M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon
M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon
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| M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon | |
|---|---|
 Original USAF M6 Survival Rifle/Shotgun | |
| Type | Combination gun |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1952 to 1970's |
| Used by | United States Air Force |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Ithaca Gun Company, Springfield Armory, Inc. |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 4.5 lbs (2.06 kg) |
| Length | 28.27" (718 mm) overall 15" (381mm) folded |
Barrel length | 14" (355 mm) |
| Cartridge | .22 Hornet over .410 bore shotgun |
| Barrels | 2 |
| Action | break action |
| Muzzle velocity | 834 m/s (.22 Hornet) 345 m/s (.410 bore) |
| Maximum firing range | 100 meters (.22 Hornet) 25 meters (.410 bore) |
| Sights | Iron |
The M6 Air Crew Survival Weapon was a specially-made .22 Hornet over .410 bore combination gun issued to United States Air Force aircrews to help forage for food in the event of a plane crash.[1] It was issued from 1952 until the early 1970s, in conjunction with the M4 Survival Rifle. Plans to replace both with the ArmaLite AR-5 (aka: MA-1) never came to fruition.
Contents
1 Design
2 Other versions
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
Design[edit]
The M6 is made of stamped sheet steel, with a forged steel removable barrel assembly. The barrel assembly is connected to the stock/action group by means of a removable hinge pin. Unlike nearly all other firearms, there is no "furniture" on the M6 like a butt stock or a forearm the only parts which are not steel are the rubber butt plate and cheek rest. Aircrew were instructed to wrap the barrels with parachute cord as a field expedient fore-stock.[2][3]
The M6 was a superposed ("over-under") combination gun, with a .22 Hornet rifle barrel located above the .410 bore shotgun barrel. It has a 14-inch barrels and folds in half to a minimum size of 15 inches.[4] A storage compartment in the stock held 9 rounds of .22 Hornet ammunition with 4 shotgun shells.[5] A firing pin selector allowed the shooter to choose which barrel would be fired.[4] Because most bomber crews operated in the Arctic region during the Cold War, a trigger bar was used that could be depressed while wearing mittens as opposed to a conventional trigger.[4] The M6 was never intended as a weapon with which to engage hostile troops. Instead it was designed so that a downed aircrew could forage for wild game.
Other versions[edit]
Springfield M6 Scout
Being a military firearm, the originals were sold only to the US military.[6]
The Springfield Armory M6 Scout is virtually identical to the original M6 and was made in three versions, a .22 Hornet over .410 gauge, a .22 Long Rifle over .410 gauge and a .22 Magnum over .410 gauge.[3] The Scouts were also made with 18.25" barrels to comply with the National Firearms Act. The later models had large oversized trigger guards[7] and Picatinny rails for mounting a wide range of sights and scopes.
In 2010, Chiappa began marketing a version of the Aircrew Survival Weapon called the Chiappa M6 Survival Gun. The Chiappa has a 12 gauge shotgun or 20 gauge barrel over a .22 Long Rifle or .22 Magnum barrel.[8] In addition, it comes with "X Caliber" adapters sleeves that
fit inside the 12 gauge barrel allowing it to fire: .380 ACP, 9mm Luger, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP, .45 Long Colt, .410 gauge and 20 gauge ammunition.[9] It has a similar appearance to the original M6, however it's a unique design that uses a skeletonized metal buttstock that surrounds a polypropylene foam insert. It also uses double triggers and an enclosed firing mechanism.
See also[edit]
- M30 Luftwaffe drilling
- Marble Game Getter
- TP-82 Cosmonaut survival pistol
References[edit]
^ https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/09/23/original-m6-aircrew-survival-rifle/ The Original M6 Aircrew Survival Rifle
^ McCann, John D. (31 December 2013). Build the Perfect Survival Kit. Iola, Wisconsin: F+W Media. pp. 198–199. ISBN 978-1-4402-3805-5..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ ab http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/v-shrake/m6.html The M6 Survival System
^ abc Thompson, Leroy (20 August 2013). US Combat Shotguns. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-78096-016-6.
^ http://www.military-today.com/firearms/m6.htm M6
Aircrew survival weapon
^
"Military Survival Rifles". Archived from the original on September 4, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-20.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
^ S. P. Fjestad. Blue Book of Gun Values, 13th Ed. Blue Book Publications.
^ https://www.chiappafirearms.com/f.php?id=35 Chippa M6 Survival Gun
^ Cassell, Jay (6 October 2015). Shooter's Bible: The World's Bestselling Firearms Reference. Skyhorse Publishing. p. 777. ISBN 978-1-5107-0192-2.
External links[edit]
- The Athens Arms & Ordnance M6Scout
- The M6 Survival System
- Best Survival Rifles That You Must Have One
Bonnier Corporation (August 1951). "New Survival Gun, Combines Rifle and Shotgun". Popular Science. Bonnier Corporation. p. 107.
Categories:
- .22 LR firearms
- Combination guns
- Multiple barrel firearms
- Rifles
- Shotguns
- Survival guns
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