The first pistol I carried in the Air Force in 1978 was a S &W 38 Special. The cops got the new semi-autos and the officers got the old 1911s. We lowly command post guys got the cast offs.
A lot of these (and other revolvers like the M13 Aircrewman) were issued in the Air Force. You could carry them with a round ready to go and not need both hands to work the slide as in a 1911.
According to the Third Standard Catalog of S&W (the definitive source) Victory models were issued to AF tanker and cargo crews as late as Desert Storm.