Carbine Williams' Prison Gun Design

In 1921 in North Carolina, David Marshall "Carbine" Williams shot and killed a deputy sheriff during a raid on his illegal still, and a court sent him to prison for second-degree murder. In the prison machine shop, he designed innovative gun mechanisms, including the short-stroke gas system that later powered a new lightweight rifle. After family and supporters pushed for clemency, arguing his inventions could help America, officials released him, and he went to work with Winchester. His ideas helped produce the M1 Carbine, which was widely used by the American forces in World War II.

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