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M1 Rifle

Springfield Armory and Winchester Repeating Arms Company

Eisenhower National Historic Site, National Park Service

Eisenhower National Historic Site, National Park Service
Gettysburg, PA, United States

This .30 caliber semi-automatic M1 Rifle was the standard weapon of the American infantry soldier in World War II. It was designed by John Garand (1888-1974), thus nicknamed the "Garand Rifle."� During the war over 4 million were produced. General Patton called the M1 Rifle, "The greatest battle implement ever devised."� Ammunition for this weapon was loaded in clips that carried eight rounds. The rifle reloaded itself after each shot. This capability greatly increased the firepower and effectiveness of the soldier. When the last round in a clip was fired, the clip automatically ejected, making a metallic pinging sound that under certain circumstances could alert the enemy that the soldier needed to reload. The rifle weighed 9½ pounds without a bayonet or 10½ pounds with a M1905 Bayonet attached. It had an effective range of 440 yards and its muzzle velocity was 2,800 feet per second.

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