US Projection Adapter

[Lou]

Had my eye out for one of these for quite some time now.One crossed my path at an unbelievable price.Snatched it up,but now Im curious.

Ive seen a number of these,the 4 pronged type,but most had a more familiar nomenclature inking on them?This one contains no date,no M designation,no lot number.It does say,Adapter Grenade Projection MFG.GML
Could anyone give me the lowdown on why the differences?

 

[MissingSomething]

Here you go Lou.... It gives you the rundown on the different types.

http://www.inert-ord.net/usa03a/usarg/adapts/index.html

http://members.shaw.ca/dwlynn/main/adapters.htm

Your 4 prong is just an early version....

 

[Lou]

Thank you for the links to info.Ive figured the early and M1 questions at the time of purchase. My question,is how early? So early as to not qualify for standard nomenclature inking? I didnt know if this fell into the salesman sample,preproduction area.

 

[gijunkman]

Lou, you do manage to find some nice stuff!:tinysmile_fatgrin_t

 

[Lou]

Thanks.Well it all kinda balences out. The times I have to pay retail or above make up for the bargins I find.

So can any one help with the original question? Why no standardised gov inking on this?

 

[gijunkman]

Well the earliest FM I got is from 1949 and it shows the 3 prong M1A1 as standard, so I'd guess that your adaptor is early in the war. Remember that all "spiggot type" grenade launchers (I don't know if that's the correct term) are from WW2. From WW1 to sometime in the 30's the VB launcher was standard.

 

[Fragman]

Hi Lou,

That's a nice adapter. If you ever get tied of it, it would be an ideal export to down under:tinysmile_shy_t:.

The VB's were used extensively by the marines at Guadalcanal (1942) and the earliest dated example of the M1 adapter I've seen is 1943. Assuming yours is an early prototype, that'll make it circa 1942 (my guess anyway:nerd.

Cheers Colin

 

[US-Subs]

Well the earliest FM I got is from 1949 and it shows the 3 prong M1A1 as standard, so I'd guess that your adaptor is early in the war. Remember that all "spiggot type" grenade launchers (I don't know if that's the correct term) are from WW2. From WW1 to sometime in the 30's the VB launcher was standard.

The VB launcher was standard longer than that. The Marines, always last on the upgrade list, even deployed to Guadalcanal with the VB. It was a terrible move, as the .22 blank used to initiate it was very suceptible to moisture and very few - if any worked.

Digging around at Hell's Point (EOD collection area) on Guadalcanal a couple years ago I found a VB in their piles - they say that they find a lot of them.

 

[Fragman]

Hi, This VB was found in the Guadalcanal area back in the seventies. A couple of years back hundreds of VB's were found under a football field in NZ (all were distroyed). Cheers Colin

 

[US-Subs]

With all of the rain and the humidity in the Solomons it must have had all the effectiveness of throwing rocks at the Japanese. Bet the Marines were less than pleased.

 

[Fragman]

Hi. Great photos, thanks for sharing them. Looking at what's been left behind on the canal, they were not very reliable. My one was recovered by a young NZ collector (Ewan) that grew up in the Canal area. It was never fired, so reliability can't be blamed for it surviving the test of time. Having said that, VB blinds are very common over there. Ed has a good article (and a couple of photo's) written by Ewan on his web site. Use the user name and password "OPEN" & "1945"
http://inert-ord.net/jap02h/canal/index.html
A couple of years back I visited Ewan and looked through some of his photos of his childhood "hobby". Needless to say many of these photo's would be unwelcome on this site:tinysmile_cry_t2:. Cheers

 

[spotter]

Kiwicolin ref comment" Needless to say many of these photo's would be unwelcome on this site:tinysmile_cry_t2:. Cheers"
i have sent you a private message
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