The slogan displayed on the front of the 1929 Commercial Price List and Catalog, Superior means for the protection of Lives and Property, is indicative of another marketing attempt by Auto-Ordnance Corporation (AOC) to sell the Thompson gun. One of their first catchphrases, The Most Effective Portable Fire Arm In Existence, had run its course. The old stand-by maxim, On The Side Of Law And Order, was still in use but AOC must have felt the need for something new in 1929 – eight years after the introduction of the Thompson submachine gun.

The 1929 catalog, as it has come to be known by collectors, was double the size of previous catalogs. It was filled with a lot of pictures and interesting information on the Thompson gun – all in all a very nice product. Most 1929 catalogs measure 12” x 9” but there is some slight variation in size with different printings, i.e., the E.E. Richardson (a well known AOC salesman) marked 1929 catalog.

This is a very desirable item for Thompson paper collectors, one that is hard to find and usually expensive when found. It is not uncommon for original 1929 catalogs in excellent condition to sell for over $500. The survival rate for the 1929 catalog does not appear to be anywhere near that of the 1936 Nassau Street catalog.

As with most things Thompson if there are not enough originals to satisfy demand, reproduction items will soon enter the market place. This is exactly what happened with the 1929 catalog. Reproductions sold years ago from Ray Riling Arms and Frontier Press are well known by Thompson enthusiasts. While both of these catalogs are professionally marked as reproductions by the printer, it is very easy for a paper collector to determine by the quality of print and pictures that these two reproduction catalogs are not original. However, these reproductions do fill a void in most collections and allow for reading without the possibility of damaging an original.

Such was the universe for the 1929 catalog – until recently. Last year, what appeared to be original 1929 AOC catalogs unexpectedly hit the market. The picture quality was excellent and it was obvious the catalog had some age. Touted as original catalogs by sellers, many of whom had probably never seen an original 1929 catalog, the price began to rise.

This author made a purchase and was very pleased when the package first arrived. However, upon careful inspection there was something about this catalog that seemed amiss. There were definite signs of aging around the corners and the staples had started to rust – but the color was just not right. The cover on an original 1929 catalog is more of a brownish color; the cover on these “new” 1929 catalogs is more of an off-white color. Fortunately, Small Arms Review writer David Albert lives only a short distance away. David is the co-author of the book, Thompson Manuals, Catalogs and Other Paper Items. He has a very extensive Thompson paper collection, including an original 1929 catalog.

A side by side comparison soon illustrated that this “new” 1929 catalog was not quite the quality of an original. To be certain, it was a piece of excellent work though the color difference of the cover was quite pronounced when the documents were laid side by side. In addition, the background color or shading (on the cover) is much more pronounced on the original catalog. Unfortunately, many Thompson paper collectors do not have ready access to a known original. And pictures from the best reference books allow only a preliminary comparison of the cover.

An investigation into where these “new” 1929 catalogs originated from proved interesting but was not definitive. Several sellers were contacted and a central theme in all stories soon developed: Atlanta, Georgia. Every story included reference to an estate sale and how the catalogs were stored in a “wooden crate” or “wooden box” and never released for sale. There were similarities to all the stories and the sellers were definitely not experts in the Thompson world. They were in the business of buying and re-selling items for a profit. All spoke freely and did not appear to be withholding information. The estate sale in one story involved a decedent in Florida who previously lived in upstate New York. Aside from the catalogs and a lot of sawdust, the wooden box purportedly contained several Thompson bolts, barrels and two receivers. The receivers were dispatched to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico and all the other parts sold. The wooden box featured a Thompson bullet logo and was later sold to a collector in the Atlanta area. A guesstimate from all the sellers as to the number of catalogs found was somewhere around 200.

The time had come to involve some professionals in the investigation who work with paper everyday; one a book binder specializing in the repair of older books and one a printer.

The book binder said the catalog was definitely older. It was not printed last week. He pointed out the rusty staples and places on the paper around the edges that were indicative of the natural aging process. He did not think it was printed in the 1920’s. However, he believed the catalog was at least 20 years old.

As any good investigator will tell you it is better to be lucky than good. I got very lucky with the printer because he is a letterpress printer that still prints with letterpress – not something commonly found today. After examining the 1929 catalog in question for 10 to 15 minutes, he stated without reservation it was a reproduction. He went on to say the original 1929 catalog was most likely printed with letterpress. He pointed out the way in which the catalog is laid out with all the inside borders is very indicative of using print blocks with the old style letterpress; a very common method of printing in the twenties.

Looking closely at the pictures in the catalog, the printer believed most if not all the pictures were second generation. He pointed out how the printing in the title, “Thompson Guns,” was a little light in places. He said the amount of ink it took to make the title completely black and deep in the original catalog would have had a negative effect on the Thompson gun on the cover picture (in the reprint), turning it very dark. When the cover was copied for reprinting, the title lost some of its definition and this is plainly visible in the reprinted cover. (The difference in the depth of the color in the title on the cover page was evident during the examination David and I performed, but we did not know how to quantify our suspicions; now we know.) The printer was positive this “new” 1929 catalog was printed using the more modern offset printing. He agreed the pictures in this newly found 1929 catalog were very clear and said whoever printed it most likely copied it from an original 1929 catalog. The reason a lot of modern reproduction documents are so bad is a 3rd generation (or more) document is used in the reproduction process. The catalog does show signs of natural aging. He said it could have been white paper when new and faded to the current off-white color but this is really just speculation on his part. He believes it to be an older catalog, most likely printed in the 1950s. He had no reservation saying it was 50 to 60 years old.

During the ensuing investigation several more catalogs were examined and procured. One catalog had an obvious printing defect on the cover; others had defects on the inside pages. If contemplating the purchase of one of these newer 1929 catalogs, be sure and examine all pages.

The original 1929 catalog as released by AOC does not reference the Model of 1928 Thompson, the U.S. Navy Model. This was soon corrected with a one page document titled, “(Insert for 1929 Catalog),” which showcased this very popular Thompson variation. Original 1929 catalogs on the market today can be found with or without this insert. There is no evidence whoever reprinted this newer 1929 catalog also reprinted this insert page, and they may not have known it existed.

The quest for all things Thompson sometimes will yield a new discovery and that is what makes every search worthwhile. An original 1929 Commercial Price List and Catalog is a great addition to any paper collection. Unfortunately, the number of surviving copies appears to be low and the prices high. This high quality 1929 catalog reprint will make a great addition to a collection and may actually become a collectable in its own right someday. But don’t be fooled into paying a high price right now. Or believing it to be an original!

Packing

The Record of Army Ordnance Research and Development, Volume Two, Book Two, published by the Office of the Chief of Ordnance in January 1946, is a unique source of information providing thorough description of the numerous research and developments conducted all along the Second World War concerning, among many others, the containers for ammunition belts used with ground machine guns. The following descriptions of developments of ammunition boxes are based or excerpted from this Record of Army Ordnance.

Before World War II, .30 caliber ammunition was packaged in the M1917 wood box with steel metal liners. The majority of the cartridges were packed in bulk, in 20-round paperboard cartons, seventy-five cartons per M1917 metal lined wood box. Most of the belts were issued empty and the belting was to be accomplished by the troops using the crank operated M1918 Browning Belt Filling Machine. Merely for war reserve only, a comparatively small amount of .30 cal. ammunition was packed in 250-round Browning fabric belts, five belts per M1917 wood box.

The acceleration of the training program and defense preparations already indicated in 1940 that the separate issue of ammunition and empty machine gun belts, which required the belting be accomplished by troops using the M1918 crank operated belt filling machine, introduced a serious problem in field operation and made it difficult to keep machine guns in operation. Troops in the field had neither time nor facilities for repacking ammunition in functional assemblies. This reopened the question of supply of ammunition to the services in assemblies packaged for ready use.

In 1942 after the entry of the USA into World War II, the question of field belting of large quantities of ammunition for ground machine guns became an even more acute problem. The first result was to increase the procurement of pre-loaded belts packed by five in the M1917 wood box while still relying on manual belting in the field for a part of the requirements.

To assist in readily identifying types of ammunition, a system was devised that consists of painting different colored stripes: vertical stripes on the front and rear faces and horizontal stripes on the ends just above the handle cuts.

The colors used correspond to those found on the 20-round cardboard boxes: red = Ball, green & yellow = Tracer and blue & yellow = Armor-Piercing. Accordingly, M1917 crates filled with belts loaded with a mix of Ball and Tracer are painted with red-yellow-green stripes, whereas those with Armor-Piercing and Tracer are painted with blue-yellow-green stripes. For WW2 production, M1917 boxes containing belted ammunition are sometimes observed without the color stripes.

Early in 1942, the standard belt box to accommodate one 250-round belt for infantry weapons was the Chest, Ammunition Belt, Caliber 30, which was constructed of wood, was not expendable and was issued as an accessory to the weapon.

Both the WW1 design with the typical 45 degree angled cut in the bottom/side of the box and the 1930s square box (Ordnance Department Drawing 49-1-84) were in service. These wood boxes were to be repeatedly refilled with either pre-loaded belts or belts loaded in the field by the Troops. These wood boxes proved very durable and were still used as late as 1945 in Europe as many combat pictures show.

Because of the large quantities of ammunition required for use with ground machine guns, expendable small metal boxes were developed and adopted as containers for pre belted cartridges. Extensive development work was invested in this project of expendable containers and thorough description of the various prototypes and improvements are available in the relevant chapter in Dolf Goldsmith’s book. This type of box was suitable both as a shipping and storage container, and could be used as an ammunition ready box with the appropriate weapon. These boxes were packed initially at factory or depot and their content could be fed directly to the gun without the necessity of transferring the ammunition to special chests or feed boxes before firing.

The expendable airtight container adopted as Box, Ammunition, Caliber .30, M1, became the standard packing container for all 250-round fabric belts of ammunition for caliber .30 ground Browning machine guns. This item was in quantity production in the early fall of 1942 and underwent various improvements during the entire duration of the War. M1 boxes usually bear on their outer surfaces markings painted in yellow. These markings indicate the type of content (caliber, quantity, type of belt), the sequence of the different types of cartridges, and a repacked lot number. Four of these M1 boxes are assembled in a wirebound box for shipping.

Early in the war (1941-43) the official belting for ground machine guns involved ordinary M2 Ball and M1 tracers with either (9 Ball + 1 Tracer) or (4 Ball + 1 Tracer); early Armor-Piercing belting ratio was 9 Armor-Piercing M2+1 Tracer M1.

Standard belting was then changed officially in July 1943 for a ratio of 4 Armor-Piercing M2 + 1 tracer M1. This change did not start to be packed out at the plants until later in 1943. This is the type of belting sequence that was the most widely produced during WW2.

Since ammunition packed in preloaded belts may consist of more than one type of cartridge and hence would require two or more lot numbers marked on packing boxes and entered in records, a single “repacked lot” number is assigned by the repacker in order to replace the original ammunition lot numbers. The “repacking” operation consists in assembling belts with the various types of cartridges, those being removed from the original bulk packing as issued from the munition factory. Repacking operation was conducted either directly within the munition factory or in separate Ordnance depots. The repacked lot number is painted on the outside of the packing box and on a repacked reference data card inserted in the box. The repacked lot number consists of the words “REPACKED LOT,” the repacker’s initials; the letter “B” or “L” indicating Belted (fabric) or Linked (metallic) cartridges respectively; and the serial number assigned by the repacker.

Early in 1945, the repacking lot number was inked directly on the belt thereby avoiding the use of the cardboard Reference Data Card inserted inside the box. The corresponding marking inked on the belt is “REPACKED LOT” immediately followed by the lot number.

By mid-1945, the term “Repacked Lot” was generally replaced by “Functional Lot,” these being assigned a whole new series of lot numbers which were assigned in blocks of numbers to each plant. After this change, the term “Repacked Lot” was still used but only applied to lots repacked by plants or depots to upgrade packing or replace unserviceable components. Functional Lot reference inked on the belt is just “LOT” immediately followed by the lot number.

(The author is deeply indebted to Frank Hackley, Anaheim, CA-USA for the sharing of his knowledge on U.S. Small Arms Ammunition management system and to H.E. Wanting, Bedburg-Hau, Germany for his constant help in improving the manuscript and pinpointing the smallest inaccurate detail.)

The story of the .50 Browning in World War 2 is well known; its extensive use by U.S. and subsequently Allied forces on land, sea and in the air established its reputation and usefulness to such an effect that it remains a valuable weapon today. Comparable weapons were fielded by Soviet forces in 12.7×108 caliber, which also still survives in service to this day in several different guns. However, the Browning was not the only gun to be designated .5 inch to see service during that conflict: the British had their own version using unique ammunition; the .5 inch Vickers.

The story of the Vickers gun is also well known. It originated in the first successful self-powered machine gun, the Maxim of 1884, which had become the standard machine gun of the British Army by 1891 and was adopted (under various names) by many other nations. A modified version with a more compact mechanism was adopted by the British Army early in the 20th Century as the Vickers-Maxim but later simply became known as the Vickers gun. It was available for various rifle cartridges up to .45 inch but in British service was overwhelmingly used in .303 inch caliber. It fought through two world wars and remained in front-line British service until the mid-1950s. The .5 inch version had a much shorter life, emerging in the 1920s and disappearing from view after World War 2.

Ammunition Development

The origin of the .5 inch Vickers goes back to the First World War, when a need arose for a larger-caliber machine gun for several different reasons. One was the need to fire bullets large enough to carry a useful incendiary charge to set light to enemy hydrogen-filled balloons and airships. To achieve this, some of the rifle-caliber Vickers had been chambered for obsolete rifle cartridges such as the 11mm Gras (tested by the U.S. into the 1920s), but a purpose-designed modern cartridge would obviously be better. The second was the need for a more hard-hitting machine gun against aircraft, some of which were now being fitted with armor. The third was the development of the tank, which required a better armor-piercing performance than rifle-caliber guns could achieve.

The initial British developments during the Great War were based around a .600/.500 inch cartridge originally derived from an elephant gun round. This first appeared in an anti-tank rifle, the Godsal of 1918, followed by a slightly scaled-up Vickers. The Godsal was never adopted (although one example has survived) but the cartridge for the machine gun went through various evolutions, included a version with a belted case, until the final form emerged in 1921. This used a rimless 12.7×81 case and was known by Vickers as the .5V/580, after the bullet weight in grains. The exact bullet diameter was fractionally greater than the contemporary .50 Browning’s, at 0.514 inches compared with 0.510 inches. Muzzle velocity was around 2,460 fps and total cartridge weight 1,280 grains. It developed about three times the muzzle energy of the .303 inch, but only two-thirds that of the .50 Browning.

The ammunition was officially adopted for service in 1924.

Several different loadings of the .5V/580 round were developed for British service including Ball (with a two-part core: lead in the base and aluminium in the tip), Armor Piercing (with a hardened steel core), Semi-AP (with an unhardened steel core), SAP-Tracer, and Incendiary (which was similar in design to the U.S. .50 incendiary). The ones most commonly used in service were the SAP and SAP-T, because their penetration wasn’t much less than the AP and they were a lot cheaper.

All of the bullets in British service were flat-based, which limited their maximum ballistic range to 4,265 yards. They could achieve a maximum altitude of 9,500 feet. Of course, the effective ranges were very much less than this; they were probably in the region of 800 yards against aircraft and 1,600 yards against small surface targets.

The British Guns and the Browning Tests

The Vickers .5 inch gun developed to fire this ammunition was offered in three different versions for the three services. The army gun was water-cooled and initially fired at 450 rpm. The naval version was similar in appearance but had the rate of fire boosted to 700 rpm by the removal of the delay pawl which held the crank until the barrel returned to battery – stronger buffer springs were also fitted. The air force version combined the 700 rpm rate of fire with an air-cooled barrel. The army and naval versions had the traditional large-diameter fluted water-cooling jacket, just like the rifle-caliber version, with the naval gun distinguished by a very long flash-hider, but the aircraft gun looked radically different, with flat, tapered plates running each side of the barrel. Barrel lengths were 31 inches or 62 calibers, overall lengths 47-53 inches. The gun barrel recoiled a maximum of 1.25 inches and a recoil pull of 385 lbs was developed. The guns were belt-fed, using either a web belt (initially) or a disintegrating steel link type, with 100 rounds in the belt.

During the 1920s the British Admiralty tested an early .5 inch Vickers in comparison with the M1924 water-cooled version of the .5 inch Browning gun. A 1928 report of the tests has survived and Chart 1 reveals this information.

• Mechanisms: Vickers rated superior, as consists of only two parts (lock and feed box) compared with three (bolt, feed box and recoil buffer). The Vickers lock takes only one-third the time to replace, the feed box is also quicker to replace as well as being more reliable, and the feed being driven by gun recoil has no ill effect on the operation of the lock.
• Rate of Fire: both can be adjusted up to 750 rpm, but the Vickers can be adjusted by means of a crank check lever which can be regulated during firing, while the Browning requires the back plate to be removed to adjust the recoil buffer.
• Temperature: the much larger water capacity of the Browning kept the barrel cooler, as shown in Chart 2.
• Choking of Barrel (i.e. fouling by bullet jacket deposits): slightly greater in the Vickers due partly to higher barrel temperatures and partly to a difference in hardness in the bullet casing (jacket). It was noted that this was less with AP bullets
• Fouling and grit: both guns performed satisfactorily, but it was noted that the Browning ended up with more grit in the mechanism due to it being more exposed by the opening of the gun casing. Also, after prolonged gun firing the Browning’s mechanism was coated with black fouling while the Vickers’ was clean.
• Control: in both guns, the vibration was too severe to keep them on target so shoulder stocks were recommended for accuracy.
• Belts and filling machines: neither web belt was found to be satisfactory. The Vickers belt was made using metal spacing strips and eyelets, which were inadequately secured, while the Browning’s was stitched and could only be used two or three times. Both metal link belts were satisfactory. The Browning had filling machines for both types of belt (the metal belt filler was commended, the web one condemned), the Vickers had none.
• Reliability: it was noted that the Vickers was an early example and suffered some problems, but these were corrected with modified parts during the trials and it was then very reliable. The Browning was reliable at high rates of fire but less so at lower rates, especially at higher elevations. Any kink in the belt would cause a failure to feed. The Browning’s casing fractured during the test.
• Conclusion (reproduced in full): “The results of the trials lead to the conclusion that the .5-inch Vickers has the following advantages:

1. Greater reliability
2. Wear and failure of parts – if any – are to minor parts that can be readily replaced.
3. Care and maintenance is easier to the inexpert, on account of its less complicated recoil and buffer mechanisms.
4. The mechanism and functioning of the gun requires less special or expert knowledge to obtain a good, reliable performance, and is more readily understood by the average seaman, who already receives training in the similar mechanism of the .303-inch gun.
5. Readily converted to right or left gun.
6. From a general technical point of view, it is the opinion that the fundamental principle of the mechanism and the action of the Vickers gun is superior to that of the Browning, and is more certain in its action generally.

The .5-inch Vickers gun is therefore recommended for the Naval service in preference to the Browning gun.”

The Aircraft Guns

The RAF also evaluated the .5 inch Vickers and Browning guns. The results were inconclusive; the Browning was more powerful but was longer and heavier. It was concluded that the .303 inch version of the Vickers was almost as effective as the HMGs against the light, unarmored aircraft structures of the time and it was much lighter as well as faster-firing. The RAF accordingly decided not to proceed with a heavy machine gun, while noting that any widespread adoption of armor for military aircraft would force a re-think. By the mid-1930s, when the increasing performance and toughness of aircraft began to cast doubt on the future of rifle-caliber guns, the RAF opted for the greater destructive power of a 20mm cannon, choosing the French Hispano HS 404. A few .5 inch Browning M2 guns were used late in the Second World War in applications for which the Hispano was considered too big and heavy, but apart from this no heavy machine guns were fitted to British aircraft.

The Vickers wasn’t the only .5 inch gun considered by the RAF. BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) offered their Model 1924 gun for aircraft observers. It was intended to be flexibly mounted so used a long-recoil mechanism to soften the recoil kick, and was fed by a pan magazine on top of the gun. Initially, this used BSA’s own (very similar) ammunition but it was later slightly modified to use the Vickers 12.7×81 cartridge. The RAF rejected it as being too heavy, too slow-firing (only about 400 rpm) and having too small an ammunition capacity (37 rounds).

The Naval Guns

The naval version of the Vickers .5 inch, designated the Mark III, was the most successful, with over 12,500 accepted for service in the Royal Navy. It was initially used in a curious four-barrel mounting in which the guns were stacked vertically, which in 1939 was the RN’s standard short-range AA equipment. This was manually-operated, but later in the war a power-operated twin mounting (with side-by-side guns) was used in motor gun boats and similar craft. As an AA gun it soon proved insufficiently powerful and was gradually replaced during the war by the 20mm Oerlikon. China bought 19 examples of this gun.

The four-barrel mounting had its guns adjusted to provide a spread of fire, amounting to 60 feet wide and 50 feet high at 1,000 yards. The belts were wrapped around large drums which carried 200 rounds per gun. Vickers claimed that it could fire all 800 rounds in 20 seconds and could then be reloaded in a further 30 seconds. They also claimed, rather optimistically, that it “could deal with aircraft at ranges of 1,500 yards and below.”

A specification document dated November 1935 exists concerning the supply of “Vickers 12.7mm Automatic Gun Mark III (Amended)” for installation in submarines of the Turkish Navy, but it is uncertain whether these weapons were actually delivered or used. The rate of fire in this example is quoted as 600 rpm, with AP or SAP ammunition being specified. Some details of the performance guarantees are summarised below:

• Accuracy: when fired from a fixed (test) barrel, the average size of a 20-round group must not exceed 12 inches at 500 yards.
• Armor penetration: 70% of rounds fired must perforate a 15-16 mm hard steel plate (440-480 Brinell) at 100 yards, normal impact. Perforation will be considered to have occurred when (a) daylight is visible through the plate, or (b) when the core, being left in the plate, projects beyond the back surface of the plate.

The Army Guns

The British Army only officially used its .5 inch Vickers in armoured vehicle turrets. The initial model was designated .5 inch Mark I but improvements were made before this was issued as the Mk II. Later, the Mk IV was introduced which had the same mounting dovetail as the .303 inch gun and had its rate of fire increased from 450 to 600 rpm. The Mark V was the final AFV version, improved and strengthened, and over 1,000 of these were made by 1940 (only just over 100 of the earlier models being manufactured).

The Infantry Tank Mk 1 was equipped with one of these guns in a one-man turret, but apart from this the .5 inch was usually paired with a .303 inch Vickers in armored cars and light tanks. Some units of the Long Range Desert Group “acquired” these guns and fitted them to pintle mountings on their 4×4 vehicles. They usually lack the flash hider and can be distinguished from the .303 inch version by the lack of the bulbous muzzle booster in front of the cooling jacket.

Early in the Second World War both Vickers .303 inch and .5 inch guns were replaced in their AFV roles by two guns from Czechoslovakia, the 7.9mm ZB vz/53 and 15mm ZB vz/60. These were both known as “BESAs” in British service.

The Semi Rimmed ‘Export’ Cartridge and its Guns

Vickers may not have had much success in selling their big gun to the RAF but it attracted foreign interest. The British Government didn’t like Vickers selling their latest equipment abroad so Vickers slightly modified the cartridge case to make it semi-rimmed, giving the designation 12.7x81SR; this variant being developed as early as 1923. Vickers knew the cartridge as the .5”V/565 as their standard bullet for it weighed 565 grains; it had a muzzle velocity of 2,490 fps. Bullet types developed for this cartridge included Ball, AP, AP-T, Flame Tracer, and Smoke Tracer / Incendiary (similar to the Buckingham type used in the .303 B Mk IV).

Some 65 Vickers aircraft guns in this caliber were bought by Japan and 49 by Siam (Thailand) but it is not clear what service use was made of them.

The Italians used the Vickers cartridge in their own 12.7mm Breda-SAFAT and Scotti aircraft guns. The short-recoil Breda-SAFAT was not a sparkling performer, weighing 64 lbs and firing at 700 rpm, but it was the standard Italian fixed aircraft gun at the start of the Second World War, two synchronised guns normally being mounted in the cowling of single-engined fighters. The gas/blowback Scotti fired no faster, but did weigh only 51 lbs. It seemed to be more highly regarded but was primarily, if not solely, used in flexible mountings. The Italians developed various different loadings for the semi-rimmed cartridge, including Tracer, AP, API, API-T, I-T, and (unusually for an HMG) HE and HEI-T. The HE contained around 12.3 grains of Penthrite wax.

The Italian fighters and their 12.7mm Breda-SAFAT guns were adopted by Spain and Hungary, who made their own ammunition. The Hungarians also used the 12.7x81SR cartridge in the HMG version of their interesting Gebauer GKM engine-driven twin-barrel gun, which was fitted to the Hejja II (licence-built Reggiane Re 2000).

The Japanese Army also became interested in the Breda-SAFAT and in particular its explosive shells, and considered adopting the gun. In the end they did adopt the cartridge but developed their own, superior, aircraft gun, the 12.7mm Ho-103 (based on a smaller version of the .50 Browning) to use it. This fired at 900 rpm and weighed only 48 lbs. It was the standard fighter gun of the Japanese Army Air Force in the latter part of the War. The Japanese also developed their own HE ammunition as well as using the Italian designs.

The Class D

Even less well known is the Vickers .5 inch Class D or HV (for high velocity), also developed in the mid-1920s. This was basically a lengthened version of the usual .5 inch gun, designed around a much bigger and more powerful 12.7x120SR cartridge, initially known as the V/664 (with 664 grain flat-based bullets), which was later replaced as the standard loading by the V/690 (690 grain boat-tailed – streamlined – bullets), which achieved an impressive muzzle velocity of 3,040 fps. Bullet types developed for both the V/664 and V/690 were Ball, AP, AP-T, Flame Tracer, and Smoke Tracer / Incendiary. Weight of the V/690 cartridge was 2,080 grains and a belt of 100 rounds weighed 33.5 lbs. Maximum range claimed was 7,000 yards with a vertical altitude of 15,600 feet but, as with the 12.7×81, effective ranges would have been far less; probably 1,000-1,200 yards in AA fire and double that against ground targets.

The gun barrel was water-cooled as usual and the rate of fire was 350-450 rpm. Gun weight was 101 lbs, or 122 lbs with water, and it was noticeably longer than the compact Class B, with a barrel length of 45 inches and an overall length of nearly six feet. This was offered primarily as an AA gun in a twin mounting, or as an anti-tank gun in a single mounting, although both mountings could be used in either role. The single mounting, complete with water, weighed 623 lbs while the twin weighed just over one ton in action.

Despite various experiments (including installing a twin mounting on a Vickers Light Tank Mk 1A) the Class D was never fielded by Britain. It did achieve some very limited foreign sales; Siam bought 24, China 20 and Japan 48. It is unclear whether any of these saw combat.

Conclusion

The British were never very keen on heavy machine guns, regarding them as being less effective than 20mm cannon firing explosive shells and not really worth the extra size and weight compared with rifle-caliber MGs. As a result, the Vickers .5 inch guns saw relatively little use and their .50 Brownings even less. Ironically, the particular circumstances of recent conflicts have led to the British making more use of HMGs today than they have done at any time since the end of World War 2 – in the shape of the old Browning M2.

LWRCI is a recognized industry leader in the development and manufacturing of short-stroke piston operating ARs. LWRCI’s entire reason d’être is the short-stroke piston and the improvement it offers over the original gas impingement design – especially when incorporated into short barrel platforms. It is no secret that the AR is not only the best selling civilian and law enforcement rifle in the U.S., but also gaining popularity around the world with the U.S. equipping/training so many armed entities. This has caused many manufacturers to jump on the AR bandwagon in recent years by offering their versions. Of late, the most attention seems to be on “improving” the AR platform via developing piston-driven ARs in lieu of Stoner’s original gas impingement design. Whether or not piston-driven ARs are superior to their gas impingement brethren often generates heated discussion. One thing that is not debatable is the number of manufacturers rushing to create piston-driven ARs even if traditional AR models already exist in their production line-up.

LWRCI offers numerous models ranging from LE/military-only select-fire versions, various barrel lengths/profiles ranging from 7-inch barrel UCIW model to 18-inch barrel M6A3 DMR. Other unique models include the M6A4 IAW that fires from a closed bolt on semiautomatic then goes to open bolt function on automatic fire and then ultimately the 7.62×51/308Win REPR. The REPR is quickly finding favor in U.S. law enforcement and military special operation communities. Another LWRCI model, and the one focused on in this article, is the PSD – Personal Security Detail. The PSD is one of LWRCI’s smallest, dimensionally speaking, contributions to the AR field. A LWRCI PSD upper was obtained for testing in lieu of a complete rifle. The flexibility of the AR platform is hard to beat considering one moment an 8-inch barrel PSD upper is fitted to NFA registered lower – if a civilian or LE – and the next an 18-inch heavy barrel DMR upper is installed if mission dictates it. This does not even get into the myriad of calibers that are coming on line for the AR ranging from 5.7 to .50 Beowolf with many stops in between.

LWRCI literature clearly lays out the thought process behind the development of the PSD. The 8-inch barrel PSD 5.56mm is designed for CQB and personal security detail (PSD) operations. It is best to view the 8-inch barreled PSD through the lens of a PDW or SMG weapon versus a rifle. The 8-inch barrel produces approximately 2,400-2,500 fps velocities when firing 50gr-62gr 5.56mm loadings. The PSD is also available in 6.8 SPC chambering; in fact it was the original chambering in the PSD product line. However, the decision was made to also chamber the PSD in 5.56mm based improvements in the 5.56mm cartridge in terms of bullets and powders. This re-evaluation is based on 5.56mm performance being greater than any pistol caliber combined with the compact dimensions of the LWRCI PSD rivaling a SMG. It only made sense from a business standpoint considering the vast number of individuals, departments, agencies, and units intimately familiar with the 5.56mm round and existing number of magazines/ammunition already in the supply chain.

The PSD utilizes LWRCI’s patented self-regulating, short-stroke gas piston operating system, ensuring reliability in the harshest theaters of operation. LWRCI literature points to several industry leading technological innovations incorporated in the PSD. LWRCI has sought to engineer a complete solution to the deficits found in the direct impingement AR family of rifles and carbines and was an early innovator in the AR gas-piston surge. The principal improvement comes from eliminating the venting of hot, carbon-laden gases into the receiver and bolt carrier group. This reduces the cleaning requirements associated with direct gas impingement ARs. It also means the bolt carrier group and associated springs are not subjected to the searing heat of the tapped gasses; this being one of the major causes of small parts failure. The LWRCI PSD utilizes cold hammer forged barrels made out of 41V45 steel alloy and treated with NiCorr surface conversion technology. NiCorr surface conversion has proved more lubricious, harder wearing, more heat and corrosion resistant than the hard chrome-lining normally used in a service rifles’ bore. LWRCI advertises its barrels as being able to handle 20,000 rounds before replacement, as compared to 6,000-10,000 rounds with standard chrome lined barrels. The bolt carrier of the PSD is coated with a proprietary nickel coating that nearly eliminates corrosion while providing greatly increased lubricity. This coating provides permanent lubrication to the moving parts and is similar to that being used by the U.S. Army Research Lab and USSOCOM to extend the service life of their weapons systems.

The PSD’s ARM-R forend’s top rail is easily removable and reinstalled without effecting zero of any sights or target designators. Cleaning methods for the LWRCI are familiar to anyone with experience with the AR-15 with the operating rod mechanism easily accessed thanks to ARM-R design. The ARM-R rail allows for mission specific configuration with lights, lasers, target designators, and other items. As benefiting a rifle in the PSD’s price range and intended LE and military audience, the PSD comes standard with folding BUIS open sights that proved able to co-witness with a variety of optics mounted on the PSD. The PSD upper installed on a lower weighs slightly over 6 pounds and has an overall length of 24.5 inches with LMT SOPMOD stock collapsed and approximately 28 inches extended. The LMT SOPMOD is a favored stock type and the type affixed to lower mated with LWRCI PSD upper for a large portion of this T&E. The PSD’s 8-inch barrel features 1:7 twist and comes with an A2 style flash hider. The 8-inch barrel maximizes portability and handling while maintaining a ballistics and terminal performance superior to any pistol caliber carbine or SMG.

The key with the LWRCI PSD is having an 8-inch barreled AR that works at the same reliability level as longer barrel ARs. This is where the LWRCI short-stroke piston comes into play. Instinctually, piston driven ARs appeal too many by the very fact that hot gases and powder residue is not dumped into the action as in the original direct impingement (DI) design. Hands on experience of LWRCI bolt carrier being handled soon after long strings of fire and merely wiped down compared to their DI cousins reinforces this. The ability of the gas piston ARs to operate with barrel lengths below the generally accepted 14-inch barrel threshold of DI ARs reliability adds further legitimacy to the piston ARs. Do not take this as lampooning of the gas impingement ARs. The DI rifles are more robust than most give them credit for and sub-14 inch barreled rifles are possible with attention to detail by the manufacturer in terms of gas port sizes and timing of the ejection process.

LWRCI utilizes a piston design made up of three components. A piston cup fits over the gas plug located at the front of the PSD handguard with an intermediate rod placed between the piston cup and operating rod that acts on the bolt carrier group. The LWRCI push-rod system is self cleaning in that any excess gas is vented out of the handguard just behind the gas block. The gas cup has grooves that act as scrapers as the action is worked to prevent carbon build up in the gas cup. The rear of the gas-piston rod is what smacks against the bolt assembly’s integral strike plate operating the action. LWRCI’s pioneering work with the AR piston system has led to the use of an integral strike plate in lieu of a staked version. This is based on concerns of metal fatigue and not wanting to take the chance of a staked strike plate failing. Along these same lines the LWRCI’s bolt body features radial grooves that serve multiple functions; such as anti-tilt for the bolt assembly along with providing a certain amount of built-in tolerance against any debris that may find its way into the LWRCI’s action and buffer tube area. LWRCI’s short-stroke piston use of a “tappet” system to impart force to the piston driving the bolt carrier to the rear minimizes heat build up not only in the weapon’s action, but also along the weapon’s forend due to gas being confined to the gas plug/piston cup located behind the gas block; thus preventing hot gas from transmitting down the length of a gas tube ala direct impingement or long-stroke operating method.

C.R. Newlin, Echo Valley Training Center owner, generously allowed access to his select-fire AR lower for testing with the LWRCI PSD upper supplementing a registered semi-only lower already on hand. Range testing commenced with functionality test consisting of dumping multiple magazines at several targets in rapid fashion once sight zeros were verified. Any fighting rifle must be reliable to be worthy of further consideration. The importance of quality magazines can not be overstated in terms of impacting a weapon’s reliability. The majority of malfunctions in a select fire, or even semi-auto rifle, can be traced to a faulty magazine. Brownells’ AR magazines are primarily used for most T&Es for this reason, though random magazines are mixed into testing at times. The LWRCI’s short-stroke gas piston operating rod system proved its worth in keeping the bolt carrier group cooler and cleaner compared to direct impingement AR rifles. While not trying to be unrealistic or overly harsh, the LWRCI PSD was exposed to multiple magazine dumps at various times of the T&E. The method was not mindless ammunition wasting, but rather wanting to confirm beyond a doubt that the PSD delivered as advertised under the most extreme circumstances of operational functioning. It was quickly noticed how little heat was transmitted not only to the PSD’s action, but also into the PSD’s quad rail forend with shooters able to grip the weapon without resorting to gloves or installing a vertical forward grip. Anyone with experience with AKs or direct impingement ARs know how fast forends can heat up with only a few magazines worth fire.

It was decided to take full advantage of the PSD’s flattop upper by accessing multiple optics for use during testing. A Trijicon RX30 Reflex was mounted on the PSD with it sharing time with a Leupold Prismatic. A Hi-Lux/Leatherwood Optics CMR 14×24 was also employed to ascertain the PSD’s accuracy potential via 4x magnification capability. The CMR scope was designed for when a shooting situation gets up close and personal. The CMR (Close Medium Range) has 1x-4x magnification based on a compact 30 mm tube. The relatively short 30 mm tube scope does not add a lot of weight to the rifle, and thanks to the large diameter of the scope tube, it lets in a lot of light for a bright target image. Hi-Lux/Leatherwood literature points out, “…an extremely practical circular reticle that aids in quick target acquisition by drawing the attention of the shooter’s eye to the center of the scope. Along these same lines, to insure that the target is fully visible, the reticle has only a horizontal crosshair, with a partial vertical lower crosshair. The upper half of this reticle leaves the scope clean and uncluttered. Plus, the lower crosshair features short bar aiming points calibrated for standard .223 and .308 service ammo, which are very precise out to 600 meters. The center dot and the small circle of the reticle are available with either green or red illumination.” It was discovered that the PSD’s rear flip-up sight had to be removed to provide clearance for the CMR to mount properly, which would be a negative for many considering the PSD’s likely CQB role in the field.

The optic types intended to be left on the LWRCI PSD after accuracy testing would be the Trijicon RX30 Reflex or Leupold Prismatic; though some may be inclined to leave the Hi-Lux/Leatherwood CMR mounted. The Trijicon RX30 and Leupold Prismatic sight offer the capability to engage multiple targets in rapid sequence compared to open sights, while at the same time providing adequate accuracy out to a couple hundred yards. As many “maturing” shooters can attest to, a single focus plane is easier to shoot accurately than coordinating front and rear sights. The 5.56/.223’s flat trajectory aids in making hits out to 250 yards without having to compensate excessively for bullet drop even with the short 8-inch barrel.

A 150 yard zero provides for +2 inches at 100 yards, -5 inch at 200 yards, and -13 inches at 250yds.

The PSD was evaluated at Echo Valley Training Center (EVTC). EVTC is fast becoming a major provider of training on the East Coast with multiple organizations conducting courses onsite. The private facility has multiple 100 yard bermed enclosed bays capable of handling numerous students conducting “square” range drills or more dynamic/fluid types of training. In conjunction with the individual training bays, Echo Valley Training Center features multi-stepped target berms that are strewn with reactive steel MGM targets, fluid drained automobiles, and moving targets at ranges varying from 150 yards out to 350 yards.

Ammunition tested with the PSD was a combination of Black Hills Ammunition 55gr FMJ and 50gr TSX, Winchester Ammunition 55gr FMJ and Federal Premium Law Enforcement 55gr Triple Shok and 62gr Bonded SP loads. Loads evaluated chronographed between 2,400-2,500 fps; which was a pleasant surprise considering the short PSD barrel. The PSD kept all loads tested at 1 inch or better at 50 yards with the Federal Premium 55gr Triple Shok and Black Hills 50gr TSX producing near MOA groups out to 200yds. Overall, the accuracy level was more than acceptable considering the barrel’s profile. Most bulk range firing utilized the Winchester and Black Hills Ammunition 55gr FMJ. Ammunition such as the Black Hills 50gr TSX and Federal 55gr Triple Shok and 62gr Bonded loads elevate 5.56mm terminal ballistic performance and barrier penetration across the board; especially in short barreled rifles such as the PSD.

AR ergonomics are hard to beat even on a full size AR with the compact PSD even handier and easier to wield in tight quarters. Drills moving around barricades and training evolutions involving firing and evacuating from vehicles clearly bore this out. A short barrel rifle like the LWRCI PSD is what individuals will choose to work with in such an environment where the trade off in size is worth any loss in bullet performance due to reduced velocity. Prior training experiences with Suarez International, Tactical Response, and Storm Mountain assisted in providing a baseline foundation of what qualities are desirable in a fighting rifle along with proofing ancillary gear such as BlackHawk chest rig for carrying magazines and BlackHawk single-point sling in case the PSD needs to be slung freeing up use of both hands. The PSD’s performance is superior to any SMG and it does not take a backseat to full-size rifles in the sub-200 yard arena, which is what was what the PSD was designed for by LWRCI.

Sites of Interest

LWRC International, LLC

Cambridge, MD. 21613
Phone: (410) 901-1348
www.lwrci.com

Leatherwood/Hi-Lux Optics

3135 Kashiwa St
Torrance, CA 90505
Phone: (310) 257-8142
www.hi-luxoptic.com

Black Hills Ammunition

PO Box 3090
Rapid City, SD 57709
Phone: (605) 348-5150
www.black-hills.com

Leupold & Stevens Inc

14400 NW Greenbrier Pkwy
Beaverton, OR 97006
Phone: (800) LEUPOLD
www.leupold.com

Echo Valley Training Center

251 C Prosperity Drive
Winchester, VA 22602
www.echovalleytrainingcenter.com

Trijicon Inc.

49385 Shafer Ave
Wixom, MI 48393
Phone: (248) 960-7700
www.trijicon.com

ATK/Federal Cartridge Company

900 Ehlen Drive
Anoka, MN 55303
Phone: (800) 322-2342
www.federalpremium.com

Winchester Ammunition

427 N. Shamrock St
East Alton, IL 62024
www.winchester.com

Lewis Machine & Tool, Inc

1305 11th W
Milan, IL 61264
Phone: (309) 732-9527
www.lewismachine.net

The Jarrett Legacy

Until I was fortunate enough to be loaned the material which forms the bulk of the preceding parts of this series, I was unaware of the actual details of Colonel Jarrett’s life and eventful career, and the main reason I wanted to write about him was in order to speak of the legacy he left in those arms experts and writers who got their start by working with and for him at the Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen.

In Part I, I mentioned that when I first became interested in guns and gun lore in the 1950s, an early edition of Small Arms of the World was “just about the height of specialization in the field of arms literature.” Thinking back I realize that this was not entirely true, for I vividly recall the impression made on me when I first became aware of the existence of “vertical” gun books, and marvelling that an entire book could be devoted to the history of a single firearm!

The first of this audacious new breed to come my way were The Book of the Garand by retired U.S. Army Major General Julian S. Hatcher, first published in 1948, and Fred A. Datig’s original 1955 edition of The Luger Pistol.

As we have read in Part II, Hatcher, while still a colonel, had recognized the value of Jarrett’s accumulated knowledge and expertise, and had specifically selected him to join the staff of the Ordnance School at Aberdeen in the summer of 1939. As we shall see below, Fred Datig was later one of Col. Jarrett’s staffers at the Aberdeen Ordnance Museum.

Others in the wide Jarrett circle, including some who emerged from under his wing at the Museum, make up a veritable Who’s Who of arms experts and writers who went on to produce many of the most influential arms books written in English over the last fifty years. These men, most of whom are no longer with us, are recalled in alphabetical order as follows:

Donald B. Bady

Donald Bady was the editor of the four-volume Handbook of Small Arms, prepared while working for Col. Jarrett at the D&PS, Library & Museum Division, Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1954.

While in this post he also catalogued the collection of Col. Jarrett’s “Foreign Materiel Museum” – no mean feat considering the size and complexity of the collection. Harold Johnson recalls that when the Museum was closed the contents were meticulously catalogued, by Bady, Val Forgett and Charles Yust, mentioned below, and an Index of all the exhibits was prepared, and then hidden away from the eyes of those who may have been inclined to “cherry pick” the collection.

Donald Bady is the author of Colt Automatic Pistols 1896 – 1955, first published in 1956.

Fred A. Datig

Fred Datig is the author of The Luger Pistol, one of the very first “vertical” gun books, first published in 1955, which is still a respected reference source on these famous pistols.

An inveterate cartridge collector, Datig then wrote a series of cartridge identification books titled Cartridges for Collectors. The series began with Volume I (Centerfire), published in 1956; then Volume II (Centerfire – Rimfire – Patent Ignition), published in 1958; Volume III (Centerfire – Rimfire – Plastic), published in 1967; and Volume IV, (a supplement on Centerfire – Rimfire – Patent Ignition) published in 1983.

Later, his “magnum opus” – a grand new series of books on Russian small arms to be titled The History and Development of Imperial and Soviet Russian Military Small Arms and Ammunition, 1700 – 1986, projected to run to a total of eighteen volumes, was for various reasons cut short with the publication in 1988 of a single thin book – Volume Sixteen – titled Soviet Russian Postwar Military Pistols and Cartridges, 1945 – 1986.

While working at the Ordnance Museum, Datig was apparently the only person on Jarrett’s staff to evince an interest in Russian small arms. This period is recalled by Mr. Datig in the Foreword to his Volume Sixteen on Russian small arms as follows:

…The year was 1949, early autumn; the place was Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland [where] Colonel George Burling Jarrett, Chief, Library and Museum Division, Development and Proof Services… had the long-established reputation of being the foremost authority on the subject [and] may be considered, without question, the founder of modern U.S. Foreign Ordnance Technical Intelligence.

…in 1949, Aberdeen Proving Ground was undoubtedly the world’s largest storage center for military ordnance, both foreign and domestic, being equipped with the multitude of small arms which had seen service in every country involved in the Second World War. The prize collection was that of German weapons, an almost complete assortment. Consequently, and due to the superb design and workmanship of this group, the majority of the Museum’s staff displayed little interest in the small arms of any other nationality. But there was one exception; your chronicler! One day Colonel Jarrett approached us and asked, “Datig, don’t you like German small arms?” We replied something to the effect that yes, of course we did, BUT it just so happened that we chose to take an interest in items which did not seem to appeal to the majority: Russian and Soviet firearms. Having then been asked if our interest was serious and having replied in the affirmative, Jarrett followed with a rather surprising proposal: if we promised to carry forth this study to a relative conclusion, we should pay a private visit to the Colonel’s nearby estate at which time every item of Imperial and Soviet Russian origin or pertinence to be found in Jarrett’s personal private files would be presented to us as a gift! While no firearms or other hardware were involved, the documentation which we received was, and in many cases still is, irreplaceable. The single and most important item, at least to us, was a German ordnance technical intelligence manual marked “Only for Service Use”, which was to be the cornerstone for all our future research… it was entitled Taschenbuch Russisches Heer (Pocket Book of the Russian Army), dated January, 1942, and revealed what little the Germans knew of Soviet armaments as of that date (which was not very much)…

Robert W. Faris

Bob Faris, a dedicated and long-serving Ordnanceman, has himself been the subject of two Small Arms Review interviews (Vol. 11, No. 4, January, 2008 and Vol. 11, No. 5, February, 2008). In addition, an entire chapter on Bob, titled “Reflections of an Ordnanceman”, appears in Dolf Goldsmith’s Collector Grade title The Browning Machine Gun, Volume III: Supporting the Rifle Caliber Brownings (2008).

Born in 1930 and an ordnance veteran of the Korean War, Bob worked for many years as a civilian Test Director in the Development and Proof Services (D&PS) section at Aberdeen Proving Ground, testing weapons, ammunition, accessories and fire controls alongside such men as Bill Brophy and Larry Moore, who was for many years the head of the shoulder weapon section.

On his first meeting with Col. Jarrett, Bob told him that one of his most vivid memories was as a young boy of ten, when during his summer holidays in Atlantic City he discovered Jarrett’s Steel Pier Museum of World War History, and spent all his allowance visiting and revisiting this awesome repository.

In his second SAR interview Bob recalls that he introduced Tom Nelson, who had then just got out of the Army, to Dick Winter of Interarms, “and later he came back down and got a job with them.”

Bob also got to know Don Bady and Val Forgett, both of whom worked for Col. Jarrett at the Museum. Regarding how he began his long acquaintance with Val Forgett, Bob recalls, “… Col. Jarrett called me up one day. He said, `I got an Army G.I. over here, just new, just come in, and he’s assigned to help me out. He’s a real gun nut. Come on over and meet him.’”

Summing up on a serious note, Bob recalls that despite all his expertise and knowledge, Jarrett had no real authority to make decisions concerning ordnance developments, and he was called on the carpet several times with the admonition, “That’s not your job!” Jarrett would respond, “Well, somebody has to do it.” Nevertheless he did influence decisions, in a general way, and the Ordnance Corps was the better for it.

Valmore J. Forgett

Later the founder and president of Navy Arms Company, Inc. and Service Armament Co. of Ridgefield, N.J., Val Forgett worked with Donald Bady at the Aberdeen Ordnance Museum.

Lt. Col. William L. Howard, the compiler of the informal book titled Technological Support of the Air-Land Battle, includes a letter dated February 16, 1983 addressed to himself from Val Forgett, president of Navy Arms Company Inc., excerpted as follows:

… First of all, I was a lowly draftee at Aberdeen, attached to the 19301 special troops. This was a unit made up of draftees who had, at least, four years of college, and many of the people in our unit had their Masters’ and Doctors’ degrees. It’s tough being a private with a Doctor’s degree and having your C.O. with a tenth grade education… Another gentleman, by the name of Donald Bady, the author of Colt Automatic Pistols, and others were attached to this unit and worked with Col. Jarrett in the Museum.

… We did extensive work at the H. P. White Lab, and I spent two weeks in Washington on TDY with the FBI’s Firearms Section. While working under Col. Jarrett, Don Bady and I developed a form of Dewey Decimal System for the classification of firearms, and put together a group of manuals for military attachés so they had some idea of what foreign weapons were known to us. Also, as a separate project, I did a manual on the interchangeability of foreign ammunition – i.e. Italian 7.7 ammunition would function in a .303 Bren gun. When I got out of the Army, Tom Nelson took over my position at Aberdeen…

Col. Jarrett… was not only my Commanding Officer, but a close, personal friend for many years… there are many anecdotes I can tell you about his founding of Ordnance Technical Intelligence… There is an excellent article… called “The Junkman Who Stopped Rommel” [extensively excerpted in Part II of this series].

Harold E. Johnson

Mr. Johnson is an Infantry Weapons Analyst for the U.S. Army Foreign Science and Technology Center [FSTC]. A member of the Handguns, Machine Guns, and Shoulder Weapons sections of the A.O.A.’s Small Arms & Small Arms Ammunition Division, he also is on the Firearms Advisory Panel of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and frequently acts as a consultant to other government agencies on matters pertaining to small arms.

Hal Johnson, who had been a warrant officer and an armor expert in the Marine Corps, succeeded Joseph E. Smith as Chief of the Small Arms Division within the Ordnance Technical Intelligence Agency in 1975.

Daniel D. Musgrave

Dan Musgrave was a retired Army officer who as a young lieutenant had participated in the 1944 Normandy invasion. He also came on board at the Museum under Col. Jarrett while Tom Nelson was still working there, and the two men became fast friends.

Musgrave later worked for the Foreign Science & Technology Center (FSTC, established in 1962) with George Chinn for some time, and actually wrote much of what became Chinn’s The Machine Gun.

A published author in his own right, Dan Musgrave also collaborated with Tom Nelson on several highly successful book projects.

Thomas B. Nelson

Lt. Col. William L. Howard, the compiler of the informal book titled Technological Support of the Air-Land Battle, includes the following short biography of Tom Nelson:

Born in New York City and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Thomas B. Nelson early developed a lively and avid interest in all types of small arms, but particularly the many and varied types of automatic weapons. During his studies at the University of Miami in Oxford, Ohio, and the University of Cincinnati, he started laying the groundwork for his book. After college, Mr. Nelson made an extensive tour of Europe and Scandinavia, collecting data and information from most of the larger arms firms within these areas. Immediately upon his return to the United States, he was called to duty by the U.S. Army. After basic training, he served under Col. G. B. Jarrett in the Foreign Materiel Section of the Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground. At Aberdeen, too, he attended the Army Ordnance Intelligence School. He was subsequently stationed at Arlington Hall Station, in Arlington, Virginia, there to perform comprehensive work in the small arms section of the Ordnance Technical Intelligence headquarters during the remainder of his tour of duty in the service. In 1961, after military service, he entered the private sector… He continues to be an avid student of military history and ordnance hardware.

Tom Nelson Recalls His Debt to Col. Jarrett

In his own words from one of the several phone interviews I conducted with Tom Nelson, he recalled that after leaving college in 1958 he travelled all over Europe gathering material for his book, to be called Submachine Guns of the World. After this “grand tour”, he enlisted in Army.

After basic training, Tom was sent to Aberdeen Proving Ground, with no apparent assignment. It was here that he met Col. Jarrett, who after closely questioning Tom on his knowledge of, and interest in, military firearms, took him on as his aide. Tom recalls that his first assignment was to clean a long row of LMGs, which were stored on the upper balcony of the Museum building.

Shortly after assuming his duties in the Museum Tom was introduced to another newcomer, Dan Musgrave, who took over the first desk in the office.

At that time the U.S. Army Ordnance Technical Intelligence School was usually reserved for officers and senior NCOs, but Tom Nelson wangled an interview and, thanks to his accumulated knowledge and expertise, he was allowed to attend the school, whence he graduated 1st in his class.

In 1959, Nelson was given a letter from Col. Jarrett as an introduction to Joseph E. Smith, the civilian Chief of the Ordnance Technical Intelligence Agency (Conventional Weapon Division), later designated the Foreign Science and Technology Center (FSTC), then headquartered at Arlington Hall Station in Arlington, Virginia. On the strength of Col. Jarrett’s glowing letter of recommendation, Tom was taken on and served as Joe Smith’s aide from 1959 to the end of 1960, during which time he helped write the revised edition of Smith’s Small Arms of the World.

From December, 1960 to April, 1970, Tom traveled all over the world working for Sam Cummings, president of Interarmco. Still later he founded several companies of his own, including Ironside International Publishers Inc.

Tom recalls that in 1976, while he was in Tokyo, word came that Joe Smith had died at the young age of 54, and was succeeded by Hal Johnston as Chief of the Ordnance Technical Intelligence Agency. The remembrance he wrote for Joe Smith appears below.

As for his debt to Col. Jarrett, Tom sums up that today he has no idea what direction his life would have taken without Jarrett’s influence and example. His time at the Aberdeen Museum as Jarrett’s protegé, and the letter Jarrett wrote that introduced him to Joe Smith and the world of Ordnance Technical Intelligence, changed his life.

Col. Jarrett Praises The World’s Submachine Guns, Volume I

The book that put Tom Nelson on the map, The World’s Submachine Guns, was published in 1963. It featured a Foreword written in typically authoritative style by Tom’s old mentor, retired Ordnance Col. G. B. Jarrett, Director of the Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground, which is excerpted as follows:

This book deals with a weapon whose entire history goes back less than half a century, for the submachine gun was born in the trench warfare of World War I… This study gathers together, for the first time, pertinent data and illustrations of all significant submachine guns manufactured to date. In addition to serving as an excellent reference for the collector and a guide for the designer, it provides an invaluable information source for law-enforcement and intelligence personnel…

The author is highly qualified in his field, and his treatment of the subject is noteworthy for its clarity and comprehensive coverage. He shows a rare insight into the need or reason why any piece was developed and is especially knowledgeable as to what extent a piece may or may not be a worthwhile weapon from the user’s standpoint…

Ludwig Olson

A concise biography of Ludwig “Lud” Olson, taken from the back of the dust jacket of the third edition of Mr. Olson’s classic book Mauser Bolt Rifles, first published in 1976, reads as follows:

Ludwig Olson is presently serving as the Technical Editor of The American Rifleman, and is without question the most eminently qualified man living to undertake, and so magnificently accomplish, the task of writing Mauser Bolt Rifles… Joining the U.S. Army in 1935, Olson served with the Coast Artillery Anti-Aircraft. as an armorer in Ordnance, at the Ballistic Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground, in charge of the Foreign Document Section at the Development & Proof Services… with the Ordnance Foreign Materiel Museum, as an instructor on Ordnance Technical Intelligence, on the staff of the Armored School at Fort Knox, as one of the writers of the book Rifles used by The Ordnance School at Aberdeen Proving Ground and at other widely varied ordnance and related assignments in Europe and the Far East. Upon retirement in 1956 after a 20-year career with the Regular Army, Lud joined the Technical Staff of The American Rifleman where his concise and authoritative articles on a wide range of firearms subjects… have earned him a worldwide following…

Philip B. Sharpe

Phil Sharpe was a well-known arms expert and writer with long experience with both military and commercial small arms. He was the author of the classic book The Rifle in America as well as numerous articles and opinions which appeared in many journals and periodicals during the years between the wars.

During WWII Sharpe worked for U.S. Ordnance Technical Intelligence, where under Col. Jarrett he collaborated on the writing of Technical Intelligence Bulletins.

Joseph E. Smith

Joe Smith was the civilian Chief of the Ordnance Technical Intelligence Agency, Conventional Weapons Division, originally located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, then moved to Arlington Hall Station in Arlington, VA, where Tom Nelson recalls joining the Agency, and finally to a new headquarters in Charlottesville, VA.

Tom Nelson wrote a lengthy appreciation and obituary for Joe Smith after his untimely death in 1976 at the age of only 54, which was included in Lt. Col. Howard’s informal book Technological Support of the Air-Land Battle. This is excerpted as follows:

Rage Killed Joe!

Fortunate, indeed, is the man who is able to pursue his hobby through his vocation and his interests through his career. Such a man was Joseph E. Smith, my friend and mentor of 20 years, who in March, 1976, regrettably died of heart failure at the age of 54.

Joe Smith was internationally known and respected by ordnance buffs and experts as the revisor and later co-author of Small Arms of the World, that technical classic considered by many to be the “Bible” in its field…

Always an avid student of history, he eventually concentrated on his particular specialty, conventional ordnance. He became an international authority on the subject, and at the time of his death was Chief of the Weapons Systems Division (Conventional Weapons Section) of the Foreign Science and Technology Center (FSTC…

After distinguished service in the Army during World War II, he finished his education, graduating from Syracuse University, and in 1952 was employed by the U.S. Army Ordnance Technical Intelligence Agency (later, in the 1960s, designated FSTC). During the succeeding years his obvious expertise and dedication propelled him upward in his career. These same two qualities were the reasons for his frustration and, indirectly, his death…

In the U.S. bureaucracy it appears that no one is in charge. In fact, so many are in charge that it is difficult to get anything accomplished. The plethora of development groups is caused by our ever-expanding bureaucracy. An example is the Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command, DARCOM – (formerly the Army Materiel Command), and Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), both of which operate with no consistent voice and the end result is that development programs are widely fragmented, and in some cases hemmorrhage from within, to such a degree that no meaningful projects are finalized. Since these groups have no single authority, development is unnecessarily delayed, duplication of effort is omni-present, and R&D is frequently pushed forward in isolation from the ultimate user – the man in the field…

W. H. B. Smith

As I mentioned right off the bat in Part I of this series, the most famous gun book of all, for me at least, is Small Arms of the World, originally written by W. H. B. Smith. This classic remained in print for decades in numerous editions, with the writing and editing duties passing on first to a collaboration between W. H. B. Smith and Joseph E. Smith, who were not related; and then to Joe Smith alone and then to my own personal mentor, Edward C. Ezell.

W.H.B. Smith’s precursor to Small Arms of the World, titled Basic Manual of Military Small Arms, first appeared in 1943. The Foreword to the First Edition, heavily stressing the value of Ordnance Intelligence to America’s fighting men in time of war, was written by Col. Jarrett. It is excerpted as follows:

This book is a military classic. It is of real value to every man who uses military arms.

The coverage of the basic United States weapons will help any service man achieve a quick and comprehensive understanding of his weapons. The sections on foreign arms will also help to develop a “weapons sense” in the reader; prepare him to grasp opportunities on the field of battle; and serve to increase his confidence in the superlative arms with which he is equipped.

…The photographs were specifically prepared from the actual weapons themselves to teach step-by-step all the essentials. The original working drawings are simple and clear…

There are no military secrets in this book: everything in it is known to our enemies, who have captured and are using specimens of all our arms. But there is a tremendous wealth of valuable military information in it for every American who cares to arm himself with a knowledge of a subject on which our national security rests, and on which it will rest for a long time after the present war ends.

The author is perhaps the one person in the United States with the necessary combined knowledge of firearms, writing and editing to bring this remarkable book into being…

G. B. Jarrett
Lt. Col. O. D., Army of U.S.
Chief, Foreign Materiel Section
Aberdeen Proving Ground.

An obituary for W.H.B. Smith, a famous yet reclusive man, which appears without attribution in Col. Howard’s book, is excerpted as follows:

Walter Harold Bingham-Black Smith died on 5 April, 1959… [He] gave us some pioneering gun books. He started many of us on a quest for more knowledge about firearms. But he remained a private person in the process. Perhaps in a publicity-seeking age when many authors want media exposure to enhance the sale of their books, Smith was a unique individual. He let his books sell themselves. Considering the popularity of his writings, his policy appears to have been a wise one…

Charles E. Yust, Jr.

Charlie Yust, a dedicated arms enthusiast and an advanced cartridge collector, worked for some time with H. P. White and Burton Munhall on the staff of the famous H.P. White Ordnance Co. He later purchased H. P. White’s cartridge collection.

During WWII he joined the Army, and because of his expertise he was transferred to the Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground, where his duties included sectioning cartridges, etc. His first tour ended in the 1950s.

He returned to the Aberdeen Museum around 1967, and worked for Col. Jarrett and his successor, Karl Kempf, until his retirement in the 1980s.

While he was the editor of the Gun & Cartridge Record, Yust wrote a fine tribute to Col. Jarrett which appeared in the “Who’s Who” column in the July, 1958 issue of that magazine:

When a man, for one reason or another, chooses a field of interest to follow, and as time eventually proves, has devoted the greater part of his life… to this interest, he must be very sincere and devoted to it. As the years go by he may develop a severe honesty in the way he conducts his efforts and in expressing his views on this subject.

In the field of research associated with historical matters, this quality is of inestimable value, as well as one of great rareness. Anyone possessing such a quality certainly is entitled to any and all recognition and honors which may be extended. This is as it should be, but unfortunately, [the bestowal of such recognition and honor] does not always come to pass…

Finale: George Burling Jarrett, 1901 – 1974

An unattributed thumbnail sketch in LTC Howard’s book of the massive railroad gun the Germans called Leopold and the Americans dubbed “Anzio Annie” is excerpted as follows:

The Leopold Railway Cannon

It is hard to imagine that the Germans could conceal a weapon capable of firing a 550-pound shell. The German Leopold Gun was the largest weapon which lobbed shells at American troops at “Anzio Beach.” An aura of mystery surrounded the employment of the gun. To the bewilderment of Allied officials who knew the approximate location of Leopold, the gun could not be silenced. Repeated bomber and naval attacks failed.

It wasn’t until the Allies broke out of the “Anzio Beachhead” and sent the Germans scurrying that the secret was revealed. The Leopold, supported by 24 railcar wheels, was mounted on railroad tracks which led in and out of mountain tunnels. When not firing, the gun was rolled back into the tunnels out of sight of Allied reconnaissance. Because bombs had destroyed Italian rail systems, the Germans were forced to leave the Leopold and its twin gun “Robert” behind. Although both guns had been extensively damaged, Allied forces were able to salvage the Leopold and after reconstruction of the railway, moved the gun to Naples for shipment to the United States

“Anzio Annie” as the gun was known to the Allied troops at Anzio, is the only German railroad gun known to have survived WWII.

LTC Howard comments on this, as follows: Once again, our failure to have an adequate intelligence service and the lack of Technical Intelligence effort would result in Technological Surprise and the loss of life at Anzio Beach until the Secret of the Railway Gun was revealed. The design of this German gun influenced the design of the [U.S. 280mm] Atomic Cannon, [a long range gun capable of firing both conventional and atomic munitions, introduced in the Army inventory in the early 1950s].

(About the Author: R. Blake Stevens is the founder and president of Collector Grade Publications, Inc., which he established in 1979. To date the firm has produced 50 “vertical” titles on important modern small arms, of which 38 currently remain in print.)

(Acknowledgements: The author acknowledges with gratitude the kind assistance of the following, who have provided the information and documentation from which the foregoing articles have been extrapolated: James Alley, Jr., Ph.D., Elliot Deutsch, Chairman, Aberdeen Military Museum Foundation, Inc., Robert W. (Bob) Faris, Harold Johnson, Thomas B. Nelson, President, Ironside International Publishers Inc., Dan Shea and Cholly Steen, President, SARCO Inc.)

While many Class 3 enthusiasts may not recognize the name Max Atchisson, most have heard of, or possibly may own at least one of his many firearm or accessory designs.

Maxwell G. Atchisson was born on February 17, 1930 in St. Louis Missouri. He attended the University of Missouri and Kansas City Junior College. He then served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a machine gunner. His superiors soon noticed his firearm acumen, which earned him a new position as a weapons instructor, conducting classes in automatic weapons characteristics, maintenance and firing techniques. He was honorably discharged in 1952. Although not as well known as John Browning or Gene Stoner, Atchisson was a very talented inventor and designer of weapons. During his career he was granted twenty-four patents. Many of Atchisson’s ideas were ahead of their time, with several having commercial success. A close examination of Atchisson’s prototype weapons will reveal a compilation of components from existing designs. The idea behind this thinking was that his weapons could be manufactured from many existing surplus parts, and thus be inexpensively produced.

Max Atchisson studied many previous U.S. and foreign weapon designs and patents. While much of his inventing was performed on his own time, Atchisson worked for several large firearms manufacturing firms and contributed many ideas to experimental and production weapons. While employed as a mechanical engineer at the Hughes Tool Company, he designed a gas system and buffer group for the Hughes 5.56mm caseless rifle, and a new type of cascading sear for the open-bolt 20mm aircraft cannon. The new sear reduced the sear load from 100 to 10 pounds, thus allowing the system to utilize a smaller, lighter solenoid for remote operation of the weapon. After a brief stint as an engineer at the Bendix Corporation, Mr. Atchisson was hired as a project engineer for the Military Armament Corporation (MAC) in Marietta, Georgia. While at MAC he perfected his best-known product: the .22 caliber conversion kit for the AR-15 and M16 rifle. The kits were marketed world-wide by MAC, with Atchisson receiving a royalty for each unit that was sold.

During his employment at MAC, Atchisson was able to demonstrate many of his prototype weapons for U.S. and foreign customers at Mitch WerBell’s range near Powder Springs, Georgia. At MAC he worked with and became lifelong friends with Don Thomas, Gordon Ingram and John Foote. The men were among the few true “firearm enthusiasts” at MAC and spent many hours test firing weapons and suppressors together, both at work and during their free time. Before the eventual demise of MAC, Atchisson left taking his M16 .22 conversion kit to be distributed by other firms. First was Defense Systems International, a company formed by Mitch WerBell after being ousted by Quantum/MAC management who had taken over the company. After the DSI deal fell through Atchisson took his .22 conversion kit to WAK in Fairborn Ohio, then to Bingham International. Eventually, the improved Atchisson .22 caliber Mark III version, that allowed the M16 to operate reliably in both semiautomatic and full-automatic modes, was procured by Jonathan Arthur Ciener and are still manufactured and sold today.

Atchisson enjoyed the challenge of making semiautomatic and full-automatic weapons function reliably with .22 caliber rimfire cartridges, a round not easily adapted to work in automatic firearms. In addition to his AR-15, M16 conversion kit, Max Atchisson also developed .22 caliber rimfire conversions for the Reising, M1A1 Thompson and the Uzi submachine guns.

The C.R.A.C.K. Rifle

Another innovation was the Atchisson C.R.A.C.K. reduced recoil system or “Counter Recoiling Action Compensated Kick.” The weapon was designed to greatly reduce recoil and muzzle climb by using springs and other devices to counter recoil. Only one known prototype weapon was built. The rifle had an M1 Garand receiver, a BAR trigger group, and a straight-line stock configuration with raised sights. Atchisson claimed that the C.R.A.C.K. system reduced the felt recoil of firing 7.62mm ammunition from twenty-one foot pounds down to only three foot pounds.

Packer .22 Caliber Rifle

The Atchisson Packer rifle was designed as a low-cost .22 caliber rimfire firearm that could be inexpensively manufactured from metal stampings, including the receiver and bolt. The buttstock was made of two plastic “clamshell” halves that enclosed most of the receiver and the 17-inch long barrel. The rear sight was a flat piece of steel with an upright aperture leaf designed for fast and easy adjustment. The rear sight was sheltered from damage by large protective side ears. The Packer rifle fed from a removable box magazine in 15, 20, 22 and 32 round capacities.

Clamshell Rifle

Atchisson also designed several .223 caliber rifles with “clamshell” stocks similar to those used for the Madsen M50 submachine guns. Atchisson held several patents on the design.

The Curved Barrel Rifle

One of Atchisson’s more unique designs was the curved barrel .22 rifle. At first glance the rifle appears to have a very short barrel, but the legal-length 16-inch barrel actually extends to the end of the buttstock where it is loaded from the breech via a hinged buttplate. The barrel was slightly curved to fit into an ordinary appearing stock.

The Atchisson Automatic Assault Shotgun

The 12 gauge Atchisson Assault shotgun was fed from a twenty-shot drum or five-shot magazine. Designed to use 12 gauge 2-3/4-inch Magnum 00 buckshot, or rifled slugs, the full-automatic weapon could make consistent hits on a man-size target at a range of 100 yards. The blowback-operated shotgun was designed with a tubular receiver that formed part of the inline stock. The shotgun’s overall length was 39 inches, the barrel length 18 inches, and weighed 11 pounds unloaded. The shotgun’s drum magazine was fabricated from a Thompson submachine gun L-drum magazine, the box magazine was a modified BAR unit.

AA12 Shotgun

The AA12 (Atchisson Assault 12 Gauge) shotgun was yet another “clamshell” design with a two-piece nylon stock. The weapon evolved from the prototype shotgun described above. The select-fire weapon was manufactured in limited quantities in the U.S. and in Korea by Daewoo. In 1987, Max Atchisson sold the rights of the AA12 shotgun to Jerry Baber of Military Police Systems, Inc. Mr. Baber continued to improve on the original patented design and market the weapons.

Suppressors

Atchisson designed a built a number of unique suppressor designs like the adjustable-zero .223 caliber unit designed for the M16 rifle. The suppressor had an adjusting mechanism within the mounting clamp at the rear of the tube, allowing the shooter to zero his rifle with the suppressor attached. However, there was little interest and the unique suppressors were never put into production. One of his more unusual suppressors was constructed from a used propane cylinder.

The Atchisson Auto Connector: AKA The Lightning Link

One of Atchisson’s better known inventions, although his name is seldom associated with it today, was his device to convert semiautomatic AR-15 rifles to fire full-automatic, commonly known today as the Lightning Link.

Upgrades for the U.S. M16 Rifle

Mr. Atchisson designed many products for the U.S. M16 rifle, which allowed the weapon to fulfill many additional mission requirements. His upgrades required no permanent alterations, no special tools and often used existing parts.

The Atchisson Open-Bolt Firing Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW)

This innovation offered open-bolt operation, allowing sustained automatic fire, and reducing the possibility of cook-offs. To enhance accuracy, the SAW conversion also featured a heavy buffer to slow down the cyclic rate and a muzzle compensator. An automatic bolt release feature was activated by the magazine catch, allowing the bolt to move to a rear position, as soon as a magazine was inserted, making the weapon instantly ready to fire.

The Atchisson Tri-Mag

The Tri-Mag was an assembly of three standard M16 thirty-round magazines modified with the addition of an auxiliary magazine catch and retaining dimples. The device was specifically designed for his open-bolt SAW to offer 90 rounds of firepower. The Tri-Mag could also be used in the standard issue M16A1 rifle.

9mm M16 Submachine Gun Conversion

The Atchisson 9mm Parabellum conversion for the M16 was open-bolt, blowback operated, that used Uzi magazines. The weapon had a 10.5 inch barrel and Colt telescoping buttstock. Cyclic rate was 650 rounds per minute. Atchisson designed and perfected the 9mm/M16 concept years before Colt.

Suppressed 9mm Submachine Gun

The Atchisson suppressed submachine gun was based on the M16 with the 9mm conversion, but was hammer-fired operating from a closed bolt. The suppressor was designed to bleed off gas pressure to reduce the velocity of the supersonic 9mm rounds down to subsonic velocities. This feature allowed the use of standard 9mm ammunition. Progressive porting allowed the barrel to act as an obturator (pressure seal) eliminating the constant replacement of organic obturators (wipes).

M16 Night Sight

Atchisson designed a one-piece night sight to allow the soldier to fire accurately in low light conditions. The sight was a tunnel design that allowed the use of the standard sight, while the night sight remained attached. The sight used Promethium to illuminate the sight post.

M16 Cyclic Rate Reducer

The rate reducer was designed to enhance the accuracy of the M16 rifle when fired in the full-automatic mode. The device delayed the normal firing cyclic for 80 milliseconds, thus lowering the standard 750 round cyclic rate down to 375 rounds per minute. The device could be installed in less than two minutes using a 5.56mm cartridge as a tool. The cyclic rate reducers could be custom calibrated to whatever cyclic rate the customer desired.

The M16 Port-Firing Weapon

Also based on the M16, the Port Firing weapon was open-bolt, hammer-fired operated for sustained automatic fire. A heavy bolt and large diameter low rate action spring allowed a cyclic rate of 620 rounds per minute. An automatic bolt catch release moved the bolt into the sear position when a magazine was inserted, allowing the weapon to be fired immediately. A special spring was available to increase the cyclic rate to 800 rounds per minute if desired.

Atchisson M16 Variable Vector Muzzle Compensator

The device was designed to reduce recoil to allow accurate full-automatic fire. The brake featured deflector holes that were carefully positioned to divert muzzle blast forward, and was adjustable for right- or left-handed shooters. The brake was 3.875 inches in overall length and weighed .3 pounds.

Disposable Lightweight Grenade Launcher

The disposable grenade launcher was a lightweight, compact device designed to launch 40mm grenades from the M16 rifle. The basic idea was to provide every soldier the capability to launch grenades. The launcher was designed to mount beneath the barrel and be secured to the flash hider and bayonet lug. A hammer in the form of a spring was cocked by a pair of levers, which become disengaged so that the hammer and associated firing pin could fall and discharge the round. The launcher could not be cocked unless it was attached to a host weapon.

SWD and RPB

Some his later projects where made in association with RPB and SWD, including the semiautomatic operating system used in SWD’s very successful SM11/Nine pistol, the semiautomatic version of the M11/Nine submachine gun. Other products produced for RPB/SWD were the Atchisson throwing knives and the shirt tail holster.

Other Inventions

In addition to firearms and related accessories, Atchisson invented many other items to include a device to lock non-locking door knobs, a swimming snorkel that wouldn’t fill with water and a trigger for aerosol cans to name a few. Although he prided himself in living a lifestyle consisting of daily exercise and a healthy diet, Maxwell George Atchisson died of respiratory complications on February 15, 2003 at the age of 72.

August 5-6, 2011 marked the truly special occasion of the 20th annual All Thompson Show and Shoot, in association with The American Thompson Association (TATA), as hosted by the Tracie Hill family in Granville, Ohio. The 20th anniversary mark is an achievement that few events reach and is a testament to the passion of collecting, studying, researching and shooting the venerable and historic Thompson submachine gun (just for the sheer enjoyment of it) by the forever dedicated and faithful. Over 100 members and friends of TATA registered for the event traveling from such diverse compass points as Wisconsin, Illinois, Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah and Kentucky to attend the event to display, talk and shoot Thompsons.

On Friday the 5th, the show began at the Thompson Collectors Conference Center, hosted by world renowned collector and author Tracie Hill and his family, with over 50 tables of Thompsons and related equipment on display. With the doors opening at 10 a.m., Friday is devoted to a show and tell display of the registrant’s guns and accessories respectfully exhibited on display tables throughout the conference center. All makes and models of Thompsons were present as were a wide assortment of accessories, spare parts, stick and drum magazines, web gear, manuals and historical documents – many of which were for sale. The array of Thompsons and the devotion to the subject is exceptional from the earliest prototype models through the Colt production models, through the World War II production models through to the Numrich and West Hurley models.

At 1 p.m., approximately 60 attendees filed into the library to attend a presentation by Lt. Michael Kline of the Berrien County (Michigan) Sheriff’s Department on the two Thompson guns used in the St. Valentine’s Day massacre and how they were discovered and then forensically linked to the mass killings. Lt. Kline travels all over with these two historic Thompsons relating not the gory embellishment of the actual crime, but the then advanced and new technology of forensic science as applied to law enforcement to help solve crimes. While no one was ever arrested and convicted of perpetrating the St. Valentine’s Day massacre, there is no doubt that these two Thompsons were the guns used that infamous day and have been proven so by scientific forensic methodology.

The Shoot

Saturday the 6th was devoted to shooting Thompsons at a beautiful nearby range in Newark. The weather was hot and humid with temperatures and humidity both in the 90s; it was a beautiful summer day with no rain. There were two structured shooting competition events and then free range shooting time after that. Thompsons used in the competitions must be in original factory configuration.

The morning event had over 40 shooters registered and began at 7:30 a.m. Five shooters at a time would shoot with each shooter having a range officer supervising his or her actions.

• Stage 1. From a distance of 50 yards, shooters will load one magazine with 20 rounds and have a time limit of 25 seconds to fire 20 rounds on one target using semiautomatic fire only.
• Stage 2. From a distance of 25 yards, shooters will load one magazine with 20 rounds and have a time limit of 25 seconds to fire 20 rounds on three targets using automatic burst fire.
• Stage 3. From a distance of 25 yards, shooters will load one magazine with 20 rounds and have a time limit of 20 seconds to fire 20 rounds on three targets using automatic burst fire.
• Stage 4. From a distance of 10 yards (30 feet), shooters will load one magazine with 20 rounds and have a time limit of 15 seconds to fire 20 rounds on three targets using automatic burst fire.
• Stage 5. From a distance of 7 yards (21 feet), shooters will load one magazine with 20 rounds and have a time limit of 4 seconds to fire 20 rounds on three targets using automatic burst fire.

Total rounds fired is 100 rounds. Less time is allotted to the shooter the closer they got to the target requiring speed as well as accuracy. Each target had to be engaged separately and sweeping the three targets in one long burst was not allowed.

Targets used were the standard OPOTA combat silhouette type. Hits inside and cutting the outer silhouette line counted as hits. The shooter with the most hits was the winner. Hits in the INZ (Instant Neutralization Zone – a T shaped area covering the brain and spinal column down to the middle of the chest) were recorded for use in the event of a tie.

Immediately following the first competition, the second competition took place consisting of metal “pepper-popper” knock-down targets. Over 30 shooters registered for this event. Two shooters would compete against each other in a two-out-of three engagement. A shooter had to knock down his six metal targets before the other shooter knocked down his six targets. The last, center targets, were set at a slight angle so that one would fall over the other in a closely contested event. After all the initial pairing of shooters took place, the winner of each heat then competed against the winner of another heat. New this year was a mandatory mag change during the final heats. This elimination process continued until there were only two shooters left to determine first and second place.

Free range shooting time was available on the main range during the metal target events located on a side range.

All shooting ended at 3 p.m. and everyone went back to their hotel to shower and freshen up for the buffet banquet dinner that was held back at the Thompson Collectors Conference Center at 5:30.

A delicious buffet dinner of tenderloin, chicken breasts and all the sides and trimmings were served along with a dessert selection that would please any palate. At each dinner place setting was a bronze and enameled medallion commemorating the special occasion and honoring the 20th anniversary of the All Thompson Show and Shoot. Every attendee received one as a gift. At the end of dinner, the winners of the day’s contests were announced. The morning shoot winners were: Paper target competition 1st place winner – James Gilronan with a 94 with 2nd place to Eric Wank with a 90. In the very closely contested and exciting steel knock-down competition, the 1st place winner was Tom Davis with 2nd place going to C.J. Roberts.

The camaraderie and gathering of like-minded people in a casual setting such as this two-day event is a testament to the diversity of interests that people are more than willing to share. This two-day event is actually a perfect microcosm of a perfect blending of subject, time and functions. The first day of show and tell is all about meeting up with friends and making new friends and sharing your interest and passion for the Thompson. Day two is the perfect culmination of actually shooting the Thompson in a competitive or non-competitive way to your heart’s content. How does it get any better?

The 21st annual All Thompson Show & Shoot will be held in August, 2012. Check the The American Thompson Association website for the dates and details.

The American Thompson Association
P.O. Box 8710
Newark, OH 43508-8710
Website: www.nfatoys.com/tsmg/tata

Background

For 18 years the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Grounds (YPG) made special arrangements with a group of forensic firearms examiners from Arizona and California to utilize a tracking Doppler radar system for a wide variety of exterior ballistic projects. This technology is far more than a very sophisticated chronograph. It is capable of tracking small arms projectiles out to several thousand yards. Depending on the operator’s wishes, the data acquired by the system can provide 3-coordinate positional and velocity information for the projectile at millisecond intervals. Moreover, drag and deceleration (negative acceleration) data in both tabular and graphic forms are generated for each shot. All of these combined provide great insight into the exterior ballistic performance and behavior of the projectile at any point in time or space as well as the overall flight of the projectile. Downrange velocity at most any point in time or distance throughout a projectile’s flight is probably the most popular parameter generated from which traditional ballistic coefficient values can be derived. These values can then be used with most contemporary exterior ballistic programs for PCs to carry out computations of interest to the user. The BC values derived from actual test firings can also be compared to published values for the same bullet. Here one is apt to discover the influence of marketing in some manufacturers’ listings.

Additional capabilities of ballistic tracking radar systems include the determination of maximum range for small arms projectiles, the velocity of falling bullets, the velocity loss experienced by ricocheting bullets, bullets that perforate selected materials (e.g., glass, wood, sheet metal, dry wall) and the subsequent exterior ballistic behavior of the departing bullets. The results of many of these tests have been published in scientific journals such as that of the Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners by one of the authors (Haag).

A Useful Example

The following description and practical application of ballistic Doppler radar to a relatively new 5.56mm military cartridge, the Mk262 Mod.1 5.56mm cartridge, should be of value in understanding and appreciating the capabilities of this technology. This cartridge is loaded with a 77-gr Sierra JHP-BT MatchKing target bullet. The ammunition fired and tracked out to 1,500 yards at the Yuma Proving Grounds was loaded by Black Hills Ammunition, lot number BLH03F024-001. Figure 1 provides a visual comparison between the traditional 5.56mm service bullets, the Mk262 Mod. 1 bullet and the parent Sierra bullet from which the Mk262 came. The proprietary ball powder loaded in these cartridges produced an average muzzle velocity of 2,885 f/s from a 20-inch AR-15 with a 1 in 7-inch twist and 2,740 f/s from a 16.5-inch AR-15 with a 1 in 9-inch twist. Figure 2 shows the special fixture at the Yuma Proving Grounds for securing rifles at specific departure and azimuth angles. The tracking antenna can be seen in the background. Figure 3 provides a composite plot of 3 shots from a 20-inch, 1 in 7 twist AR-15. Figure 4 shows a composite plot of 3 shots from a 16.5-inch AR-15 with the 1 in 9-inch twist along with other data of interest. This type of plot may not be familiar to many readers consequently some explanation is warranted. It is a plot of the drag coefficient (CD) calculated by the system’s software vs. Mach Number and reads from right to left. Mach 1 represents the speed of sound under the site conditions at the time of the test and has been flagged with a vertical red line. Those readers who wish to gain a greater understanding of drag coefficient are urged to use the Internet for a wealth of information well beyond the scope of this article. (Try RSI-Exterior Ballistic Coefficients) Suffice it here to say that a properly designed, properly manufactured and properly spin-stabilized bullet will display a smooth and regular ‘S’-shaped plot over the supersonic, trans-sonic and sub-sonic regions. There is a specific shape and series of CD values for each projectile design and weight.

The reader should take away several interesting observations from Figure 3 and Figure 4. First of all the 1 in 9 twist barrel was able to spin stabilize this rather long bullet. In fact, based on these very limited tests of 3 shots each, it did a slightly better job of doing so than the 1 in 7 twist barrel. This came as a surprise since Sierra Bullets notes “7 to 8” twist only” on their component box for this bullet. Secondly, the calculated G1 BC values in the supersonic region were quite different than in the subsonic region. This is because the shape of this bullet bears little resemblance to the Standard G1 bullet upon which nearly every contemporary exterior ballistics program is based. This is also the reason why Sierra Bullets provides users of their EB programs with multiple BCs over specific velocity regimes.

The Issue at Hand

This project evaluated a claim purportedly coming out of Iraq by U.S. troops that M855 bullets become very unstable and inaccurate after sustained, full automatic fire (100 to 200 rounds) when fired from an FN Minimi/M249 5.56mm Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW). The prevailing theory was that the purported instability was a consequence of these bullets acquiring molten cores due to the high temperatures acquired by these bullets when fired through a very hot barrel. No hard evidence existed however as to either of these claims i.e., instability after sustained full-auto fire and/or molten cores being the cause of such instability. On the other hand, F.W. Mann in his classic 1909 book, The Bullet’s Flight from Powder to Target, showed that the lead immediately next to the jacket of lead core jacketed .30-caliber rifle bullets becomes momentarily melted from the transference of frictional heating of the bullet jacket during its journey through the bore. He demonstrated this by drilling a small hole through bullet jackets near the base of 220-gr, .30-caliber jacketed bullets and firing them through multiple cardstock witness panels located at selected distances in front of the test rifle (a .30-40 Krag). Figure 5 reproduced from this book illustrate the results of multiple shots by Dr. Mann. Deposits of vaporous lead can easily be seen at one side of the bullet holes in the witness panels. More recently Haag and Thompson demonstrated what they called the vortex effect for certain thinly jacketed pistol bullets. With these bullets, molten and vaporous lead emerged from slits in these bullets’ jackets and produced spiral patterns at close ranges using a particular brand of ammunition. This was due to the rifling cutting through the jacketing and exposing the lead core to the frictional and thermal effects of firing. The lead at these sites and immediately below the bullet jacket was, in fact emerging in a molten state as proven by an examination of the deposits under a scanning electron microscope. Figure 6 provides two examples of such patterns around bullet holes produced in cardstock at close range by two bullets from a large caliber right twist pistol.

The FN Minimi/M249 5.56mm SAW

The firearm used in this experiment is worthy of some description and opinion by the authors. It is a Belgian manufactured (as opposed to the American or other licensee) FN Minimi, which is the FN firm’s name for what we in America call the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. Developed over many years from a design attributed to F.N.’s Ernest Vervier, it is a relatively early production model, as was used by American military forces in Operation Desert Storm in Kuwait and Iraq in 1991. It has the fixed position barrel carrying handle, exposed barrel fore end, floating spring loaded feed cover, tubular butt stock, and the 2 position, adjustable gas system of the early American issue model. It weighs 14.5 lbs. (6.5kg) unloaded, overall length is 39.75 inches (101cm.), with a barrel length of 18.43 inches (46.85 cm.). The cyclic rate for this early model was listed as 750 rpm to 1,250 rpm, depending on the gas system position selected and numerous other varying factors. These include lubrication of the action, amount of powder residue/jacket fouling in the gas system, number of rounds in the belt or magazine at a given moment, degree of chamber polish which affects frictional resistance to cartridge case extraction, and most importantly, the individual characteristics of cartridges being used, including bullet weight, powder type and charge, primer variation and case metallurgy. The mounting system/operator firing position used, ambient temperature and other external factors, also contribute to average cyclic rate in an individual situation. So any cyclic rate figure given should be taken as a general guideline and not as a fixed figure, for any full automatic firearm, much like E.P.A. gas mileage estimates on an individual automobile. When researched for this article, the Minimi/M249 was being used by the armed forces of at least 45 different nations.

This particular FN Minimi was purchased from Ohio Ordnance some years ago, reportedly having been sold to Israel originally and Israel having subsequently sold it to Ohio Ordnance, who reconditioned it. The barrel is chambered for the SS109 variant of the 5.56x45mm cartridge, of which the U.S. military designation is M855. The M855 bullet weighs 62 grains and is intended to be stabilized by the barrel’s 1 in 7 inch twist. The older M193 variant of this cartridge, firing the 55 grain bullet, can be fired with this twist, but accuracy is theoretically lessened, as the 55 grain bullet was intended for the 1 in 12 inch twist. But at realistic ranges, that the impact of the bullets can be noted, (which mostly does not exceed distances in excess of 300 meters), the theoretical accuracy differences noted are negligible, particularly when fired from the bipod, or offhand. The open bolt design of the Minimi/M249 SAW together with the mid-barrel point mounting position of the bipod, causes considerable dispersion of bullet impacts, greater than the width and height of a standing man’s body, at more than submachine gun ranges, unless the M249/Minimi is shot from a tight, weighted, or firmly dug in tripod. This matter of relative accuracy depends more on operator skill and the range from the shooter to target engaged, than any other factor. Examining the finely calibrated rear sight on the M249 might lead someone not experienced with this machine gun, to believe that these sights and their calibration selected can make much of a difference in accuracy, at 300 meters or less distance. But experience in firing offhand or from the bipod has shown the rear sight design to be mostly wishful thinking. With the more than adequate sighting radius of the Minimi/M249 standard model, taken with the barrel weight and sight design, one wonders why a trigger/sear system that would have given closed bolt operation on semiautomatic and open bolt operation on full automatic, (like the 70 year old Johnson and German FG42 automatic rifle designs), might not have been featured in this design, (or any design), of squad automatic weapon: especially as the Minimi/M249 seems to be issued as an individual and not a crew served weapon. And the ammunition an individual dismounted soldier can carry is finite. Anyone shooting this class of firearm, who wants to hit a small target at distance, with a minimum of cartridges expended, can understand this question and the need for accurate single shots.

The Minimi/M249 can be fired from either the M16 box magazine (which increases the cyclic rate noticeably), or from an M27 disintegrating link belt that is intended for use from a 200 round box or pouch, as well as from special Beta C magazines designed for this machine gun. Besides the experiment noted in this article, the authors have fired this particular Minimi/M249 over several years, somewhere between 5 to 10 thousand rounds total, with irregular cleaning, lubrication and barrel changes, various commercial and military manufacture ammunition used, of both the M855 and M193 type, including tracer and ball, steel and brass case construction with offhand and prone bipod firing positions used, and usually with large amounts of Arizona desert airborne dust and/or sand present. Having read many complaints about reliability issues on the Internet coming from Iraq and Afghanistan, we can report that this Fabrique Nationale in Herstal, Belgium, Minimi/M249’s reliability has been excellent, with no memorable stoppages or parts breakage in this author’s (Greenberg) experience.

Procedure at the Yuma Proving Grounds

The initial cold bore shots were fired through author Greenberg’s FN Minimi/M249 equipped with a new, chrome-lined barrel at an ambient temperature of approximately 72 degrees F. This FN-manufactured barrel had a twist rate of 1 turn in 7 inches. The lead photo on page 38 shows Idan Greenberg firing the FN Minimi/M249 assisted by David Fisher. Mr. Fisher’s role was to insure that the ammunition belt fed correctly and without any stoppages for the lengthy full-automatic discharges.

The ammunition employed in these tests was U.S. military M855 ammunition manufactured at the Lake City facility in 2000 (lot number LC-00B106-438). The projectiles loaded in these cartridges consist of a 62-gr. FMJ-BT gilding metal jacketed bullets with lead cores and hardened steel penetrators in the tips. This bullet can be seen in Figure 1. Two good radar tracks were obtained and a subsequent inspection of the data files showed that these “cold bore” bullets were well stabilized.

Several LC M855 bullets were also fired through a thin (0.015” thick) white cardstock witness panel to produce ‘normal’ bullet holes for later comparison and chemical testing with a specific chemical reagent for lead known as sodium rhodizonate. This reagent will react with traces of lead around the margin of a bullet hole producing a bright pink color. If molten or vaporous lead were to emanate from the open base of a “hot bullet,” a foggy deposit of vaporous lead would appear around the bullet hole. To look for this and any evidence of bullet instability, a second cardstock witness panel was positioned down range as a ‘target’ for the full automatic bursts.

A disintegrating belt was loaded with 100 rounds of ammunition and fired without stoppages in full-automatic fire. Immediately following this, a magazine with a single round of LC M855 ammunition was inserted in the gun, fired and tracked with the Doppler radar system. Radar tracking and subsequent data was obtained for this hot bore shot.

A second 100-round belt of ammunition was fired through the gun as soon as the radar operator was satisfied that he had acquired and stored the data from the first ‘hot bore’ shot. This required about 30 seconds. After this second full-auto burst of 100 rounds, another single round of LC M855 ammunition discharged and the bullet tracked with the Doppler radar.

The external barrel temperature just forward of the chamber was measured with a Model 42529 Extech infrared sensing device. This indicated an external surface temperature of 580(F within 1-2 minutes after the second 100-round burst.

The perforated cardstock witness panels from these shots (normal, cold bore vs. full-auto bursts) were subsequently examined for any evidence of bullet yaw and then treated with the sodium rhodizonate reagent on site in an effort to detect any corona of separated or molten lead from the cores of these bullets. No evidence of bullet instability or vaporous lead leaking out of the open bases of these bullets was detected with this highly sensitive reagent.

Exterior Ballistic Results

No stoppages occurred during the two, 100-round full auto bursts. A PACT timer showed a cyclic rate of 708 rounds per minute for the first burst and 697 RPM for the second burst. The discharge of the first 100 rounds required 8.386 seconds. The second burst required 8.517 seconds. The highest and lowest shot-to-shot intervals were 0.092 seconds and 0.060 seconds respectively.

The rate of fire noticeably increased towards the end of the belt as resistance to its passage through the action of the gun due to lessening drag and weight. Good radar tracks (reliable data) were obtained for both ‘hot barrel’ shots. Plots of Drag Coefficient vs. Mach Number for these two shots were compared to the two ambient temperature shots. This graphic is reproduced here as Figure 8. Figure 9 shows a combined plot of Deceleration vs. Time for these four shots. Both of these graphics reveal very little difference in exterior ballistic performance for the two bullets from a cold bore vs. the two bullets from a very hot bore. In fact, the “hot” bullets appeared to perform very slightly better as they approached Mach 1 than the “cold” bullets. This is reflected in the calculated ballistic coefficient values given below.

An inspection of the ‘cold bore’ and ‘hot bore’ data files revealed only a slight difference in muzzle velocities between the cold bore shots (3,038 f/s and 3,058 f/s) and the ‘hot bore’ shots (3,093 f/s and 3,099 f/s).

The effect G1 ballistic coefficients for these bullets were calculated over the distance between 45 meters downrange and 600 meters downrange and are incorporated in Figure 8. The average value for the 4 shots was 0.293. The literature value given for the Speer 62-gr. FMJ-BT (SS109 bullets manufactured by IMI) in the Sierra Infinity-6 program is 0.307. This is not a significant difference. The calculated 300-yard velocity for this bullet launched under standard conditions with a muzzle velocity of 2,800 fps using the published 0.307 BC value yields 1,976 fps. The same calculation with using a BC of 0.293 produces a 300-yard velocity of 1,941 fps and a point of impact 0.32-inches low.

Summary

The notion or suggestion that standard issue lead core military ammunition fired from this 5.56mm squad automatic weapon (SAW) becomes unstable after sustained full-automatic fire was not born out by these tests. No degradation in exterior ballistic performance; and clearly no molten or vaporous lead emerged from the open bases of these bullets after sustained full-automatic fire of 100 to 200 rounds of service ammunition.

References

Mann, F.W., The Bullet’s Flight from Powder to Target (republished by Wolfe Publishing, Prescott, AZ (1980) plate 38 p. 333

Haag, L.C. and E. Thompson, “Comet Tail / Vortex Effect”, AFTE Jour. 41:3 (Summer 2009) pp. 257-267

Lucien C. Haag is a Criminalist/Forensic Firearm Examiner at Forensic Science Services, Inc. in Carefree, AZ

Idan Greenberg is a Firearms Adviser in Phoenix, AZ

It has been over 25 years since congress passed the law making newly manufactured machine guns for individual ownership illegal. In this time we have seen many new designs that are out of legal reach for most of us, while interest in NFA ownership has steadily risen. The ban that put a cap on the number of transferable machine guns still looms over us, but thanks to the creative ingenuity that so many firearms enthusiasts and entrepreneurs possess we are still occasionally surprised by upgrades and modifications. An event ever rarer is when a little known example of legal firearms registered prior to 1986 surfaces and is made available for the first time. It is almost unheard of after all this time for a truly new machine gun to be available, and in numbers greater than a few tool-room prototypes. Thanks to the ingenuity of Utah Conner of Pearl Manufacturing and the relentless desire of Michael Shyne of M6 Management Corporation to bring Conner’s 1981 concept and creation to life, we are proud to introduce the NEW, fully transferable, UC-9 Under Cover Submachine Gun.

In The Beginning

Originally conceived and designed in the early days as the Model 21 and later re-designated as the UC-9 (Under Cover – 9mm), Utah Conner had an idea for a concealable firearm that people who needed the firepower afforded by a submachine gun could carry in plain sight. Completely unknown to him there was a similar, parallel project being developed by Francis Warin and Eugene Stoner at Ares Incorporated called the Ares FMG (Folding Machine Gun). It was also being designed as an undercover submachine gun and was dubbed a “businessman’s personal defense weapon.” While there were many similarities in the design there were also several differences. It was close enough in timeline and design to still cause confusion about who designed what, to this day. Francis Warin and Utah Conner finally met in the mid 1980s and were both amazed at the similarities in their respective systems and the original, foreign guns that inspired both men including the French 9mm Hotchkiss folding SMG, the French CR39 carbine and the MAT49. While the external shape was similar, the firing mechanism was different and the Conner gun had more accessories that made it look more like a radio available at the time including an external, telescoping antenna and carry handle.

During the design phase of the early 1980s Conner partnered up with Tim Bixler of South Central Research Company (SCRC) and the production version of the Model 21 was put into motion. Very few Model 21s were completed prior to the 1986 congressional manufacturing ban and the project was put on hold for several years.

Enter M6 Management Corporation

At a machine gun shoot in New Mexico, Michael Shyne of M6 Management Corporation observed an individual demonstrating a Swiss Model 57 assault rifle he had converted from the original 7.5 Swiss round to fire the much more common 7.62×51 NATO round. During this demonstration the shooter boasted of the low recoil of the Swiss design and in order to make his point he emptied an entire 20-round magazine with the stock of the rifle rested against his groin. Having made an immediate and lasting impression already, this shooter walked the line with a rectangular brown box carried by a strap over his shoulder. Shyne watched in amazement as the man with the brown box turned to the firing line, grabbed the straps and in a quick motion the box transformed into a submachine gun sending rounds down range. It was at that moment that Shyne introduced himself to Utah Conner. Conner let him examine and fire this unique piece and introduced it as the UC-9. Conner told Shyne he had manufactured and registered about 100 receivers prior to the 1986 machine gun ban but these fully transferable machine guns had yet to be completed. Shyne immediately gained interest in the project and tried unsuccessfully, numerous times, to purchase at least one UC-9, but could never get Conner to even mention a price.

Every few years Shyne would track Conner down and talk about the UC-9 but could never get any interest in selling any, only confirming that he still had them all and had no interest in selling them. After trying everything he could, Shyne offered Conner a deal he thought could not be refused. Shyne offered to take possession of all the unfinished receivers, complete them all, and keep only half. Conner’s response was simply, “Michael, you don’t know how much work is involved.” No sale again.

Sadly, after several years of talking with Conner about the UC-9 project, Shyne discovered that Utah Conner had passed away. The project, it seemed, would pass away with him.

A New Beginning

A few more years went by and Shyne heard that before Conner died he gave the receivers to a close friend. When this friend was tracked down and contacted he revealed he had 76 receivers remaining and while he had an original goal of completing the project, none were finished and only a few parts were made from CAD drawings he started based on Conner’s original pencil and paper notes. He was not opposed to talking about selling the project.

Shyne called on the experience of long time friend John Mathis, a retired engineer from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and fellow Emma-Gee. They took a trip to look at the project and were delighted to see the brown, complete UC-9 serial number 2 with all the parts. It looked very much like that original gun Shyne fired during that day in New Mexico the day he met Utah Conner, and in fact, may have been. All 76 receivers and parts were purchased and the completed UC-9 serial number 2 was contracted on loan until the receivers were completed. They estimated that they would need approximately 6 months to complete the project.

A team was immediately assembled including John Mathis, Scott Andrey Machine Works for barrels, Dan King for testing and application work and Byron Starnes for design and fitting of the numerous small parts unique to the design. The parts that were non-proprietary were located and purchased and modifications began.

The New and Improved UC-9

As the project moved ahead it was recognized that some outward aesthetics needed to be employed in order to stay with the original idea of being hidden in plain sight. The earlier “boom box” style radios have been long out of style and anything resembling them at this point would attract more attention than they would blend in. The telescoping antenna would be removed and the large “carry handle” would also have to go. The swivels and studs were removed and the box was given a much more streamlined look. With the loss of the carry handle a new sighting system would need to be designed. Taking advantage of technology that did not exist when Conner developed the first gun, a miniature laser was mounted inside the gun when folded but immediately accessible when deployed. The grip / magazine-well was redesigned so it would automatically close inside the folded configuration and made it easier to close the gun after use. A safety was added to the design and the original “open sear” design was improved as well.

The last outward change that was necessary to redesign was the large exterior latch that secured the rear portion of the buttstock that locks everything together securely when opened for use. An internal latch was designed and had no outward indicators visible.

At times an early design can beat any amount of reengineering and the end cap / dust cover that holds the folded unit together is a perfect example. When the gun is opened for deployment the end cap drops to the ground and it was thought a tether or lanyard of some type would be better than having a part drop to the ground. Before spending too much time on this “improvement” it was discovered that the cap falling to the ground was serving a purpose that could not be retained by stopping it from doing so. As originally designed, when the gun is opened quickly for deployment and the end cap pops off and falls to the ground is serves as a distraction, both visual and in an audible fashion. This momentary distraction can buy the user precious time when it is the most important.

When the 6-month timeline rolled around and things were moving well, but far from completion, Michael Shyne could remember the important statement Utah Conner made during a conversation very early on: “Michael, you don’t know how much work is involved.”

Ready to Roll

Today the UC-9 is finished and in stock. There are several still available and they present an interesting “new” NFA firearm with a long and interesting history. The UC-9 feeds from unmodified UZI magazines, both 25-round and 32-round versions. Since the original “boom box” features have been removed it is wide open to blend in to many modern settings. With a faux, stick-on USB port they resemble an external computer backup drive and hide in plain sight on a desk. With a book spine glued to the top it could be stored in a bookcase and never earn a second glance. A few stickers from a hardware story and it may look like a travel tool kit. It is as open to adaptation as the imagination of the owner.

All UC-9 SMGs are shipped with a LULA magazine loader and a 39-page owner’s manual in a custom fit aluminum case manufactured by Americase.

Open Wide and Say BANG!

With nothing really protruding or obvious as a “release button,” preparing the UC-9 for firing has the outward appearance of solving a puzzle more so than readying a submachine gun. This adds to the beauty of the new, sleek design in respect to it not being identifiable and the process once explained and witnessed is actually a smooth and fluid motion. The instructions to open the UC-9 vary by the strong shooting side. I will give the instructions for a right-handed shooter and you lefties can adjust accordingly.

(1) To open the UC-9, holding it with the dist cover up, place your right hand on the lower portion of the buttstock and left hand on the upper receiver. (2) As you hold tight and extend your arms it will unfold, releasing the dust cover. (3) As it is unfolded and begins to take shape, when the receiver is in line with the stock it will lock in the open position. (4) At this point the magazine well / pistol grip will start to drop into position. (5) Supporting the weight of the UC-9 with the left hand, as you move the stock to the right shoulder, the right hand should wrap around the pistol grip and rotate it rearward until it locks into place. There you have it. From a nondescript rectangular block to a shouldered SMG in seconds, the UC-9 is ready to fire.

If you are indeed ready to fire the UC-9, all that needs to be done is pull the charging handle to the rear locking the bolt back. More often than not the laser directly behind the charging handle will be turned on with this motion and with very little practice it can turn on every time if desired. It is important to know that the charging handle does not pull double duty as a forward pistol grip. If your hand were to stay on the charging handle it would be much too close to the muzzle and also cover the laser sight. The proper place to support the UC-9 with your left hand is in front of the pistol grip, forward of the ejection port

Time for Live Fire

Of course we could never have an article on an NFA firearm as interesting as the UC-9 without firing it and reporting our findings. It is not common enough to have a “new” transferable submachine gun to pass up the opportunity.

Since the design is radically different from most common firearms the first task was an overview of the operation of the UC-9 and a review of the owner’s manual so everyone would be familiar with the use and procedures. After some extensive handling it was obvious that it was as much fun to share with new people and watch their face when deploying it, as it was to fire. There are no machine guns this writer has tested in over 2 decades that were as much fun to handle as they were to shoot so this is a first.

The way the UC-9 is manufactured it can safely be carried with a loaded magazine in a “ready to deploy” manner. Even though the magazine is loaded and inserted into the magazine-well, it is folded in a way it is stored parallel to the barrel and doesn’t drop into position until the gun is deployed. In addition, since it is an open-bolt firing mechanism, stored with the bolt closed it is not possible for a round to enter the chamber in a closed position. With this said, all it takes to safely load and fire the UC-9 is to hold the top with one hand, pull the stock with the other (as illustrated in this article), and pull the mag-well to latch. When you pull back the bolt you have a tendency to turn on the laser at the same time, so within seconds this innocuous rectangle transforms into a loaded, laser-sighted SMG, ready to roll. (DISCLAIMER – Even though the UC-9 was designed for undercover, instantaneous use, there is not a manufacturer or lawyer in the United States that would allow an owner’s manual to suggest loading a gun immediately prior to using it. Please remember that we live in a nation that has warning labels on hair-dryers so people swimming in the shallow end of the “good decision making” pool will not use it while taking a bath. Please adhere to all safety rules associated with any other firearm when using the UC-9.)

The live fire portion of the UC-9 testing started with some basic function testing and weapon system familiarity. This consisted of the test shooters firing several magazines using the laser as an aiming device. (You can be certain that since we were to be running rounds through the author’s IR Chronograph Screens to check muzzle velocity later in the day, everyone would be familiar with proper aiming technique in advance.)

After everyone was comfortable with shooting the UC-9 we set up the PACT MK IV Champion Chronograph and Timer and started recording the rate of fire with different types of ammunition. We tested the UC-9 with 4 types of ammo to gather as much data as possible. The average rate of fire was very comfortable and just under 715 rounds per minute. The slowest we recorded was with the new Wolf Performance Ammunition WPA 115-gr at 602 rpm. The complete results are documented in an accompanying chart.

This was also a great time to check practical accuracy. We set up at 10 yards and started firing 20-round bursts at standard silhouette targets. Although it is unlikely that complete mag-dumps on a single target would be a standard procedure, it proved how controllable and comfortable the UC-9 was to shoot. After firing several hundred rounds during this phase at a single target it was apparent how effective the UC-9 can be. Both shoulder firing and hip firing were used, at the shooters discretion, both with remarkable results.

When in bright light conditions where a laser is ineffective and given the absence of sights, the aiming technique is something a little different than most are used to and requires a little practice to master. It is not practical to shoulder the gun and sight down the plane of the receiver because the stock portion of the gun is held well below the muzzle to achieve a proper cheek weld when sighting in this way. If you were to aim the end muzzle end of the receiver so it lined up with the intended target, the plane of the barrel would be rotated up several degrees causing your hits to be VERY high. Based on your distance it could be from several inches to several feet. The cure for this is just practice, practice, and more practice. Holding a proper cheek weld but looking over the top of the muzzle end of the receiver at your target area, you can develop a “point shoot aiming method” that can be surprisingly accurate. By doing this numerous times at a known distance you can train your eyes to triangulate the proper hold with no sight use at all. It will not be an effective “sniper” or “match” gun but these are areas far from the original intention of the designers.

After plenty of practice runs, we ran numerous rounds through the UC-9 to get a good picture of average muzzle velocities. The average muzzle velocity was 1,189 feet per second. The fastest was the Winchester “White Box” 115-gr. FMJ ammo at 1,226 fps. A detailed chart with all data recorded is included elsewhere in this article.

There were two distinct things that all shooters mentioned after firing the UC-9. The first was their amazement at how smooth and controllable it felt during live-fire. The second was that while the charging handle is a non-reciprocating design, it does have a small amount of travel on occasion probably due to a light amount of friction from the vibration that allows it to briefly contact the bolt. It isn’t forceful or painful at all but was a surprise to those not expecting it.

Closed for Business

If you believe that at this point you have mastered the techniques associated with the UC-9 we have one more important part to explore. Now that it is open and looks (sort of) like a submachine gun, we need to fold it back up to its original, nondescript design. This would prove to be a hurdle for all not previously shown the instructions in the previous section.

The easiest way to complete the proper folding sequence is to first examine the placement of the “press point” rather than try to guess or feel around for it. We will make it simple by explaining where it is and providing a clear photo as well. The “press point” is located inside the stock where it connects to the receiver. It is designed so well it will still not be obvious by the previous description alone. To tell it apart from the rest of the stock or receiver you need to look inside the stock against the receiver for a flat surface with 2 rivets. This is the “press point” and depressing it will unlock the stock from being fully extended and start the folding procedure. With this knowledge, please follow along to the next step.

With the UC-9 in a position where it is supported by your left hand and the stock is in the area of your right shoulder (1) you can reach your thumb up past the end of the pistol grip and depress the “press point” with little practice. It is important to hold the UC-9 upright to close it, not upside-down looking into the hollow stock cavity. The next step (2) is to hold the stock with your right hand, and holding it in a position so the now empty dust cover slot is open is up, slowly fold the 2 sides together. The pistol grip will freely swing down (3) if this is being done correctly and you will feel little or no resistance. When completely closed (4) the dust cover can be installed (5) by placing the angled lip on the bottom of the dust cover into the slot on the buttstock and pushing down firmly to lock it in place. It is now ready to be hidden in plain sight again and only seconds from use.

How Hidden is Hidden?

The first test all who were in the writers office at the same time as the UC-9 were subjected to was a simple “pass me that machine gun” statement while pointing to the bookcase. It just sat sideways, across the top of one row of books with nothing to conceal it. Everyone would glance at the bookcase and then start to look around it for something that looked like a submachine gun. Even by doing nothing special it blends in and that is with people looking for a gun. This speaks volumes, no pun intended.

Conclusions

The UC-9 is one of the most interesting pieces this writer has had the opportunity to test and share with the readers of Small Arms Review to date. That is not said lightly either. We have covered several aspects of the gun culture here and they are all equally important. There is a fantastic historical aspect to this gun that has not been completely reported in the past to our knowledge and if we don’t examine our own history in this industry we are doomed to repeat things that may be unnecessary in order to advance. The relationships of those who brought us the UC-9 are fascinating to say the least. It is a story of completely unrelated parallel designs happening at the same time between Utah Conner of Pearl Manufacturing with his Model 21 and Francis Warin of ARES Incorporated with their ARES FMG. Some of the others involved in different areas including Eugene Stoner, Tim Bixler and Dave Boatman are names we recognize from other projects they have been involved in, within the firearms industry and all bring a lot of experience to the end projects. Another interesting aspect of this study is the tie to Hollywood with the RoboCop 2 Radio Gun placement. Never knowing what is fact and what is fiction or special effects in the movies, it is always amazing to find out that something as neat and “far fetched” as a boom-box radio that almost instantly transforms into a submachine gun is in the “fact” category. Another angle that makes this article a little more exciting than a simple historical piece is that these UC-9 submachine guns are actually transferable machine guns and are available for sale at this time. We have reported over the years of several “after the fact” treasures, but this one is a little ahead of the curve for a change. Finally, it just pegs the “neat meter” at 11. I doubt there are many of us, regardless of our specific discipline or area of NFA interest who doesn’t smile a little at the notion of this creative, folding, covert submachine gun.

Aside from all the other important aspects of the UC-9 project previously mentioned, the gun is fun and functions well. It is very well made and looks great. All mechanisms relating to the function and concealment work like they should. This is not a “work in progress” but a final product in full form. The UC-9 SMGs are currently available and the numbers are in the low high 40s to low 50s at the time of this writing. At a cost of $12,500 with owner financing available directly from M6 Management Corporation, those numbers are sure to be dropping at a rapid pace. Whether you may be interested in one as an investment, as a part of history, as a Hollywood film fan or as a closet “super secret squirrel spy gadget” aficionado, the UC-9 is certain to make you smile when you receive yours.

UC-9 SMG Source

Full Auto Classics
Ph: (877) 437-0251
Email: sales@fullautoclassics.com
Website: www.FullAutoClassics.com

ATF Offers an Olive Branch to the NFATCA

The last year and a half has been a roller coaster ride for ATF on many fronts. From Fast and Furious to a host of new players and a stance with the industry: the likes of which we have never seen before. To say that they have maintained an arm’s length from us would be an understatement. We wrote about this stance and wondered why after so many years of such close work, why the Bureau took such an unfriendly stance with the entire industry. As you know, the NFATCA, F.A.I.R., and the NSSF have worked together over the last seven years to break down the barriers that had existed for so long. Not only have industry representatives worked closer than ever before with ATF members but ATF members have worked on the inside of the industry at every facet, in order to better understand our operations. This effort has yielded not only some rather serious results, like the NFA Handbook, a draft of the Firearms Technology Handbook, and numerous regulations, but has also served to save many issues that could have had catastrophic results, if not handled as a joint effort between ATF and the industry.

As with any organization, the make up often changes and personnel that you worked hard to develop a great relationship move on. People get promoted, people retire, and in many cases the organization shifts, to continue to make progress. What is important in this make up is not only a rock solid board of directors at the NFATCA level but a rock solid management team at ATF that can work closely with industry members to make change in a positive direction – change that is reflective in better public safety and change that encourages growth in the industry, which changes how the regulatory process works. Tremendous efforts in this arena have occurred during the last few years which have made both employees at ATF and members of the industry take notice that this process can in fact work, especially if we move together. The problem occurs either when someone in the industry or someone inside ATF takes on a position that this effort is not as beneficial as one would believe. During the last two years new appointments have occurred that have made some members of ATF sit back and take the position that their role is to regulate, and that getting closer to the industry that they must regulated is not always the best solution to any problem. This happens in most cases when appointments are made to positions where a new member of the management team is not gun friendly and operates from the position that more regulations are necessary from a greater distance. The end result in many cases is catastrophic. Even the best relationships will break down under this kind of regulatory strain.

We know that working together within the congressional boundaries that are allowed is the only way that we will make the progress we both need to make the industry a safer place. That has been the NFATCA goal for nearly seven years and we will continue to push in that direction. For about two years now the NFATCA and our sister organizations have been working to find more appropriate ways to regulate the firearms business with the laws and our Constitution, and continue to build our relationship with the government. We spent the first five years of our existence tearing down the wall that kept us from working closer to ATF and we are not about to give up any ground unless we are forced to. Time and patience often yield some phenomenal results, and so was the case in October this year.

From a deafening silence, the NFA-TCA received a call in October by two members of the executive ATF staff. That invitation focused on a dinner that would serve the purpose of getting ATF and the industry back to the table to discuss refueling the engine of success through top level briefs and discussions. It was a welcome call and the ensuing discussion has yielded results that have been missing for two years. In our first meeting and the follow-on sessions we have addressed many of the issues which are concerns for the industry in making forward progress. Items that we discussed included status of the impending drop of the CLEO signature, defining small arms and small arms ammunition, among a few. The beginning result of these sessions is to establish a dialogue that continuously focuses on the needs of both sides. The industry works closely with the various branches to establish requirements for new issues and the Bureau is working closely with the industry to address any needs for new policy or procedures that may affect industry operations. This dialogue has yielded several great successes and there are many more in the works. Specific challenges with the NFA and FTB branches are discussed and potential solutions discussed that both parties are working to come to a workable solution. These issues are all of the things that the NFATCA came to the table seven years ago to work closer with the industry in resolving.

At this writing, ATF and the industry are working diligently, almost on a daily basis, to resolve a number of issues. Having a more powerful presence with more factual material at NFATCA events is just one example of ATF is coming to the table. Soon to come will be Webinars specifically designed for the NFA community, staged by ATF. These and many more events will be forthcoming in the future. All, to bring us back together to work as a team, making life in the firearms industry easier for everyone. Many of these results will be seen at Small Arms Review of the West, the SHOT show, and Knob Creek, and the NRA show in 2012. Together the NFATCA and ATF are truly working the issues as a team.

Come share in the fun and the activities necessary to support the industry’s relationship with ATF. Come join the NFATCA today and help make a difference. The opportunities are there for the taking. Visit us at www.nfatca.org.