From Brian on Patreon:
"Would you give your thoughts and comments on non-gun companies making guns? For example Baldwin Locomotive/Eddystone 1917s, IH Garands, GM M-16s, most M-1 carbines, maybe even TRW M-14s. How did the experiment work out?"
I would say that the experiment worked very well. Springfield Armory was tasked with developing production tooling for various US military production items, with the express purpose of aiding private industry in tolling up for mass production. This was an essential element in the US being able to exploit its industrial dominance during World War Two, with dozens of non-gun companies able to come online making munitions quickly and with relatively few problems. Nothing is going to go perfectly, but the track record of American non-gun companies during the war was no worse than the firms like Winchester, Colt, and H&R.
VIDEO HERE (10:16 minutes)
While TRW manufactured M14's have a certain cachet, my understanding is they did quite poorly in building them to spec, and to schedule, and in fact produced few of them.
ReplyDeleteTRW saved the M14 Rifle production program from abject disaster. The original three contractors: Springfield, Winchester, and H&R attempted to produce the M14 on M1 Garand tooling. Didn't work and they all failed to deliver functional rifles, including Winchester.
DeleteTRW was not even considered as a production source in 1959 when the original three M14 production contracts were awarded. The U.S. Army asked TRW to assess the M14 production failures at the other three contractors after their two year CF. TRW had become the DoD's last resort when no one could manufacture a critical ordnance item.
TRW revised every M14 engineering drawing, created all new tooling for all four contractors (including themselves), and introduced the hide bound American firearms industry to chain broaching and other (then) modern manufacturing techniques.
I used to work for one of TRW's fiercest competitors, working late every day to get ahead of them. The kept us on our toes! They were one of the best metalworking operations in the USA in their day. It was challenging, until TRW's corporate suits decided to become a credit data company and abandon their strong suite, metalworking.
Ian didn't mention such companies as Union Switch & Signal, Remington (Typewriters, not Arms), and a lot of others who produced weapons & weapon components.
ReplyDelete--Tennessee Budd
I have a 1903 Springfield with a Smith-corona receiver. Beautiful gun
ReplyDeleteIngles (Dish washers and appliances), Singer (sewing machines), and Husqvarna (unsure if it's the same company ) were three more. A guy could spend a week researching non- gun builders for years ago.
ReplyDeleteHusqvarna started out as a rifle manufacturer that's why the top of the logo is a front and rear sight.
DeleteMac
Singer Sewing Machine 1911s are collectors items, and good guns.
ReplyDeleteAs an MP in 67-70 I was issued several 1911's at several duty stations. The Singer I carried in Vietnam was the best of the lot, smooth action, good trigger and accurate.
DeleteWhen my father passed I inherited his 1944 Remington Rand 1911. 👍🏻
ReplyDeleteMy dad worked for Underwood Elliott-Fisher from the depression until '48. He was exempt from the draft due to this which explains me being born in '42 instead of '46. He was an adding machine mechanic and worked on those huge billing machines. Even the government needs billing machines. He had a dummy Carbine round they gave the employees but it was lost a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I had been fascinated by the M-1 carbine since childhood and ran across an Underwood in a gun shop many years ago before the prices went crazy.
In the UK gun manufacturers diversified into motorcycle production sometimes. BSA and Royal Enfield both made guns before they made motorcycles. Both companies now make retro styled motorbikes in India.
ReplyDelete