Grevich was authorized to manufacture the weapons. But there was a problem: he needed parts. Am2 receivers, M1 Garand stocks, bipods, trigger components, metalworking tools… and he needed them without official documentation. The modification wasn’t standard. It wasn’t approved by the Marine Corps Ordnance Department.
If Grevich had followed the official channels, the project would have been delayed by months, if not years. Instead, he contacted Private First Class John Little. Little was a mechanic with expertise in tolerances and manufacturing. Grevich explained his needs, and Little agreed to help. If you’d like to find out how Grevich and Little managed to secretly manufacture six unauthorized machine guns, click “Like.”
This allows us to share more forgotten stories from World War II. Subscribe if you haven’t already. Back to Gravik. The two Marines began searching the base. They needed six A&M M2 receivers. This was regulated equipment. Aircraft weaponry parts had to be accounted for and returned if damaged. But thousands of aircraft were lost in the Pacific.
Damaged, crashed, shot down. Some of these aircraft were salvaged. Spare parts were stored in hangars, awaiting scrapping or repatriation. Grevik and Little began asking questions. They visited maintenance centers, salvage yards, and aircraft repair shops. They found three A&M M2s in a spare parts bin labeled “for scrap.”
Two others were found in the fuselage of a damaged aircraft. The remaining six came from a source whose origin remained a mystery. By the end of November, they had six bolt carriers, but they were still missing stocks, bipods, sights, triggers, and they had less than ten weeks before the division’s departure for Euima. Every evening after their shifts, the two Marines worked in a makeshift workshop, wondering each night if they would finish on time or if they would be seized with unauthorized equipment before they could even prove it was functional.
The first modification began on November 21. Grevich and Little worked in a corner of the battalion’s maintenance shop after nightfall. The A&M M2 aircraft machine gun weighed 10.4 kg (23 lbs) with its shovel-shaped grips. The receiver was designed to be bolted to an aircraft mount. It was not intended for a shoulder stock.
There was no conventional trigger mechanism. The weapon was fired by pressing two butterfly triggers located on the grips. This system worked perfectly in an aircraft turret. However, it was virtually unusable for a Marine advancing in open terrain. Little began by removing the grips. These were attached to the rear of the receiver by four bolts.
Once removed, the weapon was unusable. The next step was to fabricate a trigger mechanism. The ANM2 used an electric solenoid for firing. The aircraft’s trigger was activated by the solenoid. It took very little to create a mechanical trigger that would activate the same firing circuit. He fashioned a trigger from a sheet of metal, bent it to the required angle, drilled mounting holes, and added a simple trigger guard made from scrap steel.
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