M6 aircrew survival weapon
Ithaca Gun CompanyEarly Cold War
Also known as Rifle-Shotgun, Survival, Caliber .22/.410
Image credit
- Title
- File:M6 Survival Rifle.jpg
- Author
- Curiosandrelics(attribution required)
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 3.0
- Source
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:M6_Survival_Rifle.jpg
How Muzzle energy is calculated
E = ½ · m · v²
Not calculated: v has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Muzzle velocity is calculated
no sourced velocity for this load
Not calculated: muzzle velocity has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
No input on this calculation carries a clickable source yet.
How Loaded mass is calculated
m_loaded = m_empty + m_magazine + n · m_cartridge
Not calculated: m_magazine has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- One magazine, filled to the stated capacity. Spare magazines, optics, slings and lights are the owner’s, not the arm’s.
2 of 4 inputs link to their source.
How Free recoil is calculated
E_recoil = ½ · m_firearm · v_recoil²
Not calculated: v_recoil has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- Propellant gas momentum is excluded: ARMAG does not record charge weights. This is therefore a lower bound on the real free recoil, consistent between entries but smaller than a figure that includes the gas term.
- Free recoil: the arm is unrestrained. Stock design, muzzle devices, stance and shooter mass are not modelled, because none of them is a property of the arm.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Capacity is calculated
as published for the primary chambering
Inputs
- capacity1estimatedsourceThe upper barrel is a single-shot break-open rifle chamber; no magazine is fitted.
1 of 1 inputs link to their source.
Derived figures
Computed from the sourced values above. Open ƒ on any figure for the formula, its inputs, and the assumptions it makes.
How Momentum is calculated
p = m · v
Not calculated: v has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Sectional density is calculated
SD = mass(gr) / (7000 · diameter(in)²)
Inputs
- mass2.268 g35.00 grverifiedsource35 gr as published in the article's ballistics table, converted to grams.
- diameter5.7 mm0.2244 inverifiedsourceCartridge maximum, dimension G1. Some rifles made before the standard settled are bored for a 0.223 in bullet rather than 0.224 in.
Assumptions
- Reported in the conventional lb/in² so it is directly comparable with published figures.
2 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Power factor is calculated
PF = mass(gr) · velocity(fps) / 1000
Not calculated: velocity has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- A competition classification defined by the IPSC and USPSA rulebooks, stated in their units. It describes a scoring category, not an effect.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Magazine dump is calculated
t = (n − 1) / (rpm / 60)
Not calculated: rpm has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- Cyclic rate held for the whole magazine, no stoppages, trigger held down. A theoretical figure for comparing mechanisms, not a measured one.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Sight error at 1 mm is calculated
θ = atan(misalignment / sight radius)
Not calculated: sight radius has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- Shows what a stated aiming error costs. The misalignment is the reader’s figure; the site does not claim how well anyone aims.
No input on this calculation carries a clickable source yet.
Specifications
Every row here is generated from the schema, so a figure recorded on this entry cannot be missing from the table, and the same rows, read the same way, are what the comparison shows.
Identity
- Type
- Shotgun
- Action
- Break action
- Fire modes
- Single shot
- Operating system
- Manually operated
- Feed
- not recorded
- Roles
- Designed in
- United States
- Produced in
- Introduced
- 1952
- Production
- not recorded
Dimensions and mass
- Mass, empty
Converted from a published 4.5 lb figure, Wikipedia infobox; no inline citation is given there.
- Magazine, empty
- not recorded
- Length
Converted from a published 28.27 in figure, Wikipedia infobox, uncited there.
- Length, folded
Converted from a published 15 in figure, Wikipedia infobox, uncited there.
- Width
- not recorded
- Height
- not recorded
- Barrel length
Converted from a published 14 in figure, Wikipedia infobox, uncited there.
Sights and rifling
- Sight radius
- not recorded
- Sight height over bore
- not recorded
- Rifling twist
- not recorded
- Twist direction
- not recorded
- Grooves
- not recorded
- Sight graduation
- not recorded
Operation
- Cyclic rate
- not recorded
- Trigger pull
- not recorded
- Effective range
- not recorded
- Units produced
- not recorded
- Launch price
- not recorded
Chamberings
- .22 Hornetprimary1 rounds
- .410 bore1 rounds
Scale
A to-scale outline against family siblings. The dimensions are sourced; the shape is a representative outline for the type, and says so.
- M6 aircrew survival weapon718 mm28.27 inheight not recorded
Representative outline: the dimensions are sourced, the shape is not. Overall length, and barrel length where recorded, are drawn from this entry's own figures; the profile is a generic one for the firearm type and says nothing about this arm's actual contours. M6 aircrew survival weapon records no height, so its outline is drawn at the type's proportion. That height is part of the shape, not a measurement.
Detail
The M6 aircrew survival weapon is a break-action, superposed combination gun the US Army Air Forces’ Air Materiel Command developed in 1946 and formally designated Rifle-Shotgun, Survival, Caliber .22/.410, entering service with the newly independent US Air Force in 1952. It pairs a .22 Hornet rifle barrel above a .410 bore shotgun barrel in a single folding weapon, intended not as a combat arm but as compact survival equipment a downed aircrew member could carry to take small game or birds.
Ithaca Gun Company and Springfield Armory, Inc. manufactured it, and its skeletonized wire stock folds the weapon down to about half its extended length for storage in an aircraft survival kit. A compartment in the stock held nine rounds of .22 Hornet ammunition and four .410 shotgun shells for the airman to carry alongside the gun itself. It remained in Air Force service into the 1970s.
Mass, length, folded length and barrel length on this page come from Wikipedia’s infobox, which carries no inline citation for any of them, so all are recorded as estimated rather than verified. No manufacturer specification sheet was reachable for this entry, and no published twist rate was found either.
References
This entry's own bibliography. Every citation key on this page resolves into this list.
- M6 aircrew survival weapon · Wikipedia · 1359773331 · read 2026-09-24 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Last verified 2026-09-24 · review status: draft