Vol. VII No. 1

The MBAssociates M1 Silent Pistol & Javette Projectiles: Chemical & Biological Warfare at the Individual Level

Commander Mel Carpenter, United States Navy (retired)

Abstract

Small arms delivering chemical or biological payloads have been developed by a number of states in the modern era. As the war in Vietnam was intensifying in the mid-1960s, the U. S. Army became aware of one such weapon system being developed by MBAssociates of San Ramon, California. This could silently and covertly deliver non-lethal tranquilisers to military guard dogs or lethal toxins to enemy personnel by projecting a tiny, dartlike ‘Javette’—capable of striking a target unnoticed. The Army’s Special Operations Division, Army Biological Warfare Laboratories, and the CIA subsequently acquired the new weapon, operationalising it by treating Javettes with deadly toxins such as saxitoxin. When, in 1969–1970, President Richard Nixon renounced the United States’ use of toxins and ordered stockpiles destroyed, the MBAssociates weapon was catapulted into the limelight through the actions of an unscrupulous CIA employee. This article traces the full arc of Javette development, from the predecessor experiments conducted by Robert Mainhardt and his colleagues beginning in 1960, through the Senate hearings conducted by the Church Committee in 1975, to Mainhardt’s final attempts to generate government sales in the 1990s. The author focuses on the little-known Javette projectiles themselves, but also addresses delivery devices (handguns), toxins, and the broader historical context.

Issue: Vol. VII No. 1
Published: 25 May 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52357/armax91225
Peer-reviewed?: Yes

Keywords: toxins, biological weapons, covert operations, handguns, Cold War

Bibliographic Information

Mel Carpenter, ‘The MBAssociates M1 Silent Pistol & Javette Projectiles: Chemical & Biological Warfare at the Individual Level’, Armax: The Journal of Contemporary Arms, Vol. VII № 1 (2021), pp. 1–20, <https://doi.org/10.52357/armax91225>.

About the Author

Mel Carpenter is a retired U. S. Navy Commander who served more than 23 years on active duty as a navigator and pilot, primarily flying the P-3C Orion anti-submarine warfare aircraft in the North Atlantic. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Vocational Education from Southern Illinois University and a Master of Science in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aviation University. Subsequent to his military service, Commander Carpenter flew Learjets as a corporate pilot and was appointed Professor of Aviation at the Florida State College in Jacksonville, Florida. He has published numerous articles on the history and development of small arms cartridges, with most appearing in the International Ammunition Association Journal. In 2010, Commander Carpenter published his first book, An Introduction to MBA Gyrojets and Other Ordnance. In 2015, he edited and contributed to History of Modern U. S. Military Small Arms Ammunition, Volume III: 1946–1977. He is currently writing his next book, An Introduction to the History and Development of Dardick Tround Firearms and Ammunition.