Editing M1 Garand (section)

==Design details==

===Features===
[[File:garandparts.jpg|thumb|upright=2.25|The M1 Garand with important parts labeled]]

The M1 rifle is a [[.30-06 Springfield|.30 caliber]], [[gas-operated]], eight-shot clip-fed, [[semi-automatic rifle]].<ref name="Popenker">{{cite web |last=Popenker |first=Max |url=http://world.guns.ru/rifle/rfl05-e.htm |title=Modern Firearms: Rifle M1 Garand |website=WorldGuns.ru |access-date=3 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002055115/http://world.guns.ru/rifle/rfl05-e.htm |archive-date=2 October 2008}}</ref> It is {{convert|43.6|in|mm|0|sp=us}} long and it weighs about {{convert|9.5|lb|kg|2}}.<ref name="easy39th.com">{{cite book |url=http://www.easy39th.com/korea/files/FM_23-5_U.S._Rifle_Caliber_.30,_M1_1951.pdf |title=U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1 |author=Departments of the Army and the Air Force |date=October 1951 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |location=Washington, DC |via=Easy39th.com}}</ref>

The M1's [[Safety (firearms)|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 the trigger guard, and disengaged when it is pushed forward and is protruding outside of the trigger guard.<ref name="Mangrum">{{cite web |last=Mangrum |first=Jamie |year=2004 |title=M1 Garand Operations: Loading and Unloading |url=http://www.surplusrifle.com/garand/operations.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812202036/http://surplusrifle.com/garand/operations.asp |archive-date=12 August 2013 |access-date=15 November 2005 |website=SurplusRifle.com}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civilianmarksmanship.com/fieldstrip.html |title=Field Stripping the M1 Garand |website=Civilian Marksmanship Program |access-date=3 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915225950/http://www.civilianmarksmanship.com/fieldstrip.html |archive-date=15 September 2008}}</ref>

The rifle has an [[iron sight]] line consisting of rear receiver aperture sight protected by sturdy "ears" calibrated for {{convert|100|-|1200|yd|m|0|abbr=on}} in {{convert|100|yd|m|0|abbr=on}} increments. The bullet drop compensation 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 [[Minute and second of arc#Firearms|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 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 the trigger, without having to move their hands on the rifle and therefore disrupt their firing position and point of aim.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rottman |first=Gordon L. |title=U.S. Marine Rifleman 1939–45: Pacific Theater |publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]] |year=2006 |pages=27–28 |isbn=978-1-84176-972-1}}</ref> 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 the rifle is accurate at much greater ranges."<ref name="easy39th.com"/>

===''En bloc'' clip===
[[File:Garand clip.jpg|thumb|right|An M1 Garand ''en bloc'' clip loaded with eight [[.30-06 Springfield]] rounds]]
[[File:M1 Garand rifle being loaded.png|thumb|Loading the M1]]
[[File:M1clip.jpg|thumb|Unloading an M1 ''en bloc'' clip]]

The M1 rifle is fed by a reversible [[Clip (ammunition)#En bloc|''en bloc'' clip]] which holds eight rounds of [[.30-06 Springfield]] ammunition. When the last [[Cartridge (firearms)|cartridge]] is fired, the rifle ejects the clip and locks the bolt open.<ref name="Karwan">{{Cite magazine |last=Karwan |first=Charles |title=History in your hands: Springfield Armory's new M1 Garand: the most significant rifle of the 20th Century is once again available to the American shooter |magazine=[[Guns (magazine)|Guns]] |date=October 2002 |page=44}}</ref> 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 the clip, chambering a round and leaving it ready to fire.<ref>{{cite web |website=Springfield Armory |year=2001 |url=http://www.springfield-armory.com/Manuals/M1GarandManual.pdf |title=Springfield Armory M1 Garand Operating Manual |access-date=3 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061109091157/http://www.springfield-armory.com/Manuals/M1GarandManual.pdf |archive-date=9 November 2006}}</ref><ref name="Department">{{cite web |website=Department of the Army |year=1965 |url=http://www.biggerhammer.net/manuals/garand/m1.htm |title=FM 23-5 |access-date=3 October 2008}}</ref>

Contrary to widespread misconception, partially expended or full clips can be easily ejected from the rifle by means of the clip latch button.<ref name="Mangrum"/> 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 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,<ref>"FM 23-100", Department of the Army (1943)</ref> which is how the rifle was originally designed to be operated.<ref name= "Department"/><ref name="George">{{cite book |last=George |first=John B. |year=1981|orig-date=1948 |title=Shots Fired In Anger |publisher=The Samworth Press |isbn=0-935998-42-X}}</ref><ref name="Dunlap"/> Later, special clips holding two (8+2=10 for target shooting) or five rounds (to meet hunting regulations) became available on 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.<ref name="George"/> When using the rifle to launch grenades, it requires the removal of a partially loaded clip of ball ammunition and replacement with a clip of M3 rifle grenade cartridges.<ref name="Department"/>

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 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, 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.<ref name="Bishop">{{cite book |last=Bishop |first=Chris |title=The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II |publisher=[[Sterling Publishing]] |year=2002 |page=223 |isbn=978-1-58663-762-0}}</ref> 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 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.<ref name="Dunlap">{{cite book |last=Dunlap |first=Roy F. |title=Ordnance Went Up Front |publisher=The Samworth Press |year=1996 |orig-date=1948 |isbn=978-1-884849-09-1}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal |author=((CW5 Charles D. Petrie, U.S. Army)) |title=More On The "Ping" |journal=American Rifleman |date=April 2012 |page=42}}</ref> Due to the often intense deafening noise of combat and gunfire it 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Canfield |first=Bruce |date=1998 |title=The Complete Guide to the M1 Garand and the M1 Carbine |location=Lincoln, RI |publisher=Andrew Mowbray Publishers |pages=69–70 |isbn=0-917218-83-3}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|date=27 March 2021|title=SURROUNDED BY THE ENEMY: WWII Veteran Describes Fighting for Survival!|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTck52FZj9Q| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/PTck52FZj9Q| archive-date=2021-10-30|access-date=29 March 2021|website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Gas system===
[[File:Garandpatents.gif|thumb|Two of Garand's patents, showing the original gas trap design and revised gas port system]]

Garand's original design for 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.<ref name="Popenker"/> 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 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 (firearms)|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 was one of the first self-loading rifles to use stainless steel for its gas tube, in an effort to prevent corrosion.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}} As the stainless metal could not be [[Parkerizing|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.<ref name="George"/>