Amazing fact about John Garand, the man who designed the rifle that won WW2

[ShootSpeeders]

He was a french-canadian who came to america as a kid and later designed the near-perfect M-1 rifle that killed millions of japs and krauts in WW2.

The Legendary Rifle That Fought World War II

Garand never accepted royalties for his work and instead gifted the gun's design to his adoptive homeland. Congress tried to grant him a $100,000 reward of gratitude, but nothing ever came of it. Garand continued working at Springfield on other designs until he retired in 1953. He died on February 16, 1974. He was 86.

 

[Fenton Lum]

Poor sod, did he have any idea how much you can make off war?

 

[ShootSpeeders]

The garand is one great gun but too big for the midget... i mean female, soldiers we have now. M-16 is about right for them. Or they could bring back the M-1 carbine. That was a cute little gun. Jeff Cooper once wrote it was "much beloved by soldiers who never had to shoot anyone with it."

 

[blastoff]

The M-1 was a great advantage for our troops for much of WW II. Imagine being a Kraut or Jap strapped with a bolt-action weapon in a fire fight against our boys' M-1s with their 8-round clips.

 

[WinterBorn]

The M1 Garand was indeed one of the finest battle rifles ever designed. The M1Carbine was one of the worst rifles we used in a war. The .30 caliber round was anemic and had a very short range (for a rifle).

The M14 was developed by modifying the M1 Garand. I think that was our finest battle rifle.

I own only 2 semi-auto rifles (out of 10 rifles, including 2 I inherited). The Springfield M1A is one of them.

 

[WinterBorn]

The garand is one great gun but too big for the midget... i mean female, soldiers we have now. M-16 is about right for them. Or they could bring back the M-1 carbine. That was a cute little gun. Jeff Cooper once wrote it was "much beloved by soldiers who never had to shoot anyone with it."

The M1 Garand was too big for many people, not just midgets and women. Support personnel who had to carry a rifle far more than they fired it complained of the length and the bulk. It snagged on brush, knocked against their helmets, ect.

But rather than do what the British did with the Enfield, and design a shorter version of this excellent rifle, they put out a rifle that was easy to carry, but lacked accuracy, range and killing power.

 

[Silent Warrior]

While the M1 was heavy and difficult to carry for small people, the weight helped keep the recoil of the 30-06 cartridge down. The same thing was true with the Arisaka used by the Japanese. The average Japanese soldier was smaller than the average American. The recoil from the heavy 7.7 cartridge was kept down by the Arisaka's weight which helped the average soldier handle it.

 

[ShootSpeeders]

The M1 Garand was indeed one of the finest battle rifles ever designed. The M1Carbine was one of the worst rifles we used in a war. The .30 caliber round was anemic and had a very short range (for a rifle).

.

The carbine was meant to be anemic. For it's intended function , it was ok.