Manville gun

The Manville gun was a stockless, cylinder-fed, semi-automatic gun created by Charles Manville. Manville designed the weapon for 12-gauge, 26.5-mm, and 37-mm shells.

Manville 12-Bore Gun

Created in 1935, the original steel-and-aluminum weapon held 24 12-gauge 2.75-inch [18.5mmx70mmR] shells in a spring-driven rotary-cylinder that had to be wound counter-clockwise before firing. It consisted of a 11.1-inch [282mm] steel barrel, the aluminum-alloy ammo cylinder, a single-piece steel body and foregrip, and wooden pistol grips.

Loading and unloading were effected by unscrewing two thick, large-headed knobbed screws at the top of the weapon's cylinder that allowed the disassembly of the weapon into two halves. The forend and cylinder were the front half and the pistol-grip and cylinder backplate were the second half.

The weapon's striker was engaged by rotating and then pushing in a knob at the back of the pistol grip (reversed to disengage it - rendering it safe). Each cylinder in the weapon had its own firing pin assembly. When the trigger is pulled the striker is cocked; when the trigger "breaks", the striker is released and hits the firing pin, firing the shell.

26.5mm Manville Machine-Projector

An 18-round 26.5mm version followed in 1936 that fired 26.5mm Short (3.15-inch) [26.5mm x 80mmR] flare, smoke, and riot gas shells. The weapon is similar to the earlier 12-gauge version, except it has a 9.5-inch [242mm] or 9.75-inch [248mm] barrel and used hard rubber rear grips instead of wood.

The First Model was just a larger-bore version of the 12-bore shotgun, using the same two securing screws.

The Second Model differed in it used a long, thick metal locking bar with a turned-down bolt-handle, like the metal bolt on a bolt-action rifle, which locked into a recess machined into the frame. This slid through a round sleeve atop each half of the weapon to secure the two halves. When the bolt was unlatched and pulled to the rear, the back-plate was turned to the operator's right using the rear grip, allowing access to the cylinder. The operator could then pull out the spent shells and reload fresh ones.

Barrel and cylinder inserts were available to allow it to fire 12-gauge shells or clusters of .38 Special rounds.

37mm Manville Gas Gun

A later version made in 1938 could hold 12 37mm 5.5-inch [37mm x 127mmR] flare, smoke, or tear gas shells and was designed for police and "security" use. It was meant to be used in an indirect fire mode and had its barrel mounted at the bottom of the cylinder rather than the top. Its greater weight prohibited its use by any but the strongest of men, since it was designed to be fired from a tripod or pintle mount.

History

Although its 12-bore guns saw some sales, police and military forces showed little interest in the larger Manville guns. The Manville company ceased production of the weapons in 1943, after which Charles Manville destroyed all machinery, dies, diagrams and notes.

The Indiana National Guard used 26.5mm Manville guns to break up mobs of strikers during the Terre Haute General Strike of 1935. They fired flare and tear gas shells at strikers until they dispersed.

Hawk Engineering MM-1

The later 37mm / 38mm or 40mm Hawk MM-1 of the 1970s used the basic design for their weapon.

The XM-18E1R

The 26.5mm Machine Projector is best known as the stand-in for the fictional 25mm "XM-18E1R" grenade-launcher used in the film The Dogs of War (1981). The arms-dealer Baker states that it fired "Fragmentation...Grenades...Tactical...Anti-Tank...Anti-Personnel..." shells. The literature shown in the catalog glimpsed by Shannon (Christopher Walken) stated that it also fired "Flashette" (sic) shells.

Notes