John Pedersen
Encyclopedia
John Douglas Pedersen was a prolific arms
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...

 designer who worked for Remington Arms
Remington Arms
Remington Arms Company, Inc. was founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington in Ilion, New York, as E. Remington and Sons. It is the oldest company in the United States which still makes its original product, and is the oldest continuously operating manufacturer in North America. It is the only U.S....

, and later for the United States Government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

. Famed gun designer John Moses Browning
John Browning
John Moses Browning , born in Ogden, Utah, was an American firearms designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world...

 told Maj. Gen. Julian S. Hatcher of U.S. Army Ordnance that Pedersen "was the greatest gun designer in the world".

Personal life and family

Pedersen was born in Grand Island, Nebraska, the third of four children of Danish immigrants John H. and Matilda Christine Pedersen. The Pedersen family were ranchers and lived in several western states; they had a family ranch near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where John Douglas lived after his parents died. Pedersen's education is unknown, according to family records, but it is known he traveled extensively.

On March 28, 1918 (or possibly 1920) Pederson married Reata Canady in Provo, Utah. Canady was born in Greenville, Texas, and her father, a Scot named Loren Canady, was a railroad engineer sent to China, where he worked building a railroad. Canady accompanied him while her mother remained in the San Francisco Bay area. One day he went "down the line" to deliver a payroll to a railroad crew, and was never heard from again, leaving his now-semi-orphaned daughter to make her way home. She became a violinist protégé of Sir Thomas Lipton, who helped her attend nursing school and becoming an RN at Victoria Hospital
Victoria Hospital
Victoria Hospital may refer to:Australia:* Queen Victoria Hospital, MelbourneCanada:* Royal Victoria Hospital, Barrie, Ontario* Victoria Hospital * Royal Victoria Hospital , Quebec...

,
London. According to family legend, Reata was a nurse during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, working in a field hospital inside a bombed-out church in Belgium when a German shell hit. She was assisting in a surgery on a wounded soldier, and threw herself over him to keep debris out of his wounds. According to the story, they
had to be pulled from the rubble, the soldier survived, and Reata received a
decoration from the British government. This event brought her to the attention
of an American magazine illustrator, possibly P.G. Morgan, who did 100 oil
paintings for the Red Cross of her as a nurse, at night in a field hospital,
using a small flashlight to read a patient's thermometer. The painting was
supposedly made into the cover illustration of one of the era's
magazines. Though there is no documentation known to exist of this tale so far,
the actual oil painting does exist, and currently has a place of honor in her
granddaughter's home in Waldorf, Maryland. At some point during the war Reata
produced short stories and magazine articles under the pen name Reata Van
Houten; this much is documented. Her stories include Honor Among Thieves,
All-Story Weekly (1917); Fiddler Joe, All-Story Weekly (1919); The
Seven Sleeper
, All-Story Weekly (1919); and Comrades of the Trail, and
Munsey’s (1927). During the 1930s, she wrote articles for Field & Stream
Field & Stream
Field & Stream is a magazine featuring hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities in the United States. Together with Sports Afield and Outdoor Life, it is considered one of the Big Three of American outdoor publishing....


and similar magazines on topics like fly fishing. She also became a radio
personality, and had her own show on an NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 affiliate, where she was known
as "The Hostess of the Air."

The Pedersens had two children, Eric and Kristi-Ray. They traveled widely, he
usually on business related to his gun designing, although their "base" was the
family ranch in Jackson Hole. In the early 1920s, when Eric was about 4 and
Krist-Ray was about 3, they moved to England for several years, while John
Douglas did some work for the Vickers company. Prior to her retirement, Reata
worked as a nurse at a Goodwill Industries
Goodwill Industries
Goodwill Industries International is a not-for-profit organization that provides job training, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who have a disability, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges...

 facility in San Diego. At some
unknown point, they were divorced or separated.

At the time of his death at age 70, Pedersen lived in Blandford, Massachusetts, a suburb of Springfield, home of the Springfield Armory
Springfield Armory
The Springfield Armory, located in the City of Springfield, Massachusetts - from 1777 until its closing in 1968 - was the primary center for the manufacture of U.S. military firearms. After its controversial closing during the Vietnam War, the Springfield Armory was declared Western Massachusetts'...

 and the Springfield rifle
Springfield Rifle
The term Springfield Rifle may refer to any one of several types of small arms produced by the Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts, for the United States armed forces....

. It is not known if his residence there had any connection to the armory. Typically, though, Pedersen was traveling when he died, of a coronary, while in Cottonwood, Yavapai County, Arizona, near Prescott, where the Pedersens had lived for a time earlier in their lives. Reata Pedersen died in 1969 in San Diego, age 85. His death certificate says he was married. This could mean one of several possibilities: first that he was still married to Reata but separated; he was divorced and remarried to a woman unknown; or it could simply be an error. In any event, he was not in contact with Reata or her children at the time of his death.

At the start of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

, his son Eric Pedersen joined the Marines
Marines
Marines may refer to :* The plural of Marine , a member of a naval infantry force* Chiba Lotte Marines, a Japanese professional baseball team* "The Marines", an episode of the Adult Swim animated television series, Aqua Teen Hunger Force'People...

 and
served as a lieutenant in combat in Korea. He is memorialized in the book
Reckless: Pride of the Marines. Lt. Pedersen led a recoilless rifle platoon
and at his own expense purchased a racehorse for use as an ammunition
carrier. The horse became famous in the 1st Marine Division. Reckless
became the first horse to participate in an Marine amphibious landing, was
promoted through the ranks from private to corporal to sergeant, and at the
war's end was shipped to Camp Pendleton, California, where she lived out her
retirement as a beloved mascot.

Early career

Pederson is best known for the 1918 Pedersen device
Pedersen device
The Pedersen Device is an attachment developed during World War I for the M1903 Springfield rifle that allowed it to fire a short .30 Caliber intermediate cartridge in semi-automatic mode...

 that converted a standard
military Springfield 1903 rifle to a
semi-automatic
Semi-automatic firearm
A semi-automatic, or self-loading firearm is a weapon which performs all steps necessary to prepare the weapon to fire again after firing—assuming cartridges remain in the weapon's feed device or magazine...

, intermediate-caliber firearm.

He designed several successful sporting guns for Remington, including the novel
Model 51 pistol
Remington 51
The Remington 51 is a small pocket pistol designed by John Pedersen and manufactured by Remington Arms in the early 20th century for the American civilian market...

, the Model 10
Remington Model 10
The Remington Model 10 is a pump-action shotgunwith an internal hammer and tube magazine. It was offered in 12 gauge with barrel lengths from 20 to 32 inches .-Military use:...


pump-action
Pump-action
A pump-action rifle or shotgun is one in which the handgrip can be pumped back and forth in order to eject a spent round of ammunition and to chamber a fresh one. It is much faster than a bolt-action and somewhat faster than a lever-action, as it does not require the trigger hand to be removed from...

 shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...

 and the Models 12, 14
Remington model 14
The Remington model 14 was a pump-action repeating rifle designed for the Remington Arms company by John Pedersen.-History:John Pedersen was a Danish born arms inventor who worked for Remington Arms and for the United States Government. Well known for the military Pedersen device, he designed...

, and 25
pump-action rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...

s. He collaborated with John Browning
John Browning
John Moses Browning , born in Ogden, Utah, was an American firearms designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world...

 to design the
Model 17
Remington Model 17
In 1915 John Browning patented a pump action, hammerless, under-loading, tubular-magazine, bottom-ejecting, take-down shotgun which became the Remington Model 17. The manufacturing rights were sold to Remington Arms shortly after, but due to the production efforts of World War I, Remington was...

 pump-action shotgun. The Model 17 was a trim,
20-gauge shotgun that was later redesigned and made in three highly successful
forms: the Remington Model 31
Remington model 31
The Remington Model 31 was a slide-action shotgun that competed with the Winchester Model 1912 for the American sporting arms market. Produced from 1931 to 1949, it superseded the John Pedersen-designed Model 10 and Model 17 and was replaced by the less expensive Remington 870.-History:While the...

, Browning BPS
Browning Arms Company
Browning Arms Company is a maker of firearms, bows and fishing gear. Founded in Utah in 1927, it offers a wide variety of firearms, including shotguns, rifles, pistols, and rimfire firearms and sport bows, as well as fishing rods and reels....

, and
the Ithaca 37
Ithaca 37
The Ithaca 37 is a pump-action shotgun made in large numbers for the civilian, military, and police markets. It utilizes a novel combination ejection/loading port on the bottom of the gun which leaves the sides closed to the elements. In addition, the outline of the gun is clean...

.

Pedersen designed the two second best U.S. military firearms of the 20th century. His .45 caliber
.45 ACP
The .45 ACP , also known as the .45 Auto by C.I.P., is a cartridge designed by John Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic .45 pistol and eventually the M1911 pistol adopted by the United States Army in 1911.-Design and history:The U.S...

 automatic pistol, based on the same design as the Model 51, was accepted by the Navy Board for production, but the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 intervened and Remington tooled to produce the M1911 instead. He also designed a competing design to the M1 Garand rifle. His design utilized a toggle-lock and patented waxed cartridges
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...

. The Garand was selected instead. His "Pedersen rifle
Pedersen rifle
The Pedersen Rifle, officially known in final form as the T1E3 rifle, was a United States semi-automatic rifle designed by John Pedersen that was made in small numbers for testing by the United States Army during the 1920s as part of a program to standardize and adopt a replacement for the M1903...

" was also trial tested by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and Japanese
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...

 between World War I and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, but it was not adopted.

Pedersen was issued 69 patents listing his home as Wyoming, and others listing Colorado and New York State
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

World War II

During the early days of America's involvement in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Pedersen formed a company with the Irwin family, who owned successful furniture
manufacturing concerns in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Irwin-Pedersen Arms Company in that city was capitalized for $1,000.000.00, by the brothers Robert and Earl Irwin. Primarily through Pedersen's contacts in the Ordnance Department, the Irwin-Pedersen Arms Company received a contract to manufacture over 100,000 M1 Carbines
M1 Carbine
The M1 carbine is a lightweight, easy to use semi-automatic carbine that became a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and was produced in several variants. It was widely used by U.S...

 to be produced at the rate of 1,000 per day after the Grand Rapids factory was tooled up and in full production.

Unfortunately, due to faulty management and a host of other difficulties, the company failed to achieve mass production and produced slightly over 3,500 M1 Carbines. None of these carbines met Ordnance Department standards and thus none were accepted for the military. In March 1943, the Ordnance Department cancelled the contract it had with the Irwin-Pedersen Arms Company. The Irwin-Pedersen's production facilities were taken over by another contractor, Saginaw Steering Gear Division of General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

, on April 1, 1943. Today, Irwin-Pedersen M-1 Carbines are among the rarest versions of the M1 Carbine and as such, I-P Carbines usually command premium prices in collector's circles.

Legacy

Pedersen's sporting designs for Remington
Remington
- People :* Eliphalet Remington , American firearms designer* Philo Remington , American firearms and typewriter manufacturer, son of Eliphalet Remington* Frederic Remington , American painter and sculptor...

 are highly regarded today and prized
by shooters and collectors alike.

Many of Pedersen's U.S. military efforts were stymied by fate. Although the Navy
recommended adoption of his .45 pistol design, the outbreak of World War I led
to the design being shelved in favor of the M1911 pistol already in production
for the Army. His most famous invention, the Pedersen Device, never had a chance
to significantly affect the battles on the Western Front
Western Front
Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the contested armed frontier between lands controlled by Germany to the east and the Allies to the west...

 during World War I: the
war ended before it could be manufactured in quantity and sent to France to
equip the American Army (only 65,000 were produced out of planned production of
500,000). In the 1920s U.S. Army Ordnance selected his .276 Pedersen
.276 Pedersen
The .276 Pedersen round was an experimental 7 mm cartridge developed for the U.S. Army and used in the Pedersen rifle and early versions of what would become the M1 Garand rifle.-Summary:...


cartridge to replace the .30-06 in the infantry rifle and tested Pedersen's
unique toggle-linked semi-automatic rifle
Semi-automatic rifle
A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled, automatically ejects the spent cartridge, chambers a fresh cartridge from its magazine, and is immediately ready to fire another shot...

 in competitions at Aberdeen Proving
Ground
Aberdeen Proving Ground
Aberdeen Proving Ground is a United States Army facility located near Aberdeen, Maryland, . Part of the facility is a census-designated place , which had a population of 3,116 at the 2000 census.- History :...

. The Pedersen rifle lost out to the rifle designed by John
C. Garand; adding insult to injury, General MacArthur later vetoed the
adoption of .276 Pedersen
.276 Pedersen
The .276 Pedersen round was an experimental 7 mm cartridge developed for the U.S. Army and used in the Pedersen rifle and early versions of what would become the M1 Garand rifle.-Summary:...

 as the new infantry cartridge. General George S. Patton owned a Remington 51
Remington 51
The Remington 51 is a small pocket pistol designed by John Pedersen and manufactured by Remington Arms in the early 20th century for the American civilian market...

and was thought to favor the weapon and is seen in many photos of the era wearing it as his personal sidearm. During
World War II, John Pedersen's attempts through the Irwin-Pedersen Arms Company
to mass produce M1 Carbines for the U.S. military failed.

External links

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