The warfighters of World War 1 had one foot in the past and one in the future. Swords and horses were still being used but automatic weapons, airplanes and tanks were newfangled weapons. When the American Expeditionary Forces showed up they brought an old-new weapon with them, the trench shotgun.

Rock Island Auction Company offers some of the finest historic trench gun examples in the collecting field.

Long a sporting weapon for deer or game birds, newly designed pump action shotguns now fitted with heat shields and bayonets could get off shots quickly, sweeping a trench and earning that nickname, “trench sweeper.” Interest in these early 20th century military – and very American – weapons has grown in recent years.

This U.S. Remington-UMC Model 10-A slide action trench shotgun should be the top of any military collector’s list. Manufactured under a U.S. Army contract for 3,500, many were converted back to riot or sporting shotguns. This Remington Model 10-A trench gun has a 23-inch barrel, wooden handguard, bayonet lug, a scabbard for the bayonet, World War 1 era ammunition and two canvas shotgun ammunition pouches marked with Ordnance Department inspected marks.

Rise of the Trench Shotgun

U.S. soldiers attempting to quell the 1900 Philippines uprising often found their weapons ineffective against the ferocious suicide attacks by Moro swordsmen. Capt. John Pershing saw one weapon stand out during this close quarters fighting — the Winchester Model 1897 trench shotgun. While soldiers returned to using .45 Colt revolvers with more stopping power than their .38 Colts, the close quarter fighting also served as the spark for the M1911 in .45 ACP.

One of the rarest of the World War 2 trench shotguns is the Ithaca Model 37. Reportedly, only 1,422 of these guns were manufactured on U.S. contract during World War 2. This shotgun, capable of slam firing, is accompanied by copies of factory records showing it was shipped to the Augusta Ordnance Depot in Georgia in July 1942. The gun has a small flaming bomb proof stamp on the left side of the receiver and the initials “R.L.B.” for inspector Col. Roy L. Bowlin, of the Rochester Ordnance District. U.S. property-marked ammunition and a tan canvas ammunition pouch is also part of this lot.

As the United States prepared to join the fight in World War I, Pershing, now a general and head of the American Expeditionary Forces, recalled the Winchester trench gun's effectiveness in the Philippines and envisioned how the shotguns could be wielded in the trenches of the French battlefields. He asked the Ordnance Department to request modifications.

Manufactured in the late 1960s to the mid-1970s as the commercial Winchester Model 1200, this Vietnam era U.S. marked slide action shotgun purchased by U.S. Ordnance had a heat shield and bayonet lug mounted on it. These arrived as the Vietnam War was coming to a close so they saw use by U.S. service personnel in Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf and more. Most were destroyed after service so they are scarce today. This shotgun has U.S. markings and includes a M1 pattern nylon sling.

The popular civilian model Winchesters, invented by John Moses Browning, had 20-inch barrels, a sling swivel, bayonet adapter, and perforated metal heat shield over the 12-gauge barrel. The trench gun was born.

The weapons got good reviews from the troops.

“Shotguns in this regiment have given very satisfactory results. Their effectiveness at short ranges, on raids and patrols makes them a most desirable weapon, and I would recommend that they be adopted,” wrote one unit commander.

More than 2 million of the Winchester Model 12 slide action shotgun were made between 1912 and 1976. This is an outstanding example of a U.S. contract Model 12 with Ordnance proof and inspection marks. The Model 12 was used extensively by the U.S. Marines in the Pacific in World War 2 and remained in the U.S. military inventory into the 1990s. This shotgun is accompanied by an instruction pamphlet, World War 2 era ammunition and tan canvas ammunition pouch.

Along with the Model 1897, Winchester’s hammerless Model 1912 shotgun, plus Remington’s M10, and M11 were modified for action in the trenches. About 25,000 Winchesters and 3,500 Remingtons were delivered during World War I. The United States was the only major power to use shotguns during the war.

Trench shotgun shells were also modified for use on the front lines. The shells went from paper tubes to all brass cartridges because of wet conditions along the battlefront. If the cardboard tubes got wet they would swell and jam the shotgun or became unusable before they went into the gun.

Germans Protest the Trench Gun

The shorter barrel made the guns easier to maneuver in the narrow trenches. The U.S. Army used double-aught buckshot that blasts out nine .33 caliber pellets. Slam firing (we’ll get to that shortly) could clear a trench in ferocious close-in fighting, earning the shotgun the nickname “trench sweeper” or “trench broom.” Gen. John T. Thompson coined the nickname for his Tommy gun though it never saw use in World War I.

One report offered a glimpse at the lethality of the trench gun: “[H]is men had one good chance with them (shotguns) at a German mass assault upon his trench—a charge obviously intended to overwhelm the defenders with its solid rush of men. (They) let them come on; and when those shotguns got going—with nine .34 caliber buckshot per load, 6 loads in the gun, 200-odd men firing, plenty more shells at hand—the front ranks of the assault simply piled up on top of one awful heap of buckshot-drilled men.”

This is an outstanding example of a World War 2 Stevens Model 620 trench shotgun, capable of being slam fired. It is one of a reported 12,174 Stevens Model 620 shotgun made on U.S. contracts and adopted by the Army and Marine Corps. It remained in service in Korea and Vietnam. It is accompanied by World War 2 era ammunition and a tan canvas ammunition pouch.

In September 1918, the Germans issued a diplomatic protest saying the shotgun caused “unnecessary suffering": “The German Government protests against the use of shotguns by the American Army and call attention to the fact that according to the laws of war (Kriegsrecht), every U.S. prisoner (of war) found to have in his possession such guns or ammunition belonging thereto forfeits his life. This protest is based upon article 23(e) of the Annex of the Hague convention respecting the laws and customs of war on land.”

This exceptional World War 1 era Winchester Model 1897 trench shotgun was produced in 1918 and falls in the prime serial number range for military issued shotguns. Included with this shotgun Winchester M1917 bayonet, green leather scabbard and a M1907 pattern brown leather sling.

The United States rejected the protest. In return, Pershing replied that any German caught with a flamethrower or saw-bladed bayonet would be lined up and shot.

There were no reports of either side committing such executions, but the military did censor photos of doughboys wielding trench shotguns.

Slam Fire Trench Guns

Trench guns didn't have a trigger disconnector, allowing them to be slam fired. Slam firing is pulling the trigger and holding it while working the shotgun’s pump action, repeatedly firing, ejecting a spent shell and chambering a new shell. A trained soldier could empty a trench gun of its six shells with devastating effect in less than two seconds.

Perhaps the most famous of the trench shotguns is the Winchester Model 97 because of its slam fire capability and use in the Pacific Theater during World War 2. The gun remained in Army and Marine inventories into the 1990s. This World War 2 production example has a flaming bomb proof on the barrel and “U.S.,” the boxed initials “G.H.D. and a crossed cannon stamped on the left side of the frame. It is accompanied by World War 2 era ammunition and a tan canvas ammunition pouch.

The military required heat shields on trench shotguns because the barrel could become quite hot after firing only a few shells and if hand-to-hand combat was expected, soldiers had to be able to grab the gun to fight with a bayonet.

The shotguns available at auction that slam fire include Winchester Model 1897 and Model 12, the Stevens 620 and 520-30, the Ithaca Model 37, and Remington Model 10A.

Tales of the Trench Gun

Two stories follow the World War I trench gun. One is the story of Sgt. Fred Lloyd and the second involves skeet shooting.

According to legend, Sgt. Lloyd single-handedly cleared a German-held French village with his Winchester 97 on Sept. 27, 1918. He moved methodically through the never-named village, pumping round after round from his shotgun, routing 30 German soldiers until he collapsed with exhaustion. Thought the date is always the same and the tale is always worded similarly, it appears to be one of the myths of war.

The second legend goes that skilled skeet shooters were issued trench guns and stationed to watch for flying grenades to shoot from the sky. While it was certainly possible, it wasn’t likely, and at night was truly impossible.

More than 2 million of the Winchester Model 12 slide action shotgun were made between 1912 and 1976. This is an outstanding example of a U.S. contract Model 12 with Ordnance proof and inspection marks. The Model 12 was used extensively by the U.S. Marines in the Pacific in World War 2 and remained in the U.S. military inventory into the 1990s. This shotgun is accompanied by an instruction pamphlet, World War 2 era ammunition and tan canvas ammunition pouch.

Combat Shotguns

Trench shotguns were useful on the battlefields of World War I, but found less action on the more wide-open WW2 European theater. Trench guns did have their use in the Pacific theater, clearing Japanese bunkers and earthen fortifications.

This is a very fine example of a World War 2 contract Stevens Model 520-30 slide action trench shotgun. It was developed in response to a request for fighting shotguns for World War 1 but didn’t make it to the battlefield before the armistice. Stevens offered it to police and produced the gun until 1932. At the start of World War 2, the U.S. government bought every Stevens 520 in the company’s warehouse. Many also went to Korea and Vietnam. “U.S.” is stamped on the left side and a flaming bomb proof mark is on the right of the barrel at the breech.

In Vietnam, Winchester’s Model 12 and the Stevens M520-30 were still in use. The military also contracted with Ithaca for its Model 37 with a Parkerized finish to protect the gun metal. Parkerizing is a method of applying a chemical phosphate that creates a thin adhering layer of iron, zinc, or manganese phosphates over the steel. In Vietnam, shotguns were mostly used for night ambushes and perimeter defense.

By that time, shotgun cartridges were no longer all-brass. They were made of plastic that was water resistant and durable. Also, they contained smaller shot, with No. 4 buckshot.

U.S. Air Force security police carried Winchester Model 1200 or Remington 870 shotguns for base security during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

This Winchester Model 97 was likely converted to trench configuration during World War 2 because of demand by the military. It has a flaming bomb proof stamped on the top of the barrel. “U.S.,” boxed initials “W.B.,” and crossed cannons are stamped on the left of the frame. It comes with a Winchester M1917 bayonet, green leather scabbard and a M1907 brown leather sling.

Shotguns remain in the American military arsenal as part of potential military response might that might be needed in urban areas or boarding a ship where short-barreled shotguns are more maneuverable and can spray confined spaces.

Special forces units, like the U.S. Army’s Delta Force operatives carry cut-down pump shotguns loaded with solid slugs used to neutralize door locks. This Lightweight Shotgun System (LSS) is fitted underneath the barrel of an M16 and added only 2 lbs., 11 oz. of weight.

Riot Shotguns

On the homefront, police found a use for the short-barreled shotguns after World War I. They could be mounted in cars and served as “the great intimidator.” Police used shotguns may not have a heat shield.

The Philadelphia Police embraced the riot shotgun just as the department began using motorcycles for rapid response. Shotgun wielding officers rode in sidecars.

For decades, shotguns were part of an officer’s gear until the North Hollywood shootout in 1997 when police came up against heavily armed men wearing body armor. Shotguns were no match. That began the call to arm officers with AR15s that have become more standard in policing.

This Ithaca Model 37 Featherlight Police Special is attributed to the Tampa Police Department with “TPD” marking is on the right of the receiver and has inventory number “82” carved on the bottom of the pistol grip.

Trench Gun for Sale

Trench guns have a larger-than-life reputation for their slam fire heroics in World War I, be they Winchester or Remington. The military continued to use short barrel shotguns made by Stevens and Ithaca as they island-hopped across the Pacific. They found a home domestically with police for several decades.

A closeup of this U.S. Remington Model 10-A shows the U.S. proof mark and the flaming bomb of the Ordnance Department on the left side of the receiver.

The appeal and popularity of trench shotguns is not going away anytime soon. And as long as people will want one of their own, you can expect to find numerous selections of trench shotguns and riot shotguns in Rock Island Auction Company’s upcoming sales.

The Rock Island Auction newsletter offers readers new gun blogs and gun videos every week on popular U.S. Military arms like the BAR, the M60 machine gun, the M1 Garand, and more. We also feature classic shotguns models and brands like Parker Brothers, Abercrombie and Fitch, and the Winchester Model 21 from the early 20th century.

Sources:

The “Trench Gun” in World War I, by Bruce N. Canfield

"Complete Guide to United States Military Combat Shotguns" by Bruce N. Canfield

"The Trench Shotguns of World War I Were Uniquely American," by Steve Balestrieri

Originally published June 9, 2022