First M1 Rifle sent to Winchester

[RCS]

The very first M1 Rifle that was sent to Winchester for study, evaluation and test firing was received by Winchester on Sept 19, 1938, that eighty one years ago today ! The serial number of that M1 Rifle is 1607. At some point in time it was returned during the war and put back into the system. Here is a photo of 1607Attachment 102925Attachment 102926Attachment 102927

Information

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[Bob Seijas]

That would have to be a Gas Trap, wouldn't it? I have always thought WRA did not make any.

[RCS]

Canfield covers the Winchester testing of s/n 1607 in his new book on the M1 Rifle (a lot of the Winchester data came from Mr Clancy who sold the
information to Canfield before he died). Later another Springfield gas trap was sent to Winchester, serial number 15070 which is still at Cody. It
was never returned. New information has surfaced indicating another third M1 rifle was sent to Winchester but I do not know the serial number.

[Bob Seijas]

Way back in the 1970s I bought several Gas Trap barrels from Burt Kellerstedt, one of which was marked WRA on top. I always thought it was fake (still do) but I thought just maybe they made some GT barrels when they were figuring out what to bid on the first contract.

[RCS]

Notice Edwin Pugsley signed the receipt along with Col Robert Sears (WRA RS cartouche), it was thought that Pugsley felt the M1 was not ready for
production. By the time Winchester started to manufacture the Educational Order batch of 500 rifles in Dec 1940 the old gas trap gas cylinder and
short barrel were gone.

Might be a nice GCA Journal article on the gas trap (s/n 15070) at Cody, I do not recall any photos

[Bob Seijas]

I authorize you to research and write it, Robert!

[Bob Womack]

Notice that it is a Springfield rifle that was sent TO Winchester and the receipt was sent back to Springfield.


Bob

[RCS]

Bob, I know someone that was a Cody not long ago, he wrote the article on SA serial number 1607 for Billy Pyle's "The Garand Stand Report". Bet
he could write an article on 15070 that at Cody.

[cplstevennorton]

Ok I read a little more. It looks like the 500 educational order was placed in April 1939. Then Ordnance started to look for a company to do a contract of 65,000 by July 1939. WRA and Remington both submitted bids. WRA won, and then was awarded a finalized contract for the 65,000 on 9/20/39.

There is a little bit a discrepancy as I see some of the first WRA rifles were delivered in Dec 1940, instead of my Jan 1941 above. But it say the 500 Educational order wasn't completed till Jan 1941.

But regardless, they never geared up to produce anything but the Gas port it looks like.

[Bruce Canfield]

Winchester never intended to manufacture the M1 Rifle in anything but gas port configuration. The bulk of the Winchester documentation cited in my book came from the personal files of Edwin Pugsley that I was fortunate to acquire a number of years ago. It is clear that Mr. Pugsley and the WRA engineering staff was not fond of the M1 rifle and was ambivalent about accepting the Educational Order in the first place. The Olins who owned Western Cartridge Company (which had previously acquired Winchester) was very cautious about the Educational Order as well but gave Pugsley the go-ahead to accept the contract. There was a lot of tension and animosity between Springfield Armory and Winchester during the course of production but the "greater good" prevailed as both entities shared a common goal.