This is another draft article for your review. Comments/corrections, etc. always welcome.

John

The S&W Model 1940 Light Rifle



In its long history, the famed gunmaking firm of Smith & Wesson has had very few dead end products that never achieved significant success. Some of these included the Model 1913 .35 caliber pocket pistol and the tiny Model 61 .22 caliber Escort pistol. These were simply financial disappointments. But in 1941, one of the least known dead end guns in S&W’s history almost proved to be a complete disaster for the company and could have ended its very existence. This is its story.

In 1939, Smith & Wesson was struggling to get out of the throes of the Great Depression, and was in deep financial stress. They were seeking new business that could lift them out of their problems. You can imagine the company’s joy when the British government approached them to consider designing and producing a new light military rifle. The challenge was immediately accepted, and the project was assigned to Edward S. Pomeroy, then the plant superintendent and chief designer. Although Pomeroy lacked much actual design experience, he went right to work, completing his unique design on June 28, 1939. Patents for his innovations were subsequently obtained on September 3, 1940.

The new rifle was unlike anything seen before or since. It was a semiautomatic open-bolt blowback design, chambered to fire 9mm Luger ammunition. Fairly heavy since it was all machined steel except for the plastic stock, it weighed about 9 pounds when loaded with a full 20-round magazine. The barrel measured 9 ¾” long, with the overall length coming in at a bit more than 32”. What was immediately noticed about the gun was what appeared to be an unusually large magazine, and the fact that there was no visible ejection port in the very long receiver. What Pomeroy had designed was unique. The “large magazine” was in fact a housing that also served as a forward grip. In its front half, it contained the actual magazine. The rear half was hollow, forming a chute to channel the ejected casings straight down, thus keeping the hot brass away from the user or nearby personnel. A reciprocating operating handle moved through a long slot in the top right of the receiver. The rear sight was micrometer-adjustable for elevation, and the front sight was fixed. The barrel had 12 longitudinal flutes to reduce weight. A rotating safety lever was located behind the trigger. When the trigger was pulled, the bolt went forward, chambering and firing the cartridge. This first model used a floating firing pin hit by a hammer within the bolt, cammed forward by a projection in the receiver as the bolt slammed home. As the bolt moved rearward and passed a significant distance beyond the rear of the magazine, an overhead ejector forced the empty case down off the face of the bolt, dropping it through the chute in the housing. A last round bolt-holding device was incorporated.

Immediately after submitting the design and some prototypes to the British, S&W started tooling up to produce what was then known as the 9mm Light Rifle. Enough interest was generated that the British government advanced S&W one million dollars to continue the project. In today’s terms that was peanuts. However, in 1940 that was a stupendous amount and promised S&W a potential contract and the company’s financial salvation. Production rifles were first assembled in 1940 and the gun officially became the Model 1940 Light Rifle.

And then stuff began to hit the fan, jeopardizing the entire project. First of all, American 9mm ammunition (with which the rifle was tested in America) was loaded to much lower pressure than that the European standard. Accordingly, when tested with the hotter overseas ammo, the extra pressure took its toll. The rifle was prone to having its receiver’s end cap battered and broken off after 1,000 rounds or so. The Brits told the Americans that the rifle was not surviving the required 5,000-round test, and they requested an immediate engineering effort to correct the problem.

Smith & Wesson responded quickly with a second model. Its visually distinguishing feature was a rotating oversleeve that not only reinforced the receiver, but also acted as a bolt lock safety, replacing the sear-blocking lever used on the first version. A fixed firing pin in the bolt made the primer ignition system simpler. S&W then designated the first version as the Mark I and the second type as the Mark II. The majority of the rifles obtained by the British were of the Mark I type, with only 200 of the 1,010 bought for the British and Canadians being the Mark II version, made in 1941. Those rifles shipped to the British Empire were sent in wooden crates, each containing ten rifles. Also included for each rifle were a barrel wrench, an instruction booklet, a sling and two magazines.

The British adoption of the Light Rifle was not to be. It had several strikes against it. Chamber inspection was close to impossible. It was very expensive to manufacture, with most parts milled from forgings. The final problem was that if there was a cartridge jam, disassembly of the rifle was required to in order to clear it. It was the death knell for a potential combat weapon. All but five of those in British or Canadian possession were cut in half and dumped in the ocean after the war. Those five survivors ended up as museum pieces in the Tower of London, the British Military Museum, and Enfield Arsenal.

Upon rejection of the S&W contract, the British demanded return of their million-dollar advance payment. To counter this, Carl Hellstrom (later President of S&W) proposed and negotiated a deal where the company would instead supply much-needed revolvers at a certain rate equal to the sum of the advance. This undoubtedly saved the company from bankruptcy. Hellstrom was quoted as saying that this negotiation was “…the biggest challenge of my life.” Although the Light Rifle project was a disaster, it finally resulted, through revolver sales, in the much-needed answer to Smith & Wesson’s financial woes. Eventual additional wartime contracts with the British and U.S. governments became the company’s salvation.

The few post-war Light Rifles in U.S. collector hands were originally considered class III firearms by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, since they were technically “short barreled rifles.” However, in 1974, Smith & Wesson uncovered a small group of crated, unfired Model 1940 Light Rifles – a bonanza for collectors. In 1975, ATF was successfully petitioned by a dealer to exempt these guns from the National Firearms Act, with no onerous paperwork or tax required to possess them. On March 30, 1975, 130 Mark I’s and 80 Mark II’s were released for sale. These were eagerly snapped up, and have become extremely valuable collector items today. The gun illustrated is a Mark I made in 1940. It’s owned by AZFirearms.com in Avondale, Arizona, and I was pleased to get permission to handle and photograph it.

It’s strange that “dead end” guns from major manufacturers become attractive and valuable so many years after their failure as possible commercial successes. Because they are rare, usually unique and historically important, they become keenly sought after. The S&W Model 1940 Light Rifles are part of this phenomenon, and have become definite classics. They provide a fascinating glimpse into a previously little-known World War II story.

(c) 2015 JLM

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

To counter this, S&W President Carl Hellstrom negotiated a deal where the company would instead supply much-needed revolvers at a certain rate equal to the sum of the advance.

Hellstrom was not the president at the time. He didn't become president until after the war.

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Don Mundell

Good point. Altered the text to reflect this. Thanks!

John

__________________
- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

John
SWCA member and I displayed his Light Rifle at a show this past June.
Included the display was a box of oilers, a .45 caliber Light Rifle barrel an experimental wood stock and Light Rifle manuals. We received many great comments. We were awarded the JUDGES CHOICE award.

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Don Mundell

I'm pretty sure I saw that one, a Mark II, at the Tucson meeting some years ago. A very nice specimen.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

Nope this was just purchased this past spring. All the experimental pieces were bought from Roy Jink's personal collection.

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Don Mundell

Thanks for a very interesting post. I do have 2 comments/corrections:

1. The European 9mm ammo had 7000 additional pressure units (probably CUP in those days), not ft/lbs, which is not a unit of anything ballistic. ft-lbs would be correct for units of energy, not pressure.

2. The ATF removed the 1940 Light Rifle from the requirements of the NFA, which is not the same as making it a Curio and Relic weapon. Many guns have Curio and Relic status, but are still subject to all NFA regulations (examples would be a 1920's Thompson submachine gun or the Ithaca Burglar Gun). All guns over 50 years old have C&R status regardless of their NFA status.

Many thanks for the useful observations! I have altered the text to remove specificity on the ammo pressure, and changed the C&R reference to simple removal from the NFA. I think the article will now be more technically accurate. Again, thanks for taking the time to comment.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

John, The Mark II at Tucson was mine. Ed.

In the late seventies, our LGS has an example of both a Mk.I and a Mk.II. Both in about new condition, which now makes more sense, as they were likely in the "lost" batch!

Lusted after them for some time, but they were more money than I could scrounge up at the time. (Lunch money and grass cutting cash made after school!) Which means probably $400-800.

A buddy of mine here in the Prescott area has just purchased one of these from an auction house and is trying to find the proper documention to be able to do the transfer. Can anyone help??? Maybe Ed can give us some guidance??

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303

Tom, The auction house should have all the needed info., if they are selling firearms. It should transfer on a 4473 or if the buyer has a C&R license, it should be no problem to deliver on the C&R. ( Depends on where the buyer lives, of course. If he is in CA., it has to go to a CA FFL. CA DOJ has ruled the Model 1940 Light Rifle is not an assault weapon and does not have to be registered as such in CA. ) Ed.