Model 97 Winchester Trench Gun and M1 Rifle – both manufactured in 1943.

[drm3m]

Model 97 Winchester Trench Gun and M1 Rifle – both manufactured in 1943.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Final acceptance stamp "EMcF" -Col. Earl McFarland-CO of Springfield Armory
June 42-43.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This gun was manufactured in January or February 1942.

Thompson Submachine Gun U.S Model of 1928A1. Sn. S 432702.
This gun was deactivated in the #### & click format and is in great condition.


Savage (Utica ,New York, was the manufacturer of this gun, Savage was a sub-contractor to Auto-Ordnance at Bridgeport,Connecticut)
Auto- Ordnance Corporation (were the proprietary owners of the design)
Army procurement figures indicate that Auto-Ordnance produced 847,991 guns and Savage produced 539,143.

MARKINGS:
Ordnance Department’s ‘Flaming Bomb’ acceptance stamp, “RLB” (Col. Roy L. Bowlin was the A.I.O. Ordnance inspector, once the inspectors stamp was stamped on a gun, it became government property)
“GEG” in a circle ( GEG is for George E. Goll, the AO civilian inspector and former driver for General John T. Thompson) General Thompson occupied a position in the Auto-Ordnance Corporation which today would be termed Chief of Research and Development.

David

 

[Klunk]

ummmm....just some #### or DO YOU OWN THOSE????

WOWY-ZOWY

 

[unstableryan]

They are both so pretty.. If I had to pick one though I like the shotgun just a tiny bit more.

 

[drm3m]

Klunk,

Much to the dismay of my sweet wife.....this stuff lives in our house.

David

 

[Hawkshadow]

Wow great representation of American WW2 arms right there! What's the story behind that 1911?

 

[haretrigger]

Just going to go ahead and state the obvious - Nice collection!

 

[sf]

Don't stop there. Where're your Grease Gun & BAR?

 

[enefgee]

Wow, along with the Carbine, all produced within 24 months of each other, fantastic collection.

 

[RMXC51]

There's just something bout a shotgun with a bayonet on it that says "I want to kill you". That's bdass stuff!

 

[drm3m]

Hankshadow,

I bought the Colt M1911A1 rig from the family of the vet that brought the rig back.
(The M3 shoulder holster shown below was used as a prop in the photo of the Thompson smg.)

The pistol came with a web belt marked US, in a Mod. 1916 light brown leather holster marked “CLINTON” 1918 F.W.T, it also has “G S Tobin” scratched on rear of the holster with faint marking RAFFC possibly for Royal Air Force Ferry Command.
The double magazine pouch is ink stamped ” R.H. LONG 5-18” on inside flap as well as “Capt G.S. Tobin” written in ink on rear of pouch.
The field dressing pouch is marked US on the front with ”MIAMI AWNING CO 1941” on rear with ”G.S. Tobin” in ink.

From what I understand it was not unusual to find these 1942 manufactured M1911A1s issued with left over WWI gear.

The vet was an American who came to Canada to enlist before the U.S. entered the war.
He flew with Ferry Command delivering bombers and other aircraft all over the world.
It is a pretty interesting story, these pilots flew over some very rough terrain and for this reason I suppose that is why he had this pistol.

David

The photo below;….some background

“The campaign in North Africa as we well remember had many ups and downs and during one of the “downs” we were called to fly in great haste, a large quantity of ammunition required for the stand at El-Alamein. (Egypt)
A large fleet of Liberators took over this work and these group pictures are of the crews that operated them.”

The Battle of El Alamein, fought in the deserts of North Africa, is seen as one of the decisive victories of World War Two. The Battle of El Alamein was primarily fought between two of the outstanding commanders of World War Two, Montgomery and Rommel. The Allied victory at El Alamein lead to the retreat of the Afrika Korps and the German surrender in North Africa in May 1943.

 

[angrysoldier]

great pics, very lovely collection you have there.

 

[joe n]

David, thank you so much for once again posting pics of your phenominal collection! This collection is what I at one time strived to achieve, but just could not make it happen.
As you know better than I do, you posess true classic treasures of history, and I am so grateful to you for sharing with this forum
Classic milsurp envy here!!

 

[Sardaukar]

Those dewat Thompsons make me want to cry.

*sigh*

 

[drm3m]

Thanks to all for the kind comments.

I was primarily a U.S. Civil War collector years ago (and still am), and somehow I got side tracked into collecting WWII German, American and some Russian stuff.

It has been an interesting learning experience…which also involves good luck in tripping over interesting pieces.

David

Sardaukar, I agree with you regarding these dewat smgs.
I am licensed to own 12(3) converted autos, however, I will not be adding any more to my collection.
Based on the current gun laws in Canada nice "#### and click" pieces is where the future lies for these types of guns, in my opinion.

 

[Hawkshadow]

It's amazing that you've been able to keep the history connected with that pistol! A truly great story. I wonder why, if he left the US to join the RAF he ended up with an american issued pistol and webbing...

I also agree with the ####-and-click. It's such a ridiculous thing where if one of those weapons was CA before deactivation it can be ####-and-click, but if you go right to deactivation it can't.... (at least that's how it was explained to me).

 

[Gunslingr]

Such a nice collection. I would love to be able to own those prohib pieces.

 

[drm3m]

Hawkshadow,

I can't explain how this American vet ended up with the M1911A1 rig while flying for the RAF in Ferry Command, except that while the U.S. was still neutral they was towing newly manufactured aircraft across the Canadian border to be used in the war effort....strange things were happening
in those days....I suspected that the rules "perhaps" got stretched.

Many American pilots ended up in Ferry Command before the U.S. got involved in the war.

Three Americans ..the vet on the left. (In England)
The other two fellows were very experienced Ferry Command pilots that are referred to in the "Bombers Across" book shown below....great account of what these guys went through with specific references to certain pilots and the adventures or misadventures they went though.

RAF book....limited issue ...(500 copies) that tells the the story of No. 45 Group that was the Montreal based Ferry Command that these guys were attached to....facinating reading with great photos.

The vet's Pilot's Flying Log Book...an interesting read.

For they that may be interested the two links below are an interesting read on this subject.

http://www.vanderkloot.com/sky1.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_Knight_Committee



Off topic...a bit...."#### and click" machineguns.

Shown below...an MG34 and an MG42.
The MG42 is a beautiful example of the type of "#### and click" I would buy again in a heartbeat.

David

 

[Hawkshadow]

It's so rare that we come across a milsurp firearm that can be 100% connected to a person. This is one of those great rare cases! Nobody can say for sure what really happened and how he got it, but that's part of the mystique!

To call your collection astonishing would be an understatement. Thank you for sharing it!

I've been eagerly waiting since June for the cfc to allow the police to release a ####-and-click bren currently in their possession to wolverine... Hopefully they won't be too much longer; my goal is to reunite a 90 year old amputee veteran with the weapon that saved his life on several occasions while I still can...

 

[drm3m]

Thanks Hawkshadow.

Good luck with the CFC....yours is an admirable quest.

When I got the M1911A1 rig, the pistol was not registered....I was surprised at how smooth the registration process was at that time.

David

 

[Mike Webb]

Some neat history there and the guns are in superb condition.