Type: Semi-Automatic Rifle

Nations: United States, Philippines, South Korea, South Vietnam

Branch: Armed Forces

Time Period: 1936-1970s

Conflicts: WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War

Other Names: “The greatest battle implement ever devised”

Cartridge: .30-06, 7.62x51mm NATO

Info: Called “the greatest battle implement ever devised” by General George S Patton, the M1 Garand was the first military-wide adopted semi-automatic rifle. Officially adopted in 1935, the rifle did not see wide spread use until late1942. The M1 Garand gave a distinct advantage to the US troops using it during WWII in that it was capable of semi-automatic fire allowing the average rifle squad to lay down more fire faster than their enemy, at the time. The rifle is fed by an eight round, en-bloc clip which gave it three more cartridges in comparison to the normal five with German and Japanese standard issued rifles. When out of ammunition, the rifle made a distinctive “ping” noise as it ejected the empty clip from the action. After The Second World War, the M1 continued to see action throughout the Korean War and was supplied to several NATO and UN nations. The M1 was also supplied to South Vietnamese forces early in the Vietnam War. It was also the base design for the Army’s later adopted M14 rifle which replaced it in 1957, but still saw some use with National Guard units until 1965. The US Navy continued to use the M1 Garand, rechambered in 7.61×51 NATO into the 70s.