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WTS WWII 57mm M18 recoilless rifle

25K views 17 replies 7 participants last post by  setoyota 
#1 ·
I would like to sell my 57mm M18 recoiless rifle. It is uncut, not a reweld. The only demil are 3 nickel size holes drilled in the chamber. It is subcalibered to 12g. Could easily be repaired and registered to make a shooter.

Complete with canvas case and opiticle site. includes one inert 57mm round. Located in GA. Will need to go to an FFL I believe. Weight is 45lbs plus packaging. Thanks

Please email setoyota@aol.com or call 478-808-8547. I have alot of pictures.

Price is $5000

 
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#5 ·
I would like to sell my 57mm M18 recoiless rifle. It is uncut, not a reweld. The only demil are 3 nickel size holes drilled in the chamber. It is subcalibered to 12g. Could easily be repaired and registered to make a shooter.

Complete with canvas case and opiticle site. includes one inert 57mm round. Located in GA. Will need to go to an FFL I believe. Weight is 45lbs plus packaging. Thanks

Please email setoyota@aol.com or call 478-808-8547. I have alot of pictures.

Price is $5000
There are a few problems with this ad that need to be addressed:

1.) You advertised this as a WWII rifle in your title(the same thing you did on G503 and GunBroker). As I told you before, it is not. It is a post-WWII M18A1. The WWII version, the T15E13, is 100x more rare than the common M18 series.

2.) You said "Could easily be repaired and registered to make a shooter". Really? How familiar are you will the mechanics and physics of the 57mm recoilless? Since you don't even know what model you have, I'm doubting you are an expert. If repaired incorrectly, there is a very good chance that a catastrophic failure would occur if you were firing a live 57mm recoilless round, due to the pressures involved.

3.) You stated "It is subcalibered to 12g". If this is true, then this was an illegally manufactured destructive device. If you did sell it, as you stated in the ad, the there was an illegal transfer of a destructive device. 12ga is allowed only for "sporting puposes", as it is larger than 50cal. Which is why there was an ATF reclassification of the Street Sweeper 12ga shotgun from a Title 1 firearm into a Tax Paid(registration required) Title II firearm.....destructive device.

I wonder if the buyer was aware of any of this?
 
#6 ·
It is a M18 recoiless rifle as stated in the ad. The national WWII musuem in New Orleans has verified its use in late WWII. They have the exact rifle in thier collection. Any google search also reveals this. They could be wrong I suppose

Its working condition has been verified by an SOT. In its current conditon it does not fall under NFA regs. The sub caliber device is removed from the rifle it is not part of the rifle.


Have a Merry Christmas
 
#7 ·
from olivedrab.com

Recoilless Rifle Models in the U.S. Military
The recoilless rifle combined a rocket propelled munition with a rifled barrel (unlike the smooth bore bazooka) firing a spin-stabilized round with anti-tank capability. The RR ammunition looks like an artillery round but with "swiss cheese" vent holes in the case allowing escape of the gasses that propel the round. The light recoil made it possible to fire them from the shoulder, a tripod, or smaller vehicles such as a jeep.

There were five major models in the family of Recoilless Rifles fielded by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps:

57mm M18 (WW II & Korea)
75mm M20 (WW II & Korea)
90mm M67 (Vietnam)
105mm M27 (Korea)
106mm M40 (Vietnam)

The M18 and M18A1 recoilless rifle were developed late in World War II for use like a bazooka as an anti-tank or anti-personnel weapon. It was light enough to be fired from the shoulder, although heavier than a bazooka. The M18 takes a 57 mm round effective against 1 inch armor up to a range of 4500 yards (meters) much more range and penetration than the bazooka. The M18 was used by Marines in Okinawa as well as in Korea until replaced by the more effective 3.5 inch M20 bazooka with its HEAT round.

The 75 mm M20 recoilless rifle weighed over 114 pounds and was almost 7 feet long. It was fired from the same tripod used with the M1917A1 .30 machine gun. Its HEAT projectiles were effective against four inches of armor at up to 7000 yards (meters) range, a considerable improvement over the M18 57 mm RR. The M20 was fielded in both the ETO and Pacific Theater during World War II in 1945.

The 90 mm recoilless rifle, M67, was a lightweight, portable, crew-served weapon intended primarily as an antitank or antipersonnel weapon designed to be fired from the ground using the bipod, monopod, or metal frame shoulder stock. Its length was 53 inches (1.35 meters) and it weighed about 37 pounds (17 kg.) Its maximum range was about 2200 yards (meters) but effective in the range 450-800 yards (meters). The M67 was used extensively in Vietnam, especially against bunkers and other fortifications.


106 mm M40 Recoilless Rifle mounted on M-151A1C Weapons Platform in Vietnam. Thanks to Martin Albright for useful suggetions leading to this photo.

The U.S. Army developed a new recoilless rifle, the 105 mm M27, fielded in 1952. The M27 design was unsatisfactory and was replaced with the 106 mm M40 RR by the early sixties. The small difference in bore made it possible to use the M27 ammunition in the M40 (but not the reverse).

The M40A1 and M40A2 recoilless rifles succeeded the M40 and were used extensively by the USMC in Vietnam. Its design included a parallel mouned M-8C .50 cal. spotting rifle. Rounds provided were HEAT, high explosive plastic-tracer (HEP-T), and antipersonnel-tracer (AP-T) (flechette) rounds. It has been used effectively in MOUT operations by U.S. forces in Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, and other areas. Limitations include its long barrel and a major backblast signature and hazard (smoke, dust, flash, and debris after firing).

The 105/106mm RRs were used with tripods, but were quite heavy to be man carried. They were often mounted on specially configured jeeps, starting with the M38A1C jeep, and later on the M151A1C or M-825, followed by the HMMWV.

Ontos ("The Thing") Recoilless Rifle Platform
The M-50 Ontos self-propelled anti-tank artillery, based on a light chassis developed for airborne operations, was mounted with six M40A1 or M40A2 106 mm recoilless rifles. The USMC acquired 176 of them, used for fire support in Vietnam. It was effective but had many drawbacks, including exposing the crew as they dismounted to reload. Ontos was dropped by 1970.

Recoilless Rifles Phased Out and Returned
When wire guided missles became the preferred anti-tank weapon in the U.S. Military after Vietnam, the recoilless rifle was phased out. The U.S. made RRs continue in use in many armies around the world and may make a comeback as light artillery for urban operations. One weapon, the M3 Carl Gustav, has brought the recoilless rifle back into the U.S. arsenal as a weapon for Special Operations.
 
#8 ·
Capt. Richard Winters 101st 506th Easy Company during WWII also mentions the use of the weapon in his biography. The WWII vet I bought the weapon from also stated it was like the one he used in the war.

They all could be wrong i suppose. At any rate the RR is very hard to come by.
 
#9 ·
My M-18...

...is a M-18 , not a T15. It was made by Firestone in 1945. It was sent to the ETO. From there it was given to Italy til they sold it as surplus. From there it was cut up and imported back here where it was rewelded as a .50cal rifle.
A look on the gun should say who made it , when it was made , and which model it is. Most , if not all , M18s have a cable between trigger and sear. Most , if not all , T15s will have a linkage set-up.
Many were put together as 12ga flare guns. As long as the chamber is short it's not a problem.
Let the gun settle the dispute.
Chris
 
#11 ·
Good Grief... what a pile of crap Endthefed is spewing

Where the Hellifino are you getting your information from ???

The T15 was retrofitted to the M18 and those were retrofitted to the M18A1... got the stamps of all of them on mine... its a Firestone. Learn the gun before opening your mouth.


Having a few burns in the receiver is easier to repair than two complete torch cuts... they are rewelded and the inside of the chamber is sleeved with steel... these rifles have been being restored like this for decades and being fired with live rounds... you show me ONE documented incident of a RR rifle blowing up from a restoration ? Blow smoke up someone elses Skirt.

ATF regulations permit subcalibered weapons... read the book... and don't show your ignorance of ATF regs by spewing crap about Street Sweepers... a multi shot 12ga and a single shot subcaliber... For gods sake.. its not illegal to make a single shot 12ga for your own personal use.

Back off endthefed and let the guy sell the rifle... its okay and perfectly legal.

Destiny
Agent
 
#13 ·
As far as pressure...

...Remember , the brass case is supported by the rim at the back and the ring (WW2) or three bumps ( Korea) on the front. The projectile is pre-engraved with the rifling too , you have to give it a little twist to aline it to seat when loading. When firing , the case floats in the chamber. If it sealed against the wall like a rifle case , the case's vent holes would be blocked and the gas could not escape. So , we can't be talking about a lot of pressure here.
Chris
 
#15 ·
Yes... nothing pisses me off more.

Nothing pisses me off more than a guy trying to mess up another guys sale for no reason other than ignorance... Marshall knows better too as he has been collecting big guns for some time... but the mere fact that you own guns just doesn't make you a RKI... just means you have more expendable income. Ah... we have learned that this is not Marshall but his Minion Kenneth Johnson.... Bad Minion Kenneth.

Des
 
#16 ·
Nothing pisses me off more than a guy trying to mess up another guys sale for no reason other than ignorance... Marshall knows better too as he has been collecting big guns for some time... but the mere fact that you own guns just doesn't make you a RKI... just means you have more expendable income. Ah... we have learned that this is not Marshall but his Minion Kenneth Johnson.... Bad Minion Kenneth.

Des
I am not trying to mess anybody's sale up. I want people to be informed of what they are getting themselves into. If someone is misrepresenting something that it is not(after they have been informed otherwise), it is unethical......in my opinion. It is obvious from all of your posts that you have something against Marshall. He is currently on Christmas vacation in LA, but I did get a hold of him on his cell phone to ask him if he knows you. He told me that he has never met you before and didn't know why you'd have a problem with him. He'll be back in town Sunday and he can chime in here if he wants to. Can't really see this being the top of his priority list, but considering the fact that you are make disparaging remarks concerning his ethics/character......he might want to figure out exactly what your problem with him is.

Personally, I don't appreciate you referring to me as "Marshall's minion", as I find that uncalled for and disrespectful. I think your remarks and personal attacks are more of a reflection on you than they are upon myself or Marshall. I work for him in a part time capacity(more consulting/sales work than anything), and have been personal friends with him for over 15 years. Once again, I have no idea what the problem is between the two of you, but from my own experience......I have always known him to be a man of his word.

-Ken
 
#17 ·
I have a problem with you Ken....

When you first came in here Ken you were posting anon AND posting links to sell Marshall's weapons as you were him... I now know my issues are not with Marshall but with you Ken... man up and put your name on YOUR posts.


Since YOUR links led to Marshalls posts and Marshalls Photo's and Marshall's guns... we can only draw the conclusion that you were Marshall spewing crap which was out of character for him... that's why I reacted so.... I figure that he has no clue to what you Ken have been doing. You have to be a total idiot Ken now that you have outed yourself... its not Marshalls ethics and integrity that I am questioning , it is yours. Why in the world would you Ken take on the Mantra of RKI... saviour of all Destructive Device transactions ?

Most of us here are Adults and we have FFL's and we really don't need your help.... nobody asked for it... you still don't have a clue do you.

Destiny

PS... if Marshall wants to talk to me to have me tell him how much of a Fubar you are and that you should have your ass canned... he can call me.
 
#18 ·
Mr. endthefed.

I am not and have not misrepresented anything about the rifle. You are the one spewing incorrect information. As can be seen by the other post in this forum and information found on the web you are the person who is WRONG.

Just because I tell somone the earth is flat and I believe the earth is flat does not make the earth flat. This is how I regard the information you so graciously and wrongly provided about the rifle.


The Rifle is sold. The funds are on deposit. The new owner is a SOT dealer who knows just a little about firearms and firearms laws.

Everyone have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Chuck Herbert
 
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