US Caliber .30 M1 Garand Rifle
General Patton called it “the greatest battle implement ever devised”. His assessment succinctly describes the impact that John C. Garand’s design, the M1 Rifle, had in giving advantage to the US Infantryman in accuracy, reliability and increased rate of fire during World War II. The United States was the only nation in World War II to issue a semi-automatic rifle as its standard infantry rifle. While other nations had developed semi-auto rifles, for example the Russians had the SVT-38 and SVT-40 and the Germans the G41, G43 and StG 44, no nation was able to produce reliable and significant numbers to entirely replace World War I era bolt action rifles in service. By the end of World War II, two manufacturers, Springfield produced 3,526922 M1 Garands and Winchester produced 513,880 M1 Garands. The M1 went on to serve in Korea and Vietnam with additional rifles built in 1953 to 1957 by International Harvester, Harrington and Richardson, and Springfield.
Following many tests and trials starting in 1924, the M1 Garand emerged as the winner and was standardized January 1936 with the first deliveries to the Army in September 1937. Springfield initially produced only 10 per day but in two years was producing 100 per day and by January 1941 was producing 600 per day. By the end of December 1941 following the Japanese attacked on Pearl Harbor, 398,664 M1 Garands had been delivered to the US Army and had already established the M1 Garand as the standardized infantry rifle. The M1903 and M1917 bolt action rifles now issued as limited standard to units other than infantry, for combat support, training and specialized use such as grenade launchers and sniper rifles. Even so, many more would be needed for the rapidly expanding military.
The M1 Garand is loaded with an en bloc clip that contains 8 rounds of M2 Ball 30.06 Springfield ammunition. The en bloc clip was the result of design constraints by the Army. The Army cited issues with detachable magazines in which they were prone to getting dirty, damaged or lost rendering the weapon useless. The closed design kept dirt out and did not require the Army to modify the drill regulations. The en bloc clip did allow for the rapid loading of eight rounds however if you had seven or less to load there was no easy way to do so. Another issue was “M1 Thumb” which occurred by not properly positioning your hand to block the operating rod handle while loading the en bloc with the pressing of your thumb. By not following proper loading procedures your thumb will get caught by the bolt against the receiver resulting in a painful yell and a few expletives. It is interesting to note that in 1957 the Army did go back and modify the M1 to accept a detachable 20 round magazine. This change along with a shorter piston stroke, flash suppressor, re-chamber to 7.62x51mm and an auto fire selection, the rifle was designated the M14.
With the M1 Garand loaded, the Soldier was able to fire eight rounds without having to break their firing position to chamber each round. This allowed an increased sustained rate of fire over bolt action rifles. As the round left the barrel expanding gas was forced into the gas cylinder below the barrel by way of a small gas port drilled into the bottom of the barrel where the front sight is located. The gas then pushes a long stroke piston on the end of the operating rod back. The operating rod connected to a lug on the bolt rotates and drives the bolt rearward ejecting the spent cartridge, locking the hammer to the rear and chambering the next round as the bolt returns to the original closed position. Following the ejection of the last round, the en bloc clip also ejects locking the bolt to the rear ready to accept the next loaded en bloc. Ammo issued to combat units was already packaged in en bloc clips and in bandoleers so there was no need to retain en blocs to reuse.
On 01 Jul 1944 the 3,000,000th M1 Garand was built. This came at a time following the successful allied invasion of Normandy on 06 June 1944. Factory workers had a renewed sense of purpose and production numbers remained high.
There were four models of bayonets used on the M1 Garand, the M1905, M1905E1, M1 and the M5A1. The M1905 was first designed for the M1903 rifle but also fit the M1 Garand rifle. Originally manufactured as a 16 inch blade, it was discovered during WWII that the long blade was awkward for Soldiers climbing in and out of vehicles. The ordnance department determined that the bayonet could be shortened to 10 inches which was a balance between convenience and utility. Approved in February 1943, existing contracts were changed in April 1943 to produce the new 10 inch bayonet designated the M1. M1905 bayonets already in inventory were rotated back to the manufacturers starting in September 1943 to be converted to the 10 inch blade which was re-designated the M1905E1. These modified bayonets can be distinguished from the later manufactured M1 bayonet by the fuller which is interrupted and fades into the knife or spear point on the M1905E1 bayonet. Bayonet scabbards were also modified.
The M1 Garand did receive a few complaints from the field. One complaint was the weight, Soldiers use to the M1903 which weighed a little over 8 pounds found the nearly 10 pound M1 Garand to be a little too heavy when on the move. This complaint seemed to be less of a concern for those who appreciated eight round semi-auto fire capability and reliability in combat. Another complaint was concerning the en bloc clip. A Soldier firing less than eight rounds will want to reload a full eight rounds before the next attack. This caused Soldiers to waste ammo and possibly giving away their position by firing off the remaining ammo rather than saving it since there was no practical means to replenish or replace with a full en bloc clip. During the Korean War, in temperatures well below zero, Soldiers experienced the bolt face freezing to the barrel chamber. The remedy was to set the butt of the rifle on the ground and strike the operating rod handle with the heel of your boot. Once free the weapon functioned flawlessly while firing. In many cases Soldiers in front line units that were issued other individual weapons acquired an M1 Garand the first chance they got.
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