The Semi-Automatic Rifle, Caliber 30, M1(M1 Garand)
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised.”
(George S. Patton)
…but it was a long time coming, and followed a rocky road of development.
(my own words... Thomas E. Ward, II, PhD)
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Today’s Presentation
• A Brief Look Backwards
• The State of the Art & Competing Technologies
• Development Woes
• The Final Design (Finally!)
• Allies and Enemies
• A Long Legacy & Proud History
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.30-40 Krag-Jorgensen Rifle(Spanish-American War)
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A Brief Look Backwards• 30-40 Krag outgunned by the Mauser 7x57 in Spanish-American War
• Krag: 200 gr RN projectile @ 2,000 fps (1971 ft.lb.)
• 7x57: 173 gr RN @ 2,300 fps (2025 ft. lb.)
• M1903 Springfield Development• 30 caliber ’03
• 220 gr RN projectile @ 2,300 fps (2,585 ft.lb.)
• 30 caliber ‘06 (.30-06)
• M1906, 151 gr @ 2,700 fps (2,445 ft.lb.)
• M1 ball, 173 gr @ 2640 fps (2,678 ft.lb.)
• M2 Ball, 152 gr @ 2800 fps (2,647 ft.lb.)
• Patent infringement issues with Mauser
• The Doughboy’s Rifle: M1917 (!!!)
• Post World War I
• Autoloading Weapons
– a 19th Century Development
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M1903 Springfield Rifle
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A Few Examples of Competing Technology
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Colt M1895 “Potato Digger” Machine Gun
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The State of the Art & Competing Technologies
• Hiram Maxim & his machine gun (1885)• Patents on gas, recoil, and blowback operation
• Maxim & Maxim Vickers machine guns: recoil operated
• Hotchkiss Machine Gun (Mle 1897, WW I Mle 1914) – gas operated
• Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR / M1918, gas operated/piston/rod)
• Bang Rifle (I couldn’t make this up!!!)
• Johnson Rifle (recoil operated)
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Grandaddy of the Garand: The Bang Rifledesigned by the Danish arms designer Søren Hansen Bang
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Why Bother With Autoloading?
Increased volume of fire• Faster cycling than a bolt action rifle
• Greater soldier tolerance of perceived recoil
But there was opposition…• Concern about soldier fire discipline
• Ability of logistical system to sustain
• The “volume versus precision” debate
• Paul W. Mapes, MAJ, IN, CGSS class of 1936“Considerations against the adoption of a semi-automatic rifle to replace the present Springfield”
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Primary Competitors
• Sorensen Hansen Bang: Bang Gas Trap
• Colt-Thompson Autorifle: Delayed-action Blowback (Blish Lock)
• J. D. Pederson: Toggle action
• John Garand: Gas Trap, then Gas Port
• Melvin Johnson: Recoil
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The Old and the New
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M1 Garand Development Woes• The Gas Trap Garand
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Solving the Gas Trap Design Weaknesses
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The Final Design – Finally!!!
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How it Works:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWh_J0UlJ74
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• Gearing Up for Production• Springfield Armory - 3,526,922 M1 rifles from 1932 through 1945
• Winchester Repeating Arms - 513,880 between December 1940 and June 1945
• Combined production for Springfield and Winchester during World War II was 4,040,802 rifles
• WINNING @ Guadalcanal
The Arsenal of Democracy
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US Marines at Guadalcanal
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Allies & Enemies
• The US started with an enormous lead• The only ally to fully field a semi-automatic basic infantry weapon
• Soviet SVT-36/38/40 (an “almost” story)
• Enemies tried and failed• German development:
• Mauser & Walther Gewehr 41 (Bang gas-trap… a failure)
• Walther Gewehr 43 (short stroke piston, much better, but too little & too late)
• Japanese attempted to copy the M-1
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German Attempts: G41 & G43Mauser G41
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German Attempts: G41 & G43Walther G43
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USSR: SVT-40
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Japanese Copy: Type 4 / Type 5
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A Long Legacy & Proud History
• WW II Production: Springfield Arsenal & WRA - 4,040,802
• Post-WW II - Korean War & Cold War Production (1945-1957)• Springfield Arsenal - 637,420 (last M1 produced on 17 May 1957)• Harrington & Richardson - 428,600 • International Harvester - 337,623
• TOTAL US Production, 1936-1957: 5,468,772 M1 rifles
• Equipping Allies
• Modification & Adaptation• Italian BM-59• US Mods for 7.62x51 (.308 Winchester)• M1C and M1D sniper versions
• The Next Generation: M-14
• CMP Sales Today
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M-1 Garand Users• Algeria
• Austria
• Argentina
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Cambodia
• Canada
• Republic of China
• People’s Republic of China
• Cuba
• Denmark
• Ethiopia
• France
• Nazi Germany
• West Germany
• Greece
• Guinea
• Haiti
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Israel
• Italy
• Ivory Coast
• Japan
• Jordan
• South Korea
• Kingdom of Laos
• Liberia
• Netherlands
• Nicaragua
• Norway
• Pakistan
Non-state actors:
• Moro National Liberation Front
• Iraqi insurgents
• Provisional Irish Republican Army
• Syrian National Coalition
• Talibans
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Philippines
• Saudi Arabia
• Thailand
• Turkey
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Uruguay
• Venezuela
• South Vietnam
• North Vietnam and Vietnam
• Yemen
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A Rifle for the Nations
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Iraq, 2007
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Partial List of References
• http://www.scott-duff.com/WhoHowManyWhen.htm
• Hatcher’s Notebook – MG Julian S. Hatcher
• The Complete Book of the Garand – MG Julian S. Hatcher
• https://www.chuckhawks.com/gas_trap_M1.htm
• https://www.alloutdoor.com/2013/06/24/30-40-krag/
• https://m1-garand-rifle.com/30-06/
• https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a570469.pdf
• http://www.rifleshootermag.com/editorial/modern-bullets-can-elevate-the-7x57-mausers-performance/83658#
• Curiosandrelics - CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9489424
• www.shooterscalculator.com/ballistic-trajectory-chart.php
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Backup Slides for Discussion
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The Most Interesting Man in the World
MG Julian S. Hatcher, 1888-1963
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CPT Paul Mapes, with US Olympic Shooting Team, 1920
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6th Infantry Division, ProvisionalFort Leonard Wood, MO, 1940
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M1 @ Normandy
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M-1 @ Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima
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M-1 @ Luzon
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M-1 @ Bougainville
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Read & Weep…
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