creation was the SOG knife. We\u2019ll explore that in detail in a moment. However, what really had the most profound impact was likely his PIR indigenous rations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These vicious little guys fought like tigers alongside American SF advisors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Native Montagnards were raised on a totally different diet from that of their American advisors. As a result, eating American combat rations typically caused intestinal discomfort and often outright diarrhea. In a combat zone, this was a really big deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indigenous forces in Vietnam had different nutritional requirements from their American allies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Baker consulted nutrition specialists in-country in both Laos and Vietnam to determine the sorts of foods that would be amenable to long-term storage and use by indigenous troops. The end result was pouches of pre-cooked rice fortified with Vitamin B. Baker sourced the rice from Taiwan and included seasonings derived from mutton, fish, beef, and squid. When Baker approached the US Navy food research lab with the problem he was told it would take between 2 and 3 years to develop the rations and packaging required to get this food into the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben Baker’s PIR rations fed untold thousands of friendly indigenous troops.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ben Baker wasn\u2019t satisfied with that answer. He took the problem to private industry outside the military procurement system. He sourced his first 30,000 meals for a dollar apiece. By the end of the war, CISO had deployed 66 million PIR rations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben\u2019s Blade<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This WW2-era Marble Gladstone hunting knife served as inspiration for those first SOG blades.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Combat troops of all stripes need a good knife. Special operators can live or die by such steel. As the Vietnam War was ramping up SOG men clearly needed something other than the GI-issue bayonet. Ben Baker used his dad\u2019s Marble Gladstone hunting knife as a template.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shadows of the classic Bowie architecture can be found in the Vietnam-era SOG knife.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Those first SOG knives took inspiration from the classic American Bowie. This field-proven design was renowned for its strength and effectiveness. Baker contracted for the first 1,300 SOG knives from the Japanese trading company Yogi Shokai in Okinawa for $9.85 each. As you might imagine, original copies go for a bit more than that these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben Baker’s SOG knives inspired a generation of Special Forces combat blades.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before the war wound down Baker had designed both 6 and 7-inch combat knives for the SOG teams. He designed a prototype dive knife as well, but very few of them were made. The basic SOG knife remains popular around the world among soldiers and woodsmen even today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q\u2019s Weapon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ben Baker frequently packed a selective fire M2 carbine in an M1A1 paratrooper stock during his many forays downrange.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The M1A1 Carbine was the dedicated Airborne variant of the ubiquitous military carbine light rifle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During his many forays downrange Ben Baker typically carried a selective-fire M2 carbine mounted in an M1A1 side-folding paratrooper stock. This compact weapon was easy to carry, particularly in and out of helicopters. When fitted with a 30-round magazine the rifle actually offered more on-tap firepower than the early M16 variants sporting their 20-round boxes. The M1A1 was a specialized adaptation of the then-revolutionary WW2-vintage M1 Carbine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Marshall Williams was a North Carolina redneck moonshiner with a penchant for gun design.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

David \u201cCarbine\u201d Williams designed the gas system. Williams was doing time for the murder of a government agent when the warden gave him access to the prison workshop and responsibility for maintaining the guards\u2019 weapons. I can’t really see that happening today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though both were designated the M1, only the buttplate retention screw is common between the two weapons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

John Browning\u2019s half-brother Ed actually initiated the design. David Williams picked it up after his death. Several companies floated proposals in response to a request from the Army for a new light rifle in 1940. Winchester did not originally plan to participate as they were occupied developing a .30-06 M2 rifle intended to be a follow-on weapon to the M1 Garand. Once they decided to play, Winchester bodged together the M1 Carbine prototype in a mere 13 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

30-round magazines were introduced for the M1 carbine at the very end of WW2. Very few saw service.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The M1 Carbine fired a 110-grain bullet out of a straight-walled cartridge that looked more like an elongated pistol round than rifle fodder. Through a standard 18-inch Carbine barrel this round flirts with 2,000 feet per second. WW2-vintage Carbines fed from 15-round box magazines, though extended 30-round mags were developed at the very end of the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduced in 1942, the M1A1 Carbine was really a fairly flimsy design.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The M1A1 Paratrooper Carbine was developed in May of 1942 for use by Airborne forces. The M1A1 used the same basic chassis fitted with a side-folding wire stock. All 150,000 or so wartime M1A1 Carbines were produced by the Inland Division of General Motors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are the parts required to convert a GI M1 carbine to selective fire. The M2 slide is not pictured here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The M2 Carbine was the same basic Carbine configured for selective fire operation. Interestingly, the government actually issued T17 and T18 conversion kits that could be used to convert M1 Carbines into the full auto M2 sort in the field. The conversion requires nine parts that can be installed without a great deal of fuss. The M1 Carbine is one of the few semiautomatic weapons in common use in America that can be converted to full auto simply by dropping in parts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The M1 carbine was the most-produced Infantry rifle of the war. Winston Churchill, shown here test firing a carbine during a visit to an American combat unit training in Britain during the war, was an avid shooter himself.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

American industry produced some 6,121,309 Carbines via ten major contractors. At the height of production, we were making 65,000 Carbines a day. Once we got spooled up the Axis really never had a chance.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rest of the Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Vintage original SOG knives command quite a premium among collectors today.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Those first SOG knives featured the technical appellation \u201cKnife, indigenous, RECON, 7.\u201d They are both expensive and highly coveted by knife collectors today. Originals are essentially unobtainable nowadays, and quality replicas command a decent price as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben Baker played a critical role in the successful execution of American Special Operations during the Vietnam War. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ben Baker was a dedicated and gifted soldier whose forte was getting the right gear into the hands of those who needed it by any means necessary. Though not technically a special operator himself, he was inducted as an honorary member of the US Army Special Forces Regiment. At the time he was only the 12th<\/sup> non-SF individual to be so honored. He passed away in December of 2019, a legend among American special operators everywhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

***Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica!<\/a>***<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ian Fleming conjured his fictional MI6 agent 007 based upon his personal experiences as a spy during WW2. The name James Bond was pirated from that of an obscure ornithologist of the day. Fleming wanted his secret agent to have a name that was both pedestrian and unremarkable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":149649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[257,772],"tags":[132,102,2554,752,636,335],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-149623","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-historical-guns","8":"category-will-dabbs","9":"tag-buzz","10":"tag-feature-articles","11":"tag-heroes","12":"tag-historical-guns","13":"tag-history","14":"tag-military"},"yoast_head":"\nBen Baker: The Real-World "Q"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ben Baker: The Real-World "Q" - Will Dabbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/ben-baker-the-real-world-q\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ben Baker: The Real-World "Q"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ian Fleming conjured his fictional MI6 agent 007 based upon his personal experiences as a spy during WW2. 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However, shooting guns and claiming it was work seemed like a pretty sweet hustle. As a result, Will serendipitously transformed an avocation into a vocation. Raised in the Mississippi Delta, Will flew UH1H, OH58A\/C, CH47D and AH1S helicopters operationally as an Army Aviator. He is SCUBA-qualified and has parachuted out of perfectly good airplanes at 3 o'clock in the morning. Will has summited Mount McKinley, Alaska, six times\u2026always at the controls of an Army helicopter, which is the only way sensible folk climb mountains. Will has delivered sixty babies and occasionally wrung human blood out of his socks. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has three awesome adult children. 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