Description
TM 9-3058 Technical Manual - .50 Cal M8 Spotting Rifle, 106mm M40 Recoilless Rifle, and M79 Rifle Mount - April 1955
Item Overview
Add an early M40 system reference to your military library with TM 9-3058. This April 1955 U.S. Army technical manual covers the .50 caliber M8 spotting rifle, 106mm M40 recoilless rifle, and M79 rifle mount. It connects three key components in one publication for collectors, historians, and restoration researchers. You will receive an original TM 9-3058 manual, but it will not be the one shown in the photos.
Identification and Features
These details identify the publication and its covered equipment.
- Publication number: TM 9-3058
- Publication date: April 1955
- Issuing service: Department of the Army
- Scope: Operation and organizational maintenance
- Spotting weapon: .50 caliber M8 spotting rifle
- Main weapon: 106mm M40 recoilless rifle
- Support assembly: M79 rifle mount
Function and Manual Contents
This manual addresses operation and maintenance by the unit using the equipment. It brings the main rifle, spotting rifle, and mount into one reference. Coverage of related sighting equipment and lubrication adds context for the care of the complete installation. This scope helps readers study the connections between the weapon, its aiming equipment, and its support hardware.
Documented End-Item Application
The M8 spotting rifle paired with the M40 as part of its aiming system. The M79 mount supported the rifle installation on the ground and on 1/4-ton 4x4 utility trucks. These applications connect TM 9-3058 to both ground-mounted infantry weapons and jeep-carried recoilless rifle systems.
Publication History
The April 1955 issue documents the early M40 system during its first years of Army adoption. The M8 and M40 names in its title preserve the early designations, before later manuals focused on updated variants such as the M8C and M40A1. For collectors, this makes the publication useful for tracing the system's changing technical record.
Equipment History: The M40 Recoilless Rifle
The M40 grew from the Army's Battalion Antitank, or BAT, development program. Frankford Arsenal records from March 1953 identify the development model T170E1 with the M40 designation. Although called a 106mm rifle, the weapon has a 105mm bore. The different caliber name helped distinguish its ammunition from the incompatible rounds used by the earlier M27 recoilless rifle.
M8 Spotting Rifle History and Function
The M8 developed from Springfield Armory's T46E2 spotting rifle. Army archives preserve a 1954 design study and a January 1955 gas-regulator report for this weapon. Its special .50 caliber spotting ammunition was designed to follow a path close to that of the main projectile. The smaller round's visible impact helped crews check the aim of the larger weapon, making the M8 an important part of the M40's fire-control system.
M79 Rifle Mount History and Design
The M79 grew from the T149E3 mount developed under the BAT program. Its distinctive wheelbarrow-style tripod used a three-arm base with a wheel in the front arm. Handles and the wheel helped crews move the assembly over short distances. Elevating and traversing mechanisms supported vertical and horizontal aiming, while the base served both ground and vehicle installations.
Parent Weapon-System Background
The complete M40 system was intended to give infantry mobile antitank firepower. Rearward-flowing propellant gas balanced much of the firing force, reducing the need for a heavy recoil mechanism. This allowed a large-caliber weapon to work with light transport and a ground mount, giving infantry units direct fire support without a tank.
History of Use
The M40 family went on to serve with U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. Later variants also saw use in conflicts across Africa and the Middle East, including the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. In U.S. service, the shift toward guided antitank missiles such as TOW began in the early 1970s. This manual records the system's early form before those later service developments.
Ideal For
A focused reference for collectors and researchers studying the early M40 system and its supporting components.
- U.S. Army technical manual collectors
- M40 recoilless rifle restoration researchers
- M8 spotting rifle and M79 mount collectors
- Museums preparing Cold War infantry displays
- Historians studying antitank weapon development
Approx length 6", Approx width 9", Approx height .25", Approx weight .5lbs.
Pictures are stock images of our inventory. Unless otherwise noted, you will not be receiving the exact item shown in the pictures. The pictures are representative of the item’s general condition. The item you receive might be slightly better, or worse, condition than was shown in the pictures.
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