The Model 37 trench guns were shipped from the Ithaca factory to Augusta Arsenal between June 27 and July 20, 1942. In the spring of 1942, the government placed orders for 1,420 Model 37 trench guns designated in Ithaca factory records as вЂњModel #37, 12/20'- Riot Type Shotguns with Bayonet Attachments.вЂќ While the term вЂњtrench gunвЂќ was never official government nomenclature, it is useful terminology to differentiate the models fitted with bayonet adapters from the plain-barrel вЂњriotвЂќ guns.

Since the Model 37 was one of the guns previously standardized by the Ordnance Dept., the trench gun variant was quickly approved for procurement, along with a number of short-barrel riot guns (without bayonet adapters) and longer-barrel training guns. for 1,494 Model 97 вЂњtrench guns,вЂќ the first new military combat shotguns to be procured since the end of World War I.ДЄnticipating additional orders from the government for combat shotguns as well, Ithaca designed a вЂњtrench gunвЂќ version of its Model 37 riot gun (20' barrel) fitted with a handguard/bayonet adapter very similar to the Winchester design. placed orders with Winchester Repeating Arms Co. 11, 1941, (less than a month before the attack on Pearl Harbor), the U.S. 7, 1941, which standardized the following shotguns for вЂњriot and sporting useвЂќ: Winchester Model 97, Winchester Model 12, Ithaca Model 37, Remington Model 31 and Savage M620. It was envisioned that such arms would soon be needed for training and combat purposes. began preparations to procure shotguns for military use. Nonetheless, with the ever-increasing likelihood that the United States would be drawn into the war raging in Europe, the U.S. From the time of its introduction until the eve of AmericaвЂ™s entrance into World War II, Ithaca focused on commercial sales of the Model 37, and the company made little effort to attract law enforcement or military customers. This feature appealed to many buyers, and the Model 37 soon became known for its craftsmanship and reliability. The design differed from most other slide-action shotguns as the shells were loaded and ejected from the bottom of the receiver rather than the bottom-loading and side-port ejection configuration found on most of the competing designs. The gun was an improved version of the John Browning-designed Model 17 that had been a popular seller for the Remington Arms Co. In 1937, Ithaca introduced its first repeating shotgun, the Model 37. sought a gun of this type to keep pace with its two major competitors. After the Armistice, civilian gunmakers concentrated on rifles and shotguns for the civilian sporting/hunting market.Дue to the growing popularity of the Winchester and Remington slide-action shotguns, Ithaca Gun Co. military between the wars, but no new combat shotguns were manufactured after cancellation of the 1918 contracts. Dubbed вЂњtrench guns,вЂќ these arms produced during World War I remained in service with the U.S. During World War I, a version of the Model 1897 fitted with a ventilated metal handguard and bayonet adapter was issued for combat use, along with a smaller number of similarly modified Remington Model 10 shotguns. While never a large part of our military small arms arsenal, increasing numbers of shotguns saw service in all subsequent U.S. military procured shotguns specifically for combat purposes when a couple hundred commercial Winchester Model 1897 slide-action вЂњriotвЂќ shotguns (20' barrel) were issued to American soldiers fighting Moro tribesmen in the Philippines.

In the immediate aftermath of the Spanish-American War of 1898, the U.S.

A few shotguns were acquired by the military during this period for вЂњforagingвЂќ use, such as hunting birds and other small game to supplement the typical salt pork and hardtack fare. Likewise, shotguns accompanied troops during the Western Expansion from the late 1860s through the 1880s. Shotguns were often employed, particularly by Confederate cavalrymen, during the American Civil War. Even before the Revolutionary War, smoothbore flintlock вЂњfowling piecesвЂќ were frequently pressed into service in the hands of militia and other irregular troops. Shotguns have had a long, but often unheralded, tenure of service with AmericaвЂ™s armed forces.

Ithaca shotgun serial number location