#ARMY SERIAL NUMBER TRACKER SERIAL NUMBERS#

Rather than assume the documents were followed to the letter, the serial numbers in tables C-F are presented with the lowest and highest reported to date. There are a variety of reasons things may have been changed or simply ignored. Over the years has sometimes conflicted with the information in these documents. (4) Experimental Models: alternate designs experimenting with ways to reduce the time and cost of productionДocuments found in the past have identified several prime contractors who assigned subsets of their serial numbers to their subcontractor(s). (3) Engineering Models: Pilot models made from Engineering Drawings (2) Toolroom Models: Pre-production carbines to test and finalize drawings for mass production (1) leftover carbines offered to Ordnance after a company name change and completion of the NPM contract Many people have reconstructed many carbines with what they believe should have been on the carbine when it left the factory. Parts wear out, carbines are disassembled for the sale of the parts individually. If a receiver has its original barrel and theД«arrel includes a date, it may provide a general idea of when the barrel was attached to the receiver.ДЄs time goes on more and more carbines are having parts replaced. Until Ordnance arranged for additional barrel manufacturers.Дuring the first half of production the barrels were often mounted on a receiver within 1-2 months of when the barrel was made. The ebb and flow of mass production created parts surpluses and shortages for all the prime contractors, barrels included.

Four of the prime contractors did not have the ability

If inventory ran out it could shut down production. Given the high volume of production, receivers were generally assembled as part of a carbine within a few months after the receiver was serial numbered.Д«arrels were a critical component in the production lines. No documentation from Ordnance, or any of the prime contractors, has been found that indicates the date and serial number of carbines as they were assembled or when they passedДЇinal inspection. If a receiver was scrapped and not used, its serial number may or may not have been reused. Inland receivers initially rejected because of an off spec deep hole drilled for the recoil spring and guide, later recovered and altered to use a detachable main spring housing). Receivers were brought back online and completed (i.e. As solutions to old problems were learned, some of the same Serial numbered receivers that failed to pass inspection were set aside as rejects if the defect(s) could not be brought up to minimum standards. Carbine Models M1 or M1A1, and some of the M2's, were made well after the receiver was completed as all of these models used the same receiver. The serial number was placed on the carbine receiver during the manufacturing process of the receiver, not when the carbine was finally assembled. Serial numbers concurrent to receivers being made by the prime contractor and/or other subcontractors assigned lower or higher serial number blocks. One manufacturer separated out smaller blocks of serial numbers for use by subcontractors who would use these Some manufacturers used more than oneДЄ few of the manufacturers used subcontractors to manufacture their receivers. Some of these blocks were split up and used before or after other blocks. There was no requirement as to using the serial numbers in order.ДЄ few manufacturers used some serial number blocks out of order. Contracts had a completion date but there was no requirement for completing one contract before starting another. Think of each serial number block as a separate contract. Serial number blocks were assigned by the Ordnance Department on an as needed basis, generally in response to the awarding of a contract to a given manufacturer. This is not an accurate means of estimating the date the carbine was finally assembled or when it passed its final inspection. Some people estimate a carbine's date of manufacture by adding the quantities manufactured month to month Understanding Serial Numbers - Understanding Dates of ManufactureДating a carbine by its serial number alone is difficult and not always accurate given the circumstances inherent with manufacturing and the logistics situationДuring the time the carbines were manufactured. Inland Mfg - Engineering & Presentation Gifts

Army serial number tracker