Description
TM 9-3062-34 Change 1 - 57mm M18 and M18A1 Recoilless Rifles and Subcaliber Device - January 1967
Publication Overview
This January 1967 Change 1 supplement updates TM 9-3062-34 for the 57mm M18 and M18A1 recoilless rifles and their subcaliber training device. It belongs with the original technical manual issued on August 21, 1957. This publication adds a useful reference to a collection of U.S. Army infantry weapons manuals, maintenance records, or Cold War training materials.
Identification and Features
The publication number, change designation, and dates identify this supplement within the Army's technical manual series.
- Publication: TM 9-3062-34, Change 1
- Change date: January 1967
- Original manual date: August 21, 1957
- Equipment covered: 57mm M18 and M18A1 recoilless rifles and subcaliber device
- Maintenance category: Direct support and general support
- Publication type: Change supplement for use with the base manual
Function and Manual Contents
Change 1 revises material in the maintenance reference for these rifles and their training equipment. The parent manual addresses support-level maintenance, which covers work beyond routine care by the weapon crew. Read alongside the base publication, the supplement helps researchers follow the Army's revised technical guidance for keeping this equipment in service.
Publication History
The original 1957 manual was issued after the Korean War, as the Army continued to support weapons developed during World War II. This January 1967 update followed nearly ten years later. Change supplements allowed the Army to revise existing publications without replacing the entire book, making them useful records of how maintenance guidance developed over time.
Documented Applications
The Army's April 1967 artillery ammunition manual, TM 9-1300-203, specifically lists TM 9-3062-34 as the direct support and general support maintenance reference for the M18, M18A1, and subcaliber device. It also directs readers to this publication for information about the training device. These references document the manual's place in the Army's wider system of weapons support publications.
Equipment History
The M18 grew from the T15 recoilless rifle project at Frankford Arsenal during World War II. Work by William J. Kroeger, C. Walton Musser, and their team produced a practical 57mm design in 1943. Testing led to a demonstration at Aberdeen Proving Ground in September 1944. Limited production began in early 1945, and the Army standardized the weapon as the M18 that June. The M18A1 belonged to the same portable 57mm weapon family.
Subcaliber Device Background
The subcaliber device gave troops a lower-cost way to practice with the full-size recoilless rifle. Army references describe a training insert that used .30-caliber ball ammunition to simulate firing the larger weapon. Its design incorporated inert 57mm cartridge components, allowing it to fit inside the rifle. Without the small-caliber cartridge, the device also served as a drill cartridge for loading practice. This dual role supported both firing practice and basic weapon-handling skills while conserving service ammunition.
Weapon-System Background
The M18 family gave infantry units portable firepower that could move with soldiers on foot. Its recoilless design released propellant gases through the rear of the weapon to balance recoil. This reduced the need for a heavy carriage and recoil mechanism. The rifle could be shoulder-fired or supported from the ground, giving infantry a direct-fire weapon that complemented machine guns and mortars.
History of Use
The first shipment of 50 rifles reached the European theater in March 1945, and the M18 saw service in both Europe and the Pacific before World War II ended. The weapon family continued into the Korean War, where 57mm recoilless rifles formed part of infantry weapons units. Later maintenance publications and training aids supported the equipment beyond those wartime campaigns. This 1967 supplement belongs to that continuing history of technical support.
Ideal For
This change supplement is useful for studying period maintenance practices, completing a technical reference collection, or explaining the role of training equipment in infantry weapons programs.
- Collectors of M18 and M18A1 recoilless rifle publications
- Researchers studying subcaliber training devices
- Museums and military history archives
- Historians of World War II, Korea, and Cold War infantry equipment
- Owners of the August 21, 1957 base manual seeking its Change 1 supplement
Approx length 6", Approx width 9", Approx height .1", Approx weight .1lbs.
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