Type 3 Hammer ???

 

 

 

What website is that? Got it all wrong! "HN"  "NHTE" are  hammers seen in NPM with the "IN"  really being NI for Inland.

I have never seen an "AQ", maybe the letters are transposed? there is a Q.A. hammer which was made for QHMC. ( I need one of these)

 

The "Q.U." is the debate. As you say it is mentioned in CCNL 382 which shows a Q.U./U.C hammer as a field replacement in an early Inland

The U.C. is known for Garand bayonets made by Utica Cutlery. I am guessing the font is what sets it apart. The article goes on to say that there were original late Underwoods reported with the Q.U. hammer, further that a third was reported while writing the article and information was provided on that late Underwood as well.  So check out pages 18 and 20 of CCNL 382

 

Brian Quick is a well respected carbine guru that has authored many of the CCNL articles. He contends that Q.U. is for QHMC in an online post. As far as I know he did not provide any evidence to confirm this to be fact. 

I would expect at this timeline that if made for QHMC the hammer would have been marked U.Q. instead.

 

In general parts are marked sub contractor to prime contractor. This just makes more sense, if anything carbine marked can make perfect sense.

 However early on we see with QHMC most often has it has markings reversed. An example is early on QHMC hammers and triggers were marked Q-LT  but soon were marked LT-Q. For a very long time trigger housings were marked Q-NL and late they corrected it to NL-Q.

 

 

It is the use of a Q and a U which makes it confusing. Which is which? Quality did not make the hammer. So was it "Q" whoever that was make the hammer for Underwood?

Utica Cutlery is a listed subcontractor of hammers for Underwood. They are not listed as a subcontractor for QHMC.

 

Straight hammers were needed in vast quantity to replace the dogleg hammers to correct trigger pull. As mentioned above there is a Q.U./U.C hammer. The thought is that Utica Cutlery was making hammers under contract for Underwood and had a surplus to the contract. They then obtained a "spare parts" contract directly to make hammers. Utica took the excess Q.U. hammers, lined them out and then applied U.C. to identify the hammers as made by them for the contract.

 

So the question is why if for Underwood would they use a Q as an identifier?

Looking at Underwood subcontractor markings we see some quirks as well. UU was used on magazines from Union Hardware for Underwood.

 

Universal Windings made bolts for Underwood marked W.U. Hammers WU, Slides WU and receivers with a W on bevel.

It is easy to see that they just used the second part of the name "Windings" for the W.

United Shoe also made parts and used "S" for Shoe.

 

Howe Machinery and Petroleum Heat & Power made bolts. There were bolts marked HU and CU. Both contractors has an "H" in their names, neither a "C" We do not know which is which.

 Why not use PU? Is it because Underwood had a subcontractor Parker Wire goods that used PU and Underwood wanted to avoid over used of same marks on different parts?

 

Look at the "B" marked receivers which are from Singer. Why "B"?

 

My theory is that Q.U. was UtiQa for Underwood. Again just a theory based on the fact that Utica was a subcontractor to Underwood and not QHMC. This coupled with the fact that they have been observed on a few late Underwoods.

 

What say you?

 

 

Like I said the Q.U. hammer was observed on 3 late Underwood carbines believed to be as left the factory with them. This is where it hurts when people 'Correct' carbines

 

evidence suggests it was made by Utica Cutlery. Only Underwood had a contract for hammers from Utica.

 

I have heard no evidence in favor of it being a QHMC subcontracted hammer other then one very knowledgeable persons statement.

 

So until there is compelling evidence I would say it is probably for Underwood.

 

Now the lined out and U C added would be a war time replacement for any carbine with an earlier hammer.

 

Now my question to everyone, Has anyone observed a hammer with just a UC mark?