Garand: Its History

First of all, may I pay my respects to the designer Mr. John C. Garand and to the Springfield Armory Company for their development and introduction of the U.S. M1 Garand rifle.

It is now almost fifteen years since my involvement with the "Garand" began.

This is a weapon that marked a milestone in military history! Since its introduction, every subsequent small arms concept has ultimately been based on this ingenious design.

Since its adoption by the U.S. Army in 1936, the Garand has been renowned for its reliability and its accuracy. But its popularity was diminished due to the immense weight of the weapon! A further characteristic of the Garand is its legendary increased accuracy with a hot barrel. In contrast to accepted theory, groups tend to tighten when the barrel heats up.

The total weight of all the metal parts is 3,3 Kg and the wooden furniture weighs a further 1,1 Kg 4,4 Kg to which many American war veterans can attest.

Thus, an attempt to develop an entirely new weapons system, or even merely a reduction of the size of the receiver with an equivalent reduction of the cartridge length would seem logical. And the details of Mr. Garand´s design could even be maintained. It soon became clear that any new development would be based on the "original" design as well as on experience gained with the Garand. And this led to the adoption of the M14 rifle.

It is my belief that the trepidation at that time of having to drill the barrel for the gas port led to the idea that this could only be risked in the area of the muzzle. And it was this decision that was responsible for the excessive weight.

It was thus a logical decision for the designer to replace the gas port further to the rear. This achieved more power for the calibre .308 Win cartridge. Difficulties experienced in achieving reliability when changing the barrel on a Garand from .30-06 to .308 Win are legendary!

A further characteristic that distinguishes the M14 from the Garand was now introduced - a fully enclosed gas pressure system!

Although my own attempts to equip the Garand in .308 Winchester with an M14 magazine and then with a centrally mounted telescopic sight were forward looking, there was definitely something lacking.

It was hardly possible to achieve better groupings at 100 metres, using open iron sights than with a ten-power telescopic sight, made by a renowned European manufacturer.

The simple reason was the Garand´s "open" gas system that can be compared with an automobile exhaust. Extremely hot gasses flow through the gas cylinder with each shot. The thinner walls of the cylinder cause it to heat faster than the barrel itself.

Not immediately, but inevitably, usually after firing the fourth shot, heat haze caused by heat radiation compromises accuracy when shooting with a scope.

With regard to the deployment of modern infantry weapons, requirements dictate greater range and choice of calibre. Using the smaller M14 receiver would mean a restriction in the choice of calibre. A conservative form of progress would lead to a recourse to Mr. John Cantius Garand´s "original" system ( TIT - The Innovative Tradition).

But under all circumstance, the mistakes made with the design of the M 16 A1, M 16 A2 and above all with the M 2 and M 203 should be avoided at all cost!