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63-614: The M31 was originally designed to be fired only from the M1 Garand , but could also be fired from both the M14 and M16 rifles. To launch the M31, a detachable spigot-type grenade launcher (M7A3 launcher for M1 rifle, and M76 launcher for the M14 rifle) is fitted to the muzzle of the rifle. A M3 ballistic cartridge (two are supplied in the packing container with each grenade and are crimped to indicate

126-528: A cut-down front handguard (secured by an M1903 rifle barrel band), while the T26 rifle was not fitted with a front handguard. It had been determined that the full-length stock was superior to the M1E5's folding stock, so the T26 used a standard M1 rifle stock. The PWB rifle, serial No. 2437139, and Springfield Armory's T26 were sent to Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) on 26 July 1945, for testing. The APG report related that

189-494: A rate of ten rifles per day, and reached an output of 100 per day within two years. 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

252-462: A similar rifle, and conceived the idea independently. Some of the shortened M1 rifles were field-tested in October 1944 on Noemfoor Island , New Guinea, by an ad hoc test committee, which included three platoon leaders of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) combat team. While the members of the test committee liked the concept of the short M1 rifle, it was determined that the muzzle blast

315-416: A standard M1 rifle, serial No. 1,032,921, was the "control" rifle to which the shorter rifle was compared during the testing. The results mirrored those of the M1E5's previous testing. The test report found that the modified rifle's muzzle flash, blast, and recoil were all significantly higher than that of the standard rifle. Additionally, it was less reliable, leading to it being declared "totally unsuitable as

378-458: Is highly unlikely any U.S. servicemen were killed as a result of being given away by the clang noise; however some soldiers still took the issue very seriously. Some U.S. veterans recalling combat in Europe are convinced that German soldiers did respond to the ejection clang, and would throw an empty clip down to simulate the sound so the enemy would expose themselves. Garand's original design for

441-424: Is set by turning the range knob to the appropriate range setting. The bullet drop compensation/range knob can be fine adjusted by setting the rear sight elevation pinion. The elevation pinion can be fine adjusted in approximately one MOA increments. The aperture sight is also able to correct for wind drift operated by turning a windage knob that moves the sight in approximately one MOA increments. The windage lines on

504-589: Is the mounting system for the telescopic sight . In June 1944, the M1C was adopted as a standard sniper rifle by the U.S. Army to supplement the venerable M1903A4 , but few saw combat; wartime production was 7,971 M1Cs. The procedure required to install the M1C-type mounts through drilling/tapping the hardened receiver reduced accuracy by warping the receiver. Improved methods to avoid reduction of accuracy were inefficient in terms of tooling and time. This resulted in

567-684: The British Army looked at the M1 as a possible replacement for its bolt-action Lee–Enfield No.1 Mk. III , but decided against it as by January 1940 the Birmingham Small Arms Company was already preparing production of the Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk 1. However, surplus M1 rifles were provided as foreign aid to American allies, including South Korea, West Germany, Italy, Japan, Denmark, Greece, Turkey, Iran , South Vietnam,

630-545: The Carcano M1891 for Italy, and the Type 38 or Type 99 Arisaka rifle for Japan). The effect of faster-firing infantry small arms in general soon stimulated both Allied and Axis forces to greatly increase their issue of semi- and fully automatic firearms then in production, as well as to develop new types of infantry firearms. Many M1s were repaired or rebuilt after World War II. While U.S. forces were still engaged in

693-477: The Lee–Enfield dozens of years previously), would render the weapon too susceptible to clogging from dirt and debris and that a protruding magazine would complicate existing manual-of-arms drills. As a result, inventor John Garand developed an en bloc clip system that allowed ammunition to be inserted from above, clip included, into the fixed magazine. While this design provided the requisite flush-mount magazine,

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756-555: The M16 rifle at a similar point in its development. Production of the Garand increased in 1940 despite these difficulties, reaching 600 a day by 10 January 1941, and the Army was fully equipped by the end of 1941. Following the outbreak of World War II in Europe, Winchester was awarded an "educational" production contract for 65,000 rifles, with deliveries beginning in 1943. The M1 Garand

819-506: The Vietnam War . The U.S. Navy has also used the Garand, rechambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO round. A detachable M2 conical flash hider, adopted 25 January 1945 slipped over the muzzle and was secured in place by the bayonet lug. A T37 flash hider was developed later. Flash hiders were of limited utility during low-light conditions around dawn and dusk, but were often removed as potentially detrimental to accuracy. The Tanker name

882-539: The infantry and cavalry boards ran trials with the .276 Pedersen T1 rifle, calling it "highly promising" (despite its use of waxed ammunition, shared by the Thompson). On 13 August 1928, a semiautomatic rifle board (SRB) carried out joint Army, Navy , and Marine Corps trials among the .30 Thompson, both cavalry and infantry versions of the T1 Pedersen, "M1924" Garand, and .256 Bang , and on 21 September,

945-652: The 'guh-RAND ' ". American Rifleman magazine, while acknowledging / ɡ ə ˈ r æ n d / gə- RAND as the pronunciation favored by U.S. servicemen, deemed either pronunciation valid. French Canadian -born Garand went to work at the United States Army's Springfield Armory and began working on a .30 caliber primer actuated blowback Model 1919 prototype. In 1924, twenty-four rifles, identified as "M1922s", were built at Springfield. At Fort Benning during 1925, they were tested against models by Berthier , Hatcher-Bang, Thompson , and Pedersen ,

1008-496: The ENERGA, the M31 is slightly lighter in weight and has a smaller-diameter warhead—i.e. 75 mm (3.0 in) vs 66 mm (2.6 in). Penetration for the M31 is estimated to be 200 mm / 8 inches for steel armor plating and twice that estimate for concrete. The warhead technology developed for the M31 was used for the future M72 LAW antitank rocket. Various US military manuals issued in 1972 still had sections on

1071-402: The Garand (1948), give / ˈ ɡ ær ən d / GARR -ənd , identical to the pronunciation of John Garand's surname. However, a 1952 issue of Armed Forces Talk , a periodical published by the U.S. Department of Defense , gives the pronunciation as / ɡ ə ˈ r æ n d / gə- RAND , saying "popular usage has placed the accent on the second syllable, so that the rifle has become

1134-612: The Garand rifle. Several different styles of bayonets fit the rifle: the M1905 , with a 16-inch (406 mm) blade; the M1 with a 10-inch (254 mm) blade (either made standard or shortened from existing M1905 bayonets); and the M5 bayonet with a 6.75-inch (171 mm) blade. Also available was the M7 grenade launcher that could easily be attached to the end of the barrel. It could be sighted using

1197-558: The Grenade, Rifle, HEAT M31 on pages 3-3 and 3-4 with DODIC ordering codes. M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifle is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War . The rifle is chambered for the .30-06 Springfield cartridge and is named after its Canadian-American designer, John Garand . It was the first standard-issue autoloading rifle for

1260-635: The Korean War, the Department of Defense decided more were needed. Springfield Armory ramped up production, but two new contracts were awarded. During 1953–56, M1s were produced by International Harvester and Harrington & Richardson in which International Harvester alone produced a total of 337,623 M1 Garands. A final, very small, lot of M1s was produced by Springfield Armory in early 1957, using finished components already on hand. Beretta also produced Garands using Winchester tooling. In 1939,

1323-887: The M1 Garand was fully completed in the active-duty component of the Army (with the exception of the sniper variants, which were introduced in World War II and saw action in Korea and Vietnam). The Garand remained in service with the Army Reserve , Army National Guard , and the Navy into the early 1970s. The South Korean Army was using M1 Garands in the Vietnam War as late as 1966. Due to widespread United States military assistance as well as their durability, M1 Garands have also been found in use in recent conflicts such as with

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1386-425: The M1 used a complicated gas system involving a special muzzle extension gas trap, later dropped in mid-1940 in favor of a simpler drilled gas port. Because most of the older rifles were retrofitted, pre-1940 gas-trap M1s are very rare today and are prized collector's items. In both systems, expanding gases from a fired cartridge are diverted into the gas cylinder. Here, the gases meet a long-stroke piston attached to

1449-470: The M15 sight, which was attached with screws to the left side of the stock, just forward of the trigger. A cleaning tool, oiler and grease containers could be stored in two cylindrical compartments in the buttstock for use in the field. The M1907 two-piece leather rifle sling was the most common type of sling used with the weapon through World War II. In 1942, a cheaper and more adjustable olive drab canvas sling

1512-670: The M31, but by the end of the Vietnam War, both the US Army and US Marines had essentially phased out muzzle-launched rifle grenades, in favor of the M72 LAW disposable rocket in the anti-armor role and the M203 under-barrel grenade launcher in the squad fire-support role. In the 1977 revision of US military anti-armor warfare manuals, the M31 HEAT was no longer listed. The 2001 U.S. Army TM 43-0001-29 C2, "Data Sheets for Grenades" details

1575-616: The Pacific Warfare Board (PWB) decided to move forward with the development of a shortened M1 rifle. Colonel William Alexander, chief of the PWB, directed an Army ordnance unit of the 6th Army in the Philippines to fabricate 150 rifles in this configuration for testing. Since the previous M1E5 project was not widely disseminated, it is entirely possible that the PWB may not have been aware of Springfield Armory's development of

1638-400: The Philippines under the auspices of the PWB had been well-used prior to modification, and the conversion exhibited rather crude craftsmanship, including hand-cut splines on the barrel. Upon receipt of the PWB rifle, Springfield Armory's model shop fabricated a very similar shortened M1 that was designated as the "T26". One of the more noticeable differences was that the shortened PWB rifle had

1701-464: The Philippines, etc. Most Garands shipped to allied nations were predominantly manufactured by International Harvester Corporation during the period of 1953–1956, and second from Springfield Armory from all periods. Some Garands were still being used by the United States into the Vietnam War in 1963; despite the M14 's official adoption in 1958, it was not until 1965 that the changeover from

1764-541: 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. On 3 August 1933, the T1E2 became the "semi-automatic rifle, caliber 30, M1". In May 1934, 75 M1s went to field trials; 50 went to infantry, 25 to cavalry units. Numerous problems were reported, forcing

1827-425: The US Army stated in its revised anti-armor warfare manual that the M31 HEAT was only effective against light tanks and thin-skinned vehicles. On impact, the nose cover collapses, crushing a crystal-like material, which sends an electric current through a separate wire to the warhead's detonator, located in the base of the warhead. A mechanical safety, comprising a set back system located in the warhead's base, grounds

1890-430: The United States. By most accounts, the M1 rifle performed well. General George S. Patton called it "the greatest battle implement ever devised". The M1 replaced the bolt-action M1903 Springfield as the U.S. service rifle in 1936, and was itself replaced by the selective-fire M14 rifle on 26 March 1958. Sources differ on the pronunciation of the M1 Garand. Some, such as General Julian Hatcher's The Book of

1953-614: The board reported no clear winner. The .30 Garand, however, was dropped in favor of the .276. Further tests by the SRB in July 1929, which included rifle designs by Colt–Browning, Garand, Holek , Pedersen, Rheinmetall , Thompson, and an incomplete one by White, 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 T3E2 Garands were made and competed with T1 Pedersen rifles in early 1931. The .276 Garand

M31 HEAT rifle grenade - Misplaced Pages Continue

2016-521: The cartridges are only for launching rifle grenades) is loaded into the rifle's chamber. The hollow tail unit of the rifle grenade is fitted over the grenade launcher. Official military manuals recommend that the M31 HEAT be fired from either the standing or kneeling position and that it is only accurate against armored vehicles if fired at extremely close ranges. While claimed to be effective against main battle tanks (except in frontal engagements) and lightly armored vehicles when first introduced, in 1972

2079-483: The civilian market, as well as a single-loading device which stays in the rifle when the bolt locks back. In battle, the manual of arms called for the rifle to be fired until empty, and then recharged quickly. Due to the well-developed logistical system of the U.S. military at the time, this consumption of ammunition was generally not critical, though this could change in the case of units that came under intense fire or were flanked or surrounded by enemy forces. When using

2142-412: The clip system increased the rifle's weight and complexity, and made only single loading ammunition possible without a clip. Ejection of an empty clip created a distinctive metallic "clanging" sound. In World War II, it was rumored that German and Japanese infantry were making use of this noise in combat to alert them to an empty M1 rifle in order to catch their American enemies with an unloaded rifle. It

2205-401: The clip, chambering a round and leaving it ready to fire. Contrary to widespread misconception, partially expended or full clips can be easily ejected from the rifle by means of the clip latch button. It is also possible to load single cartridges into a partially loaded clip while the clip is still in the magazine, but this requires both hands and a bit of practice. In reality, this procedure

2268-476: The development of the M1D, which utilized a simpler, single-ring Springfield Armory mount attached to the barrel rather than the receiver. The M1C was first widely used during the Korean War . Korean War production was 4,796 M1Cs and 21,380 M1Ds; although few M1Ds were completed in time to see combat. The U.S. Marine Corps adopted the M1C as their official sniper rifle in 1951. This USMC 1952 sniper's rifle, or MC52,

2331-517: The disadvantages. Further development of the M1E5 was suspended as other projects at Springfield, such as the selective-fire T20 series, were deemed to have a higher priority. Only one example of the M1E5 was fabricated for testing, and the gun resides today in the Springfield Armory National Historic Site Museum. Despite the concept being shelved at Springfield Armory, the idea of a shortened M1 rifle

2394-455: The drill team of His Majesty the King's Guard of Norway. The M1 rifle is a .30 caliber , gas-operated , eight-shot clip-fed, semi-automatic rifle . It is 43.6 inches (1,107 mm) long and it weighs about 9.5 pounds (4.31 kg). The M1's safety catch is located at the front of the trigger guard , easily operated by the trigger finger. It is engaged when it is pressed rearward into

2457-415: The firing circuit and prevents the accidental explosion of the warhead. On firing, the sudden launch acceleration causes the set-back's three disks to rotate 90 degrees, each in succession to the other, with the rotation of the third disk removing the grounding after approximately 10 meters of flight and completing a firing circuit for the current to flow from the nose to the detonator in the base. Compared to

2520-567: The insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some military drill teams still use the M1 rifle, including the U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Team , the United States Air Force Academy Cadet Honor Guard, the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary , almost all Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and some Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) teams of all branches of the U.S. military. It is also used by

2583-599: The latter two being delayed blowback types. This led to a further trial of an improved "M1924" Garand against the Thompson, ultimately producing an inconclusive report. As a result, the Ordnance Board ordered a .30-06 Garand variant. In March 1927, the cavalry board reported trials among the Thompson, Garand, and '03 Springfield had not led to a clear winner. This led to a gas-operated .276 (7 mm) model (patented by Garand on 12 April 1930). In early 1928, both

M31 HEAT rifle grenade - Misplaced Pages Continue

2646-441: The operating rod, which is pushed rearward by the force of this high-pressure gas. Then, the operating rod engages a rotating bolt inside the receiver . The bolt is locked into the receiver via two locking lugs, which rotate, unlock, and initiate the ejection of the spent cartridge and the reloading cycle when the rifle is discharged. The operating rod (and subsequently the bolt) then returns to its original position. The M1 Garand

2709-490: The project. The task was assigned to Springfield Armory, and John Garand began work in January 1944. The resultant experimental arm, designated as the "U.S. Carbine, Cal. 30, M1E5", was fitted with a specially made 18-inch barrel (not a shortened standard M1 rifle barrel) marked "1 SA 2-44" and a pantograph metal stock that folded underneath the rifle. The receiver was marked "U.S. Carbine/Cal. .30 M1E5/Springfield/Armory/1". It

2772-480: The receiver to indicate the windage setting are four MOA apart. The front sighting element consists of a wing-guard-protected front post. During World War II the M1 rifle's semiautomatic operation gave United States infantrymen a significant advantage in firepower and shot-to-shot recovery time over enemy infantrymen armed primarily with bolt-action rifles. The semi-automatic operation and reduced recoil allowed soldiers to fire eight rounds as quickly as they could pull

2835-404: The rifle is accurate at much greater ranges." The M1 rifle is fed by a reversible en bloc clip which holds eight rounds of .30-06 Springfield ammunition. When the last cartridge is fired, the rifle ejects the clip and locks the bolt open. The M1 is then ready to reload. Once the clip is inserted, the bolt snaps forward on its own as soon as thumb pressure is released from the top round of

2898-416: 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. The first production model was successfully proof-fired, function-fired, and fired for accuracy on 21 July 1937. Production difficulties delayed deliveries to the Army until September 1937. Machine production began at Springfield Armory that month at

2961-490: The rifle to launch grenades, it requires the removal of a partially loaded clip of ball ammunition and replacement with a clip of M3 blank cartridges. Officials in Army Ordnance circles demanded a fixed, non-protruding magazine for the new service rifle. At the time, it was believed that a detachable magazine on a general-issue service rifle would be easily lost by U.S. soldiers (a criticism made of British soldiers and

3024-496: The standard buttstock. The PWB rifle uses an 18-inch (457 mm) barrel, retains the standard buttstock, and has a foregrip secured by M1903 barrel band. A weapon with those features was potentially valuable for paratroopers, as it was more powerful than the carbines and submachine guns currently in use. Preliminary testing revealed it had excessive recoil and muzzle blast, but it was recommended that it be developed further. The Infantry Board directed Col. Rene Studler to proceed with

3087-498: The trigger guard or not allow for proper movement of the finger. Most variants of the Garand, save the sniper variants, never saw active duty. The sniper versions were modified to accept scope mounts, and two versions (the M1C , formerly M1E7, and the M1D , formerly M1E8) were produced, although not in significant quantities during World War II. The only difference between the two versions

3150-509: The trigger guard, and disengaged when it is pushed forward and is protruding outside of the trigger guard. The M1 Garand was designed for simple assembly and disassembly to facilitate field maintenance. It can be field stripped (broken down) without tools in just a few seconds. The rifle has an iron sight line consisting of rear receiver aperture sight protected by sturdy "ears" calibrated for 100–1,200 yd (91–1,097 m) in 100 yd (91 m) increments. The bullet drop compensation

3213-437: The trigger, without having to move their hands on the rifle and therefore disrupt their firing position and point of aim. The Garand's fire rate, in the hands of a trained soldier, averaged 40–50 accurate shots per minute at a range of 300 yards (270 m). "At ranges over 500 yards (460 m), a battlefield target is hard for the average rifleman to hit. Therefore, 500 yards (460 m) is considered the maximum effective range, even though

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3276-549: Was an M1C with the commercial Stith Bear Cub scope manufactured by the Kollmorgen Optical Company under the military designation: telescopic sight - Model 4XD-USMC. The Kollmorgen scope with a slightly modified Griffin & Howe mount was designated MC-1. The MC52 was also too late to see extensive combat in Korea, but it remained in Marine Corps inventories until replaced by bolt-action rifles during

3339-462: Was designated as a carbine and not a rifle. Other than the folding stock, the basic M1 rifle was essentially unchanged with the exception of the short barrel, a correspondingly shortened operating rod (and spring) and the lack of a front handguard. The overall length was 37½ inches and it weighed approximately 8 lbs., 6 ozs. The M1E5 " Garand carbine " was tested at Aberdeen Proving Ground in May 1944. It

3402-403: Was determined that while accuracy at 300 yards was on par with the standard M1 rifle, recoil, muzzle blast and flash were excessive. It was recommended that a pistol grip be installed, which was done for subsequent testing. While the M1E5 was more compact than the standard Garand rifle, the short barrel made it an unpleasant gun to fire—and the advantages were not judged to be sufficient to offset

3465-576: Was excessive and was compared to a flash bulb going off in the darkened jungle. The conclusion of the test report stated that the shortened rifle was "totally unsuitable for a combat weapon". Even while the shortened M1 rifles were being evaluated by the 503rd PIR, two of them were sent to the Ordnance Dept. in Washington, D.C., by special courier for evaluation. One of these rifles was then forwarded to Springfield Armory. The M1s shortened in

3528-455: Was introduced and gradually replaced the M1907 after the war. Another accessory was the winter trigger , developed during the Korean War. It consisted of a small mechanism installed on the trigger guard, allowing the soldier to remotely pull the trigger by depressing a lever just behind the guard. This enabled the shooter to fire his weapon while using winter gloves, which could get "stuck" on

3591-491: Was invented after the war as a marketing gimmick for commercial Garands built on welded demilled receivers. There are three 18-inch M1 Garand variants, the M1E5 and T26, which never saw service, and the Pacific Warfare Board rifle, which saw very limited service in the Pacific. The M1E5 is equipped with a shorter 18-inch (457 mm) barrel and a folding buttstock . The T26 also uses an 18-inch (457 mm) barrel but retains

3654-477: Was made in large numbers during World War II; approximately 5.4 million were made. They were used by every branch of the United States military. The rifle generally performed well. General George S. Patton called it "the greatest battle implement ever devised." The typical opponent of a US soldier during World War II was usually armed with a slower-firing bolt-action rifle (e.g. the Karabiner 98k for Germany,

3717-435: Was one of the first self-loading rifles to use stainless steel for its gas tube, in an effort to prevent corrosion. As the stainless metal could not be parkerized , the gas tubes were given a stove-blackening that frequently wore off in use. Unless the gas tube could be quickly repainted, the resultant gleaming muzzle could make the M1 Garand and its user more visible to the enemy in combat. Several accessories were used with

3780-438: Was rarely performed in combat, as the danger of getting debris inside the action along with the cartridges increased the chances of malfunction. Instead, it was much easier and quicker to simply manually eject the clip, and insert a fresh one, which is how the rifle was originally designed to be operated. Later, special clips holding two (8+2=10 for target shooting) or five rounds (to meet hunting regulations) became available on

3843-449: Was reported that the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground began experiments with clips made of various plastics in order to soften the sound, though no improved clips were ever adopted. Conversely, former German soldiers have said that the sound was inaudible during engagements and not particularly useful when heard, as other squad members might have been nearby ready to fire. Due to the often intense deafening noise of combat and gunfire it

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3906-502: Was still viewed as potentially valuable for airborne and jungle combat use. Particularly in the Pacific Theater, there was widespread dissatisfaction with the M1 carbine's range, power and foliage-penetration ("brush-cutting") capability. The Ordnance Department was not responsive to these complaints coming in from the Pacific and maintained that the M1 rifle and M1 carbine each filled a specific niche. Nonetheless, by late 1944,

3969-648: 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. On 25 February 1932, Adjutant General John B. Shuman, speaking for

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