March 17th, 2020
6minute read
Not all of Americas wartime heroes fought on the battlefield.
Garands legacy of inspired engineering gave American troops the U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1.
Many refer to it as the M1.
John C. Garand and his incredible brainchild, the U.S. M1 rifle. Image: SANHS
Others call it the Garand.
General George Patton described it as the greatest battle implement ever devised.
His actual first name was St. Jean le Baptiste, and English was not his first language.
John Garand inspects an M2 flash-hider on the M1 rifle in 1946. Image: SANHS
After his mother died in 1899, his father moved the family, all twelve children, to Connecticut.
A job at a shooting gallery inspired his interest in firearms and how to make them.
Garand became a toolmaker and began to design firearms as a hobby.
John Garand in the model shop during September 1941. Image: SANHS
When America entered World War I in the spring of 1917, U.S.
The Great War ended before Garands prototype was produced, but the folks at U.S.
Within a year John Garand became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
John C. Garand shows off the excellent balance of the M1 rifle. Image: SANHS
Apparently, he felt that his salary as an engineer was enough.
Ultimately, more than 6.5 million M1 Garand rifles were produced.
John Garand worked at the Massachusetts Springfield Armory until he retired at age 65 in 1953.
John Garand is shown here posing with his invention during August 1939. Image: SANHS
Thinking Ahead
The post-World War II light rifle program saw the U.S. Military thinking ahead again.
The T31 returned to Garands earliest M1 rifle design with its use of a complex gas trap system.
The barrel was surrounded by a sealed cylinder (that also served as a handguard).
Garand at home in Springfield, Massachusetts with his children during October 1943. Image: SANHS
It was hoped that the redirection of the T31s muzzle blast would dampen the firing report and reduce recoil.
Despite the firearms fame, many people cant even pronounce its designers name.
John Garands last name rhymes with errand, in case you were wondering.
An early design of the Garand semi-auto rifle, seen during 1922. Image: SANHS
Garand took on his ordnance mission and delivered an enduring legend among battle rifles.
But America and John Garand kept working and moving forward.
The venerable M1 evolved into the magazine-fed, selective fire M14.
The early Garand rifle equipped with a 40-round magazine. Image: SANHS
Garand worked on new, dramatically different concepts.
Go to forum thread
M1ATMStandard Issue Series
John Garand with the last M1 rifle off the production line, in 1957. Image: SANHS
Garand poses with an experimental 5.56mm bullpup rifle during a 1962 visit to Springfield Armory in Massachusetts. Image: SANHS
John Garand with a presentation M1 rifle with a maple stock in 1952. Image: SANHS
John Garand with Major General Wesson and Brigadier General Stewart during May 1943. Image: SANHS
John Garand (right) looks over an M14 equipped with a blank firing adapter in 1962. Image: SANHS
Images (above) from John Garand’s patent application for a semi-auto rifle in 1930. Images: U.S. Patent Office
The Springfield Armory M1A gives civilian shooters a chance to own a civilian-legal, semi-automatic version of the M14 rifle.
