Pedersen Device M1918
Remington Arms Company · Rifle · Discontinued · 1918
Also known as: Automatic Pistol, Caliber .30, Model of 1918, Pedersen Device Mark I, U.S. Pistol, Caliber .30, Model of 1918
Overview
The Pedersen Device M1918 is a semi-automatic conversion unit that replaced the standard bolt of a specially modified M1903 Springfield rifle, transforming the bolt-action service rifle into a blowback-operated, semi-automatic carbine firing a low-power .30-caliber pistol-sized cartridge. Designed by John D. Pedersen of Remington during World War I, it was issued the deliberately misleading official nomenclature 'Automatic Pistol, Caliber .30, Model of 1918' to preserve wartime secrecy. Fed by a 40-round stick magazine inserted at an angle on the upper right of the receiver, the device let a rifleman lay down roughly 100 aimed shots per minute across no man's land, then reinstall the standard bolt for long-range bolt-action fire. The Armistice arrived before it could see combat, and almost all of the roughly 65,000 devices produced were later destroyed, making surviving examples among the rarest of American military firearms.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 964 g (34.0 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 1417 g (50.0 oz) |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 40 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 396 m/s (1299 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 406 J (299 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 90 m (98 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 500 m (547 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 100 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Slide Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .30 Pedersen · primary — also known as .30 Pedersen Device, .30-18 Auto, 7.65x20mm, Cartridge, Ball, Caliber .30, Model 1918
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Features: Drop In Bolt Replacement, Converts Bolt Action To Semi Auto, 40 Round Stick Magazine, Side Mounted Angled Magazine
Variants
- Pedersen Device Mark I — For M1903 Springfield
- Pedersen Device Mark II — For M1917 Enfield
Service history
Operators
- United States Army · adopted 1918 · as Automatic Pistol, Caliber .30, Model of 1918
Conflicts
- World War I (1914-1918)
Production
Estimated total produced: 65,000 · Production years: 1918-1919
Approximately 65,000 Mark I (M1918) devices were manufactured by Remington against an order that grew far larger; most were destroyed by the US Army in the early 1920s. A Mark II for the M1917 Enfield was ordered (reportedly up to 500,000 attachments) but canceled in December 1918.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: John D. Pedersen
Discontinued: 1920
Notes
The Pedersen Device is not a complete firearm on its own; it drops into the action of a modified rifle (the M1903 Mark I) featuring an oval ejection port, altered sear and cut-off. The M1918 designation covers the Mark I units built for the M1903 Springfield; a Mark II for the M1917 Enfield was ordered but the contract was canceled at the Armistice. After the war the US Army scrapped the vast majority of devices in the early 1920s.
Background
Demonstrated to US Army ordnance officers in October 1917, the device so impressed observers that it was rushed into secret production under a pistol cover-name. Pedersen reportedly fired rapid semi-automatic strings from a rifle that moments earlier had been a slow bolt-action, stunning the officers present. The Armistice of November 1918 rendered the weapon's surprise-assault role moot, and it never saw combat.