History
The M42 was developed by United Defense Supply Corp. specifically as a replacement for the Thompson submachine gun, which the U.S. military considered both expensive and complicated to produce. Made in both 9x19mm Parabellum and .45 ACP prototypes, the 9 mm version was the only one to ever see widespread production. Manufactured by High Standard Firearms and Marlin Firearms, about 15,000 were produced in the last three years of World War II. Only six .45 ACP prototype test guns were made.
The weapon holds 25 9mm rounds in its magazine, and can fire them at 900 rounds per minute. Frequently two 25 round magazines were welded face-to-face allowing a quick reload when the first became empty (see illustration). The weapon itself weighs 10 lb (4.54 kg)(empty), with a length of 32.3 in (820 mm). The barrel length is 11 in (279 mm), and it has six-groove right-hand rifling.
An extremely simple design, it was a straight blowback, selective fire weapon. It was built under "hurry-up" war conditions and some of its design flaws stem from this approach. Problems with the weapon were varied. Under combat conditions it was found that the sheet metal magazines had a tendency to warp out of shape causing feeding problems. They had little tolerance for exposure to large amounts of mud and sand and tended to jam if not cleaned regularly. The gun was also labor intensive to produce. It used all machined parts, no stampings, and under wartime conditions machine work is at a premium.
The M42 submachine gun was classified as a substitute standard when the M3 submachine gun was introduced.
Read more about this topic: United Defense M42
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