M3 and M3A1 Grease Gun SMGs
The US began looking for a cost-effective replacement for the Thompson submachine gun in 1942, and the “Grease Gun” was the result. Designed by George Hyde (a noted firearms designer at the time) and Frederick Sampson (GM/Inland chief engineer), it was a very simple and almost entirely stamped firearm. Chambered for the .45ACP cartridge, it is notable for its very low rate of fire - 350-400 rpm, which made it quite controllable and easy to shoot for relatively inexperienced troops.
The M3 was a quite reliable gun (and what problems it did have were mostly due to its single-feed magazine and not the gun itself), but a revision program was begun in April 1944. This would produce the M3A1, which further simplified the design by removing the charging handle (which had been the one mechanical trouble point of the M3 anyway) and replacing it simply with a notch in the bolt to cock the gun with a finger.
While the M3 and M3A1 were replaced in front-line service in 1957, they would remain in military inventory as armament for tank crews and truck drivers until 1992 - quite the legacy for such a crude looking weapon!
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It looks like someone planted a row of liberator pistols in the ground, watered them every day, and in the fall was rewarded with a row of handsome sub-machine guns
Underrated comment, this
I was reading your comment since it's on the top while I was waiting for the video to load to 4:50 and it goes "It looks like someone planted a row of Liberator pistols in the ground and watered them every day- and the result of that was the M3A1"
Very droll, are you English?
welcome to today's episode of farming with fud
A bountiful harvest
"looking inside it really is just a hollow shell" man i know that feeling
dndboy13 Me & my wallet after the divorce...
Sounds like a woman i used to know
Underrated comment award
@@robinphillips8299 Oh, you knew her too?
M3 grease gun is my spirit animal.
As an enemy soldier it would have hurt my feelings that the US spent so little money on the weapon I was shot with.
Then we show them the cost of .45 acp and they go "oh fuck, never mind."
Now imagine the feelings of all the Germans who got shot with PPS-43s
@@bullboo1 $4 in the 1940s
@@bullboo1 To be fair, I bet the M3s had gone through considerable wear and tear by then.
@@zolafuckass8606 it wasn’t meant to be a great gun either, also it was probably super outdated by then, especially compared to the m16
$200 in 1942 = $3,000 today $20 in 1942 = $300 today Just to help put things into perspective.
FiveTwoSevenTHR 20 is 20
Adrian Garcia price is different that time.
The m1a1 would cost around 500 dollars in today's money
But both of those guns would be 3000 or more today thanks to the 86 b.s.
Just looked at gunbroker and the cheapest transferable m3a1 starting bid is 11,500. Ironic considering you can shoot ars and other semi autos twice as fast lol. But no, they had to have "regulations"
"the M2 is pretty much a non-thing." You mean a forgotten weapon?
Great point! I do believe that is the name of this channel!! XD So.... Lets see the M2!
We want the M2!
@@gerretoutdoors3710 you got it after only 2 weeks!
kzhead.info/sun/Y5yYnaWkg6SYh4E/bejne.html
Roll credits
Flip up that cover. Now you killin'. Flip it down again. Now you ain't.
Fury?
I was gonna say that so I scrolled down to see if anyone took it first XD
MrFluoxetinePatch Damn you beat me to it
MrFluoxetinePatch Haha Fury, good movie
MrFluoxetinePatch love that
I was a tank commander on a M48A3 tank with the 77th Armor in Vietnam on the DMZ. OEM equipment was 2 M3A1 SMG’s per tank. That was one of the finest and most reliable weapons I ever used. I dropped it in mud with the ejection port cover open, to see if it would still work. I scooped the mud out of the chamber with my little finger so that rounds could enter it. I did nothing else. The thing went thru two magazines of continuous 30 round bursts, ejecting mud along with cartridge cases. It was practically self cleaning!! The bolt ran along two guide rods that were located in holes at the back of the stamped and welded receiver. That contributed to it’s smoothness and controllability. It was ridiculously easy to maintain and repair. I think that penny for penny, it was one of the best SMG’s ever designed. The only weakness was the mag. I cured that by pressing two mag springs together and stuffing them into the magazine tube. It NEVER failed to run perfectly with that setup. Zero stoppages.
You could get those bullets to penetrate a tree with the magazine spring pressure alone by the sound of it
PSGE7 that’s actually really cool, I live in the UK and went through a cadet group for 3 years and used L85A2’s mostly. So it is cool to hear about other guns.
I used it on an M60 Tank for 4 Years, Never Recall the Magazine not functioning. With a Telescoping Stock, it was perfect for Tanks.
@@chrisclark4037 Glad to hear that you had no mag problems. I think we just got a batch of mags with weak mag springs. Other than that, it was hard to force a stoppage, once we fixed the problem.
@@PSGE7 The quality of the M3 Mags are quite good, compared to the Sten Mag they are based upon. But the Quality of the American Made M3 Mags compared to the extremely Crude Sten construction is like Night and Day. One thing about most American made Military Weapons, they do Work. I was on an M60 for from 1980 to 84 and all Tank Crewmen were issued 1 M3 A1 Grease Gun and a .45 Automatic. The M3 was perfect for Tank Crewmen. It was Light, Compact and Deadly. Then We get the M1 in 84 and they give us 1 M16 Rifle per Tank...Interesting logic.
Great video! George Hyde was my great grandfather. My family still has some of his wepon designs, and an original M31A. Wish my grandfather got more recognition
Very cool!
Is there any way I can contact you? I have a few questions I'd like to ask.
Prove it.
@MYNAMEISFROWNER no problem.. just ask me who my parents were, and any other proof.. Why would I make this up?! You're an idiot
Props to your grandfather, sir! 🫡
I'll just quote my pet sergeant on the subject of PDWs, and their place in the military:" [They are] not actually for killing, but for telling nasty people to fuck off and let you work in peace. "
littlegrabbiZZ9PZA All guns are for killing, this just a "oh shit they are on the tank, grab that little machine gun".
guns are for hunting. and theres a lot of things you can hunt with guns
littlegrabbiZZ9PZA - I love that! Great quote
Let us put it like this: If you are in a tank and they are on your tank, then your infantry support has royally f***ed up. If you are a medium-mortar man and you find the enemy within 200 yards of you, then your battalion CO has royally f***ed up. If you are a mechanic at a vehicle depot and there are enemy grunts running towards you with bayonets, then your regiment CO has royally f***ed up. If you are a supply officer and you find grenades rolling under your desk, then your division CO has royally f***ed up. Really, the people who carry PDWs are the people who should never have to use them if the rest of the troops do their jobs correctly.
Eustace Stritchers -Well put. But no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy. I don't really think these were intended as PDW's (that was the Carbine). They were intended for infantry use in city fighting, clearing houses and bunkers, etc. A lot of rear echelon troops like MP's and truck drivers did use them too. I'm sure they worked well in city fighting.
I was issued a M3A1 as a tank gunner in the 3d Armored Cav in the late 70s. We always replaced the stock springs with the much stiffer springs from our coax machine guns, which upped the cyclic rate considerably. We called them "burp guns" because they would empty a magazine so fast, it sounded like a burp. Much fun, that!
As a Grunt with the 3rd Armored in the 80's, I was SHOCKED to see M-60A3 Tankers still using this old WWII weapon!!
@@kevinpavelchik9189 As a tanker in Dragon Company, 1/3 ACR from '92-'95 we *still* had them in the arms room! They never left the arms room, but we still had them at least up until I went to Germany (1AD) in '95.
Well, it's a stamped .45 blowback submachine gun, nothing to really go wrong as long as the safety still works (and even then if it's broken you could just leave the bolt forward), and it's infinitely smaller and easier to get out of a hatch than an M16, and offers way more firepower than a pistol, so as long as .45 was still around in sufficient quantity, you still get a handy little defensive weapon for when the enemy is rolling a bit too aggressively. Now of course you have the M4, which while not as easy to get out as an M3 or say an MP5, is still manageable, and of course if you have the time, the loader could grab the external M240 and some ammo
Dad used one as in an anti tank battalion in the 50s. As a kid i thought...my dad kills tanks with a grease gun.
Stiffer springs slow the cyclic rate and Why would anybody with any common sense whatsoever disable a (m 73?) 30 caliber crew served weapon with an effective range of 1100 meters on an armored vehicle in favor of a .45 personnel weapon with max effective range of 50 meters?
As much as I love the beautiful piece of art that is the Thompson, The "Grease Gun" represents "function over form" in it's own beautiful way.
Basically it's like the PPS-43, but American.
Function over form is the charm of the gun. The epitome of function over form I believe is The Owen sub-machine gun. Absolutely 'butt ugly' but from a functional standpoint for its time, it was without peer. kzhead.info/sun/oLicYsqQqIl6aIE/bejne.html
Fun fact. The Philippine marines still use the M3 to this day. And have even updated it with the addition of a rail to add optics to it.
I saw the videos about this... Very interesting to see what is done when the military has an actual limited budget. You make it work.
I hear PMMA is basically Annapolis and King's Point(site of the USMMA) all rolled in one. They train Philippine Merchant, Naval and Marine Officers.
@@chrismc410 Yeah I've only heard a bit about them, but kind of same. They ain't screwing around, from pirates to CCP, to drug runners and just national defense they got a lot to take seriously over there.
Standardized picattiny on a grease gun is one of the most cursed things I've ever heard. I love it.
I remember seeing the M3 grease gun carrying rack in our maintenance company's M88 Tank Recovery Vehicle... in 2014.
I bet we still have some stashed away.
This reminds me of this one 4chan greentext on the m2 browning
They just don't leave
I was in a 8" self-propelled howitzer battery in Desert Storm. I remember seeing some M88 crewmen with them. Surprised the crap out of me!
God save you, Henry
I've introduced my grandfather, who's a finnish world war 2 veteran and a localy recognized author, to your channel. He fucking loves it and smiles while watching. Thumbs up, love your work!
Jere Kalevi Järvinen tell him he has my absolute respect
So he was fighting against the Soviets (mucho "sisu" - tough as hell), but - unfortuntely allies of the Germans!
Jere Kalevi Järvinen Best Wishes from Hogtown, Florida.
Craig Ross found the Communist!
@@craigross341 only did it for self preservation really, like Sweden co-operating with everyone and their nan
My father was in both WW2 and Korea. His two favorite weapons were a 1911 in 38 Super and the Grease Gun, he favored the M3A1. At the end of WW2 he was tail gunner on a B-17 working air/sea rescue. In Korea he worked Mobile Radar Detection To find enemy SAM's behind enemy lines. During both wars he usually horse-traded with others to get those favored weapons instead of his issued M1 Garand And 1911 45. He got a Personal Presidential Citation from Pres. Truman for his work in Korea. He retired from the USAF in 1966 but was not taken off the callback list until after his death in 1980. You probably won't read this due to the time lapse between when you made this video and today's date, 5/20/2023, but I hope you do. Love your channel my favorite time periods are old west, WW2 and Korea. Thanks. Frank Tipton also USAF retired.
This gun is iconic here in the Philippines. They even made a movie named with grease gun. Grease Gun Gang it you’re interested.
@@HarmonyEdge wow!
@Ethaniel Lim ofc not
You said these were in service until 1992. However I was stationed in Korea from 1994 to 1995 as a CEV driver and this was my primary weapon.
Essayons!!! 1981-1986. The driver and TC of our APC's were issued them as you were. I got one for a bit. As small and cute as it is, there was nearly no way to get comfortable carrying the damn thing around all day long. Believe it or not the M16A1 was easier to sling and work with. We ran ranges for the Division at times. Guys would always volunteer for those details if possible. We got to shoot up all unexpended ammo. Sometimes there was so much ammo left over it became a chore to use it up. And of course they wouldn't let you take it back to where you got it from. Oh those were the days. In the middle of Texas, in a peacetime Army. Only enemy threat around was some drunk barracks bully.
Larry Spiller Ft.Head! at least in the 70s. fond memories of Killeen and North Fort.
This is a true statement. I was at CRC 94-95 and grease guns were still in the arms room. Fun little toys.
Saw SF using them in 2005 in Iraq and later so you are way off
I saw a reservist carrying one on Camp Diamondback, Mosul Iraq in 04.
I'm about 50 or 60 FW videos in and I must say, I think the most fascinating class of guns he talks about are all of these stamped ww2 smgs. Almost every country did it. I just love how they went for maximum cheap and maximum functionality with literally no flair whatsoever, in any of the designs from any country. Something about that appeals to me. Okay on to the next 50 or 60 videos!
It's like evolution in action - with the same constraints and similar engineering challenges the United States, the UK, Russia, Germany, Australia (not sure about Japan) managed to produce slightly different variations on the same theme. Ranging from relatively posh (the MP40) to "get cracking, Gromit" (the Sten).
The simplicity of these is the key thing. It has everything you need and nothing you don't.
This gun is one of the most beautifully efficient pieces of engineering I have ever seen in my life.
My father was a signal corps messenger during the war (WWII) and his personal defense weapon was the "Grease Gun". I still remember that when he saw me doing spray and pray with my toy M3 ( things were different in the 1950's ) he stopped me and showed me how to do 3 round bursts. Thanks for the memories.
the M2 "adopted very briefly , never put into mass production" Ian i think you have forgotten the remit of your channel
This this this
He has a very good video on the M2 (a repro)
This has got to be one of my favorite American guns from WWII. If I could somehow manage to get one of these, I'd probably be the happiest gun owner in America.
For as crude of a gun as this is in one sense, it's a marvel of engineering in another, especially when compared to the gun it was meant to replace, the Thompson. It's simple and cheap to produce; and easy to operate and disassemble, even for those not familiar with it. You don't even need tools to disassemble it; one of the tools for disassembly is another part of the same gun. How amazing is that.
Making a good product is hard, but making a good product cheap is harder...
It says a LOT about the sheer wealth and industrial capacity of the US in the 40s that they went into WW2 with an SMG that was insanely expensive even by milled SMG standards until the war was nearly over. "This one gun cost 200 fucking bucks!" "......yeah, and it's really nice. What's your point?" "That our rifles cost 80?" ".....so that must this Thomson is 2.5 TIMES BETTER THAN THE GARAND! ORDER MORE!"
Wermacht officer Georg Grossjohan remarked specifically about his amazement of how well supplied the Americans were in his memoirs, especially because he saw an overwhelming amount of not just firepower but food and medical supplies when visiting a French position for negotiating. Grossjohan couldn't get penicillin but every American first aid kit contained morphine. I mention his astonishment of a French position because despite America's visible wealth during the war, they certainly weren't stingy towards their allies which only multiplied his calculations for how powerful the American military must be.
@@july1730 its almost like capitalism meets a demand market a shit ton better than socialist economies such as communism and fascism.
And to their credit the Tommy gun was a fucking beast and straight up fashionable with gangsters and high rollers.
@@jegsdinogod5091 My friend actually has a relatively new Thomson Carbine from Auto Ordinance and he had its wood stalk engraved with the words Gangsters N' Grunts This is the model he got. shopkahrfirearmsgroup.com/m1-carbine-tanker-wwii-thompson-45-cal-30rd-20rd-stick-magazine-1/
Oh hey, it's the quest reward for that unmarked Vikki and Vance quest.
only needs the drum mag
Freedom's Life Pal, that's easier said than done. There's hundreds of little metal shacks up that way. I've done laps around that neighborhood and on multiple play throughs. It's hard as hell to find.
I was pleasantly surprised when I heard there were actually 9mm grease guns.
Speak for yourself. I found it nice and early, along with Van Graff combat armour. That set me up for dealing with many-a-threat in the wastelands, along with a nice shotgun or service rifle.
Joshua Madoc I miss new Vegas so much! :'( thanks for the memories
We had the M3A1 Grease Gun in the Army in 1978. They were in armor units, for tank crews. Loved the weapon. Slow rate of fire, easy to hit targets. Simple design, no malfunctions. What a weapon to have!
Didn't the bolt get hot enough to burn your hand after a few mags though?
Did not have any problems with the bolt, barrel or receiver getting overly hot. We shot in short bursts, weapon got little warm after a lot of mags. M3A1 had a heavy bolt, slow moving bullet and easy cyclic rate; which kept temperature down. But M16 rifles got hot fast. Light metal, thin barrel and gas tube. Saw many barrels burn out, warp and blow gas tubes after repeated full auto fire. M3A1 submachine gun, was just a great cost effective close range weapon. One of the good things you remember from many years ago.
this gun that cost 20 dollars to make can be yours for the low low price of $8,000. thanks NFA!
CountArtha 20 is 20
Desperadox23 Adrian did. Apparently he needs a lesson on Econ 101.
No no no, Thank The NRA, their fingerprints are all over the 1983 Machine Gun Act..
Riley Powell I wonder how difficult it would be to make your own
+Jonathan Taylor Many criminals in South America & Philippines build guns that are basically crude M3s. Google Image search "Homemade SMG", you will see many examples of crude M3s. Here is an example of something you could probably legally build. kzhead.info/sun/otSFf8mJeoOHnZ8/bejne.htmlm51s
Every time you showed a feature of the gun I was literally saying “that’s so cool” what a simple yet effective tool!
We had the M3A1 in Vietnam. We loved these weapons. They were reliable once you tested the magazines. We even tried the 9MM conversion kits w/suppressors. The 9mm had a faster rate of fire and not as reliable as the 45's...
My father said as little as possible about fighting & weapons as a private first class infantry soldier in the last 6 months of combat in Europe. He crossed the Seigfreid line, and was proud of that. I believe he lost his best friend doing it. When he died he was living with Pete who had been in the same theater. I hung on every word like you do when you are 11 12 & 13. I remember him saying all the wanted was a burp gun. He had a medal as a sharpshooter, machine gunner.
Wow. Used to think of the Grease Gun as of a crude unreliable piece of junk but now I've got a whole new level of appreciation for how simple yet slick the design is. "Well done George Hyde" indeed)
TheMadSlavik it’s far from that In fact it’s very reliable in full auto and very capable sub gun.
Simple, but as reliable as all get out. Nothing fancy to break, .45 ACP ammunition. What's not to love?
My late father was issued one in the 60's as a tank commander. He said he loved it.
I heard from some of my US Army tanker brethren that they still used M3A1s through 2003 in the initial invasion of Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Now I'm not saying I used them, this is second-hand information from soldiers I served with.
That's crazy but possible. Maybe by choice. Most recent I heard was transportation units still having in the late 90s
Back in the early 2,000's, I was a range officer at Markham Park in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The 2nd Tuesday of every month was "full auto" night (BMRCA Club) and one of the members had an M3A1. Under the stadium-style lighting, you could see the .45 rounds going down range. It was one sweet, very controllable gun to shoot and VERY fun.
My great-uncle served in World War II in the European theater and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He stayed in the Army after the war ( which was rare) and later fought in Korea. I've heard older cousins say he drove a Jeep in Korea as a Captain's escort and carried a grease gun.
I can draw a parallel between Thompson and M3 as well as PPSh41 and PPS43. M3 and PPS43 are very similar in the way they were manufactured. Both of them are better than their predecessors.
MP38 -> MP40 as well.
AK47-->AKM as well
Both M3 and A1 were in service at the JSDF... till 2000s, actually. In 2011, they finally replaced all of those.
Looking at the M3 closer than ever before, I've noticed it kinda looks like a farm implement or a cooking ware from the early 50s; it just has that.... not-quite space age, DeLux kinda aesthetic to it. I dig it.
The choice of using round tubing for manufacture of the receiver body was nothing but an economy move, of course, a flat square-or oval receiver is easier to carry, transport and stack (like on the thomspon or MP40) also everything but the barrel and bolt is a stamping, even today they cannot make a barrel without machining (unless you use a barrel liner which is probably ill-suited for a military weapon)
Has a Fallout kinda look to it
Brother Kong probably because the 9mm submachine gun in New Vegas is based on it.
Ryan Meaker oh I never played NV, but I looked it up and it’s basically a copy of the Grease Gun haha
Right. Like an art deco submachine gun.
First time I saw an M3 was November 1968. Our firebase (Vera) had been attacked and breached. They sent 3-4 tanks to bolster the firebase. A few days later we were getting ready to go out on a mission and one of the tank guys comes over to look at an M79. He had never seen one so the M79er handed to him, loaded, but open. No one was paying attention when he closed it and pulled the trigger as it was pointed up. It was so close no one noticed for some reason. The round went up and then down, landing with a thud boom. No one was injured. The tank Lt came running over, grabbed the 79, handed back to it's owner and told the tank guy to get in his tank. Bad enough the NVA were trying to kill us, but now we had to worry about tankers killing us. Oh, loved the tank guys, no ground assaults while they were with us. One was parked about 50 ft from us and I always wondered if they might try to hit it with a B40. It was a big target. Bill B Co 3/8th 4ID 68-69
Say what you want I'm kind of a fan of these crude looking SMGs, be it the Grease Gun, the Sten Gun or the MP 38/40. They kinda remind us that war isn't fancy.
No matter how mechanized the military every soldier in the world is still taught the basics of fighting with a spear. War is war.
Meanwhile todayes m4 with lasers,grips,suppressors and optics alongside a plan for a hud.
%100 agree,. Love the aesthetics of all these ww2 era weapons 😍
My father, from Salford UK, was in the Lancashire Fusiliers in WWII, part of the British 78th Division, and fought from Tunisia through Sicily and Italy up to Monte Casino where he was invalided out. He used to tell me that as a section leader he was issued an M3 for testing purposes and that he vastly preferred it to his initially issued Thompson. He found it more reliable, lighter and much more controllable, but there was one overwhelming reason why he preferred it: it was the ONLY piece of army equipment he was ever issued that he didn't sign for. That when he wanted a new one, he could walk down to the quartermaster's stores and ask just for a one, and he would get a cardboard box with the gun parts wrapped up in grease proof paper, and then walk out.
Just out of interest, why would someone in the Lancs be issued an American weapon for testing? Also why would he have been issued a Thompson surely he would have been supplied a STEN or similar, again not an American weapon?
It came as a bit of a surprise to me when I saw tank crews arriving in Saudi back in '90 carrying these SMG's.
There is one hell of a lot to say for "It works."
Yep, E-7 mechanic walked up with one during Desert Shield. I had never even seen one, later saw some in WWII movies.
I saw these when I served in 1989 in Germany and I was honestly blown away they were still around.
viewer rule of thumb for forgotten weapons clips: 1. open video 2. hit the like button 3. proceed to watch
Agreed. I mean who dislikes this anyways? They're well made and informative. And if you don't like guns, what the hell are you doing watching this?
Joe Turner he didn’t shoot it also who here from battlefield am joking
Sorin Cioriciu I follow those rules to the letter
We are but simple men. Also bonus points for the *Boondock Saints* reference.
I wonder who dislikes Ian's videos. Must be PGO shotgun owners.
We had several M3A1's in our armory on the ship I was on in the 70's. So the Navy had them in inventory as well.
I had a M3A1 in Desert Storm..... Loved it. Easy to clean up and maintain.... Practice with it enough and I was hitting targets out to 150 meters.
In 1974 my G.I.Joe had a .45 pistol and a M3 Grease Gun . It was the coolest toy for a kid . My Father told me he got to squeeze off a few rounds on one of those in Navy Boot Camp at Great Lakes in 1956 . Fast Forward to 1987 when I get stationed in West Germany in the Army . It was the Cold War MTO&E ; M113’s, M16A1’s, M60’s, 1/4 ton Jeeps, however we had the M249 SAW . Our mechanics in our motor pool platoon had M3 Grease Guns . Twice a year , we ran the Pistol and SMG Qualification Range . We would order extra .45 ammo and fight over recreational firing of these Grease Guns . You really got dinner and a show with a Grease Gun. We had 2 guns and 2 30 round magazines. . After you pulled the bolt back with your index finger . You pulled the trigger back . Within one second, the bolt would spring forward, slap a round in the chamber and then fire , and cycle another round . The hard part was to contain your laughter while firing the weapon without dropping it . As for accuracy, you would have better luck with a blindfolded Sailor in a New Orleans Whore House .
Considering the original spec was for a weapon with a service life of one year, the old M3's have done pretty well for themselves. I was in Belize in 1998 hiking in the jungle near the Guatemala border when we ran across a Belizean army patrol. They took a break for a while and, after swapping smokes, they let me take a look at what they were carrying, It was a six man patrol, and three of them were carrying original M16A1 rifles, one was carrying an M3A1, one was carrying a Sten, and the last had an M14. Talk about ammo logistics problems.
I did a short period defending the Belize border with Guatamala. I think you came across some very naughty Guatamalans who were checking you out to see if you were a security problem for them. Belizeans do not use Stens nor M14s. They usually use M16s as does the British Army in Belize.
@@johnfisk811 both of these comments are very interesting. Whom do you suppose he ran into? Narcos?
The wire stock is threaded and removable, because it is also the cleaning rod. Threaded to hold the brush end.
When I was stationed in Germany in 1986-1988 the self propelled artillery (both Lance intermediate range ballistic missile and 155mm cannon) drivers carried M3A1s in a chest rig. My friend Stumphy said it was really fun to shoot, but a pain to qualify with.
Jesus thats awesome. Initially I was surprised so many people wanted a look at one but in retrospect I can't imagine anyone with an interest in guns who wouldn't. Not surprised they don't want the attention. I am, however, very surprised they haven't fitted the gun ports for a more effective weapon. I mean as far as logistics go you're going to want to keep commonality up as much as possible, same ammo, as much the same in the guns as possible, and I'd hope its at least possible to change the port (or M4 handguard) to work together. Still its better than a pistol, and if nothing else it keeps moral up. Maybe the Army should look at bringing over a bunch of WW2 guns to play with on your downtime, I'm sure the recovery guys would be thankful.
I was an armorer during the Vietnam era and while I didn't see many of these (M3A1s) I always admired them. I was always astounded at how cheap yet effective they were and as a small arms repairman you couldn't ask for a simpler and easier to maintain and repair military weapon.
I own a M3 grease gun and it’s a blast to shoot very controllable and accurate for what it is. It’s very rare as class three guns go due to the fact that they were kept in service up until the 90’s so not many made it into private hands. This also makes it a great investment that you can have loads of fun with.
Ian, my grandfather used the M3 in the infantry during WWII and was one of the people who didn't like it at all. Here's how he explained it to me. In between D-Day and the end of the war, after the Allies gained ground, soldiers would have to go through and clear all the buildings of any remaining German soldiers. European houses had narrow corridors and doorways, and it was difficult for a squad of dudes to swing full-sized rifles around indoors. In that context, the squad's only SMG became the most important weapon they had, and it needed to feed and fire reliably every single time he tried to use it. He didn't think the army intended the M3 to be relied upon in that way, and his gun had magazine issues and wasn't up to the task. The grease gun did save his life, though, when the bolt of the gun stopped an 8mm bullet that was fired at him. With the M3 ruined, he was issued some sort of Thompson, which he preferred in spite of its extra weight.
Back in 1971-73 I served with the 3rd Armored Cav. I was a communicator and ran a radio teletype set that was mounted in the back of a command armored personal carrier. My weapon of issue was an M3-A1, man I loved that little gun, nothing thrilled me more then to hear it was time to hit the shooting ranges to keep up our proficiency with the little gem.
"Crude, but it works" is pretty much the overall philosophy of this weapon.
Mp40 to m3 grease gun MP: Greasy, *I* am your father M3: *NO!!!*
MP 40: _Join me, and I will complete your machining;-- with our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy._
M3: “No, no, it’s not possible!”
Mp-40 plus stem gun equals m3
During WW-II, that was my father's favorite gun. He used to talk about going to the range to shoot one, every chance he got.
Ian, thanks for the video. My Grandpa Hugh was a Army Combat Engineer in WWII. As a young grandson, I asked him about what he did. He said, "We built bridges and blew them up." I asked him what gun he used..... well, this was the one. He told me if you were a good shot, you would have your grease gun on a sling at your side, spin around and shoot a coffee can at 30 feet away with a 3 round burst. Thanks for sharing this history of this Forgotten Weapon.
The camera work including details of the guns is always excellent. Being from Detroit so many of my elder relatives worked on WW2 manufacturing of military items. Many had two jobs to make what ever was needed. My mother and grandmother both worked so men could serve. Great video as always.
I love high quality and all, but the ingenuity in something like this is fascinating, cheap and user friendly, easy to maintain, yet totally effective.
My dad carried a grease gun in Vietnam as personal protection. He spent a lot of time riding from base to base with his driver. The greaser was very handy and he carried it 24 hours a day. He absolutely loved it.
Was your dad a mythical beast or a hotel owner?
A masterpiece of simplicity and ingenuity
Steve McQueen wielding an M3 in Hell Is For Heroes is a really cool and pretty realistic movie use of Grease Gun.
& 1967 movie The Dirty Dozen
@@azimisyauqieabdulwahab9401 Great movie.
My friend, Allan, was a Marine just after Vietnam, as a Marine, they got only the newest and best: M47 Patton, and M3 as PDW. Keep in mind, this was 1977-80, and it wasnt the M60 Patton, nor even the "a1" model of M3. Gotta love the Corps! EDIT: No, I did not watch to the end before commenting. Sorry
Sam Moon those were the lean years after Vietnam. Making do with WWII or post Korea weapons and equipment. There was a night a day difference once President Regan took office. We began to get all kinds of new weapons, vehicles, equipment, and uniforms. From about 1970till 1981 was a bad time to be in the military. Low pay, low moral, lots of drug use and crime. Even race riots on base.
You appear to be a historical expert on every gun I've watched your commentary about. (Probably about one dozen of your reviews thus far. All are excellent.) Thank you for these videos, as I'm a WWII history buff of many years whose spent the past thirty-seven years researching Pearl Harbor and U.S. entry into WWII. Fabulous work on all of your videos! Andy McKane.
That is a heck of a turnaround to design and bring the weapon into service. It is really a tribute to the greatness of American industry that everythig went as smoothly as it did.
Can confirm their long service life. In the late 80's I was an armorer attached to a transportation/logistics unit, and in the inventory were about five M3A1's manufactured around 1944-45.
This, the AK, and the Sterling is proof that guns dont always have to be expensive or overly complex. In the words of my granddad "space ships have All those technilogical feats of science and engineering. but a Honda accord still gets you to the grocery store better"
You can also throw in the M2 HMG and the 1911, not pretty, but still around.
@@Shaun_Jones did you just call the 1911 ugly?
Magnum Dong I meant not flashy
These guns are so cool, the simplicity of them is amazing, well done Sirs, well done
One of my favorite submachineguns ever!!This is such a sweet weapon to fire...Just very lovely and simple indeed...
My dad used one of these in WWII. He was in an armored recon troop in the Philippines in the 24ID in '44 and '45. He said he would be willing to stand on the 50 yard line and let someone in the end zone shoot at him with one of these and not be particularly worried. He said it was good for sticking in a window and spraying a magazine around inside. And it was light. He said they wanted him to carry a BAR (he's over 6 feet tall), he hefted it and said "no thanks"...
You have reviewed many stamped machinepistols, try to get your hands on Finnish M/44 "peltiheikki" finns made these by simplifying the russian pps 42/43 and Finnish made M/44 is fantastic to shoot, its accurate and balanced weapon even the germans made same guns by Sauer & Sohn and also Anschütz, they were DUX53 and DUX59, these were used by german military and border guards. Finnish M/44 accepted suomi kp magazines and it was just awesome bulletspray, i had opportunity to shoot with these guns when i spend my army time in early 90`s, even if they were just basicly taken away from service long time ago.
Agreed, fired the same weapon in the same army in 1994, I think they only let us shoot the old stuff so we'd stop complaining about the atrocious Kvkk 7.62*39 LMG, which was mechanically, dynamically, practically and uncarriably (2 individual 0.5 inch shoulder straps, from reindeer hide for what it's worth..) a loaf of turd. We now have the PKM 7.62*54R and are lot better off for it.
The DUX53 was basically same as KP44. It was made by Willy Daugs who was the main owner of Tikkakoski arms factory during the war. Because Daugs was German Soviets got the factory and his home in the peace treaty. Daugs moved to Spain where he made the DUX SMGs. Germans just licensed it. Later he disappeared from the history books.
Regarding WWII submachineguns with a long service life, we had the M45-B (Swedish K) up until 2007 with the Swedish homeguard.
My Dad liked this gun. Me and my brother never really pushed him on this but when I found his manual hidden up in my closet when I was 10 or so I figured it was one of his favorites during WW11. I wished I saved that manual and still had it but I don't.
In 1982 I could check out any weapon from my arms room to shoot, but had to buy ammo on my own. M3 was my favorite, never jammed, controllable, and could walk rounds to target. The slow moving 45 ACP combined with the slow cyclic rate created a tracer effect with the sun glinting off the FMJ rounds. Still brings a smile to my face today, even after shooting several other smgs.
Regarding the 9MM conversions: I read somewhere that the idea behind that was for M-3s that would be dropped behind the lines to resistance fighters. Since the Germans and other Axis forces used 9MMs, it would be far easier for those resistance fighters to replenish their ammunition supplies from captured enemy stocks rather than hoping for an airdrop of .45 caliber ammunition.
I operated an Ontos for Uncle Sam Misgided Children and we used the M3A1. The .45 cal bullet was so slow that you could adjust the impact of the bullet without using the sight. To qualify with it, ten hits at a used ammo can at 20 yards earned a "qual" bar.
The 9mm conversion used Sten Gun magazines. And since the Sten Gun copied the magazine of the Mp 28, 38, and 40, resistance fighters should have been able to use capture German magazines as well.
Loved this video! Clear images and sound. VERY informative. Good work!
I think the M3 is my favorite infantry weapon the US arsenal has ever fielded. The look is iconic, the reliability and durability are off the charts; it’s controllable, compact and packs a wallop with that .45 ACP. Absolute perfection.
I was a MP in Germany in 1982-1984 and we used these on monthly payday runs to the bank and back to the base . The army still payed the troops in cash .
That's a good movie plot right there
Back in the day I carried the Sterling which I believe is revamped upgrade version of the Sten. Even though these used side mounted mags the bolts are very similar. Which is not surprising as they all belong to the same family of classic blow backs.
thanks for an extremely well done video, we were still trained on maintaining these at the US Army D/S Maint Small Arms Course in '93. I had a half dozen of them on my arms room inventory in the 11th ACR thru '98. They also showed up in inventories in Germany thru '03 and in the Guard till at least '05. Watching the disassembly reminded me of the fact that a time or two the needed repair work for a busted Grease gun was take it over to the S&R shop and have them fabricate and weld on the needed pieces. For quals we shot only at pistol range and our doctrine was that if these had to be used ya just stuck a hand out the top hatch and sprayed down the side of the 88s to clear off any boarders. Any dismount activity the Joes were expected to take their M16s and leave the M3s racked.
In Jan. of 1986 I was flying out of Cairo, Egypt after a tour of the Holy Lands and Egypt. As I sat in the airport under the guard of a very nervous member of the Tourist Police I noticed the weapon he was carrying. It appeared to be a variant of an M3. It was unloaded, but he had a mag in the hand not holding the weapon and another stuck in his belt. We were a group of mostly clergy and spouses from Wisconsin. A true group of never do wells. But is was kind of a toss up as to who was the most nervous, him watching us or us watching him with his SMG.
I was responsible for 10 of these as a Platoon Leader in 3/73 Airborne Armor in 85-86. Each Sheridan had two - they were technically assigned to the vehicle, and usually every crewman had SMG, .45 cal, M3A1 on their weapons card so that they could check them out. They only left the arms room for familiarization firing training (there was no qualification course) and alerts. Personal weapons were the M1911A1 or M9 when it came out.
the fingerhole in The Bolt must feel Nice and hot after firing a couple of mags!
Why would the bolt get hot? Maybe it'd get warm slowly, but it's not gonna get hot like the barrel would
i don't think that really was a problem. cold hands where a bigger problem
Unlikely. It is an open bolt design: when the barrel is hot the bolt is only touching it when firing a cartridge, residing in the rear position between shots. Besides, the sheer mass of the bolt relative to the barrel won't allow it to get as hot as to burn the skin even if you let the bolt rest against a hot barrel after heavy fire.
Torbjörn Lindberg good point, does it lock open on empty though?
looks like that weld seam around the grip would rub your hand raw after a while
I love seeing all those little changes to make the gun overall way better
My dad was a radio man with a halftrack anti aircraft artillery outfit. The 473rd AAA. He carried the grease gun during his service in 44-45.
The question comes to my mind that had world war two never started, would German tank crews still have the Mp-38 keeping them company in their tank turret in 1990? 🤔
Probably not, mp38 was milled and expensive so the mp40 would have still been made using cheaper production.
They basically still use the MG 42 and the P 38 was in service until at least the 90s
Maybe? Would they have ever designed it if WW2 wasn’t probable to happen is another Q too. Those guns weren’t really made…on the level and really were means to mass arm military without violating restrictions placed on them from WW1. Arguably if ww2 hadn’t happened, we’d be looking at germany never developed these weapons in first place as have no one like Hitler to…start the fire so to speak. Let’s say we learned our lesson with ww1 instead of needing a second round like we did, and we didn’t restrict germany or hamper country with economic terrorism essentially to give someone like Hitler platform to speak on to begin with, aside from Soviets there is argument, maybe never been such an emphasize to develop SMGs for military purposes. Interesting Q lol
". . .stamped, cheap, crude-looking. . ." sounds like a good night at a strip club.
I mean she only a 2 star
@@dagothur76839 mod 3 or costume one day brother
Just add some cocaine and you got yourself a fun Friday night
"Do you want the crank or the hole?"
Awesome review. My dad carried this and the M1 carbine when he was in the USAF SP in the early 60s. He still talks about it. Thanks again. Love your channel.
Joey P yep, me as well usaf 59 to 66, m3 and m1 plus the 1911.
Ian thanks so much to you and your crew. I've been watching your videos for years and came across this today. I first fired the M3A1 as a young soldier stationed in Germany back in 1980. Tank crew's used them as a "get off my tank" gun. It was the first fully automatic submachine gun I fired and was accurate to Minute of Man at 10 -15 meters at my skill level. Years later I learned that they were great for clearing rooms, because you got out of their way or you got deaf. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. All The Way!
Having shot the argentinian version in 9mm, I can say that due to higher rate of fire and being lighter it's harder to control when firing in full auto, and it can overheat quite easily (It even has a fire selector due to those facts).
The grease guns are not quite "forgotten weapons", but often underrated.
gotta say, love the simplicity of the whole system!
Circa 1994, 1st Cav Division: we were in the middle of a POM (Prep for Organisational movement) there was a M88 crewman who had one of these, still in the cardboard box, wrapped and in wax paper, as his assigned crew weapon. I was pretty freakin' amazed to see it still in service. His life would have sucked as we didn't have much for .45 ACP in the supply chain.
I qualified with an M3 in 1987 Fort Knox I was a 19e it was a tanker weapon
Could pretty much build this in your garage out of parts from a junk car and a trip to the hardware store.
go home ATF, i'm not falling for this again.
I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN AWAY WITH IT TO, IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU MEDDLING KIDS AND THAT STUPID DOG.
And people do. Not me, I don't have the tools for that, but people do. Wouldn't even be all that hard to make it semi-auto either.
I have been working on one for awhile, might post a vid of that
@War Zone Dude it is, thats pretty much what it was designed for. The british had the same purpose to make a cheaper thompson.
A friend of mine was a army engineer in Germany in the early 80s and his service weapon when he was in armored carriers was the first version M3.
I had one of these when I was in the Army back in 1984 and qualified on it if you want to call it that. Boy, did I have a blast with it.