This "Ask Ian" episode from Forgotten Weapons delves into why the M3 Grease Gun and its successor, the M3A1, did not utilize the double-stack, double-feed magazines common to the Thompson submachine gun, despite the potential logistical simplification. The explanation centers on the M3's design lineage from the Sten gun, which employed a single-feed magazine due to its inexpensive, stamped construction. The Thompson's magazine retention system, featuring a T-shaped lug that required a substantial milled receiver for its track, was incompatible with the M3's simpler stamped receiver. The video also touches upon other US submachine guns like the M2 and UD-42 that did adopt Thompson magazines, but these also featured more robust, blocky receivers capable of accommodating the retention mechanism.
This video examines the Marlin UD-42, a pistol originally designed by Carl "Gus" Swebilius for High Standard in 1940. Despite initial rejection by the US military, the Dutch government ordered 15,000 for their East Indies colonies. Due to production limitations, United Defense took over the contract and subcontracted manufacture to Marlin. Production delays meant the guns were not delivered before the Japanese conquest and were subsequently repurposed for OSS and SOE operations. They became valuable assets for supplying Resistance groups across occupied Europe, with this specific example having provenance from an OSS covert supply drop in Holland.
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