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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