Birth
In the early days of World War II, due to the complex structure of the M1928A1 submachine gun, it was not suitable for mass production. Therefore, in June 1941, the Small Arms Development Office of the U.S. Ordnance Administration put forward a request Develop a new submachine gun to replace the Thompson submachine gun.
In 1942, General Motors' chief designer George Hyde and craftsman Frederik. Sampson cooperated to develop a T15 style gun that can be fired single or continuously, and its appearance is similar to the British Sten submachine gun. In the winter of the same year, the improved T20 type of the T15 type (mainly canceling the single-shot shooting mechanism) was fully tested at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. The test results proved that the gun was superior to similar weapons at the time in terms of power, reliability, and lifespan. In December of the same year, the U.S. military officially decided to make the gun a standard weapon and named it the M3 submachine gun.
Structural advantages
The M3 submachine gun has a dustproof safety cover for the ejection window. Close the dust-proof safety cover of the ejection window, and the safety latch on the inside can reliably lock the bolt in the front or rear position to achieve safety; open the dust-proof safety cover of the ejection window, and the safety will be released. In addition, the M3 submachine gun uses a retractable bar stock. The butt is made of steel wire. After pulling out the butt, you can aim and shoot comfortably and reliably. After the butt is removed, it can be used as a cleaning strip to clean the barrel. In addition, in order to meet the needs of special operations, a barrel assembly with a silencer has also been developed. By unscrewing the standard barrel and replacing it with a barrel with a silencer, it can be transformed into a veritable silent submachine gun.
The appearance of a weapon is an important factor that cannot be ignored in its combat effectiveness. The rough shape of the M3 submachine gun builds confidence in this weapon among our own personnel and creates fear in the enemy's personnel. The shape and layout of the M3 submachine gun perfectly combines its human-machine functions. Anyone holding it will feel comfortable and very coordinated. In addition, its blade front sight is installed on the front of the receiver, and the barrel can be easily extended out of the tank to shoot.
Because the barrel of the M3 submachine gun is coaxial with the bolt, and the mass ratio of the bolt to the bullet is large, the forward impulse of the bolt and the recoil impulse of the bullet are nearly equal, so the shooting is extremely controllable. Within 100 meters of the M3 submachine gun, as long as you use the sight hole to cover the front sight and the target at the same time and fire quickly, the probability of hitting is very high. In addition, the gun is easier to control with the index finger pressing the trigger to fire a single round.
The sword is still young
In the nearly half a century after the end of World War II, the M3/M3A1 submachine gun has never withdrawn from the list of standard weapons of the US military. From the Vietnam War in the 1960s to the military operations of the US military in the 1980s, it can be seen everywhere in the US military, especially in the special forces. Until now, M3/M3A1 submachine guns are still used by military or paramilitary organizations in many countries in the world.