Julian Hatcher

Julian S. Hatcher

Julian Sommerville Hatcher (born June 26, 1888 in Hayfield , Virginia , † December 4, 1963 in Springfield , Massachusetts ) was an American officer and weapons expert . During his life he authored several technical books and articles in the fields of ballistics , military fire and self-loading weapons. His most important works are Hatcher's notebook and the book on the M1 Garand . He was also a pioneer in the forensic identification of firearms and their ammunition. Hatcher retired from the US Army with the rank of major general .

Life

Hatcher was born in Hayfield, Virginia and graduated with honors from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1909 as a naval officer . He later transferred to the US Army Coast Artillery Corps . He married Eleanor Dashiell, with whom he had three children. As Chief of the Small Arms Division in the Ordnance Department , a support department of the US Army, which among other things contributes to the development of new weapons, and as Assistant Commandant of the Ordnance School before and during the beginning of the Second World War , he worked closely with the Springfield Armory , to fix bugs in the M1 Garand rifle.

In 1916 the French Hotchkiss M1909 light machine gun was in service with the US Army and was used in the punitive expedition against Pancho Villa . From reports of this operation it was concluded that the weapon was not working properly. An investigation revealed that the main problem was the 30-round magazine in connection with inexperienced shooters. Lieutenant Hatcher was given the task of solving the problems. He found out that no soldier had been taught the correct handling of the weapon, so the first army school for operating machine guns was founded, which a short time later provided the first trained troops. A short time later, the M1909 proved to be an effective weapon.

Hatcher later also helped find a solution to the brittle cases of the first Springfield M1903 rifles manufactured by Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenals . His solution was to drill a hole in the case next to the breech. This as Hatcher Hole (dt. As much as Hatcher hole ) marked change was typically attached during maintenance on the housings.

Works

• Book of the Garand , Publisher: Gun Room Press, 1983, ISBN 978-0-88227-014-2
• Hatcher's Notebook , Revised Edition, Publisher: Stackpole Co, ISBN 978-0-8117-0350-5
• Firearms Investigation, Identification and Evidence , Publisher: Stackpole Bks., US ISBN 978-0-8117-0612-4
• Julian S. Hatcher, Glenn P. Wilhelm, Harry J. Malony, Machine Guns: Mechanism, The Practical Handling Of Machine Gun Fire, Machine Gun Tactics (1917) , Kessinger Publishing, ISBN 978-1-4370-9681-1