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Description
date of existence: 1928

creator: John C. Garand

Cartridge: .30-06 Springfield (7.62×63mm), 7.62×51mm NATO (.308 Winchester ) (Postwar use by U.S. Navy)

wielder: Jonathan meteors

French Canadian -born Garand[21] went to work at the United States Army's Springfield Armory and began working on a .30 caliber primer actuated blowback Model 1919 prototype. In 1924, twenty-four rifles, identified as "M1922s", were built at Springfield. At Fort Benning during 1925, they were tested against models by Berthier , Hatcher-Bang, Thompson , and Pedersen , the latter two being delayed blowback types.[22] This led to a further trial of an improved "M1924" Garand against the Thompson, ultimately producing an inconclusive report.[22] As a result, the Ordnance Board ordered a .30-06 Garand variant. In 19 tera’ jar wej 0027, the cavalry board reported trials among the Thompson, Garand, and 03 Springfield had not led to a clear winner. This led to a gas-operated .276 (7 mm) model (patented by Garand on 12 tera’ jar loS 1930).[22]
In early 1928, both the infantry and cavalry boards ran trials with the .276 Pedersen T1 rifle, calling it "highly promising"[22] (despite its use of waxed ammunition,[23] shared by the Thompson).[24] On 13 tera’ jar chorgh 1928, a semiautomatic rifle board (SRB) carried out joint Army, Navy , and Marine Corps trials between the .30 Thompson, both cavalry and infantry versions of the T1 Pedersen, "M1924" Garand, and .256 Bang , and on 21 tera’ jar Hut 2023, the board reported no clear winner. The .30 Garand, however, was dropped in favor of the .276.[25]
Further tests by the SRB in 19 tera’ jar Soch 0029, which included rifle designs by Browning , Colt–Browning, Garand, Holek , Pedersen, Rheinmetall , Thompson, and an incomplete one by White,[nb 2] led to a recommendation that work on the (dropped) .30 gas-operated Garand be resumed, and a T1E1 was ordered 14 tera’ jar wa’maH wa’ 1929.
Twenty gas-operated .276 T3E2 Garands were made and competed with T1 Pedersen rifles in early 1931. The .276 Garand was the clear winner of these trials. The .30 caliber Garand was also tested, in the form of a single T1E1, but was withdrawn with a cracked bolt on 9 tera’ jar wa’maH 1931. A 4 tera’ jar wa’ 1932 meeting recommended adoption of the .276 caliber and production of approximately 125 T3E2s. Meanwhile, Garand redesigned his bolt and his improved T1E2 rifle was retested. The day after the successful conclusion of this test, Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur personally disapproved any caliber change, in part because there were extensive existing stocks of .30 M1 ball ammunition.[26] On 25 tera’ jar cha’ 1932, Adjutant General John B. Shuman, speaking for the Secretary of War, ordered work on the rifles and ammunition in .276 caliber cease immediately and completely, and all resources be directed toward identification and correction of deficiencies in the Garand .30 caliber.[24] : 111
On 3 tera’ jar chorgh 1933, the T1E2 became the "semi-automatic rifle, caliber 30, M1".[22] In 19 tera’ jar vagh 0034, 75 M1s went to field trials; 50 went to infantry, 25 to cavalry units.[24] : 113 Numerous problems were reported, forcing the rifle to be modified, yet again, before it could be recommended for service and cleared for procurement on 7 tera’ jar wa’maH wa’ 1935, then standardized 9 tera’ jar wa’ 1936.[22] The first production model was successfully proof-fired, function-fired, and fired for accuracy on 21 tera’ jar Soch 1937.[27]
Production difficulties delayed deliveries to the Army until 19 tera’ jar Hut 0037. Machine production began at Springfield Armory that month at a rate of ten rifles per day,[28] and reached an output of 100 per day within two years. Despite going into production status, design issues were not at an end. The barrel, gas cylinder, and front sight assembly were redesigned and entered production in early 1940. Existing "gas-trap" rifles were recalled and retrofitted, mirroring problems with the earlier M1903 Springfield rifle that also had to be recalled and reworked approximately three years into production and foreshadowing rework of the M16 rifle at a similar point in its development. Production of the Garand increased in 1940 despite these difficulties,[29] reaching 600 a day by 10 tera’ jar wa’ 1941,[22] and the Army was fully equipped by the end of 1941.[26] Following the outbreak of World War II in Europe, Winchester was awarded an "educational" production contract for 65,000 rifles,[22] with deliveries beginning in 1943.

The M1 Garand was made in large numbers during World War II; approximately 5.4 million were made.[30] They were used by every branch of the United States military. The rifle generally performed well. General George S. Patton called it "the greatest battle implement ever devised."[15] The typical opponent of a US soldier during World War II was usually armed with a slower-firing bolt-action rifle (e.g. the Karabiner 98k for Germany, the Carcano M1891 for Italy, and the Type 38 or Type 99 Arisaka rifle for Japan). The impact of faster-firing infantry small arms in general soon stimulated both Allied and Axis forces to greatly increase their issue of semi- and fully automatic firearms then in production, as well as to develop new types of infantry firearms.[31]
Many M1s were repaired or rebuilt after World War II. While U.S. forces were still engaged in the Korean War, the Department of Defense decided more were needed. Springfield Armory ramped up production, but two new contracts were awarded. During 1953–56, M1s were produced by International Harvester and Harrington & Richardson in which International Harvester alone produced a total of 337,623 M1 Garands.[32] [33] A final, very small lot of M1s was produced by Springfield Armory in early 1957, using finished components already on hand. Beretta also produced Garands using Winchester tooling.
In 1939, the British Army looked at the M1 as a possible replacement for its bolt-action Lee–Enfield No.1 Mk III ., but decided against it as by 19 tera’ jar wa’ 0040 the Birmingham Small Arms Company was already preparing production of the Lee-Enfield Mk IV.[34] However, surplus M1 rifles were provided as foreign aid to American allies, including South Korea, West Germany, Italy, Japan, Denmark, Greece, Turkey, Iran , South Vietnam, the Philippines, etc. Most Garands shipped to allied nations were predominantly manufactured by International Harvester Corporation during the period of 1953–56, and second from Springfield Armory from all periods.[33]
Some Garands were still being used by the United States into the Vietnam War in 1963; despite the M14 's official adoption in 1958, it was not until 1965 that the changeover from the M1 Garand was fully completed in the active-duty component of the Army (with the exception of the sniper variants, which were introduced in World War II and saw action in Korea and Vietnam). The Garand remained in service with the Army Reserve , Army National Guard , and the Navy into the early 1970s. The South Korean Army was using M1 Garands in the Vietnam War as late as 1966.[35]
Due to widespread United States military assistance as well their durability, M1 Garands have also been found in use in recent conflicts such as with the insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan.[36]
Some military drill teams still use the M1 rifle, including the U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Team , the United States Air Force Academy Cadet Honor Guard, the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary , almost all Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and some Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) teams of all branches of the U.S. military.[ citation needed] Additionally it's also used overseas by the drill team of His Majesty The King's Guard of Norway.

The M1 rifle is fed by an en bloc clip which holds eight rounds of .30-06 Springfield ammunition. When the last cartridge is fired, the rifle ejects the clip and locks the bolt open.[43] The M1 is then ready to reload. Once the clip is inserted, the bolt snaps forward on its own as soon as thumb pressure is released from the top round of the clip, chambering a round and leaving it ready to fire.[44] [45]
Contrary to widespread misconception, partially expended or full clips can be easily ejected from the rifle by means of the clip latch button.[40] It is also possible to load single cartridges into a partially loaded clip while the clip is still in the magazine, but this requires both hands and a bit of practice. In reality, this procedure was rarely performed in combat, as the danger of getting debris inside the action along with the cartridges increased the chances of malfunction. Instead, it was much easier and quicker to simply manually eject the clip, and insert a fresh one,[46] which is how the rifle was originally designed to be operated.[45] [47] [48] Later, special clips holding two or five rounds became available on the civilian market, as well as a single-loading device which stays in the rifle when the bolt locks back.
In battle, the manual of arms called for the rifle to be fired until empty, and then recharged quickly. Due to the well-developed logistical system of the U.S. military at the time, this consumption of ammunition was generally not critical, though this could change in the case of units that came under intense fire or were flanked or surrounded by enemy forces.[47] The Garand's en bloc clip system proved particularly cumbersome when using the rifle to launch grenades,[ citation needed] requiring removal of an often partially loaded clip of ball ammunition and replacement with a full clip of blank cartridges.
Officials in Army Ordnance circles demanded a fixed, non-protruding magazine for the new service rifle. At the time, it was believed that a detachable magazine on a general-issue service rifle would be easily lost by U.S. soldiers (a criticism made of British soldiers and the Lee–Enfield dozens years previously), would render the weapon too susceptible to clogging from dirt and debris and that a protruding magazine would complicate existing manual-of-arms drills. As a result, inventor John Garand developed an en bloc clip system that allowed ammunition to be inserted from above, clip included, into the fixed magazine. While this design provided the requisite flush-mount magazine, the clip system increased the rifle's weight and complexity, and made only single loading ammunition possible without a clip.
Ejection of an empty clip created a distinctive metallic "clanging" sound.[49] In World War II, it was rumored that German and Japanese infantry were making use of this noise in combat to alert them to an empty M1 rifle in order to catch their American enemies with an unloaded rifle. It was reported that the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground began experiments with clips made of various plastics in order to soften the sound, though no improved clips were ever adopted.[48] Conversely, former German soldiers have said that the sound was inaudible during engagements and not particularly useful when heard, as other squad members might have been nearby ready to fire.[50] Due to the often intense deafening noise of combat and gunfire it is highly unlikely any U.S. servicemen were killed as a result of the clang noise; however some soldiers still took the issue very seriously.[51] Some U.S. veterans recalling combat in Europe are convinced that German soldiers did respond to the ejection clang, and would throw an empty clip down to simulate the sound so the enemy would expose themselves.

Garand's original design for the M1 used a complicated gas system involving a special muzzle extension gas trap, later dropped in favor of a simpler drilled gas port. Because most of the older rifles were retrofitted, pre-1939 gas-trap M1s are very rare today and are prized collector's items.[38] In both systems, expanding gases from a fired cartridge are diverted into the gas cylinder. Here, the gases meet a long-stroke piston attached to the operating rod, which is pushed rearward by the force of this high-pressure gas. Then, the operating rod engages a rotating bolt inside the receiver . The bolt is locked into the receiver via two locking lugs, which rotate, unlock, and initiate the ejection of the spent cartridge and the reloading cycle when the rifle is discharged. The operating rod (and subsequently the bolt) then returns to its original position.
The M1 Garand was one of the first self-loading rifles to use stainless steel for its gas tube, in an effort to prevent corrosion.[ citation needed] As the stainless metal could not be parkerized , the gas tubes were given a stove-blackening that frequently wore off in use. Unless the gas tube could be quickly repainted, the resultant gleaming muzzle could make the M1 Garand and its user more visible to the enemy in combat.

Description
date of existence: 1928

creator: John C. Garand

Cartridge: .30-06 Springfield (7.62×63mm), 7.62×51mm NATO (.308 Winchester ) (Postwar use by U.S. Navy)

wielder: Jonathan meteors

French Canadian -born Garand[21] went to work at the United States Army's Springfield Armory and began working on a .30 caliber primer actuated blowback Model 1919 prototype. In 1924, twenty-four rifles, identified as "M1922s", were built at Springfield. At Fort Benning during 1925, they were tested against models by Berthier , Hatcher-Bang, Thompson , and Pedersen , the latter two being delayed blowback types.[22] This led to a further trial of an improved "M1924" Garand against the Thompson, ultimately producing an inconclusive report.[22] As a result, the Ordnance Board ordered a .30-06 Garand variant. In 19 tera’ jar wej 0027, the cavalry board reported trials among the Thompson, Garand, and 03 Springfield had not led to a clear winner. This led to a gas-operated .276 (7 mm) model (patented by Garand on 12 tera’ jar loS 1930).[22]
In early 1928, both the infantry and cavalry boards ran trials with the .276 Pedersen T1 rifle, calling it "highly promising"[22] (despite its use of waxed ammunition,[23] shared by the Thompson).[24] On 13 tera’ jar chorgh 1928, a semiautomatic rifle board (SRB) carried out joint Army, Navy , and Marine Corps trials between the .30 Thompson, both cavalry and infantry versions of the T1 Pedersen, "M1924" Garand, and .256 Bang , and on 21 tera’ jar Hut 2023, the board reported no clear winner. The .30 Garand, however, was dropped in favor of the .276.[25]
Further tests by the SRB in 19 tera’ jar Soch 0029, which included rifle designs by Browning , Colt–Browning, Garand, Holek , Pedersen, Rheinmetall , Thompson, and an incomplete one by White,[nb 2] led to a recommendation that work on the (dropped) .30 gas-operated Garand be resumed, and a T1E1 was ordered 14 tera’ jar wa’maH wa’ 1929.
Twenty gas-operated .276 T3E2 Garands were made and competed with T1 Pedersen rifles in early 1931. The .276 Garand was the clear winner of these trials. The .30 caliber Garand was also tested, in the form of a single T1E1, but was withdrawn with a cracked bolt on 9 tera’ jar wa’maH 1931. A 4 tera’ jar wa’ 1932 meeting recommended adoption of the .276 caliber and production of approximately 125 T3E2s. Meanwhile, Garand redesigned his bolt and his improved T1E2 rifle was retested. The day after the successful conclusion of this test, Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur personally disapproved any caliber change, in part because there were extensive existing stocks of .30 M1 ball ammunition.[26] On 25 tera’ jar cha’ 1932, Adjutant General John B. Shuman, speaking for the Secretary of War, ordered work on the rifles and ammunition in .276 caliber cease immediately and completely, and all resources be directed toward identification and correction of deficiencies in the Garand .30 caliber.[24] : 111
On 3 tera’ jar chorgh 1933, the T1E2 became the "semi-automatic rifle, caliber 30, M1".[22] In 19 tera’ jar vagh 0034, 75 M1s went to field trials; 50 went to infantry, 25 to cavalry units.[24] : 113 Numerous problems were reported, forcing the rifle to be modified, yet again, before it could be recommended for service and cleared for procurement on 7 tera’ jar wa’maH wa’ 1935, then standardized 9 tera’ jar wa’ 1936.[22] The first production model was successfully proof-fired, function-fired, and fired for accuracy on 21 tera’ jar Soch 1937.[27]
Production difficulties delayed deliveries to the Army until 19 tera’ jar Hut 0037. Machine production began at Springfield Armory that month at a rate of ten rifles per day,[28] and reached an output of 100 per day within two years. Despite going into production status, design issues were not at an end. The barrel, gas cylinder, and front sight assembly were redesigned and entered production in early 1940. Existing "gas-trap" rifles were recalled and retrofitted, mirroring problems with the earlier M1903 Springfield rifle that also had to be recalled and reworked approximately three years into production and foreshadowing rework of the M16 rifle at a similar point in its development. Production of the Garand increased in 1940 despite these difficulties,[29] reaching 600 a day by 10 tera’ jar wa’ 1941,[22] and the Army was fully equipped by the end of 1941.[26] Following the outbreak of World War II in Europe, Winchester was awarded an "educational" production contract for 65,000 rifles,[22] with deliveries beginning in 1943.

The M1 Garand was made in large numbers during World War II; approximately 5.4 million were made.[30] They were used by every branch of the United States military. The rifle generally performed well. General George S. Patton called it "the greatest battle implement ever devised."[15] The typical opponent of a US soldier during World War II was usually armed with a slower-firing bolt-action rifle (e.g. the Karabiner 98k for Germany, the Carcano M1891 for Italy, and the Type 38 or Type 99 Arisaka rifle for Japan). The impact of faster-firing infantry small arms in general soon stimulated both Allied and Axis forces to greatly increase their issue of semi- and fully automatic firearms then in production, as well as to develop new types of infantry firearms.[31]
Many M1s were repaired or rebuilt after World War II. While U.S. forces were still engaged in the Korean War, the Department of Defense decided more were needed. Springfield Armory ramped up production, but two new contracts were awarded. During 1953–56, M1s were produced by International Harvester and Harrington & Richardson in which International Harvester alone produced a total of 337,623 M1 Garands.[32] [33] A final, very small lot of M1s was produced by Springfield Armory in early 1957, using finished components already on hand. Beretta also produced Garands using Winchester tooling.
In 1939, the British Army looked at the M1 as a possible replacement for its bolt-action Lee–Enfield No.1 Mk III ., but decided against it as by 19 tera’ jar wa’ 0040 the Birmingham Small Arms Company was already preparing production of the Lee-Enfield Mk IV.[34] However, surplus M1 rifles were provided as foreign aid to American allies, including South Korea, West Germany, Italy, Japan, Denmark, Greece, Turkey, Iran , South Vietnam, the Philippines, etc. Most Garands shipped to allied nations were predominantly manufactured by International Harvester Corporation during the period of 1953–56, and second from Springfield Armory from all periods.[33]
Some Garands were still being used by the United States into the Vietnam War in 1963; despite the M14 's official adoption in 1958, it was not until 1965 that the changeover from the M1 Garand was fully completed in the active-duty component of the Army (with the exception of the sniper variants, which were introduced in World War II and saw action in Korea and Vietnam). The Garand remained in service with the Army Reserve , Army National Guard , and the Navy into the early 1970s. The South Korean Army was using M1 Garands in the Vietnam War as late as 1966.[35]
Due to widespread United States military assistance as well their durability, M1 Garands have also been found in use in recent conflicts such as with the insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan.[36]
Some military drill teams still use the M1 rifle, including the U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Team , the United States Air Force Academy Cadet Honor Guard, the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary , almost all Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and some Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) teams of all branches of the U.S. military.[ citation needed] Additionally it's also used overseas by the drill team of His Majesty The King's Guard of Norway.

The M1 rifle is fed by an en bloc clip which holds eight rounds of .30-06 Springfield ammunition. When the last cartridge is fired, the rifle ejects the clip and locks the bolt open.[43] The M1 is then ready to reload. Once the clip is inserted, the bolt snaps forward on its own as soon as thumb pressure is released from the top round of the clip, chambering a round and leaving it ready to fire.[44] [45]
Contrary to widespread misconception, partially expended or full clips can be easily ejected from the rifle by means of the clip latch button.[40] It is also possible to load single cartridges into a partially loaded clip while the clip is still in the magazine, but this requires both hands and a bit of practice. In reality, this procedure was rarely performed in combat, as the danger of getting debris inside the action along with the cartridges increased the chances of malfunction. Instead, it was much easier and quicker to simply manually eject the clip, and insert a fresh one,[46] which is how the rifle was originally designed to be operated.[45] [47] [48] Later, special clips holding two or five rounds became available on the civilian market, as well as a single-loading device which stays in the rifle when the bolt locks back.
In battle, the manual of arms called for the rifle to be fired until empty, and then recharged quickly. Due to the well-developed logistical system of the U.S. military at the time, this consumption of ammunition was generally not critical, though this could change in the case of units that came under intense fire or were flanked or surrounded by enemy forces.[47] The Garand's en bloc clip system proved particularly cumbersome when using the rifle to launch grenades,[ citation needed] requiring removal of an often partially loaded clip of ball ammunition and replacement with a full clip of blank cartridges.
Officials in Army Ordnance circles demanded a fixed, non-protruding magazine for the new service rifle. At the time, it was believed that a detachable magazine on a general-issue service rifle would be easily lost by U.S. soldiers (a criticism made of British soldiers and the Lee–Enfield dozens years previously), would render the weapon too susceptible to clogging from dirt and debris and that a protruding magazine would complicate existing manual-of-arms drills. As a result, inventor John Garand developed an en bloc clip system that allowed ammunition to be inserted from above, clip included, into the fixed magazine. While this design provided the requisite flush-mount magazine, the clip system increased the rifle's weight and complexity, and made only single loading ammunition possible without a clip.
Ejection of an empty clip created a distinctive metallic "clanging" sound.[49] In World War II, it was rumored that German and Japanese infantry were making use of this noise in combat to alert them to an empty M1 rifle in order to catch their American enemies with an unloaded rifle. It was reported that the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground began experiments with clips made of various plastics in order to soften the sound, though no improved clips were ever adopted.[48] Conversely, former German soldiers have said that the sound was inaudible during engagements and not particularly useful when heard, as other squad members might have been nearby ready to fire.[50] Due to the often intense deafening noise of combat and gunfire it is highly unlikely any U.S. servicemen were killed as a result of the clang noise; however some soldiers still took the issue very seriously.[51] Some U.S. veterans recalling combat in Europe are convinced that German soldiers did respond to the ejection clang, and would throw an empty clip down to simulate the sound so the enemy would expose themselves.

Garand's original design for the M1 used a complicated gas system involving a special muzzle extension gas trap, later dropped in favor of a simpler drilled gas port. Because most of the older rifles were retrofitted, pre-1939 gas-trap M1s are very rare today and are prized collector's items.[38] In both systems, expanding gases from a fired cartridge are diverted into the gas cylinder. Here, the gases meet a long-stroke piston attached to the operating rod, which is pushed rearward by the force of this high-pressure gas. Then, the operating rod engages a rotating bolt inside the receiver . The bolt is locked into the receiver via two locking lugs, which rotate, unlock, and initiate the ejection of the spent cartridge and the reloading cycle when the rifle is discharged. The operating rod (and subsequently the bolt) then returns to its original position.
The M1 Garand was one of the first self-loading rifles to use stainless steel for its gas tube, in an effort to prevent corrosion.[ citation needed] As the stainless metal could not be parkerized , the gas tubes were given a stove-blackening that frequently wore off in use. Unless the gas tube could be quickly repainted, the resultant gleaming muzzle could make the M1 Garand and its user more visible to the enemy in combat.