In the event of an emergency landing or rescue with a parachute, a pilot should have a set of various means of survival at his disposal. You need a supply of food, various tools and weapons. The latter can be used both for self-defense and for hunting for food. Taking into account the experience of World War II in the late forties, a program for the creation of special survival weapons for pilots was launched in the United States. The first real result was the M4 Survival Rifle.
From the experience of the past war, American military pilots knew that the standard weapons of the armed forces did not fully meet the requirements for surviving far from bases. So, pistols of the main models turned out to be not convenient enough for hunting, and systems with suitable fire characteristics were excessively large and heavy to be included in a wearable emergency stock. In this regard, it was decided to develop a specialized system that fully meets the existing specific requirements.
Rifle M4 Survival Rifle. Photo Sassik.livejournal.com
The new weapon was supposed to have minimal dimensions and weight, allowing it to be stored in a compact emergency reserve container. In addition, it should be made as simple as possible to manufacture and operate. At the same time, the product had to show acceptable combat characteristics and provide effective hunting for small and medium game. The solution to such a technical problem was not easy, but several US arms companies soon proposed their projects.
One of the projects of survival weapons was developed by the Harrington & Richardson Arms Company. Its experts proposed the simplest design of a rifle for a small-caliber cartridge, which was distinguished by good ease of use and minimal dimensions. At the stage of competition and revision of the project, the product of the H&R company received the working designation T38. Subsequently, having received customer approval, it was put into service under the official name M4 Survival Rifle ("M4 type survival rifle").
.22 Hornet cartridges. Photo Wikimedia Commons
The designers of Harrington & Richardson decided to simplify the production of the T38 rifle by maximizing the unification with existing serial weapons. The source of some of the components was to be the H&R M265 sporting rifle, which had a long barrel, wooden stock and manual reloading mechanics.
Also, in the new project, a number of obvious ideas were used, which made it possible to minimize the size and weight of the weapon as much as possible while maintaining acceptable combat qualities. It was proposed to keep one of the most powerful small-caliber cartridges with the placement of ammunition in a detachable magazine. At the same time, gunsmiths abandoned any kind of automation, and also used the simplest fittings made of metal parts. All this made it possible to fully solve the tasks set by the customer.
The T38 / M4 rifle received an extremely simple receiver, which consisted of two large elements. Both parts were proposed to be made by stamping from sheet metal. Most of the connections were made by welding, although some screws were present. Other units were connected to the main parts of the weapon in one way or another, from the barrel to the retractable butt.
Weapon scheme. Figure Sassik.livejournal.com
The upper element of the receiver was a tube with walls of sufficient thickness. Its front end was intended for installing the barrel. On the right side there was a large window for ejection of spent cartridges. An L-shaped groove for the reloading handle was provided at the back, top and right. In the lower part of the tube there were holes and grooves for feeding cartridges and moving the units of the firing mechanism.
The lower box assembly was a polygonal device that contained the magazine's receiving shaft and the firing mechanism. Its upper part was made open and was intended for the installation of a tubular part. Below there were windows for various devices. In the rear of the receiver, a pistol grip and mounts for a retractable butt were provided.
They decided to equip the rifle with a rifled barrel chambered for the centerfire.22 Hornet (5, 6x35 mm R). The barrel had a length of 14 inches or 360 mm (64 caliber) and was distinguished by varying wall thickness. The breech of the barrel had a larger outer diameter and went into the receiver tube without a gap. The muzzle of the barrel was noticeably smaller. In its place, the barrel was fixed with several screws. At the same time, screw connections were necessary not only to simplify the assembly of weapons. The weapon with the barrel removed took up much less space, which made it easier to lay it in the NAZ container.
Disassembled rifle. Photo Sassik.livejournal.com
The existing manual slide bolt previously developed for the Harrington & Richardson M265 rifle was retained. The bolt group consisted of two main elements. The front one was longer and was responsible for interaction with cartridges. Inside it were a movable drummer with a mainspring and an extractor. The shutter could move along the receiver and did not have the ability to rotate. At the back, a second cylindrical device was attached to it, equipped with its own curved handle. The latter was displayed on the right side of the weapon. The low-power cartridge made it possible to securely lock the barrel only with the turned handle.
In front of the receiver was the store's receiving shaft. The rifle's ammunition system used detachable box magazines for five.22 Hornet rounds, assembled from several parts of the most simple design. The ammunition was brought to the chambering line by the spring of the store, after which the bolt sent them into the chamber. An empty sleeve was thrown out through a window in the tubular receiver assembly. The magazine was held in place by a simple latch placed behind it.
Weapons and cartridges. Photo Wikimedia Commons
The rifle was equipped with the simplest firing mechanism of the striker type. In the rear of the receiver, behind the magazine's receiving shaft, a large trigger with an L-shaped top element was installed, as well as a sear and a spring to hold the parts in the required position. There was a fuse, made in the form of a movable lever on the right side of the receiver, above the trigger. The included fuse blocked the operation of the trigger.
Based on their requirements for the mass and labor intensity of production, the authors of the T38 / M4 project used the simplest fittings. The trigger was protected from accidental pressing by a rounded bracket of sufficient width. In the rear of the receiver, it was proposed to weld a pistol grip made in the form of a curved metal strip. Despite some inconvenience, such a handle made it possible to hold the weapon in the correct way.
The simplest butt, made of a metal rod of sufficient thickness, was used. The rod of the required length was bent, forming a pair of longitudinal rods and a U-shaped shoulder rest. Above the latter, there was a small transverse bulkhead. Straight stock elements were placed in a pair of tubes on the sides of the receiver. Holes were provided near their ends for the installation of locking pins. The butt could be moved all the way forward, bringing the dimensions of the rifle to a minimum, or brought back. In the extended position, the butt was fixed with a spring-loaded latch on the right side of the weapon. The latch was controlled by a small button.
Receiver close-up. Photo Joesalter.ca
The simplest sights were used. A front sight was placed on the muzzle of the barrel, made in the form of a small flat bar. In the rear of the receiver there was a bracket for mounting a non-adjustable ring sight. It was assumed that such equipment would allow firing over the entire design range of ranges.
Disassembled, the H&R T38 rifle had minimal dimensions. Having removed the barrel, this weapon could be stowed in a container or holster bag with a length of no more than 14 inches - according to the dimensions of the barrel and butt. In the firing position, the rifle was approximately twice as long. Together with a rifle in a holster, it was proposed to store magazines and a stock of.22 Hornet cartridges. The mass of the rifle itself, excluding ammunition, was only 1.8 kg. The effective range of fire was set at 150 yards (136 m).
Work on the promising T38 survival rifle and other models of this class was completed in 1949. Soon, experienced rifles of several types passed comparative tests, according to the results of which the US military department chose a model for adoption. The prototypes from Harrington & Richardson Arms Company proved to be the best during the tests. A little later, the development company received an order for the serial production of a new weapon. In accordance with the order of the army command, it was put into service under the official designation M4 Survival Rifle.
Bottom view. Photo Joesalter.ca
The military's decision was determined by several factors. The development of H&R specialists was notable for its simplicity and cheapness with sufficiently high combat characteristics. A rifle with a 14-inch barrel could be packed in a bag of minimum size and placed in the pilot's NAZ. At the same time, the production of a large number of weapons, sufficient to equip all crews, would not lead to unacceptably large costs.
In terms of its power (muzzle energy no more than 1000-1100 J), the.22 Hornet cartridge was comparable to pistol ammunition. At the same time, the pointed bullet, stabilized by rotation, had a large effective range. Depending on the type of game, the bullet retained sufficient characteristics at distances up to 100-150 m.
It was found that the T38 rifle has a very limited potential in the context of fire contact with the enemy, but at the same time it turns out to be a good hunting tool and is capable of fully solving its main tasks. With its help, the downed pilot could hunt small animals and birds. Hunting for larger game such as fox or roe was also not ruled out, but this led to the risk of being wounded and wasting ammunition.
Extended stock. Photo Joesalter.ca
The contractor quickly launched a full-scale production of new rifles. Serial production of M4 products continued until the early fifties, and during this time more than 29, 3 thousand rifles were assembled. All of them were transferred to the armed forces, where they were distributed among the aviation units. A rifle, magazines, cartridges and a carrying holster were included in the wearable emergency stock of all pilots, regardless of specialization and type of aircraft.
Part of the serial M4 Survival Rifle rifles quickly enough got to the Korean Peninsula, where by that time hostilities began. Details of the operation of survival rifles are absent, but it can be assumed that American pilots have repeatedly had to remove such weapons from the NAZ. Most likely, it had to be used not only for hunting, but also in skirmishes with the enemy. The results of such clashes are obvious: the small-bore rifle was not an effective means of dealing with enemy infantry.
Full-scale operation of the M4 rifles continued until the mid-fifties. By this time, it became clear that the existing weapons, initially adapted for solving special problems, did not fully correspond to them. This resulted in the launch of a new competition. The military presented a new technical task, which differed from the previous requirements for ammunition and the combat capabilities of the rifle. Soon, several new projects were proposed, and based on the results of tests, the M6 survival rifle was adopted.
Shooter with an M4 rifle. Photo by Popular Science
As the supply of weapons of a new type, older models were written off. Small bore M4 rifles were scrapped or sold. Former army rifles quickly attracted the interest of amateur shooters and athletes who showed interest in systems with similar characteristics. The weapon, originally created for hunting, generally liked the hunters. Its operation was associated with known limitations and difficulties, but in its niche the M4 Survival Rifle was a good example.
The production of T38 / M4 rifles started back in the late forties and ended a few years later. The Air Force and Army Aviation got rid of the decommissioned weapons no later than the late fifties. Despite this, a significant number of such items have survived. Some of the rifles have passed into the category of museum exhibits, while others remain in service and are still used for their intended purpose. As it turns out, with careful use and proper maintenance, the M4 Survival Rifle can be used for decades.
The Harrington & Richardson Arms project, tentatively titled T38, was one of the first attempts by American industry to create specialized small arms for combat aircraft crews. The gunsmiths managed to offer the cheapest, as well as easy to manufacture and operate a rifle with fairly high performance. However, it was soon established that survival weapons should have different capabilities and indicators. In this regard, a new project was launched, as a result of which the M6 Survival Rifle double-barreled rifle was adopted.
