|
By R. Ted Jeo
The Reising (RISE-ing) sub
machinegun was named after its designer, Eugene G.
Reising. Reising had at one time worked with John
Browning where he contributed to the final design of the
Colt Automatic Pistol, better known as the M1911. He
also had successful designs for repeating and semi auto
rifles for various gun makers, such as Marlin, Mossberg,
Savage and Stevens.
Reising anticipated the need for a
simple to produce sub machinegun and had tried to get
the Army to accept his design in 1941. The Army was not
interested, but the Marines were. Harrington and
Richardson (H&R) was contracted to make the weapons,
first the selective fire Model 50 and the paratroop
Model 55. Later they also made the semi auto only Model
60.
Unfortunately, the sub machinegun
did not fair well in actual combat for a number of
reasons and was replaced by other weapons by the Marines
by 1943. It was delegated to non combat roles and then
declared obsolete shortly after the war. Police
departments, however, did use the weapons for a time
after the war.
There were three models of Reising
sub machineguns made, two were selective fire, one was
semi auto only.
Model 50: The original model
with a full-length wood stock and Cutts compensator on a
11 inch barrel chambered in .45 ACP. The partially
ribbed barrel had a right hand twist with a 1:16 rate
and 8 grooves. The sight radius of the weapon was about
18 ½ inches. Overall length was about 36 inches with an
empty gun weight of around 6 ¾ lbs. The weapon used
either a 12 or 20 round magazine. This was a selective
fire weapon, capable of a full auto fire rating at
450-600 rounds per minute or semi auto fire. It was
reported that the REAL full auto rate was nearer to
750-850 rounds per minute. Unlike most sub guns, the
Reising fires from a closed bolt.
Model 55: A slightly shorter
variant of the Model 50. Designed for use by
paratroops, tank crews and others that needed shorter
weapons, the Model 55 had a wire shoulder stock and a
pistol grip type wood stock, a similar setup that was
seen on the paratrooper’s version of the M-1 Carbine
later in the war. It had the same barrel as the Model
50, except no Cutts compensator, which made the barrel
length 10 ½ inches. Essentially, the elimination of the
compensator made for a shorter barrel, but it had the
same sight radius as the Model 50. The Model 55 weighed
in at 6 ¼ lbs and used the same magazines as the Model
50. Other data for the Model 55 are the same as the
Model 50.
Model 60: This model was
made between 1944-46 and was the semi auto civilian
model of the Reising. Unlike the Models 50/55, it has a
18 ¼ “ barrel length with no compensator attached. It
sports a full-length walnut stock. The sight radius of
the Model 60 is 26 inches in length and the weapon
weighs in at nearly 8lbs. |
