The armory manufactured large quantities of most M1 rifle parts, excluding receivers, for replacement purposes from 1946 until the very early 1950s. For example, Springfield Armory manufactured 331,854 new M1 barrels between fiscal years 19 for use in overhauling existing Garands. During that period, a number of ordnance facilities rebuilt large numbers of all types of military small arms, including M1 rifles. From late 1945 until 1950, the Ordnance Department shifted its focus from the procurement of new guns to rebuilding and refurbishing the vast quantities left over from the war. When World War II ended in 1945, the M1 Garand was firmly entrenched as America’s standard service rifle.Īfter the war’s end, outstanding production contracts were cancelled on most military arms, including the M1, because there were ample numbers on hand to satisfy demand for the foreseeable future. While several other nations, including Germany and the Soviet Union, fielded some semi-automatic and selective-fire rifles during the war, the United States was the only nation to arm its military primarily with a semi-automatic service rifle. Garand, the M1 garnered a well-deserved reputation as the finest general-issue military rifle of World War II. Rifle, Cal.30, M1.” Popularly known as the “Garand” after its inventor, Springfield Armory employee John C. Patton summed up his feelings about the “U.S. The best battle implement ever devised.” This oft-repeated praise from Gen. This article was first published in American Rifleman, August 2006
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