Interesting and original PT boat carbine?

[cplnorton]

The Navy was issued a lot of carbines, and yes I have owned maybe a half dozen bring backs that have had ship designations stamped into them. I think it was much more common than most think, but the issue is so many didn't come home and were rebuilt after the war and the markings or stock were removed. I know I found at the Archives that the Navy did stamp quite a few stocks designations for ships.

So honestly to me if someone was going to fake a stamping in a stock, I would have faked a stamping not to a PT Boat, I would have done it to a carrier or something more famous to enhance the value. To me I don't see it adding much value to stamp a PT boat name into the stock, so why would you?

On the condition, I have owned an incredible amount of bringbacks. I'm from Ohio and everyone was a WWII vet and stole anything they could get their hands on. So setting up at shows all these years, the vets themselves used to bring them in to sell. I've had a lot of bringbacks from the Navy, mostly M1911's and carbines. Some did have ship designations stamped in them. You always see the Navy stuff in nice condition because they barely used it. I have never seen any real evidence that the Navy stuff was in sad shape because of the saltwater. I think that is more an urban legend than anything.

I had one Navy carbine that had a name stamped on it that was on a LST. I traced the guys name and we even found his daughter. His daughter was ecstatic. She told us her father had talked about that carbine often before he died. He had said the LST was sold to the Chinese after the war, so all the men kept their rifles as the LST was being sold to the Chinese with the rifles left inside. Well coming back to the US on a ship, he got Malaria and ended up in pretty bad shape in a Hopsital on Pearl Harbor for months. He checked into the hospital with his sea bag with the carbine inside. When he checked out the carbine was missing. He always told her there is a carbine out there with my name stamped into it.

So to me looking at this rifle, the condition, the originality, I believe it.

Why fake a PT Boat Carbine? I would fake a more famous ship, or I would fake a Marine Corps Carbine, or something Airborne. I wouldn't fake a PT Boat Carbine if I was trying to make money.

I should add too, I've seen a substantial amount of stampings on M1903, M1 Garand, and even M1917's that are believed to be Navy Markings. Plus I see mentions of the Navy stamping stocks at the Archives.

I think it very, very wise to be pessimistic about stories. But when the rifle's condition matches a possible story, as this one does, I think it's very plausible.

Just my .02.

[6 Ring]

I have two PT boat carbines, one with PT 109, and the other with Lt. JFK and below that PT 109.
Well not really, those went down with the boat.

[Jakeroub]

I’ve got a USS CONSTITUTION marked M1917. I think it actually came out of a VFW post that ran or of the Constitution. The barrel is trash, must have had a lot of black powder blanks shot out of it. Looked like it had never been apart before I cleaned it, except the magazine footplate screws were not still staked.

[milprileb]

We are not at the end of the internet on this topic. Believe what you want, buy what you want.

[CBIthaca]

Why fake a PT boat carbine?

Because PT related items are very collectible, highly sought after, difficult to find, and generally fairly expensive.