Record #:

8287

Author(s):

Not Given

Abstract:

David Williams was born in Cumberland County on November 13, 1900. As a young man, he worked for a railroad company and supplemented his income by making moonshine. A confrontation with law officers led to a shootout in which an officer was killed. Although there is a dispute as to who shot the officer, Williams was charged and sentenced to thirty years in prison. He worked in the metal shop in prison, repairing guns of the guards and developing his own ideas about firearms. In 1929, after serving eight years, his case was reviewed, and he was pardoned. During World War II, Williams worked for the Winchester Repeating Firearms Company in Connecticut. While in prison he had invented the short-stroke piston and floating chamber principle that would revolutionize the small arms industry. This idea led to the development of the M1 carbine. Over six million were manufactured between 1941 and 1945 and gave him his famous nickname \"Carbine\" Williams.

Source:

Tar Heel Junior Historian (NoCar F 251 T3x), Vol. 46 Issue 1, Fall 2006, p31, il, por

Subject(s):

Gunsmiths--Cumberland County; Gunsmithing; Williams, David Marshall, 1900-1975; Firearms--History