M1 Garand
| M1 Garand | |
|---|---|
|
|
| general information | |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Springfield Armory , Winchester Harrington & Richardson, International Harvester, Beretta |
| Manufacturer country: | USA , Italy |
| Production time: | 1936 to 1957 |
| Model variants: | Rifle, Caliber .30, M1 |
| Weapon Category: | Self-loading rifle |
| Furnishing | |
| Overall length: | 1100 mm |
| Weight: (unloaded) | 4.3 kg |
| Barrel length : | 610 mm |
| Technical specifications | |
| Caliber : |
.30-06 Springfield (7.62 × 63 mm), .276 Pedersen (experimental weapons), 7.62 × 51 mm NATO |
| Possible magazine fillings : | 8 cartridges |
| Ammunition supply : | Loading frame |
| Number of trains : | 4th |
| Twist : | Right |
| Visor : | open sights |
| Closure : | Twist lock |
| Charging principle: | Gas pressure charger |
| Lists on the subject | |
The M1 Garand is a self-loading rifle developed as a gas pressure loader and was the standard rifle of the United States Armed Forces from 1936 to 1957 . Its official name was Rifle, Caliber .30, M1 .
history
John C. Garand developed this rifle in the 1930s. From 1936 it was introduced to the United States Army . It was sturdy, reliable, and the first semi-automatic military rifle in the United States to be used in war. The US armed forces used this rifle in World War II and the Korean War . The predecessor was the Springfield M1903 repeating rifle . The conversion to the M1 Garand was associated with a large increase in firepower, which made it the main weapon of the US armed forces in World War II and the Korean War. Until production was discontinued in 1957, over 5.5 million units had been produced. It was replaced by the M14 .
technology
The Garand M1 rifle is a gas pressure loader with a twist lock . The gas cylinder lies parallel to the barrel axis under the barrel, the gas is extracted via a hole just before the muzzle. The pressure that occurs after the shot presses the gas piston backwards, the control piece, which is firmly connected to it, unlocks the lock in the return and moves back with it by a little more than a cartridge length. The fired case is ejected and the hammer hidden underneath is cocked. The closing spring located in a hole in the gas piston then pushes the system forward, the slide pushes the next cartridge into the chamber, is rotated by the control piece and thus locked. The gun is ready to fire. To lock the lock, the lock is rotated using a slot milled in the control piece, while two locking elements located at the front of the lock grip into the abutment provided directly behind the barrel in the lock housing.
Cartridges are fed from a magazine box that is firmly integrated into the weapon, similar to the Mannlicher system , instead of a removable magazine . The magazine box holds eight cartridges of caliber .30-06 Springfield, which are inserted "en bloc" in a cartridge clip (cartridge frame) . After the last shot, the breech remains open and the empty clip is ejected, allowing quick reloading. The mechanism also generates the well-known "clink" sound, which is very characteristic of the weapon. It is also possible to reload individual cartridges.
The Grenade Launcher M-7 is used to fire rifle grenades . A bolt attached to it penetrates the gas cylinder from the front when it is placed and opens a relief valve, which reduces the gas pressure of the special propellant cartridges used for this purpose to a level permissible for the mechanism of the rifle.
Using the M1 Garand
- United States Armed Forces
- Federal Army (Austrian Federal Army) (until the 1960s)
- Israel Defense Forces (Tzva haHagana leJisra'el)
-
armed forces
- The rifle was retired from the Bundeswehr in 1959 / early 1960s and replaced by the G3 . Individual units also used the rifle afterwards in basic training , especially in formal training , for example as a rifle M 1 in the air force and in the training batteries of the anti-aircraft artillery .
- Denmark
- France
- Thailand
- Turkey
- Greece
- Italy
- Iran (until about 1975, then G3)
Due to the semi-automatic firing method, the rifle proved to be superior to the Japanese Arisaka Type 99 , which had to be repeated after each shot , especially in the Pacific War . In the European theater of war, too, the Garand was superior to almost all other rifles in terms of rate of fire. This, together with the use as a rifle grenade launcher and the generous equipment with automatic weapons, ensured a superior firepower of the American infantry, which was only compensated somewhat with the massive appearance of the assault rifle 44 .
M1 Garand as a sniper rifle
When the United States entered World War II in 1941, suddenly there was a great need for sniper rifles with telescopic sight . This led to the development of the Springfield M1903A4 and the requirement to produce a sniper variant of the M1 Garand. Development was slow. The result was the M1E7 and M1E8 rifles. In June 1944, the M1E7 - now renamed the M1C - was introduced as the standard sniper rifle and should replace the M1903A4. The M1E8 - now as the M1D - was introduced in September 1944.
Only a small number of the M1C and M1D made it to the front in World War II. It was not until the Korean War that rifles were able to demonstrate their capabilities. The hit rates in the range of 400 to 600 yards (approx. 370 to 550 m) were satisfactory. The riflescopes, which only magnify 2.5 times, and the fact that no special ammunition was issued were the limiting factors in the maximum range.
These rifles, called M1C and M1D, differ from the standard rifle and from each other only in their telescopic sights. The M1C is equipped with a 2.5x M81 rifle scope, while the M1D also has a 2.5x M82 rifle scope. Both use different rifle scope mounts. There are also the M84 and M73B1 riflescopes, which are also 2.5 times larger.
The two variants were used up until the early years of the Vietnam War . The M1D was the official sniper rifle of the US Army until 1960.
The M1C became the standard sniper rifle for the U.S. Marine Corps in 1951 and was widely used during the Korean War. In 1954, the USMC introduced the 4XD riflescope made by Stith Kollmorgen .
Additional equipment
Four different types were used as bayonets :
- Model 1905 (16 "blade)
- Model 1905E1 (10 "blade)
- M1 (10 "blade)
- M5 (6 "blade)
The M7 grenade launcher could be attached to the Garand to fire rifle grenades .
Some versions of the sniper rifle were equipped with a T37 flash hider.
See also
literature
- Günter Wollert, Reiner Lidschun: Infantry weapons yesterday . (1918-1945). In: Illustrated encyclopedia of infantry weapons from around the world . 3. Edition. tape 1 + 2 . Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-89488-036-8 , weapons, p. 556-558 .
