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Alterations to |
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The sight was machined to allow for the M1 carbine slide handle. It was probably initially manufactured to mount on a barrel or receiver, forward of the original rifle's bolt. It has been machined to fit the curve of the M1 carbine's receiver ring. The flat backside of the sight indicates it was likely manufactured to abut against something, likely a wood stock.
This same sight was used in both a type non-adjustable for windage and a type adjustable for windage, by means of a 2 hole spanner screw on the left side of the sight. Rarely are European military rifles adjustable for windage on the rear sight. Normally the rear sight is adjustable for elevation only. Given the configuration of this sight being a solid piece of metal that sits as high as it does above the receiver, it likely was not originally adjustable for elevation. The two types of the same sight suggest it was probably originally meant for a sporting rifle versus a military rifle.
On many of the sights, but not all, the letter H appears on the left side of the base. It's consistent with a manufacturer's mark. The letter font is also unique.
The carbines with the V notch rear sight on the receiver ring had the rear G.I. rear sight removed. Sometimes the rear sight groove was just left empty. Sometimes it was filled in to the level of the rear sight mount. In both cases the top of the GI rear sight mount was given lateral grooves from side to side to reduce the glare from the polished sight mount.
A number of M1 carbines have been found that have the GI rear leaf sight in place with the lateral grooves indicating the carbine was prepared for a rear sight alteration, but there is no V notch rear sight on the receiver ring.
If the V notch rear sight has been removed sometimes the receiver ring shows where it was silver soldered to the receiver. Sometimes it is not known if the V notch rear sight was removed before or after the carbine returned from Germany.
Sometimes the receiver ring was prepared for the mounting of the rear V notch sight by removing the U.S. markings from the receiver ring. Sometimes the markings were left in place.
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Gun laws in Germany and Austria banned the M1 carbine in its military form. In order to retain ownership of the carbine, private owners would modify several key components to qualify the carbine as a sporterized hunting rifle. One of these alterations was to remove the "wings" on the front sight, leaving only the center post. Several carbines used by German agencies also had this modification, for other than legal reasons. Some preferred the front sight as just the post.
Filing down the front sight blade for elevation adjustment was not uncommon, even for U.S. troops. The below front sight was found on an M1 carbine used by the Bavaria Forestry Police. The front sight has been filed down to a fine point for a clearer and more accurate sight picture. This has not been observed on any other carbines used by the Forestry Police and was probably an individual preference.
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Some of the M1 carbines that had the rear sight modification described above, on the receiver ring where the German rear sight was spot welded the markings were removed prior to installing the sight. This practice was not used on many of the M1 carbines with the rear sight modification, but it is also not rare.
More than a few sources have indicated the Landespolizei in the American Occupation Zone in Hessen removed "all" of the visible U.S. markings from the M1 carbines they received. Why they did this is not known. The extent to which they did this is also not known. The few examples that have been observed by several people, they have indicated the serial number, manufacturer, and other receiver markings were removed. They did not indicate if this was also done to the barrel. In October 1945 the Military Government ordered all weapons used by the police in all of the occupation zones must be marked in a manner that identifies the agency using the weapon. It is not known when this order was rescinded, but at the latest it was probably by or before the end of the occupation in May 1955.
Carbines used by the Landespolizei in Hessen have been observed with and without the Hessen Crest, which was stamped into the receiver in the area where the serial number had been located. Further research into these carbines and the Landespolizei in Hessen is ongoing.
A few M1 carbines used by Germany have had the serial number removed and a new serial number stamped in its place. A couple of these appear to have had extra metal added to the receiver in the area of the serial number before the new number was stamped. It is possible these carbines were used by the Landespolizei in Hessen, after which they were used by another German or Austrian agency that removed the Hessen Crest and, if necessary, added metal to the receiver before stamping the new serial number. However, thius one remains a mystery for the moment. Carbines with this alteration are pretty rare.
Some of the carbines used by police in Bavaria had previously been used by the Landespolizei in the American Occupation Zone district of Wuerttemberg-Baden. Bavaria also used carbines previously by the Landespolizei in Hessen.
The Landespolizei of Wuerttemberg-Baden marked their carbines below the serial number on the receiver and recoil plate, also on the bottom of the trigger guard. Bavaria removed the markings on the receiver and recoil plate and added the Bavaria agency name on the receiver to the left of the bolt. The markings on the trigger guard were left undisturbed.
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A few of the U.S. M1 carbines used by Bavaria have had the German agency name removed. Many of these have the alteration covered with a black substance, or black paint.
Sometimes an owner removes the black substance and discovers a partial agency name.
On the left in the below photo the word Bavaria can be seen. On the right the P in Police can be made out. The number and tops of the letters inbetween Bavaria and Police appear to be the word Rural. [special thanks go to Ted Syme in Canada for the below photo]
On most of these carbines the agency name has been ground down and obliterated. Some appear to have been done with great care, others have been very sloppy.
These carbines were sold to European gunbrokers by Germany and whichever gunbroker bought them from Germany. Two gunbrokers in Zurich are known to have removed the German police markings and covered this receiver area with a black epoxy type substance. Some buyers would not buy the carbines if they had the German markings on them, or preferred not to have the German markings on the carbines they bought. This practice was apparently not uncommon amongst wholesalers. Some used a black paint instead of the epoxy that can easily be scraped off with a fingernail. Others chose not to use a black covering, usually having done a very professional job in removing the marks, polishing the receiver area, and cold bluing the effected area.
The carbine below had the Bavaria agency name removed with a grinder and a black paint like substance to cover the grind marks. This carbine went to Austria, where it was used by the Gendarmerie, whose marking appear on the trigger housing. The Austrians would not have restamped the carbine Bavaria Rural Police. It appears this was done by a gunbroker, maybe in an effort to hide the grinder marks. Thousands of M1 carbines used by Germany were also used by Austria. The carbines with the Bavaria agency name removed have not been observed amongst those that served in Austria.
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For a number of years German gun laws banned the military M1 carbine from possession by civilians. Some citizens got rid of their M1 carbines, others chose to alter their carbine so it would no longer be classified as a military weapon, instead qualifying the carbine as a sporting rifle. To accomplish this the slingwell was filled with wood, the sides of the top of the front sight were removed, and the gas piston was replaced.
As indicated above, the altered front sight and filled in slingwell has been found on a few of the carbines used by the Austrian and German police and/or military imported to the USA, and abroad. It is not known if these carbines also had the gas piston replaced with the device that eliminated semi-automatic operation of the carbine. The below advertisement for the gas piston replacement appeared in the January 1968 edition of The American Rifleman on p. 86.
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