This site is about the United States Caliber .30 M1 Rifle, better known as the M1 Garand. The inventor of this rifle was Mr. John C. Garand. Mr. Garand worked at the United States Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts. His work on this rifle enabled the United States to enter into World War II as the only country with  a semi-automatic rifle as standard issue for its troops. This site has been set up to tell the history of the M1 Garand from testing to production. The files posted here are copies of the original Ordnance files. These files are from the National Archives in Washington, D.C., the National Archives Military Field Branch in Suitland, MD, as well as Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, MD. Hopefully data at this site and my other M1 Garand site will help you to understand what led to the rifle's development. The other site address and link is at the bottom of this page. I hope you enjoy the sites.

After doing more than 25 years of research on the M1 Garand, I have written two volumes of a three-volume book on this subject. Volume 3 is currently underway. The book is made up of the Ordnance files themselves with a text introduction by the author. Not only is there a book on this site but also a CD-ROM and VHS VIDEO of old Signal Corps footage on production of the M1 Garand. Below is a photo of Volumes 1 and 2 and the CD-ROM. If you wish information on how to order any of these items or the Video, you can click on the link below. To go directly to the files just click on the Data Files link below.

Data Files Page on this Site

Email

Direct Link to the Second Site. I hope you enjoy.