The1930sRust Posted January 27, 2021 Report Share Posted January 27, 2021 Hope I didn't post this up years ago! Seeing ScottieBooth's post has prompted me to post up pictures of a friends gun (consequently I blacked out out the serial number). It is S-512XXX. I assumed it was a Lend-Lease gun. Everything appears original, but I'll defer to your collective expertise on that. The wood is very unusual. Note the screws in the buttstock. The grip seems to have been chiseled at, and there are unusual marks on the right side of the horizontal foregrip. All parts are S Savage as far as I can tell. Smooth actuator and both fire control levers are smooth. Looks very similar to the one in ATII, pp. 189. Smooth bbl and patched sling swivel hole with placement on the side. It appears to have the flaming bomb, R.L.B., GEG, but no crown. Also there is a weird "A L 497" stamped beside the serial number. And an Interarms import stamp. The gun was bought by a Trooper here in KY back in the 70's (I think) for about $168! Any thoughts? R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSMG28 Posted January 28, 2021 Report Share Posted January 28, 2021 Rust, The screws in the buttstock are the British solution to stocks splitting. Their solution predated the crossbolt reinforcement. I cannot see the swivel on the buttstock, but I am guessing it was also moved to the top, British style. The movement of the foregrip swivel is also typical British. By the time this gun was made, the Brits often reused the Remington foregrip swivel, like this one. Those swivels were placed at different places on the side of the foregrip, so this one is probably British as well. I do not know what the additional stamps mean. The actuator is smooth, which may or may not be correct in this serial number range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taliaferro Posted January 28, 2021 Report Share Posted January 28, 2021 Looks like a Great British tsmg. The Al mark is British. The remade wood is typical. The screws in the butt was a British field modification to strengthen the stock. Tracie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mohawk64 Posted January 28, 2021 Report Share Posted January 28, 2021 I have a Savage with ALmarks. I'd like to know more about those marks if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mohawk64 Posted January 28, 2021 Report Share Posted January 28, 2021 It has an aftermarket vertical foregrip. The buttstock has the British sling swivel modification AL 464. Is what's on mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The1930sRust Posted January 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2021 Do you mean the hand grip or the horizontal foregrip? And why? RIt has an aftermarket vertical foregrip. The buttstock has the British sling swivel modificationAL464.Is what's on mine. It has an aftermarket vertical foregrip. The buttstock has the British sling swivel modificationAL464.Is what's on mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The1930sRust Posted January 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2021 Yes, what's this AL all aboot then? RI have a Savage with ALmarks. I'd like to know more about those marks if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anjong-ni Posted January 28, 2021 Report Share Posted January 28, 2021 A thought on the "AL" marks. Others here have said that they are from arsenal rebuilds. If British, what would they signify? ... Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black River Militaria CII Posted January 28, 2021 Report Share Posted January 28, 2021 (edited) MGs with an Interarms, Alexandria, Va stamp are pre-May sales samples, imported between 1968 and 1986, with transfer restricted to dealers only. After the '68 Amnesty and the GCA, all live MGs imported had to be stamped by the importer and were registered as dealer restricted sales samples.Pre-May samples can be retained by a dealer after he gives up his FFL/SOT. FWIW Edited January 28, 2021 by Black River Militaria CII Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD. Posted January 28, 2021 Report Share Posted January 28, 2021 I am thinking the Australia based on Frank's earlier post's but I do not know for certain. See: 1928 Markings - Thompson Submachine Gun Message Board - MachineGunBoards.com Forums Another earlier discussion: Help with markings on my M1A1 - Thompson Submachine Gun Message Board - MachineGunBoards.com Forums There are probably more posts on this Thompson variation on the forum. Spend some time searching if you have a serious interest. Offhand, it appears to me that a bunch of Thompson guns with the AL markings were purchased by Interarms (and Interarms markings were added) and sold in the USA as Pre-May Dealer Samples, mostly to police departments. Many of these have found their way to civilian hands. The AL markings, while not common, are definitely not rare. All good stuff!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black River Militaria CII Posted January 28, 2021 Report Share Posted January 28, 2021 "Many of these have found their way to civilian hands. The AL markings, while not common, are definitely not rare." Well, being pre-May sales samples, they are ineligible for transfer to "civilians", meaning private individuals, so circulate among FFL licensees, with some still in police departments, and possibly other official government agencies, etc. I'd guess that most of them have been sold by PDs to raise funds for police needs. FWIW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD. Posted January 28, 2021 Report Share Posted January 28, 2021 Black River Militaria CII,I agree completely with your above post. However, machine gun dealers are civilians. I would guess most/all of these pre-May dealer sample machine guns really have no value as a product nowadays that is actually going to be demonstrated and sold to a law enforcement or government agency. They are, for the most part, a restricted item for Class 3 dealers to use as shooter guns. I welcome your thoughts as I am not a dealer and will never own one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mohawk64 Posted January 28, 2021 Report Share Posted January 28, 2021 I have several pre may variations. All together were cheaper than a transferable and a few accessories. It seems that there aren't as many for sale as there were a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas.hondo Posted January 30, 2021 Report Share Posted January 30, 2021 Great thread. I have AL 447 - letters/ numbers same die stamp as posted above. Matching serial numbers - S246xxx. Interarms marked. Transferable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annihilator Posted February 2, 2021 Report Share Posted February 2, 2021 A thought on the "AL" marks. Others here have said that they are from arsenal rebuilds. If British, what would they signify? ... Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annihilator Posted February 2, 2021 Report Share Posted February 2, 2021 This AL ist most likely on SAFN49 rifle ? It stands for Luxembourg Army - Armee Luxembourgeoise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DZelenka Posted February 2, 2021 Report Share Posted February 2, 2021 Great thread. I have AL 447 - letters/ numbers same die stamp as posted above. Matching serial numbers - S246xxx. Interarms marked. Transferable. Have you done a FOIA on the gun? I would be curious to see when it was imported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimFromFL Posted February 2, 2021 Report Share Posted February 2, 2021 The gun was bought by a Trooper here in KY back in the 70's (I think) for about $168! Any thoughts? Definitely worth twice that!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now