POTD: An Accidental Machinegun – The Spitfire Carbine
Sam.S 04.30.24
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! The Spitfire was originally envisioned as an affordable semi-automatic carbine for the civilian market, aesthetically emulating the iconic Thompson but functionally akin to the M3 Grease Gun. Its open-bolt design and use of M3 magazines aimed to provide a Thompson-like experience on a budget. However, in 1968 the Spitfire was classified as a machine gun by the ATF due to an unintended capability – by holding the safety lever down, the sear could be depressed to allow fully automatic fire without any modifications. Despite being designed as a semi-auto, this machine gun ruling meant all existing Spitfires had to be registered or surrendered for destruction. The construction was extremely crude, clearly prioritizing economy over refinement for its intended civilian market. After this legal setback, the original designer followed up with closed-bolt clones like the Volunteer to avoid further machine gun issues. What was supposed to be a bargain-priced civilian semi-auto in the style of the legendary Tommy Gun instead became an inadvertent machine gun by a technicality in the law. The Spitfire’s legacy is one of initial good intentions derailed by an unplanned full-auto functioning.
“Developed in the 1960s, the short-lived Spitfire Carbine was an open bolt semi-automatic weapon that was found by the ATF to be readily convertible to full automatic by at least four different methods, including fiddling with the safety to make the disconnector malfunction and disabling some small internal parts. Retroactively declared a machine gun, most Spitfires were destroyed by their owners, with a limited number registered per the NFA. In appearance the Spitfire is made to look like the famous Thompson SMG, though the core action is essentially a tube gun version of the M3A1, including compatibility with the M3A1’s magazines. Blade front and peep rear sights, with a set of alloy pistol grips, manufacturer markings on the magazine well (with the original “SEMI-AUTO” marking modified to read “FULL-AUTO”, and a fixed buttstock. Internally, the disconnector has been milled down for a permanent conversion to full auto operation, with the safety switch unaltered.”
Lot 1367: Spitfire Carbine, Class III/NFA C&R Fully Transferable Spitfire Manufacturing Company – Spitfire Carbine, Class III/NFA C&R Fully Transferable Machine Gun. (n.d.-b). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved April 29, 2024, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/89/1367/spitfire-carbine-class-iiinfa-cr-fully-transferable.
