M1 Garand rifle

M1 Garand rifle history

It was in 1937 that the production of the semi-automatic M1 rifle, the most important in the history of Springfield, began in the United States. This weapon is better known as “Garand”, named after its inventor, engineer John Garand.

The M1 quickly established itself as the “standard” weapon of the entire US Army, which provided an interesting precision, knowing that soldiers should be sent to combat without being able to receive long and intensive training. It has a high rate of fire.

Its strengths are also the ease of disassembling, assembling, cleaning and greasing.

The gun must face a big weak point: the insertion of 8 bullets in the receiver is sometimes difficult. This metal clip was automatically ejected after the last cartridge was fired.

But in the face of manual rifles dating back to the last century, such as the German K98 Mauser, the high firepower of this weapon influenced the choice of American leaders to equip their military forces with the M1 rifle during the Second World War, But also during the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

M1 Garand rifle specification

Creator: United States of American
Denomination: “M1” until 1957, “M14” since 1957
Number built: 4,5 millions (during World War 2)

Fire mode: semi-automatic
Caliber: .30-06 Springfield (7.62×63mm)
Feed system: 8-round en-bloc clip
Effective firing range: 457 m
Rate of fire: 30 rounds/min

Weight: 4,9 kg
Length: 1092 mm