ForgottenWeapons
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First to the Fight: The Marines' Reising M50 SMG (Ad-free)
🕑 Added 2022-11-04 13:00:07 +0000 UTCEugene Reising developed a .45 ACP submachine gun in the late 1930s that was basically the opposite of the Thompson - it was light and handy, fired from a closed bolt with a delayed blowback action, and was inexpensive to produce. Reising contracted with Harrington & Richardson to produce the gun, and when it entered the market in early 1940 it found immediate interest form the USMC. Looking initially to equip the Marine Paratroop Regiment (Paramarines), the Corps wanted a gun that was light and compact. The Reising M55 with it folding stock was certainly those things and since the Thompson was essentially unavailable anyway (all production was going to the Army and foreign contracts), the Corp adopted the Reising with initial purchases of both the M50 and M55 in January and February of 1942.
What we are looking at today is an early production M50. It is blued with 29 barrel fins and the early style of sights, stock screw, trigger guard, magazine release, stock (the lacquer coating and sling swivels having been added by a previous owner), and firing pin. Later production guns would be improved and strengthened in various ways, but the Reising would never quite meet the needs of frontline combat troops, much to the displeasure of the Marines who first used them in the Pacific theater. Lacking interchangeable parts and susceptible to fouling and malfunctions, the Reisings were quickly replaced by other arms - some Johnson M1941 rifles, some M1 and M1A1 carbines, and various other guns. Rotated back to duties like ship boarding parties, guards, and military police, the Reising served very well. They were indeed handy and accurate guns, jut not built for the extreme rigors of Pacific beach assaults and jungle foxholes.
Comments
In the Aleksandr B. Zuk's book "Rifles, carabines and submachineguns", M50 Reising is depicted with all the features distinctive to an early production model (barrel fins, stock screw, trigger guard, magazine release, rear sight and fire selector), but it is equipped with the exactly same type of swing swivels as the gun presented in a video. Is it possible that this particular gun served the author as the "model" for the drawings? Or maybe this kind of modification was something pretty common for M50s?
ViejoLobo
As Churchill demanded, "Action this day!" Think how Sten-like this gun would be if Reising had even less time for development.
I have a model 50 and it’s a fantastic SMG. Good ergonomics. Very fast rate of fire but can be difficult to control in full auto due to light weight. Was told or read somewhere that Marines would take off rear of sling and stand on it to control full auto. Tried that and it actually works pretty well. Also fully controllable firing in short bursts. Great video! Cant wait to see you use it on the range.
Dana Arbeit
Back in the early 70s,, I went to a gun show in Hawthorne, CA where the PD had a display. It included a Thompson and a Reising. In those desparate early days of WWII, a lot of weapons/systems/equipment was adopted that met the criteria of: "we have to have something NOW!".
Kenneth Marshall
The magazine change is similar to the Indian conversions of Sten mags to 20rds which actually worked to improve magazine reliability.
ViejoLobo
Make no mistake. The Marines loved the Thompson and used it in various brushfire and banana wars before WWII. One of the other guns that replaced the Reising was--the Thompson, once production caught up. Incidentally, I'm not the first to be struck by how much the Reising resembles a civilian .22 rifle with the addition of a locking mechanism.
Terry
Ah, “sub machine gun commercial sales”. Those were the days.
The Bone Clock
I would love to own an M-50 regardless.
Guido Schriewer
going from 20 to 12 at 13:20 but..
Guido Schriewer
1st to go last to know. do more with less. want gear then join the army as they say. I like the reising desing. would love a semi reising 60. muzzle break looks good on it and the stock should be a joy than the 55.
