Weapon Name- M1 Garand
Type- Battle Rifle
Damage- 4L
Range- 100/200/400
Ammunition- 400 rounds per 27.5 pounds
Strength Level- 3
Strength Level for firing- 3 for short burst
Special Consideration- Re-roll 9's. -1 to initiative
Round Type- 7.62mm x 63mm NATO
Over-all length- 43.5 in (1,104.9 mm)
Barrel length- 24 in (609.6 mm)
Weight- 9.5 lb (4.31 kg) to 11.6 lb (5.3 kg)
Rate of Fire- Semi-automatic
Feed Mechanism- Detachable Clip
Round Capacity- 8 rounds
Accuracy- 1 MOA
Accessories- Picanty Rail
Quick switch firing mechanism- N/A
Scope/Sights- Picanty Rail
Muzzle Velocity- 890 m/s (2,690 ft/s), (9.7 g) .30 M2 Ball
Firing System- Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Miscellaneous/electronic information- Essentially one of the first and best semi-automatic standard military weapons
Basic Information
Canadian born firearms designer John C. Garand, working at the Army's Springfield Armory, began with a .30 caliber primer-operated breech. Twenty-four rifles, identified as "M1922", were built at Springfield in the summer of 1924, and at Fort Benning during the summer of 1925 they were tested against models by Berthier, Hatcher-Bang, Thompson, and Pederson, the latter two delayed blowback types.[6] This led to a further trial of the improved "M1924" Garand against the Thompson, ultimately producing an inconclusive report.[6] Therefore, the Ordnance Board ordered a Garand variant .30-06, while in March 1927 the Cavalry Board reported trials between the Thompson, Garand, and '03 Springfield had not led to a clear winner, leading to a gas-operated .276 model.[6][nb 1]
During the spring of 1928, both Infantry and Cavalry Boards ran trials with the .276 Pedersen T1 rifle, calling it "highly promising"[6] (despite its use of waxed ammunition,[8] shared by the Thompson).[9] On 13 August 1928, a Semiautomatic Rifle Board carried out joint Army, Navy, and Marine Corps trials between the .30 Thompson, both cavalry and infantry versions of the T1 Pedersen, "M1924" Garand, and .256 Bang, and on 21 September, the Board reported no clear winner. The .30 Garand, however, was dropped in favor of the .276.[10]
Further tests by the SRB in July 1929, which included rifle designs by Browning, Colt-Browning, Garand, Holek, Pedersen, Rheinmetall, Thompson, and an incomplete one by White,[nb 2] led to a recommendation that work on the (dropped) .30 gas-operated Garand be resumed, and a T1E1 was ordered 14 November 1929.
Twenty gas-operated .276 T3E2s Garands were made and competed with T1 Pedersen rifles in Spring 1931. The .276 Garand was the clear winner of these trials. The .30 caliber Garand was also tested, in the form of a single T1E1, but was withdrawn with a cracked bolt on 9 October 1931. A 4 January 1932 meeting recommended adoption of the .276 caliber and production of approximately 125 T3E2s. Meanwhile, Garand redesigned his bolt and his improved T1E2 rifle was retested. The day after the successful conclusion of this test, Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur personally disapproved any caliber change, in part because there were extensive existing stocks of .30 M1 ball ammunition.[11] On 25 February 1932, Adjutant General John B. Shuman, speaking for the Secretary of War, ordered work on the rifles and ammunition in .276 caliber cease immediately and completely and all resources be directed toward identification and correction of deficiencies in the Garand .30 caliber.[12]
On 3 August 1933, the T1E2 became the Semi-Automatic Rifle, Caliber 30, M1.[6] In May 1934, 75 M1s went to field trials; 50 were to infantry, 25 to cavalry units.[13] Numerous problems were reported, forcing the rifle to be modified, yet again, before it could be recommended for service and cleared for procurement on 7 November 1935, then standardized 9 January 1936.[6] The first production model was successfully proof-fired, function-fired, and fired for accuracy on July 21, 1937.[14]
Production difficulties delayed deliveries to the Army until September 1937. By September 1939, Springfield Armory had reached an output of 100 per day. Despite going into production status, design issues were not at an end. The barrel, gas cylinder, and front sight assembly were redesigned and entered production in early 1940. Existing "gas-trap" rifles were recalled and retrofitted mirroring problems with the earlier M1903 Springfield rifle that also had to be recalled and reworked approximately three years into production and foreshadowing rework of the M16 rifle at a similar point in its development. Production of the Garand increased in 1940 despite these difficulties,[15] reaching 600 a day by 10 January 1941,[6] and the Army was fully equipped by the end of 1941.[16]
