This is the forty sixth volume in the Weapon series. This volume deals solely with the 45 cal. M3 sub machine gun, which was commonly called “The Grease Gun” because of its resemblance to the mechanics grease gun familiar to so many young men in the army. It has also been called Americas Sten Gun because like its British counterpart it was designed to be made with stamped metal welded together. This simple design made it really cheap to manufacture with a net cost of $33.33 to the government. It is hard to believe that this weapon was used by the military for almost 50 years.

This 80 page paperback book is full of pictures and illustrations. Both B&W and color. There is a picture or image on practically every page. The full color illustrations are in the fine detail that the Osprey books are known for. The five chapters cover the development, use and impact of the M3 “Grease Gun”. There is an extensive bibliography for additional resources for research.

This book is a quick read and full of useful information about the M3 and M3A1 sub machine gun. It is highly recommended to anyone interested in learning about this unique weapon.

I enjoyed the read and look forward to new releases in this series. Osprey books are available at retail outlets and direct from mail order through their web site; ospreypublishing.com.

Many thanks to Osprey Publishing for providing this book and to IPMS/USA for allowing me to read and review it.