May 8 is victory in Europe Day, VE Day. A device that contributed considerably to the outcome of that war was the M-1 rifle, called the Garand after its inventor. Canadian John Garand was hired by Springfield Armory in the aftermath of WWI to design a rifle that would replace the sturdy Springfield 1903 bolt action rifle. Criteria were issued by the Army in 1926, and Garand had plans prepared and ready to submit for a gas operated semi-automatic rifle.
The design of the rifle used the gas from a fired cartridge to load the next cartdige in the magazine into the firing chamber. There a small tube that carried gas from the front of the barrel to the magazine, and the gas expelled the spent casing and reloaded the next cartridge. Bullets were fed in by an eight cartridge clip from the underside of the rifle. The stock was walnut, weight about 10 pounds, effective range 440 yards. With the Garrand, called the M1, the U.S. Army entered WWII as the only Army with a semi-automatic rifle as the standard issue firearm. The British, Japanese, and the German Army were all equiped with bolt action rifles. The Garand was adopted as the Army's main rifle in 1936, and is covered by a number of patents as it was improved. This patent is from 1939.
General George Patton said of the M1, "In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised."
General Douglas MacArthur reported on the M1 to the Ordnance Department during heavy fighting on Bataan that: "Under combat conditions it operated with no mechanical defects and when used in foxholes did not develop stoppages from dust or dirt. It has been in almost constant action for as much as a week without cleaning or lubrication."
Dear Friend
I am from Chile and I want information about the measures of stock of M-1, because I need build one new for my rifle.
Posted by: Ruben Arancibia Casanonova | July 15, 2005 at 11:37 PM
It’s great that more people are focusing on making better environmental choices. Plus technology is making it more economical now, and that’s what people really notice. Wind energy, solar power, hybrids and zap EV’s, our choices are good. There are now electric cars being sold everyday, you just plug it into a regular power outlet. When people test drive them they say it’s far more fun to drive an EV.
Posted by: Web | March 24, 2008 at 05:57 PM
It never ceases to amaze me that the Brits insisted on using the outdated Lee Enfield when, with some slight modifications (?) for the .303 round, they could have used the Garand instead.
I know which rifle I'D prefer to have 'gone over the top' with!
Not a lot of people know that Kalashnikov copied the Garand design for his machinegun. Garands were sent over to Russia as part of the war aid. He merely turned the gun upside down so the magazine pointed downwards, out of the way and perhaps better balanced. For this he becomes a national hero? Yup.
Posted by: Sven | March 21, 2009 at 03:53 AM
Please, I'd like to know in what era or year were the Garand revolvers made?
Thank you
Posted by: Carlos Abel, MD | May 07, 2009 at 04:08 PM
The Garand rifle effectively turned a 10 man squad into the same fire power as 100 men, less time was wasted bringing the rifle back to the firing position, and requiring the need to waste time aiming at a new target, we should have adopted that rifle for our own troops in WW2, what a difference that would have made.
Posted by: Ray Wilcox | July 25, 2009 at 12:06 PM