POTD: Quality Hardware M1 Carbine – Chicago Contractor’s Brief Moment
Sam.S 07.15.25
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! This Quality Hardware & Manufacturing Company M1 Carbine shows one of the shortest production runs in American military firearms history. Built in early 1944 from their Chicago facility during a crazy three-month sprint when Quality Hardware pushed out 247,425 M1 Carbines between March and May 1944. Quality Hardware getting pulled into M1 Carbine production shows how desperate the manufacturing situation was as America geared up for D-Day and ramped up Pacific operations. This Chicago company normally made commercial hardware and metal products, but got pressed into service when established firearms manufacturers couldn’t keep up with carbine demand.
What makes Quality Hardware’s deal remarkable is how brief and intense it was. Their entire M1 Carbine production – serial numbers 4,632,100 to 4,879,525 – happened in just three months. They had to set up tooling and train workers fast. Nearly a quarter million carbines in 90 days proves how quickly American industry could scale military production when needed. The February 1944 Inland barrel on this one shows the complex supply chain behind carbine production. Quality Hardware built receivers and assembled rifles, but they depended on established suppliers like Inland Division for barrels and other parts. Created this intricate web of subcontractors all supporting the war effort.
Quality Hardware’s carbines carry the “Q-RMC” marking in the sling channel, permanently marking their brief but important contribution to American arms production. After finishing their contract in May 1944, they went back to civilian manufacturing. They’d proven that even small industrial firms could make a real difference. This carbine represents American manufacturing flexibility at its wartime peak.
“WWII Configured U.S. Quality Hardware M1 Semi-Automatic Carbine.” Rock Island Auction Company, https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/5012/116/wwii-configured-us-quality-hardware-m1-semiautomatic-carbine. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.
