Gazz
Member
I was looking for some information on the WW2 produced light cabine and cannot seem to find any using the search function. Has anyone ever posted anything about them on this forum? Thanks for any input!
S&W Light Carbine 9mm
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Kenneth L. Walters
Member
Owned two. Maybe 15 years or so ago Navy Arms bought a lot of them from the British. Really wish I had kept one. They were weird but they were fun. Covered in detail in several of the Smith books I think.
The gun is known as the "Model 1940 Light Rifle" and it came in Mark I and & II versions. I recently saw one for sale online for about $4000. The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson has photos and a good description.
Kenneth L. Walters
Member
Ouch. When Navy Arms was selling them I think they went for $1500.
opoefc
US Veteran
Ken, Are you sure you are remembering right? The only Navy Arms surplus guns from the Brits, in 9mm that I recall were the Stens. The Brits destroyed all their S&W Light rifles, according to the Imperial War Museum curators. There were about 127 of these guns sold to S&WCA members , thru Bill Orr's G.T.Distributorsip in the 70s. I bought several pairs, MkI & MkIIs, and still have a MkII that I enjoy shooting. The "Light" rifle name came from the Brits nomenclature for the caliber , 9mm, being a light caliber in their classifcations. If you have ever handled one of the "Light" rifles, they are anything but light! The problem was the Brits asked S&W to make them a carbine size weapon in 9mm. S&W was a factory of old time pistol makers used to turning out top of the line handguns. So, they made a top of the line quality finished & polished 9mm light rifle., designed to handle the US made 9mm cartridge. No one told S&W that the Brit. 9mm round was half again as powerful as the US version, so the gun had failures due to breech pressures of the hot 9mm round of the Brits. A breech shield was added to fix the problem, but it didn't work. The Brits wanted their money back that they paid for the guns. ($1,000,000). S&W was broke & didn't have the money, so they shipped lots of M&P revolvers to the Brits to pay off the debt.
Kenneth L. Walters
Member
Absolutely postive. Bought two, probably in the mid-90's. Talked to Val about them because I wanted a shooter so I asked him if he had any that were less than perfect. That's how I got the second one.
Navy Arms had these for several months. As I recall Val bought them directly from the British Government. How he got them I don't know. I suppose you could ask his son. He might remember.
Navy Arms had these for several months. As I recall Val bought them directly from the British Government. How he got them I don't know. I suppose you could ask his son. He might remember.
opoefc
US Veteran
For the benefit of the Forum members, Ken & I have privately discussed the above info. and the conclusion is that Ken did buy a Model 1940 light rifle from Val Forget at Navy Arms in the 90s, however these were guns Val bought from Bill Orr, S&W distributor who handled the sale of approx. 127 specimens found in the S&W plant in 1975. Ed.
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