84 years of "semi-automatic rifle, caliber 30, M1"

What better way to celebrate ~84 years of M1 Garand than by sharing a few moments of its production life? It all started in 1919, when Jean C. Garand began work on his concept for a military self-loading rifle. In 1921, Garand submitted the rifle to the Ordnance Department to (attempt) to meet their demands for a brand new self-loading rifle. Garand's design was immediately one of the more promising of the various ones put forth, but would still take him almost 15 years to perfect, and even after adoption he would never consider his work on the rifle truly "finished." He was a compulsive tinkerer, constantly updating and improving his rifle. On the 3rd of August, 1933, his rifle was officially designated "semi-automatic rifle, caliber 30, M1". By 1936, the rifle's design was standardized and adopted, and on the 21st of July, 1937, the first rifle in full scale production was completed. As it turns out, I happened to have a few M1s lying around....

This first is an excellent armory cutaway of a 1941 rifle. Apparently the receiver was discovered to be defective, but instead of trashing it, it was sent away to some armorer who made merry with the milling and produced this. Like most cutaways, it can't be fired and is designed to familiarize new troops with the mechanics of their service rifle. Or rather, it *can* be fired but will probably hurt the rifle and shooter more than anything else.

Underside of the rifle

Close-up of the action. Here you can see the various cuts made on the wood to expose the trigger group, on the bolt handle to show how it cams the bolt in and out of it's locking recesses, the bolt itself to show the firing pin, and the chamber.

The next is a bog standard mid-war rifle, of 1943 manufacture to be specific. Nothing fancy here, it's just a shooter. Nonetheless, a solid example of a basic M1.

For blowing things up at range and with regularity, there's this, a 1943 M1 that's fitted to fire grenades (featured in a previous post). With the proper launching cartridges, the average grenade could be propelled up to 200 yards or further! There were also many types of grenades, like smoke, high explosive, phosphorus, and even anti-tank grenades that were claimed to be as potent as the US bazooka!

The grenade was aimed using a sight that rotated on a disk screwed into the stock. That disk had degree markings on it, which the soldier would set in conjunction with the grenade's position on the launching spigot itself to get the proper range.

This is the launching spigot. Note the 6 notches. These were 6 positions which the soldier would set the grenade on in order to make large range adjustments. The 4th position (from the muzzle end) was deemed the furthest position that could be fired from the shoulder. Any further and the rifle grenade would need to be fired mortar-style to avoid injuring the soldier (due to recoil).

Note the spigot part (the small rod beneath the barrel). This was designed to open up the gas system on the M1 in order to vent excess gas out, reducing recoil and potential damage to the op rod. This video from InRangeTV demonstrates how it all worked and discusses the history of the system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=161JT0WRVf4

This launcher spigot was made by I.B.M. Corporation, who you may recognize from commercials about computers and such. During the war, many companies pitched in to provide arms and war material. These included International Harvester (who made combine harvesters and M1s like these), Rock-Ola (who made jukeboxes and M1 carbines), and I.B.M. CORP (who made launchers and M1 Carbines).

The launcher latches onto the existing bayonet lug, and can be deployed on a moments notice by the soldier. Once no longer in use, the soldier would simply take it off, load a clip of regular ammunition, and become a standard rifleman like his squadmates.

The next, and my personal favorite, is a 1945 M1 rifle that was rebuilt with a '52 M1D sniper barrel, and topped off with an excellent Leopold-made M84 scope. While the stock has been sanded and varnished, the rest of the rifle remains in excellent original configuration (as far as I can tell).

The M84 scope is also in excellent condition, and is a less common first series example that lacks the typical drawing number.

Just barely visible is the S.A. cartouche, which indicates that the stock was accepted by Springfield for meeting their standards.

Looking at the underside, both "P" proofs and a very small "M" can be seen on the grip of the stock.

The M1D was typically fitted with one of 2 muzzle devices. The first was a cone shaped deviced called the "M2 flash hider" (seen here: http://media.liveauctiongroup.net/i/12629/12745800_2.jpg?v=8CEFDC8A6F047B0). The second, photo'd, was called the "T37," and informally replaced the cone after it was found that the cone cause accuracy issues if not fit properly. The T37's affect on accuracy was apparently also negative, so soldiers may have sometimes removed them. I'm not even sure if the one on this rifle is original or not...

...But it certainly looks cool.

The last is a funky little thing, an 1944 M1 that's been commercially modified to mimic the famous "Tanker M1," which was basically a shortened M1 meant to replace the M1 carbine as a tanker's weapon. This particular one is chambered in .308, and handles hilariously given that it's thicker than any bolt action but also shorter. It will also use standard M1 clips just fine, since .308 has the same case thickness as .30-06. Just remember not to accidentally load .30-06 in this one...

Well, so far these are the M1s I've collected over the years. I've still got to get an M1C, a Marines MC-1, and a gas-trap Garand (fat chance on all fronts). I hope you've enjoyed my ramblings on an old ass rifle with a LOT of interesting history.