Post Reply - Proving Ground History of the Carbine

TopSoldier

Hi. I'm the researcher who has been building the 3 websites that are part of this effort to share information. I was fortunate enough to also be the photographer for Larry's Ruth's 3rd volume of War Baby!. I'e made no money for any of this as it's my way of giving back to and helping others.

The dilemna with what you have is without seeing the contents we are unable to assess exactly what it is you have and what it covers.

The original submissions for the carbine competition have been well documented in War Baby! volume I by Larry Ruth. Including photos and information obtained from Ordnance at Aberdeen. They're also covered in the booklet "U.S. Special Rifles (Carbines), The development of special rifles in the United States leading to the adoption of the Carbine, Caliber .30, M1" by Tom Laemlein. Ian McCollum over at ForgottenWeapons.com has done a series of articles on the submissions.

I have photos of some of these submissions including Winchester's two prototypes and the carbine designed by David Marshall Williams. The latter 3 are on this website with a page under construction for the Development web page that will include info on the submissions.

30 Sep 1944 being 3 years after the submissions, many of which were retained by the inventors and/or companies that submitted them, seems a bit late but maybe not.

It's always possible it could have more or less information than we already have. Impossible to know until a few of us familiar with them have a look at the document.

While there are researchers who will purchase historical documents as collectibles personally I try to encourage people with original documents to donate them to an archival research library such as the McCracken Library at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, WY. We've been donating publications and more recently a number of carbines to the Cody Firearms Museum to supplement the carbines, documents and history they have that was donated to them by the Winchester Museum.

So there are a number of options open to you. Again, with the dilemna of not knowing what your document contains and if other copies have already been located by other researchers.

If you'd like a professional opinion on the document a couple of here could have a look at it and let you know. With an understanding we don't make copies without your permission. Our interest is seeing the document perserved if it's of historical value. How it's preserved is up to you.

Author Larry Ruth acquired many different items from the archives at Aberdeen, Springfield Armory and other Ordnance facilities.

Feel free to send me a private message if we can be of assistance.

Jim