Posted on 08/01/2018 4:42:18 AM PDT by w1n1
The M3 "grease gun" was one of the simplest, ugliest, and cheapest personal weapons ever fielded by the U.S. military. But, as one U.S. Marine combat veteran recalled, what this crude submachine gun lacked in looks, it more than made up for that with brutal effectiveness.
THE GREASE GUN is a compact weapon with an overall length of 29.8 inches with the stock extended and 22.8 inches with the stock collapsed. The barrel is 8 inches long. The 8.15-pound empty weight of the gun is brought up to 10.25 pounds once a loaded magazine of 30 .45 ACP rounds is inserted.
The M3 is blowback operated and fires from an open bolt. An external cocking handle is used to retract the bolt. The weapon fires fully automatic only at a listed cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute. The ejection port cover doubles as a safety by locking the bolt in place when closed. The 30-round box magazine is a double-column, singlefeed design based on the STEN.
Personal accounts from WWII indicate the weapon was initially greeted with skepticism by many troops who were used to the more refined Thompson and the finely made M-1 Garand. The tubular sheet-metal design led to the nicknames “grease gun” and “cake decorator,” after two common implements of the day.
The design was simplified even more with the M3A1 modification. The cocking handle, which had a tendency to break in use, was removed and instead a hole was drilled in the bolt. To load the gun the soldier simply inserted his finger in the hole and pulled the bolt back by hand. This model also included several other small improvements. Read the rest of the M3 Grease gun here.
Great video on the M3 and M3A1 by Ian of Forgotten Weapons:
Comparing same to same : How did it do as compared to the Thompson SMG (and with a standard shooters ability) as far as accuracy under the same situations it would be used ???
Is that what “The Mailman” used in Three Days of the Condor?
Swedish K was better than that. Of course it came on a little later
Great Movie, thanks for the photo.
Feels like October, I think.
Free speech here too: Free 3D printable gun blueprints. Get yours now while you still can!
http://codeisfreespeech.com/
I’ve enjoyed that movie several times over the years...even if Robert Redford is from the Dark Side.
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