Tag Archives: M1 rifle

Principles of Operation (1943) United States Rifle, Caliber .30, M1

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The above U.S. Army training film explains the principles of operation of the M1 (Garand) Infantry Rifle.

John Garand’s M1 rifle was developed at Springfield Armory over a five-year period and put into production in August 1937, with over 5 million produced by SA, Winchester, Rock Island Arsenal, International Harvester and Harrington & Richardson by 1957 when it was theoretically replaced by the M14.

Gen. George S. Patton called it “the greatest battle implement ever devised” after seeing it in action during some of the heaviest ground combat in World War II. It went on to hold the line in Korea, the Cold War, and the early days of Vietnam. The old M1 remained in National Guard armories through the 1970s and as many as 250,000 DoD-owned Garands still serve with various military and civilian honor guards.

Enjoy!

Quinn’s M-1 is back home

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When I was a kid I sat in the balcony of the old Ritz theater in downtown Pascagoula and tried to contain my abject horror as I watched a movie about a giant shark eating a tiny boat and everyone on it off of Amity, New York.

The reign of terror was ended by a few well-placed 30.06 caliber rounds from a surplus M-1 Garand formerly owned by a scary former bluejacket from the USS Indianapolis.

jaws rifle
Well, that rifle, serial number 1,808,895 was made at Springfield Armory in 1943– just in time for WWII and later Korean era service. The gun, owned by Mike Papac and Cinema Weaponry, is now on loan to the SPAR where it is on display of famous firearms used in film.

The movie in question?

You know the one…

M1 Americas Battle Rifle

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General George S Patton called the M1 Garand, “The greatest battle implement ever devised.”  And with good reason: this hard-hitting 30.06 armed the ‘Greatest Generation’, as well as a few that came afterward.

After World War 1, the US Army had literally millions of Springfield, Enfield, and Mosin rifles lying around. While these were all adequate for the Doughboys of the Western Front, the military knew that these bolt-action rifles were all essentially 19th Century technology. Through a series of trials and tests in the 1930s, the Army experimented with various semi-automatics that could deliver a much higher volume of fire. By 1936, a single design by Mr. John C Garand stood at the top of the pile and was adopted as the “US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1”.
Read the rest in my column at Firearms Talk

SOLDIER ON GUARD