M1 Garand Rifle
| Country of Origin | United States |
| Type | Rifle |
| Caliber | 7.620 mm |
| Capacity | 8 rounds |
| Length | 1.107 m |
| Barrel Length | 610.000 mm |
| Weight | 4.400 kg |
| Rate of Fire | 16 rounds/min |
| Range | 450.000 m |
| Muzzle Velocity | 840 m/s |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseAfter several years of testing, on 3 Aug 1933, United States Army's Springfield Armory's weapon designer John C. Garand received official designation "M1" for his prototype semi-automatic rifle design T1E2. In May 1934, 75 of them went to field trials; 50 were given to the infantry, and 25 to the cavalry. After initial problems were addressed, the M1 Garand rifles were ordered in large numbers. Initial production difficulties meant the first delivery was not done until Sep 1937, but by the time the European War began in Sep 1939, 100 rifles were made each day. By 10 Jan 1941, 600 rifles were being built per day. By the end of the year, the US Army considered its ranks fully equipped with M1 Garand rifles.The M1 Garand rifles were semi-automatic, meaning that although each trigger pull resulted in a single round being fired just like their bolt-action contemporaries, between each shot there was nothing that needed to be done in order to load the next round. This design allowed the Americans the ability to fire more shots against their German and Japanese counterparts, who continued to use bolt-action rifles as the standard infantry weapon. Another advantage of the design was the rifles' simple construction. In the field, a soldier could disassemble his rifle using only a rifle sound, therefore allowing him to easily clean and maintain his weapon between engagements. General George S. Patton referred to the M1 Garand design as "the greatest implement of battle ever devised."
The M1 Garand rifles were clip-fed. When the last round of a clip was fired, a metallic pinging noise was made as the clip was ejected. The sound would become an unique characteristic of these rifles.
In 1943, the British Army tested M1 Garand rifles as a possible replacement for the Lee-Enfield No. 1 Mk III rifles, but rejected it after concluding that the design did not meet British demands.
After WW2, M1 Garand rifles continued to serve the US Army in the Korean War. Many M1 Garand rifles, especially after they were phased out in the 1950s, were exported to friendly nations, including post-war Germany, Italy, and Japan. In 1963, a small number of them were still in use during the Vietnam War. The last standard M1 Garand rifle was retired from the US Army in 1965, and the reserve and National Guard units continued to use them into the 1970s.
Source: Wikipedia. ww2dbase
Last Major Revision: Nov 2007