M3 Barrel Assembly Manufacturers

[nmsang501]

Just bought my M3, and I've been searching for an extra barrel (To turn it into a suppressed barrel) when I noticed they seem to have different manufacturer marks. Here are some that I've collected while searching online. I was wondering if there is a source which lists down all the barrel manufacturers that can be identified. Mine says F.S.Co, and I'd like to find out which manufacturer that stands for. I'd also like to know if there are known manufacturers that are rarer than others. Thank you! 

So far, the only ones I can identify are 
SSG - Saginaw Steering Gear
DTD - Guide Lamp
ITG - Ithaca Gun Company

 

[Frank I.]

FS was Fostoria Screw Co. Fostoria, Ohio made FS marked barrel collars.

DTD was the Detroit Transmission Division,  the Hydra-Matic Division made M16A1 rifles during the Vietnam War .

Listed in the Guide Lamp's 1944 subcontractors list. 

There were a diverse number of postwar manufacturers of M3A1 parts. Some have CAGE codes. I'm not sure when CAGE codes became a requirement, but it was fairly recent?  

In another thread here, I listed an M3A1 bolt with a cage code 16447 which is/was  Milo Components Inc. Freeport, NY. They also made 1911A1 pistol parts for the government.

I once had a chrome-lined Vietnam-era barrel, the collar was made by Marlin

[nmsang501]

Oh wow! Thank you for this! I've been searching for who FS is for the last few weeks. 

Thanks for clearing up who DTD is. May I ask where I may find a list of Guide Lamps subcontractors? I'd really like to learn the different markings I could find. 

I should also give those CAGE codes a look at. I've never heard of them & never seen one. 

I'm not completely sure, but is the Marlin you're referring to the same Marlin that's known for their lever-action rifles now? Or is there a different Marlin company? Sorry, I'm not versed in these because I don't live in the US. 
 

[Frank I.]

23 hours ago, nmsang501 said:

Oh wow! Thank you for this! I've been searching for who FS is for the last few weeks. 

Thanks for clearing up who DTD is. May I ask where I may find a list of Guide Lamps subcontractors? I'd really like to learn the different markings I could find. 

I should also give those CAGE codes a look at. I've never heard of them & never seen one. 

I'm not completely sure, but is the Marlin you're referring to the same Marlin that's known for their lever-action rifles now? Or is there a different Marlin company? Sorry, I'm not versed in these because I don't live in the US. 
 

Attached are pages from an M3 Ordnance publication at the National Archives II in College Park, Maryland. There is also one for the M3A1, but I didn't copy it. The publications are a complete guide on how to manufacture an M3 submachine gun, drawings, parts lists, labor hours, material etc. 

The attached lists are of WWII subcontractors. As mentioned earlier, there were a large number of post-WWII subcontractors used to support the weapons during the Korean War, Vietnam War, and up to the year 1999, when they were still issued to reserve armor units. 

A post-war example is magazines not listed, made by Ithaca  (ITG) for their post-war production of M3A1s, and Jahn (J) who had a contract for magazines during the Vietnam War. Jahn magazines have a green phosphatized finish and are fairly common and found still new in the wrap. Jahn also made 30-round magazines for the M1-M2 carbines.       

To answer your Marlin barrel question, yes the same company that made sporting firearms

[nmsang501]

This is amazing! Thank you so much for this! Will I also be able to find an estimate on the manufacturing date for my M3 online? The serial number is 193883. 

Edited April 14 by nmsang501

[Frank I.]

You can get a rough idea from these figures 

Total submachine guns manufactured from 1943 to 1945 by Guide Lamp: 606,694 M3, and 82,281 M3A1 models, for a total of 688,975 weapons.