willysmjeeps.com

What rifle was intended to fit in the Korean War era M38 windshield scabbard?
Thanks Jeff

1903 or A3 Springfield,M1 Garand and M1 carbine.

M-14 and Thompson will fit also...

That’s what the floppy u shaped piece of rod is down in the bottom.

For the Thompson.

the u shaped ring is for the M3 grease gun...the ring wasn't on the early racks either

I haven't seen the rifle scabbards (or retros) for sale lately.
I've only seen the carbine holders for sale.

Matt at QTM Parts has at least 8 used ones on eBay currently:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Jeep-Willys-MB ... 2676921222

Do those look in decent shape and reasonably priced?

I just bought a very nice one (less nasty canvas) locally off of CL for 50 dollars.

220 is a lot of money.

$50 sounds a lot better! And I don't need original. Craigslist where?

whydahdvr wrote:$50 sounds a lot better! And I don't need original. Craigslist where?

SoCal

It will fit any small arm of the period, including the BAR, but do not put a BAR on a windshield mounted one. The most common and best looking, is the M1 Carbine; they are available as very detailed wood and metal dummies for display.
As for getting one for fifty bucks, that was a lucky snag; no one who knows what they are will sell one for less than four times that.
Good luck though.

Not to stir the pot, but by far the most common infantry soldiers' weapon of the day (1950-53) has to be the M1 Garand. Best infantry weapon ever according to General Patton, even without a bayonet. One shot and they go down...not like Mr. McNamara's favorite Air Police 5.56mm rifle (where it takes 5 or 9 shots to drop even a skinny bad guy) that he saddled us with in favor of the other great rifle of the day, the .308 M14. Can't go wrong with a Garand.

I bit the bullet (.30-06 that is) and bought one from Matt. He seemed to have found a stash of great numbers of them, and I've learned that some things on these old ladies don't respond well to the capitalistic rules of supply and demand. All I know is the price isn't going to go down any, so I pulled the trigger. Good thing I like baloney sandwiches...

I think our Uncle Sam would be shocked that something he paid maybe $22 for back in the day 1950 now sells for $220. Of course, a dollar back then is only worth about a dime today. And that's a 10-cent coin that costs Uncle about 13-cents to make. I think Uncle might be going insane.

Ok, ok, off the soap box....just my 2-cents worth

I should add that the piece Matt shipped was a perfect U.S. made NOS item. Original paint, no corrosion, no markings or stamps, and no box or label with a date or part number. An easy coat of wax cleaned it up nice and it fit perfectly! Zero complaints.

I remain curious however about M38 photos I've seen where the scabbard is mounted two different ways, one "up" and one "down". The bolt holes in it allow either way. I understand the scabbard wasn't supplied from the factory and was using unit provided as need be. I can see the utility of mounting it with the rifle on top when the windshield is up as well as being mounted where the rifle is down, facing toward the driver when the windshield is down.

I recall seeing this more commonly on restored MB/GPW photos, but also on restored M38's. Maybe either way is correct depending on what the Motor Officer or Commanding Officer said?

Hi Ron,
I’m of the opinion that the only thing better than a hole is a bigger hole!

Result of a discussion I had with my brother in law over 9mm versus 45 acp.

I believe the rack was intended to be mounted upside down originally on the MB/GPW’s. How or why they swapped to rifle on top on the M38 I have not found.

Certainly one can see the ease of access from both perspectives depending on
whether the windshield is up or down.

Dave at WeeBee has a kit to replace all the canvas and pads.

I have not figured out what to do about that concrete hard bit encircling the swivel clamp.

Take care,