My 3-44 Underwood

I have not taken this apart, but was told everything was all original. Everything that I can see that is marked is marked Underwood, except for the stock. The stock is IBM. I was wondering if Underwood ever used IBM stocks, and if this is really an all original carbine, or if it was replaced later. This was apparently never rebuilt and it's near-perfect. It's a bring back. Another weird thing is that it came with a perfect M5A1 bayonet, not an M4. I think it also came with a helmet with Captain's markings. I don't have the helmet yet, but I will. =) Attachment 18547Attachment 18548Attachment 18549Attachment 18550Attachment 18551

The stock was replaced. What is the serial number?

6113xxx , Thanks for answering. =D

Laurie, welcome to the forum. Nice looking wood, how about some close ups? th, bb, bolt, handgaurd, etc.
Did the ammo, mags, pouch and case come with it?......Frank

Hi, and thanks. Actually, my name is Laurie. That =D is my smiley. Those pics are smaller ones I resized because some other sites couldn't upload the bigger ones. I have some bigger pics, but not of everything needed. I'll work on that later. The pouch, case and bayonet came with it. The mags that came with it were rusty in the pouch so they were replaced with good ones. I think the 30 and the ammo and stripper clips came separate too. This was a Christmas gift. =D My friend is a big collector and has a lot of this stuff, but he is having a good time watching me find out about it for myself. This came from the estate of a colonel that passed away recently. I have not dealt with them directly, I just know what I was told, and what I've researched about the markings. So far, it appears to be what I was told it is. Except for the stock. It is marked in the sling cutout with LW-B, and the cross cannon cartouche on the right cheek appears to be the IBM version too. There are no other markings on the stock. =) The handguard does have a small chip in the right rear corner, and there is a capital P scratched in the right rear side of the receiver. There are a few f\dings, but nothing else that would be considered "damage". The barrel band is marked UI, the bolt is flat and in perfect finish, the adjustable sights are unmarked and appear to be original to the gun. The trigger guard is marked with the flaming bomb, as is the rear receiver bevel and slide handle. The barrel is marked UNDERWOOD, then 3-44, flaming bomb, then P. The front sight is unmarked. The magazine catch is marked AU, and I'm not sure what it is, but there is a back plate inside the mag well, that is marked with *U*. I still don't know what all the components are called. Since I haven't taken it apart, I haven't found any other markings. Some parts are just not marked. Hope this helps. Thanks again.

Laurie

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Well, those were the bigger versions of the pics, but it still didn't work. I'll try to take more later.

Laurie, A curious question that I hope you will not be offended by. I have known several guys with names that seem more common to a female name. If in this case Laurie is a guys name I had not seen that before. If you are a gal interested in carbines; that’s great.

Either way welcome to the forum. I have only been here for a short time but have been very impressed by the knowledgeable people on here and their willingness to share that knowledge.

John

lol, I'm not offended. I HAVE seen Laurie used as a male name. But I'm female. I like all kinds of military stuff. Always have. I like things that are made well, work properly, and are efficient. Military is as close as you can get. =)

L

I have an old friend, whom for years and years went by the name B. Lee. Asked him one day what the B stood for. He said it was Beverly. Seems like Female names for males was not all that uncommon in the Forty's. Are so said my Dad when I quizzed him about it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stormskyeyes

lol, I'm not offended. I HAVE seen Laurie used as a male name. But I'm female. I like all kinds of military stuff. Always have. I like things that are made well, work properly, and are efficient. Military is as close as you can get. =)

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Thanks, Good to know.

I’m very fortunate my wife likes this stuff too. Both our dad’s severed in WWII.

I have a few Underwood’s: a couple W’s and a T all in the 2 mil range nothing in 6 mill.

John

Just took some more. =) If there is anything anyone can tell me about this, I'm no where near done learning about it. =D Thanks again.
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I have a lot of pics, but the uploader says most of them are too big. =/ Oh well.

stormskyeyes,
You can always use Photobucket and put all the pictures of your 6 mil Underwood in one file.
You could then just copy and post the Direct link in your post for the whole file to be seen.
Or just copy and paste the IMG code in your reply for just a particular picture or two to be seen.
When posting with pictures, use the Go Advanced feature and always remember to hit the Preview Post button, to make sure the file or pictures you want to show are in your post.
If all is good after using the Preview Post, Go ahead and hit Submit reply.
You might as well start your picture albums, as I doubt this will be your only carbine.
Welcome to the forum and now sharing our Addiction !

BTW, The grooved rear magwall where you found the .U. stamped is all part of your trigger housing. Your Trigger housing is the stamped/brazed type called a Type IV, also often called a fabricated housing. Designed by Underwood Elliot Fisher to speed up trigger housing production. This type Trigger Housing wasn't used by every maker.

When you get time, take a look at the DATA SHEET from The Carbine Club. It's near the bottom of the page in the link below. You can download a copy, fill it out and mail it in.
It will help you ID your part types. Membership is a bargain with years of research put in one place. The Carbine Club asks for honest members willing to contribute.

The Carbine Club - A CMP Affiliated Organization

Thanks for sharing so far. We always enjoy seeing any carbine examples, especially late Underwoods.
If you need help breaking your carbine down, we're here to help. No question is to silly.... Well most any, some of these guys are well....... Guys !!
Seriously, even to pull the barreled receiver from the stock, one should grease the barrel in front of the barrel band to keep from scratching the barrel. If in doubt....Please Ask!

The New Google Custom Search at the top right of the page can help when just researching older posts.

Again Welcome,
Charlie-painter777

I hope to someday get a B Underwood. I sew, and I really like the idea of a gun partially made by Singer. =D Maybe when I find one, it can be my shooter, because I'm pretty sure this one is NOT going to be... =D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stormskyeyes

I hope to someday get a B Underwood. I sew, and I really like the idea of a gun partially made by Singer. =D Maybe when I find one, it can be my shooter, because I'm pretty sure this one is NOT going to be... =D

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Laurie,

I don't know how much shooting you would do with a "B" coded either, being 1 of 25,000. But if you get one, I would love to see a picture of it hanging on the wall behind your sewing machine. :thup: In the mid 80's I hung an IBM up behind my wife's new computer, an IBM PC. It was only a 256K when it came out. What a Dinosaur now.

I see you are in St Louis. Also in the 80's I was there and had an opportunity to tour the Corvette plant before it moved to Kentucky. At the time I had a 1959 Corvette. It was a pretty cool tour. You had to be a long term employee to get to work there.

Have your collector friend lend you some of his Carbine books. Some interesting stuff about these guns. Welcome to the forum.

Jim

It looks to me that you have a replacement rear sight and possibly the barrel band. Can't really tell about any of the rest without better pics. If the rear sight were original the manufacturer name and serial number would be completely visable. On yours, the manufacturer looks to be covered up. Also if you look at the barrel just in front of the handguard it looks to have wear marks that indicate the presence of a type three band at one time. Some clearer pictures would help. You can also see on the stock that there is an indention caused by a type 2 or 3 barrel band. I would guess that you have a typical rebuild and possibly somebody's restoration project. That doesn't make it any better or worse than any other carbine. Still a nice example of a WW2 carbine. Enjoy it.

I see what you're talking about with the indentations from a type 2 or 3 bb. I was wondering about that. The problem is, my friend bought this as a bringback from the family of a guy that was a colonel. He trusted the people, and for him, that means something. He was told that there IS paperwork on this, and I'll get it when they find it. Also, since I know the stock is an IBM, and probably a replacement, but all the metal is perfect (including the barrel) and original Underwood, it would make sense for the stock to have those marks from it's previous life on an IBM. On the sights, I'm also not so sure. These are not marked at all. The replacement sights like these that I've seen have all been marked I.R.C.O. This one is blank. There are a lot of parts on this gun that are not marked at all. I have been told that Underwood didn't mark all their parts. Also, on the later carbines, they did start using adjustable sights. This is not an early carbine that would have had flip sights, this adjustable sight is really appropriate to the serial number and age. What I think I have is an original carbine that stayed with it's original owner it's whole life. That owner was a lifer, which does explain the replacement stock and the pristine condition that it's in. He would have kept it in good condition, not used it much, and kept all the up to date parts on it. This guy had a small but VERY impressive collection. He did not keep anything that was less than amazing. I know this gun truly is one of the rare ones. I AM looking forward to getting a hold of some books though. I want to know everything I can about it. I guess I'll try to find information on sights next. =D

[http://cgi.ebay.com/M1-Carbine-Owner...item3363a2e62d

Laurie,
This book was on Ebay a couple times and did not sell. It went off the other day but if you could contact the sell you may be able to buy it.

It is a great reference book to help you identify the parts to learn the gun inside out, disassembly and re-assembly and maintenance. It has nothing to do with who manufactured the parts. You will need the other books for that. In it a hammer is a hammer and how to get it out of the housing without launching the spring across the room or in your face. That kind of stuff.

I got a copy of it with a bunch a stuff I bought from a guy awhile back. I probably would not have bought it otherwise but I’m glad I have it.

Also take some time and look thru these Sticky Threads at the top of the carbine page, along with the others when time allows.
You'll never be able to read too much about these!

FM23-7 Basic Field Manual for .30 Calibre M1 Carbine

Basic Manual of Military Small Arms by W.H.B. Smith

FWIW,
Charlie-painter777

I have been reading and saving all those manuals. Found some useful stuff on the CMP site too.