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LOT 1367
Rare Vickers- Armstrongs Ltd. Pedersen Self-Loading Semi-Automatic Rifle - Serial no. 45, 276 cal., 24 inch round bbl., blue finish, walnut stock. Originally conceived by John Pedersen in 1924 and developed from 1924 into the 1930s, the Pedersen self-loader was the strongest competitor to John Garand’s rifle for adoption by the U.S. Army as their first self-loading infantry rifle. Both were originally developed around the Pedersen-designed .276 Pedersen cartridge to have a more compact, lightweight and easy-shooting operation than a .30-06 gas or recoil driven rifle, with the Pedersen using a novel delayed blowback toggle lock system (often compared to the Luger Parabellum system). While a novel weapon, and somewhat prescient in light of later efforts to introduce
small bore high velocity infantry arms, Pedersen’s cartridge was met with mixed response by the Army, which had concerns
about lethality and the use of waxed cartridges to aid feeding and extraction, as well as the logistics burden of fielding infantry units with .276 caliber rifles and .30-06 caliber machine guns. The .276 failed to displace the .30-06 as the main infantry cartridge, and Garand scaled up his rifle to handle the larger round, in turn making history with what was officially adopted as the M1 Garand rifle in U.S. military service. While not closing the deal with the U.S. Army, the level of interest shown to Pedersen’s design intrigued other nations eyeballing a semi-auto upgrade, leading to talks with the Imperial Japanese Army and the United Kingdom, the latter leading to a partnership with Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd., though in the end the British opted to stick with the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield bolt action rifle, shelving the semi-automatic question until after World War II. Pedersen rifles and carbines were made in limited quantities and earmarked for (often deliberately harsh or destructive) government testing, making surviving examples rare in any condition. Blade front and adjustable peep rear sights, with the deeply cut half-fluted barrel protected by a ventilated steel handguard. Bayonet lug located on bottom of the front barrel band. The top of the chamber is stamped “C/2”, with “PEDERSEN SELFLOADER P.A/VICKERS-ARMSTRONGS.LTD.” on the left side of the receiver and the serial number on the right. A set of small “Lion” proofs are present on the receiver and the bolt, the latter fitted with a “SAFE” and “REDY(sic)” marked crossbar safety. The smooth pistol grip stock is ventilated along the bottom and fitted with an enlarged magazine floorplate to accommodate an en-bloc style clip, with a pair of sling swivels and a checkered steel buttplate. Includes a brown leather sling and a full 20-count box of 1929 dated Frankford Arsenal .276 Pedersen cartridges. CONDITION: Very fine, retains 85% original blue finish with some small dings visible on the barrel along with a long patch of corrosion, a flat spot on the rear sight dial, a cracked metal section on the front right of the magazine housing, with otherwise sharp edges and markings in the metal. Stock is fine as refinished, with a repaired split in the wrist, and a few chips and handling marks. Mechanically excellent. Estimate: 9,500 - 16,000
LOT 1368
Excellent World War II U.S.
Johnson Automatics Model 1941 Semi-Automatic Rifle with
Bayonet - Serial no. A3129, 30-06 Springfield cal., 22 inch round bbl., parkerized finish, walnut stock. Originally up for consideration by the Netherlands Purchasing Commission as a service weapon for colonial troops in the Dutch East Indies, a large order for the Johnson Rifle was placed in 1940, but the Japanese invasion of the East Indies prevented delivery. These rifles were not able to gain interest for adoption by the U.S. Army, who favored the M1 Garand, but a small amount of them were subsequently used by the U.S.M.C. Marine Raider and Parachute Battalions in the early Makin Island, Guadalcanal and Tulagi Island hopping campaigns in the Pacific. One source reports approximately 21,400 Johnson semi-automatic rifles in total were manufactured, and approximately 750 were procured by the U.S. Marine Corps (Canfield’s book). These rifles employed several unique features such as the rotary magazine which allows reloading at any time, and a recoiling barrel that has the ability to be easily removed from the rifle by hand for takedown, which allows the rifle to be stowed in a parachute jump bag. The rear right side of the receiver is marked “CRANSTON/ARMS/CO.” in a triangle and with a small five-pointed Dutch star as commonly seen on Johnson rifles, and the top of the receiver is marked “CAL. 30-’06 SEMI-AUTO./”JOHNSON AUTOMATICS”/MODEL OF 1941/MADE IN PROVIDENCE, R.I., U.S.A.” above the serial number with U.S. and foreign patent date markings to the rear. The barrel locking bushing has the correct markings of “41” for the year and “30-06” on the front flat. Blade front and 1,000 meter rear sight. It has a two-piece walnut stock and forend. This example is wearing serial number “A3129” on top of the receiver and the bolt is numbered “A1565” (it was standard for numbered components on Johnson rifles to not match). Includes a Johnson bayonet with brown leather scabbard, and a “1918” dated Boyt M1907 brown leather sling. CONDITION: Excellent, retains 97% original parkerized finish with some light freckling on the magazine body. Stock is very fine with some light handling marks, a few minor chips around some of the edges, and defined edges overall. Mechanically excellent. Included bayonet and scabbard are both very fine, with an old outer protective coating of wax on the bayonet. Estimate: 9,500 - 14,000