Parkerized vs blued OEM barrels

[QuickKarl]

Good evening gang.  I am having my M1A1 Thompson re-parkerized, and while it is apart, I am going to replace the worn-out barrel.  My question is this....why are all of the "OEM/NOS"  barrels I am finding blued, rather than parkerized ? I have read American Thunder III cover-to-cover a couple of times just to be as up on Thompson data as I can.  Nothing there, or anywhere else I have looked addresses this question.  Thanks in advance for any light someone can shed on this.

[SparksNArcs]

As far as I've read, Parkerizing was only found on guns that went through a rebuild later on. From the factory, all Thompsons in WW2 from the M1928s to the M1A1s had a black oxide finish, "Du-Lite" is what Savage used. 

[mgvince]

Military Thompson barrels were all blue from the factories.  
Receivers and frames had the black oxide finish.

Parkerizing was done at rebuild.   
For an original look, find someone who can black oxide your receiver and frame and install the blue barrel. 

[Frank I.]

"I have read American Thunder III cover-to-cover a couple of times just to be as up on Thompson data as I can.  Nothing there, or anywhere else I have looked addresses this question."

 

American Thunder III look on pages 119 (1928 model) Savage factory applied Du-Lite Type III Black oxide finish. The interior surfaces of the guns not sandblasted before the finish was applied will have a dull blue appearance. Finned barrels were of Savage manufacture and blue in color.  128 (1928 models)the Du-Lite process, the finish will appear as a dull, low gloss dark blue color. The interiors of the receivers and trigger frames, as well as most of the miscellaneous parts of the Thompson were not sandblasted, and will have the dull dark blue finish , page 160 photo caption M1-M1A1 Note the original DuLite blue-black finish on the receivers and blued barrels. , and page 202 Military contract Thompsons originally had a flat blue-black Du-Lite finish with a barrel that was a dull blue in color. On page 286-287 there are pictures of new BLUED barrels.

 

[QuickKarl]

You are all right on the money SparksNArcs and mgvince., thank you.  Frank, that information was right where you said it would be in your book....thank you. 

[TSMGguy]

M1 and M1A1 TSMGs were retained after WWWII and were arsenal or depot rebuilt. The guns were parked as part of the process. M1s were modified to M1A1 standard and so marked. No effort was made to keep serial numbered receivers and trigger frames to together. Arsenal markings will usually tell the tale. Most were given to US allies as military assistance.

M1928s and '28A1 were disposed of, one way or another. They were not rebuilt or otherwise retained. If you see a parked M1928A1 today, it was probably refinished after WWII, but not by the US Army Ordnance Branch.

[Frank I.]

9 minutes ago, TSMGguy said:

M1 and M1A1 TSMGs were retained after WWWII and were arsenal or depot rebuilt. The guns were parked as part of the process. M1s were modified to M1A1 standard and so marked. No effort was made to keep serial numbered receivers and trigger frames to together. Arsenal markings will usually tell the tale. Most were given to US allies as military assistance.

M1928s and '28A1 were disposed of, one way or another. They were not rebuilt or otherwise retained. If you see a parked M1928A1 today, it was probably refinished after WWII, but not by the US Army Ordnance Branch.

Most of the Thompsons that were not arsenal rebuilt or refinished were those in England, (and a few other countries) After WWII the Brits concentrated on rebuilding their country, not preparing for the next war. 

[Chip]

This was from a post about a year ago.  It looks like maybe some '28s may have been rebuilt, although there much discussion about this being very unusual, or someone with too much time on their hands.  This was the same thread which included the square vs rounded magazine slots, which didn't have anything to do with rebuilds.

If the Sept 1943 date is valid, it would be about mid-WWII and a year to year and a half after the M1s and M1A1s began production respectively. 

 

 

 

[TSMGguy]

The Ordnance branch salvage effort during WWII was vast. It included the gathering up of discarded weapons and returning them to service after necessary work in theater. This was a different operation than the stateside rebuilding of weapons at the depot and arsenal level. 

[Frank I.]

There was a chapter in an M1 Carbine or M1 Garand book, about a huge US effort in Belgium using local factories to rebuild US weapons, they were then shipped back to the US and placed into storage until 1950 when the Korean War started.   

[chipsaunders]

I have an M1A1 that looks like it was rebuilt as an M1 by Mt. Ranier.