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Concept
M3 submachine gun
Summary
The M3 is an American .45-caliber submachine gun adopted by the U.S. Army on 12 December 1942, as the United States Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M3. The M3 was chambered for the same .45 ACP round fired by the Thompson submachine gun, but was cheaper to mass produce and lighter, at the expense of accuracy. The M3 was commonly referred to as the "Grease Gun" or simply "the Greaser," owing to its visual similarity to the mechanic's tool.
The M3 was intended as a replacement for the Thompson, and began to enter frontline service in mid-1944. The M3A1 variant was used in the Korean War and later conflicts.
The M14 rifle, adopted in 1959, was intended to replace the M3A1 (as well as the M1 Garand, M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle and the M1 carbine) but the recoil of the M14's 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge proved too powerful for the submachine gun role. The M14 was in turn replaced by the M16 rifle in 1964, and this weapon (firing the intermediate 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge) was a better replacement for the M3A1. M3A1 submachine guns were retired from U.S. frontline service after 1959, but continued to be issued, for example as backup weapons for armored vehicle crews, until at least the Gulf War (1990-1991).
In 1941, the U.S. Army Ordnance Board observed the effectiveness of submachine guns employed in Western Europe, particularly the German 9×19mm MP 40 and British Sten submachine gun and initiated a study to develop its own "Sten" type submachine gun in October 1942. The Ordnance Department requested the Army submit a list of requirements for the new weapon, and Ordnance in turn received a separate list of requirements from both the Infantry and Cavalry branches for a shoulder-fired weapon with full or semiautomatic fire capability in caliber .45 ACP or .30 Carbine.
The two lists of requirements received by Ordnance were then reviewed and amended by officials at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG). The amended requirement called for a weapon of all-sheet metal construction in .
Official source
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