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Title:	GUN, SUBMACHINE -  U.S. SUBMACHINE GUN M3 .45ACP SN# 318096
Maker/Manufacturer:	HYDE & SAMPSON
Date of Manufacture:	1944-1945
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 1563
Measurements:	OL: 29.1" with stock extended; 22 3/4" with stock folded. BL: 8" 8.1 lbs. without magazine. .

Object Description:

U.S. SUBMACHINE GUN M3 .45ACP SN# 318096
Manufactured by Guide Lamp Division of GM, Dayton, Oh. - Standard, blowback-operated, M3 submachine gun. Full-auto fire only. Blue finish. Double legged, one piece L-shaped wire stock which can be retracted. Fixed aperture rear sight set for 100 yards; blade front sight. 4-groove rifling; right hand twist. Muzzle velocity 920 fps. Cyclic rate of fire 400 rpm. Effective range of 200 yards; maximum range 1700 yards. Weapon weighs approximately 8.1 lbs. unloaded and 10.25 lbs. loaded.

Markings:
Magazine housing: SUB MACH GUN/CAL..45 M3/GUIDE/U.S. NO./318096.
Tag (placed in catalog folder): 318096/PRE. 5000/RDS.

Weapon transferred to the Museum on 15 February 1966. At that time weapon was appraised at $41.90.

Notes: "REMARKS: The M3 is forerunner to the M3A1 and is the same except as follows: - Has bolt retracting lever assembly with lever located on right side of housing assembly. - Bolt differs in that it has a retracting lever pawl notch, no cutout for retracting with finger and no clearance groove in lower side for easy removal. - Stock has no bracket for use as hand loader. - Oiler located on left side of housing and held by a spring catch. No oiler in pistol grip. - No flat cuts on barrel collar for easy barrel removal." - U.S. Army Ordnance

"GUN, SUBMACHINE, CALIBER .45, M3 - Standard in the Army of the United States in 1944 was the Submachine Gun, Caliber .45, M3. No better exemplification could be found of the statement that the American soldier is the best equipped fighting men in the world. The gun itself is remarkable but even more noteworthy is the circumstance that it was in production within less than one year from July 1942 when the Technical Division of the Ordnance Department authorized the development of a weapon of its particular type.
The Submachine Gun, M3, is a caliber .45 weapon weighing 8 pounds, 15 ounces, complete with magazine, oiler and sling. Its overall length is 29.8 inches which is shortened to 22.8 inches when the extension stock - which may be used in emergency as a cleaning rod - is closed. The 230 grain ball of the caliber .45, M1 cartridge is projected through an 8 inch barrel rifled with four right-hand twist grooves. The pitch, or twist is one turn in 16 inches. An alternative rifling of one turn in 15 inches is permitted the manufacturer.
The gun operates upon the straight blowback principle, the fixed firing pin in the heavy bolt firing the cartridge at the completion of the forward stroke. The major portion of the energy of the explosion is thus absorbed by the inertia of the bolt. When this is overcome, the remaining energy of the explosion is sufficient to drive the bolt to the rear against the compression of the operating springs. The fired case is ejected on the retracting stroke and the compressed dual springs furnish power to return the bolt to the firing position, picking up and chambering another round on its forward movement.
The use of a heavy bolt holds the cyclic rate of fire of the M3 to approximately 400 rounds per minute. This low rate of fire and the design which places the heel of the stock in almost a straight line with the axis of the bore combine to reduce recoil, virtually to eliminate muzzle-climb, and to produce unusual accuracy whether the weapon be used with stock extended or as a 'two-handed' pistol....
Stampings are used wherever possible in the manufacture of the M3, only the barrel, bolt and a few additional components require machining operations, no critical metals are employed. and the gun may be turned out by production-line methods at a minimum cost for a weapon of this type. The barrel, for example, is produced by a simple, speedy, and inexpensive swaging operation...The Submachine Gun M3 can be stripped for convenient stowing in a soldier's pack, for shipment, or for packing in standard containers to be dropped by parachute. The barrel and magazine are removed and the extension stock is folded. The gun stripped occupies a space 12-5/8 inches long, 7-3/8 inches high, and 3-1/8 inches The following significant reference to the M3 Gun is quoted from the Second Summary Report of the Aberdeen Proving Ground on all submachine guns tested up to 10 April 1943. 'Although it would be dangerous to state that further improvements and developments are unlikely, the ultimate has been reached in this type of weapon for the time being and production may begin without fear of immediate change.
The conclusion was reached at the end of the long series of tests which led to the adoption of the Submachine Gun, M3. Not until such an assertion could be made was production ordered." - HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL ARMS CONDUCTED BY THE RIFLE BRANCH DURING WORLD WAR II by E.G. Cooper.

"Issued to tank and vehicle crews; also, as a special purpose weapon, to military police, paratroopers, Rangers, and commando-type units; and the front-line units for patrolling and scouting missions.
The M3 is very dependable because of its simple mechanism. It have very little recoil or tendency to 'climb' during long bursts of fire. Stampings were used whenever possible in the manufacture of the M3. Only the barrel, the bolt, and a few additional components require machining operations. A cheaply produced, quickly manufactured arms, it was designed as an equivalent of the German MP40, British Sten, and Soviet PPSh 41 submachine guns. Upon modification of the M3 to the M3A1, the M3 was designated limited standard....The M3 was first used in relatively large numbers in the D-Day invasion of German-occupied France, June 6, 1944. M3 submachine guns were part of the equipment of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, the first American troops to land in France. The M3 was used throughout the rest of the war by airborne, Ranger, and commando-type units; by tank and vehicle crews; and as a special-purpose weapon for scouting and partrolling missions. The M3A1 did not go into production until late in the war; few, if any, reached troops in the field." - Johnson & Lockhoven.

"The M3 was the outgrowth of an idea for a modern submachine gun, which was first conceived when the Small Arms Development Branch. Technical Division of the Ordnance Corps undertook the development of such a gun to embody characteristics expressed as desirable by the Cavalry and Infantry Branches. This requirement was set forth on February 6, 1941, and it is noteworthy that the weapon was in full-scale production within less than two years.
Part of the credit for the M3 can be traced to Colonel Rene R. Studler, who managed to get both George J. Hyde and Frederick W. Sampson together. George Hyde was the basic designer of the weapon and was well-acquainted with submachine gun development and design, since he had designed several fairly successful weapons of this kind before the requirement for a weapon of the M3 type was set forth. Frederick Sampson was the Chief Engineer for Inland Division of General Motors Corporation and was responsible for many of the production 'short cuts' which were incorporated into the design for the M3. No one man can claim complete credit for the development of the M3; it was more the result of a combined effort on the part of several individuals." - Thomas B. Nelson.

OCM 19401 - 12/24/43 - M3 Recommended for Standardization.
OCM 19507 - 01/14/43 - Read for record.

References:
Hogg, Ian V. & John S. Weeks. MILITARY SMALL ARMS OF THE 20TH CENTURY. 7th Ed. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 2000.
Iannamico, Frank. UNITED STATES MACHINE GUNS: FROM THE AMERICAN 180 TO THE ZX-7. Moose Lake Publishing LLC. Henderson, NV. 2004.
Johnson, George B. & Hans Bert Lockhoven. INTERNATIONAL ARMAMENT. Vol. II. International Small Arms Publishers. Cologne, Germany. 1965.
Nelson, Thomas P. THE WORLD'S SUBMACHINE GUNS. T.B.N. Enterprises. Alexandria, Va. 1977.

See, TSB-680. TM9-1217.