Rare WWII Shotgun Anti-Aircraft Trainer Surfaces

By Chris Eger

The “machine guns” in both of these WWII images are actually Remington Model 11 shotguns converted for use as a training device. Nearly 60,000 such guns ran through millions of paper-hulled shotgun shells training aircrew how to splash enemy aircraft. (Photos: National Archives)
If you wanted to get good at smoking enemy planes in 1943, it was a lot easier to start off dusting clay pigeons with a Remington shotgun.
It’s a simple concept, with a shotgun being easier and cheaper to cut a trainee’s teeth on “wing shooting” than a full-sized machine gun. Accordingly, the Army and Navy bought 59,961 Remington Model 11 semi-auto — the company’s version of the Browning A5 — during World War II., along with 204 million clay targets then got to work.
Maine-based Poulin Auctions has one such surviving Remington M11 in their upcoming Spring Premier Firearms Auction. The gun includes “U.S.” acceptance marks and a Bell Aircraft adapter gun mount to allow the 12 gauge to mimic the feel of a spade-gripped Browning machine gun.
Of note, the Remington has a 28-inch barrel with a Lyman Cutt’s Compensator and full choke tube, which is about right for Japanese Zeroes. (Photo: Poulin Auctions)
Does your shotgun have a Bell Aircraft

Source: Guns.com