The Military Armament Corporation Model 10 submachine gun, better known as the MAC-10, is an iconic gun, but one that many people are likely to associate with criminals and Hollywood movies. Its designer, Gordon Ingram, and his business partner Mitchell WerBell III, had originally hoped it would become an essential tool for special operations forces, covert operatives, and law enforcement – and apparently some are still sitting in U.S. military armories. On Dec. 13, 2017, members of the U.S. Air Force’s 492nd Special Operations Wing held a meet-and-greet and tour for civilians at Hurlburt Field in Florida. There was even a firepower demonstration and the unit brought out an array of American and foreign firearms, including a well-worn MAC-10 with a sound suppressor. Other unusual weapons on display included a folding stock variant of the ubiquitous Kalashnikov AK assault rifle, an Israeli Galil SAR carbine, and an Austrian Steyr AUG assault rifle.

The 492nd helps train members of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), test aircraft, and develop new special operations tactics and techniques. Until May 2017, the unit had been known as the Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center, or AFSOAWC. Like other special operations elements in the U.S. military, AFSOC personnel familiarize themselves with various uncommon and foreign weapons that they might encounter in the field, especially while training friendly troops overseas. As such, it’s not surprising that the Wing has older and more obscure weapons on hand.

USAF Visitors to Hurlburt Field on Dec. 13, 2017 talk to a member of the 492nd Special Operations Wing in front of a table of various firearms.

Official photos from the event show a member of the 492nd hosing down various reactive targets, including containers of water and one that burst into flame, with the diminutive MAC-10. The target range also included a dummy sitting on a mock bus stop bench with a bottle of "booze" in paper bag. It’s a setup that plays more to the popular conception of the gun as a sidearm of bank robbers, drug dealers, gang members, and other criminals, which certainly became true in the 1970s and 1980s. At the same time, movies and television shows further popularized the MAC-10 and its derivatives as the weapon of choice for criminals and terrorists and anti-hero cops and mercenaries alike.

Mike Cumpston/wikicommons MAC-10 with suppressor.