The Hyde-Inland M2 was a United States submachine gun design submitted for trials at
Aberdeen Proving Ground
Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving ''Grounds'') is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work a ...
in February 1941. Work was undertaken by
General Motors Inland Manufacturing Division to develop workable prototypes of
George Hyde's design patented in 1935 (). The model first submitted for trials in April 1942 was designated the ''Hyde-Inland 1''. Trials revealed the design was superior to the
M1 submachine gun in mud and dirt tests, and its accuracy in full-automatic firing was better than any other submachine gun tested at the time. An improved ''Hyde-Inland 2'' was designated U.S. Submachine gun, Caliber .45, M2 as a substitute standard for the M1 Thompson in April 1942. As Inland's manufacturing capacity became focused on
M1 carbine
The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced ...
production, the US Army contracted M2 production to
Marlin Firearms
Marlin Firearms Co. is an American manufacturer of semi-automatic, lever-action, and bolt-action rifles. In the past, the company, now based in Madison, North Carolina, and formerly based in North Haven, Connecticut, made shotguns, derringe ...
in July 1942. Marlin began production in May 1943. Marlin's production failed to match the trials prototype performance;
[ and Marlin's original contract for 164,450 M2s was canceled in 1943 upon adoption of the ]M3 submachine gun
The M3 is an American .45-caliber submachine gun adopted by the U.S. Army on 12 December 1942, as the United States Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M3.Iannamico, Frank, ''The U.S. M3-3A1 Submachine Gun'', Moose Lake Publishing, , (1999), pp. 14, 22†...
.[Frank Iannamico, ''American Thunder: the Military Thompson Submachine Guns'', Moose Lake Publishing, 2000, p. 149.] The M2 is chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge and used the same 20- or 30-round magazine as the Thompson. Its cyclic rate of fire is 570 rounds per minute. None of the approximately 400 manufactured were issued by any branches of the United States military.[
]
Design
The M2 is a simple blowback operated design, although it was difficult to make. The receiver was built from a steel forging and a seamless tubular section, which took extra time and effort to machine and finish, causing the US Army to adopt the M3 with a simple stamped sheet metal receiver instead. Like the American Thompson and Finnish Suomi designs, the M2 bolt was shaped with large diameter rear and slender front sections. Unlike the all metal M3 with a collapsing wire stock, the M2 had a fixed wooden stock with wooden handgrip and handguard.[Hogg, Ian & Weeks, John. "Military Small Arms of the 20th Century". Krause Publications (2000). ]
See also
*List of U.S. Army weapons by supply catalog designation
This is a historic (index) list of United States Army weapons and materiel, by their Standard Nomenclature List (SNL) group and individual designations — an alpha-numeric nomenclature system used in the United States Army Ordnance Corps Supply ...
SNL A-52
* List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces
*M3 submachine gun
The M3 is an American .45-caliber submachine gun adopted by the U.S. Army on 12 December 1942, as the United States Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M3.Iannamico, Frank, ''The U.S. M3-3A1 Submachine Gun'', Moose Lake Publishing, , (1999), pp. 14, 22†...
* United Defense M42
References
External links
Springfield Armory Collection: M2 submachine gun
*
The Great Arsenal of Democracy
.45 ACP submachine guns
World War II submachine guns
Submachine guns of the United States
World War II infantry weapons of the United States
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1942
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