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M3 Submachine Gun

From Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games
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M3 "Grease Gun" - .45 ACP
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M3A1 "Grease Gun" - .45 ACP. This eliminated the crank lever for cocking the bolt, and instead used a simple hole in the bolt for the shooter to use their finger.
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M3A1 "Grease Gun" with an attached suppressor - .45 ACP

M3/M3A1 "Grease Gun"

Although there have been quantum leaps in submachine gun construction and design since the early 1940s (when the M3/M3A1 was designed), the M3/M3A1 is still an excellent example of its type. Due to the large .45 ACP round the M3/M3A1 fires and its simple construction with stamped/pressed steel, it is very reliable, extremely simple to operate, compact, has .45 caliber knockdown power, has relatively high controllability on full-auto due to the low cyclic rate, simplicity of fixing and maintaining it, cheap manufacturing costs, and ease of sound suppression and/or conversion to 9x19mm, all of which appealed to many in the early special forces and paratrooper communities. The compact size, reliability, and stopping power of this weapon kept it in service with the U.S. for decades after WW2 (particularly among armored vehicle crews up until the introduction of the M4 Carbine), and it is still used in some countries into the 21st century.

The original design of the M3 featured a crank-type cocking lever. In practice, it quickly became clear that it was fragile and prone to breakage, incapacitating the gun. As a result, some of the M3s were equipped by field gunsmiths with full-fledged charging handles as on other submachine guns, instead of the original levers. However, since the M3 bolt was so lightly-sprung that it could be pulled back with one finger, it was decided to simply equip it with a cocking notch, which was done on the subsequent M3A1, with production starting in December 1944.

Specifications

(1942 - 1994)

Type: Submachine Gun

Country of Origin: U.S.A.

Caliber: .45 ACP

Weight: 8.15 lbs (3.70 kg) (M3), 7.95 lbs (3.61 kg) (M3A1)

Length: 29.8 in (75.7 cm) stock extended / 22.8 in (57.9 cm) stock collapsed

Barrel Length: 8 in (20.3 cm)

Capacity: 30-round detachable box magazine

Fire Modes: Full-Auto only (450 RPM)


The M3 Submachine Gun and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Film

Title Actor Character Note Date
Battleground 101st Airborne troopers M3 1949
The Most Wanted Man (L'Ennemi public No 1) Fallone's henchmen M3 1953
China Gate Gene Barry Sergeant Brock M3 1957
Nat "King" Cole Goldie
Five Gates to Hell Dolores Michaels Athena Roberts M3 1959
Patricia Owens Joy
Neville Brand Chen Pamok
Ken Scott Dr. John Richter
Nancy Kulp Sister Susette
Nobu McCarthy Chioko
Benson Fong Gung Sa
John Morley Dr. Jacques Minelle
Shirley Knight Sister Maria
Greta Chi Yvette
Vietnamesse guerillas
Hell Is for Heroes Steve McQueen Reese M3 1962
The Black Seagull (Chyornaya chayka) Aleksei Loktev Ramon M3 1962
Anatoli Adoskin Antonio
Cuban seamen
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse Gangsters and security guards M3A1 1962
Dr. Mabuse vs. Scotland Yard A British police constable M3A1 1963
Battle of the Bulge George Montgomery Sgt. Duquesne M3 1965
None But the Brave Sammy Jackson Cpl. Craddock M3 1965
Brad Dexter Sgt. Bleeker
Pierrot Goes Wild (Pierrot le Fou) OAS members 1965
Is Paris Burning? A French Resistance fighter M3 1966
Wake Up and Die (Svegliati e uccidi) An Italian criminal 1966
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? US Army soldier 1966
The Dirty Dozen Lee Marvin Major Reisman M3; with and without "jungle-taped" magazines 1967
Stuart Cooper Roscoe Lever
Al Mancini Tassos Bravos
Richard Jaeckel Sgt. Clyde Bowren
Telly Savalas Archer Maggot
Donald Sutherland Pinkley
Ben Carruthers Glenn Gilpin
Charles Bronson Joseph Wladislaw
Jim Brown Jefferson
John Cassavetes Victor Franko
German soldier
Sorrel Flower (Fleur d'oseille) Bob Sissa "The Musician" 1967
Operation Kid Brother Neil Connery Dr. Neil Connery M3 1967
THANATOS guards, Allied Intelligence agents
Dark of the Sun Kenneth More Doc Wreid 1968
Peter Carsten Lt. Henlein
Olivier Despax Lt. Surrier
Machine Gun McCain Gangsters 1969
Five for Hell Aldo Canti Nick Amadori M3 1969
Salvatore Borghese Al Siracusa M3; With "jungle-taped" magazines
Samson Burke Sgt. McCarthy M3
Luciano Rossi Johnny White M3
The Mechanic Bodyguards M3 1972
Gang War in Naples Vincenzo Falanga Pietravalle's henchman M3 1972
The Mechanic bodyguards 1972
The Violent Professionals Bruno Corazzari The blond robber M3 1973
Bruno Boschetti The bearded robber
We Want the Colonels (Vogliamo i colonnelli) Paramilitaries, carabiniers M3 1973
No Way Out Grunwald's henchman 1973
Rabid Dogs Don Backy "Blade" M3 1974
Emergency Squad (Squadra volante) Gastone Moschin Marsigliese M3 1974
Gambling City Criminals M3 1975
The Eagle Has Landed Army Ranger 1976
The Muthers Rosanne Katon Anggie M3 1976
Pirates
Sky Riders Terrorists 1976
Greek Army
A Special Cop in Action (Italia a mano armata) Marcello Monti Torri M3 1976
Death Force Leon Isaac Kennedy McGee 1978
soldiers
Go Tell the Spartans Burt Lancaster MAJ Asa Barker M3 1978
G.I. Samurai Shin'ichi Chiba Lt. Yoshiaki Iba 1979
jsdf members
From Hell to Victory US Army soldiers 1979
Sailor Suit and Machine Gun Tsunehiko Watase Makoto Sakuma Flashpaper replica 1981
Yuki Kazamatsuri Mayumi Sandaiji
Hiroko Yakushimaru Izumi Hoshi
Yakuza
Across the Gobi and the Khingan (Govi Khyangand tulaldsan ni) Valeriy Lushchevskiy Temirkhanov M3A1 1981
Oasis of the Zombies Eduardo Fajardo Colonel Kurt Meitzell 1982
Partisans
Attack Force Z Mel Gibson Cpt. P.G. Kelly M3A1; With suppressor 1982
Sam Neill Sgt. D.J. Costello
John Phillip Law Lt. J.A. Veitch
Chris Haywood Able Seaman A.D. Bird
John Waters Ted King
Never Say Never Again U.S. Navy SEALs 1983
Jungle Warriors Nina van Pallandt Joanna Quinn M3; With suppressor 1984
Emilio Messina Mastranga's bodyguard
The Vengeance of the Winged Serpent (La vengeance du serpent à plumes) Mexican soldiers M3; fitted with perforated barrel shroud 1984
Commando Leopard Rebels 1985
Order No. 027 (Myung ryoung-027 ho) North Korean commandos, South Korean soldiers M3A1 1986
The Sicilian Christopher Lambert Salvatore Giuliano M3 1987
John Turturro Aspanu Pisciotta
Carabiniers, soldiers, outlaws
Equalizer 2000 A rebel M3A1 1987
The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission Alex Cord Dravko Demchuk M3 1988
Operation Corned Beef Zargas' henchman With muzzle device 1991
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah American troops Replica 1991
Last Action Hero Thug M3A1 1993
Dead Presidents Bokeem Woodbine Cleon M3A1 1995
Seven Years in Tibet Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers M3A1 1997
Payback Jeff Imada Chow's bodyguard M3 1999
Chow's thug
Ticker Terrorists M3A1 2001
Blow guards 2001
Sniper 3 Seen on wall 2004
Smokin' Aces Kevin Durand Jeeves Tremor 2006
Chris Pine Darwin Tremor
Assembly (Ji jie hao) Communist soldier M3 2007
Street Kings Common Coates M3A1 2008
Inglorious Basterds American soldier 2009
Red and White (Merah Putih) Dutch soldier M3 2009
Brother's War U.S. Army Soldier 2009
The Marine 2 Arms Dealers 2009
Black Dynamite Tommy Davison Cream Corn M3 2009
Elephant White M3A1, said to be used by Charles Bronson in The Dirty Dozen 2010
Sinners and Saints Johnny Strong Detective Riley 2010
There Be Dragons Spanish Nationalist soldiers 2011
Captain America: The First Avenger Kenneth Choi Jim Morita . 2011
Gangster Squad Holt McCallany Karl Lockwood 2013
Fury Logan Lerman Norman Ellison M3A1 2014
Colonia Chilean soldiers M3A1 2015
Hacksaw Ridge Vince Vaughn Sergeant Howell M3 2016
Operation Chromite Kim Sun-a Kim Hwa-young M3 2016
The Foreigner Pirates M3 2017

Television

Show Title / Episode Actor Character Note Air Date
The Company Chris O'Donnell Jack McAuliffe 2007
Band of Brothers Craig Heaney Pvt. Roy Cobb 2001
Band of Brothers Donnie Wahlberg Sgt. C. Carwood Lipton 2001
Tour of Duty Stan Foster Sgt. Marvin Johnson 1987 - 1989
Front Without Mercy (Front ohne Gnade) US Army soldiers Ep.12 1984
Garrison's Gorillas Horst Ebersberg Dutch Resistance Member 1967 - 1968

Video Games

Game Title Appears as Mods Notes Release Date
Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines "Submachine Gun" 1998
Fallout 2 1998
Day of Defeat 2000
Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix muzzle brake 2002
BloodRayne "Greaser SMG" long barrel 2002
Forgotten Hope 2003
Vietcong 2003
Shellshock Nam '67 "The Greaser" 2004
Call of Duty: Finest Hour "Grease Gun" 2004
Call of Duty 2 multiplayer mode only 2005
Condemned: Criminal Origins "Submachine Gun" with the barrel and sights of a Carl Gustav M/45 2005
Elite Warriors Vietnam 2005
Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood 2005
Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45 2006
Company of Heroes 2006
The Suffering: Ties That Bind w/ custom flash suppressor 2006
Forgotten Hope 2 "M3 Grease Gun" M3 variant 2007
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway 2008
7.62 High Calibre w/ various attachments 2008
Grand Theft Auto IV Unusable 2008
Mafia II 2010
Fallout: New Vegas "9mm SMG" 2010
Project Reality: Falklands "PAM1" Used by Argentinian faction 2012
Project Reality: Vietnam Incorrectly ejects rifle casings 2012
State of Decay "M3" added in Breakdown DLC 2013
Project Reality: Normandy "Greasegun" 2013
Company of Heroes 2 Added with Western Front Armies add-on (2014) 2013
Sniper Elite III "Patriot Weapons Pack" DLC 2014
World of Guns: Gun Disassembly M3 Grease Gun M9 flash hider and barrel extension M3 2014
Mafia III 2016
Day of Infamy 2016
Heroes & Generals M3 variant 2016
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades "M3 Greasegun" With or without integral suppressor 2016
"Lil' Greasy" Miniaturized, stockless, with ambidextrous charging handle
Call of Duty: WWII "Grease Gun" 2017
Sniper Elite 4 "Silent Warfare Weapons Pack" DLC 2017
Rising Storm 2: Vietnam 2017
Post Scriptum 2018
Strange Brigade "Audley A40 Exemplar" 2018
Battlefield V "M3 Grease Gun" added in the 5.2 patch of the "War in the Pacific" (2019) 2018
Insurgency: Sandstorm "Grease Gun" added in the 1.7 "Nightfall" update (2020) 2018
Vigor "Grease Gun" 2018
State of Decay 2 2018
Enlisted "M3" 2021
"M3 Field Modification"
"M3 with suppresor"
"M3A1"

Anime

Title Character Note Date
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro Bank Security 1979
The Cockpit American motorcyclist Ep. 3 "Knight of the Iron Dragon" 1993
Burn-Up W Outlaw 1996
Najica Blitz Tactics Fuyuki 2001
Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage Washimine-gumi wakashus 2003
Desert Punk 2004
Stella Women's Academy, High School Division Class C³ Rin Haruna M3A1, airsoft 2013

FM PAM

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FM PAM 1 - 9x19mm

The FM PAM (Pistola Ametrelladora Modelo) series of submachine guns are Argentinian copies of the M3A1 "Grease Gun" chambered in 9mm Parabellum. Produced by Fábrica Militar de Armas Portátiles (FMAP or FM) in Rosario, the PAM 1 was essentially a rechambered copy of the M3A1 using thinner steel; problems with overheating and controllability led to the PAM 2, which added a grip safety to the magazine housing.

The PAM series of submachine guns is featured in the following films:

Film

Title Actor Character Note Date
The Boys of War Argentinian soldiers 1984
An Ungentlemanly Act Argentinian soldiers 1992
Blessed by Fire Argentinian soldiers 2005