1943 Underwood "Singer" carbine question??

[nhetzer]

Good afternoon all,
I am new to the world of carbines and have just picked up my first one. From what I have learned thus far, it is a 1943 Underwood with flaming bomb on both the barrel and the rear of the receiver with a "B" over stamped (Singer Sewing Machine). Aside from the barrel and receiver it is a hodge podge of various makers and years. I am interested in returning the gun to it's "factory condition" but was curious if anyone out there knows if the sub-contracted Singer carbines followed the same protocol for parts as the standard Underwood variety. Meaning, did they use all Underwood parts or did Singer typically use certain parts from other manufacturers? I have read Bruce Canfield's book on the subject and he says that there is only speculation that the "B" marked carbines were Singer and that there is no evidence to back this up.

If anyone has information or suggestions for another good reference guide on this subject I would be most appreciative. Also, if anyone has a bunch of underwood parts lying around I would be interested in swapping parts in the event I have something you need. The parts I have are as follows:

TRIGGER HOUSING: STAMPED (ST, STANDARD PRO.)
TRIGGER: TYPE 1 (RI, INLAND)
SEAR: TYPE 1 (NO HOLE, BCE NOT SURE WHAT THIS ONE IS)
HAMMER: TYPE 3 (STRAIGHT SG, SAGINAW STEERING GEAR)
BOLT(STRIPPED): FLAT TOP (S WITH AN 11, STANDARD PRO)
FIRING PIN: TYPE 3 (NI, INLAND)
OPERATING SLIDE: UNSURE OF TYPE, E-79 (AOB, AUTO ORDINANCE SUBCONTRACTED BY IBM)

The rest of the parts are so common place that I didn't bother listing them (rotary safety, type 4 magazine catch, unmarked extractor etc.)

If you have Underwood parts you'd like to part with shoot me an e-mail (nhetzer@optonline.net) and let me know what you have and maybe we can work out a trade. I collect on a budget so this makes more sense than buying a bunch of parts and having extras I won't use lying around. Thanks for humoring me everyone.

Information

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[doncb]

I also have a underwood. My question is when the gun was issued in 1943 from the underwood factory. Would it have been issued with all underwood parts?????? don b in fl.

[BrianQ]

Singer Manufacturing Company, not Sewing Machine, supplied bare receivers to Underwood. Once they hit the assembly line they were fitted with Underwood made or Underwood subcontracted parts just like all the other subcontracted receivers or the ones Underwood themselves. The only difference in parts would be due to the time frame the carbine was assembled.

[phillydude]

what is the first five digits or the ser. number

[phillydude]

this is mine ...........
Pictures by phillysaier - Photobucket

[nhetzer]

BrianQ, thanks for the info and clarifying for me. And very nice carbine phillydude. I hope to get mine to that point someday. Mine has a barrel date of 8-43 and the serial is 26679**. I have a good idea of what features it was supposed to have but just wasn't sure if the parts would be any different being a Singer. Looks like it's not. Which is a huge relief because that means I didn't waste a whole lot of hours doing the research.

So I have been all over the web looking for a good place to pick up carbine parts, without getting raked over the coals. I know this hobby, and especially this gun, is not cheap to collect, but I feel like I look at the same old sites again and again. Once I get her all gussied up I'll post some pics too. Thanks for all the info!