Early Inland

[thorin6]

I recently picked up this early Inland, SN 2904xx, that was represented as “original.” Having gone over the carbine with the data sheet and Riesch (5th Ed), I think I know what I have, but would appreciate any comment on this carbine.

First the metal:
The barrel date is 3-43, which is reasonable for the serial number. There are no marks indicating a Type III band was on the carbine. I don’t see any evidence the front sight has been removed and reinstalled. The markings and types for the various parts appear to be correct for the same date, as do springs and plungers. The carbine headspaces properly, the bore is clean and sharp, and the muzzle has less than 25% wear. The pictures show more detailed. The flip sight looks like it was adjusted with a vengeance (and a blunt chisel) but you can see the top of the S on the left side.


Per the data sheet and Riesch:
Bolt: blued, flat, Type II with AI on the left lug
Extractor: Type III with WI
Extractor Plunger: Type II
Ejector: Type I
Firing Pin: blued Type I with WI
Operating Slide: Type II with PI (with slide stop Type II)
Trigger Housing: Type II (with Type II retaining pin)
Trigger: Type II with RHI
Sear: Type I with RI
Hammer Plunger: Blued with spring with 22 coils
Hammer: Dogleg Type II with HI
(The Trigger Housing only shows strikes from the dogleg hammer)
Safety: Type II unmarked
Magazine Catch: Type IIA with EI
Barrel Band: Type IA band unmarked with serif UI on swivel
Front Sight: Type I with N on raised section behind blade
Rear Sight: Flip Sight Type I with S on left side
(There is no evidence of any stake marks on the receiver for the rear sight)
Gas Piston: In the white with PI












Now for the stock; as far as I can determine, this stock is too early for the SN. It is a Highwood stock with the I-cut Oiler slot. It has the OI, the Ordnance Bomb, and the Ordnance Wheel in the sling well, and no visible Cartouche on the right side, which I understand should have appeared around SN 100,000. By the appearance of the Trigger Housing metal on the bottom of the stock it looks like it may have been sanded; but I’ve seen at least two WWII photos of Highwood, I-cut Oiler slot carbines that exposed the same amount of metal (I was looking specifically for that and looked at over a hundred photos of soldiers with M1 carbines). I don’t think there ever was a cartouche on the right side on this stock. The nose only shows evidence of a Type I barrel band, no Type II/III. As for the other parts, it has an unmarked Type II recoil plate and blued plate screw; the hand guard is two-rivet, shallow groove, with OI stamped on the inner edge; and the butt plate has a square checkering pattern (should be diagonal checkering).



There is also the strange mark on the left, upper part of the stock opposite the chamber. It looks like the outline of a serif I.




As for the stock, if I do anything it will be to replace the hand guard with the correct deep groove two-rivet, OI marked one (if I can find a nice one) and a correct diagonal Inland butt plate, although I would appreciate any suggestions in this regard.

I noticed that I did not take any pictures of the Type IA barrel band; another member of this forum looked at it and had no negative comments, but I can add pictures of it later if anyone is interested.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[CaptWSims]

That's a really nice carbine! I have its slightly older sister, 2836XX, also with barrel dated 3-43. My park is thin and the carbine has alot of the updates from the armory rebuild, but still looks good.

And my gunstock (a new replacement) looks just like yours, but without the markings. Have another early Inland 1603XX that has also been thru the armory rebuilds, but wasn't used much after that and has nice park. And its original (as best I can tell) stock also resembles yours, but while it was in Austria someone sanded the Dickins and the marks out of it!

[skohler]

First off, that's a really nice Inland. That stock is a beauty! Mine is younger, 312K, but close enough. If you want to compare pics, the link is below. Mine has a highwood oval cut with a good amount of the trigger housing exposed, but has not been sanded. Mine didn't have a date on the barrel, but enough "experts" have looked it over and came to the conclusion it is original, just missing the date.

So just because it does not fit the book, be careful making any changes. You'll be mad if you make a change and realize later it was legit as is.

Again, nice carbine!

Just remembered, mine had some blue numbers written on the inside of the stock. Some have speculated correlates with a date. Mine matches up closely with the S/N date. If your stock has these numbers, that might help with dating the stock with the receiver. It could be that the stock is original, just one that had set around somewhere before being used. Hard to say.

[Bill Hollinger]

Wow! Very nice! Thanks for sharing with us.

[skohler]

Just realized that I did not post the link. Sorry about that.

Inland pictures by smkohler1 - Photobucket

[painter777]

Thorin,
Any sign of a thin spot on the barrel....where the band would have been setting when the Dulite was applied?
Is the barrel skirt still long ?

Very nice....
Thanks for sharing.

Charlie-painter777

[thorin6]

The barrel skirt is long; I don't know about a thin spot on the barrel but will check once I can get the carbine out--I'm on the road at the moment and the carbine is locked up. I believe I know what to look for; weren't the Inlands finished with the barrel band already installed? I can say the barrel band has about the same color as the barrel except where it has some wear around the swivel.