I have a question on a couple of early carbine parts

[Tuna]

Look on GB or Ebay for one. I have seen them offered there before.

[rayg]

Finally got to my books. The coils on the 22 coil spring are larger/thicker in dia so it won't work just to cut down the longer one I need an original one, Ray

[rayg]

Just to make sure that the spring was the only thing changed/upgraded. I took the bolt apart and everything is as it should be. The cone shaped extractor plunger, the type #1 extractor, and correct firing pin, Ray

[firstflabn]

Straight hammer and 26-1/2 coil hammer spring for new production were approved at the same time. MWO ORD B28-W1 (for existing carbines) included the same requirement to replace hammer and spring together. In the latter case, quantities of the two parts would have been shipped together (I presume as a kit).

So, take your pick - perhaps a product of a field salvage operation where the niceties of paperwork were often ignored out of necessity - or - a later restoration/repair by who knows who. Either theory could account for the stock and HG almost certainly being a good bit later.

MWO-1 states its purpose as: "To reduce trigger pull."

[rayg]

Straight hammer and 26-1/2 coil hammer spring for new production were approved at the same time. MWO ORD B28-W1 (for existing carbines) included the same requirement to replace hammer and spring together. In the latter case, quantities of the two parts would have been shipped together (I presume as a kit).

So, take your pick - perhaps a product of a field salvage operation where the niceties of paperwork were often ignored out of necessity - or - a later restoration/repair by who knows who. Either theory could account for the stock and HG almost certainly being a good bit later.

MWO-1 states its purpose as: "To reduce trigger pull."

How and why the spring and stock got changed is Just one of those little things I guess we will never know. I was wondering though, the hand guard has the Ord bomb, and either just an "O", or a "O I", I can't make out which, would that also be later like you mentioned?
Also Just curious on how much later the stock is then my carbine. What month would a carbine be made starting at 30,000? (Well answered my own question as I just looked it up in War Baby. It would be approx. Oct.- Dec.), Ray

[Duane Hansen]

I'm just learning about these Carbines and am curious about the mags. Is there any particular marking on a 15 round mag that would be more correct than another. Which ones would be more likely to have come with this early Inland Carbine. I know that there were many different marks on the mags so I just wondered.

[Tuna]

An early Inland magazine would be a type 1 with the flat base plate. It would be marked with IA, AI, SY-I, IU, II, KI, TI, SI. So in general any 2 letter combo with an I in it could have been made for Inland.

[Duane Hansen]

Thanks again Tuna for the information, it is most appreciated.

[rayg]

Regarding that only the spring was changed in my 42 carbine and not both the later hammer and spring at the same time and why if when the items were authorized and came in pairs to be replaced only the spring was replaced in the gun. Being curious about the springs which I never paid attention to them before, I checked the springs on my three mid and latter year 1943 dated M1A1 carbines and two of them had the type III springs and hammers apparently as authorized, but one of the mid year ones still had the earlier type II hammer but the later spring. Again the question of who added that spring? I guess this again just goes to show that nothing is certain with carbines.
Also in looking to see if by chance I had a 22 coil spring in my small stash of carbine parts, I came across a type II hammer with "MC" stamped on it, what mfg. would that be? Ray

[BrianQ]

The 26 1/2 coil hammer spring and the straight hammer (type IV) were not part of a kit. They were individually packaged parts, although some were repackaged by the Ordnance Dept. personnel in packs of ten each. If a carbine had a damaged or lost hammer spring the unit armor or operator could easily just replace the spring.

MC marked hammers were made by The Marco Company during WWII as field replacement parts.