Rifle, 30 Caliber, M1 Garand

The "US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1", or M1 Garand as it came to be known after the name of its inventor, John Garand, held many advantages over the M1903 Springfield rifle. The semi-automatic operation and reduced recoil allowed new troops to achieve a higher degree of accuracy with a shorter period of training than was previously possible. The sighting system was superior under actual combat conditions. Ease of disassembly, cleaning, and oiling were also a great advantage. Most important was the increase in rate of fire, limited only by the proficiency of the soldier in marksmanship and his dexterity in inserting eight round clips of ammunition into the weapon. In the face of overwhelming odds, the capability of the M1 rifle to deliver superior firepower would most often carry the day.

Rifle, 30 Caliber, M1903

On August 15, 1900, Springfield Armory completed an experimental magazine rifle which they believed to be an improvement over the Krag. They fashioned a clip loading magazine rifle in which the cartridges were contained within the stock, preventing damage to an otherwise exposed magazine. The M1903 Springfield was the first US Army rifle to use stripper clips, which held five rounds together for easy loading. Rifle production was suspended in January 1905, after the Secretary of War received a letter from President Theodore Roosevelt criticizing the rod bayonet as being too delicate for combat. Subsequently the rod bayonet was abandoned in favor of the "Model 1905 Knife Bayonet."
By the time the United States entered World War I, approximately 843,239 standard service Model 1903 rifles had been manufactured. However this was insufficient to arm U.S.troops for an undertaking of the magnitude of World War I. During WW I, Springfield Armory produced over 265,620 Model 1903 rifles but the primary rifle of that war was the M1917 Enfield. During World War II, Remington Arms and Smith-Corona produced M1903 rifles. Production improvements for the war were recognized by a change in the rifle designation to M1903A3. Many milled parts were replaced by stampings and a less expensive stock was substituted. The rear sight was moved from the barrel to the receiver and changed to a peep sight (see photo above).
Officially, the M1903 was rendered obsolete upon adoption of the M1 Garand in 1936. However, US Army expansion for World War II outstripped production so the Springfield remained in service. In the Pacific Theater, it was used to equip the Marine Corps as they waited for M1's. In the Army, one per Rifle Squad was standard for antitank grenade use. The sniper version of the Springfield performed extremely well and consequently had long service, used even in Vietnam. Other Springfields remained in other roles including, up to the present, as a ceremonial rifle.

Rifle, 30 Caliber, M1 Carbine

In September of 1941 the new Winchester-designed "Carbine, M1, .30 Caliber" won Ordnance approval and was adopted for service. As the M1 Carbine was originally issued, there was no bayonet lug but one was added by the end of the war. A fully automatic version was issued as the M2 Carbine, as in the photo to the left showing an M2 Carbine armed Vietnamese MP looking for contraband. Despite its convenience, many soldiers never liked the M1 Carbine and it had a reputation as underpowered and mechanically tempremental, not to mention inaccurate beyond about 150 yards. Nonetheless, the M1 Carbine proved an effective light weight weapon that was frequently carried for protection as something between a pistol and a full rifle.
 

SMG, M1A1 Thompson

The M1928A1 "Tommy Gun" was issued to armored and reconnaissance units. It was selective for semi- or fully-automatic fire with the .45 cal. ACP cartridge in 20- or 30-round magazines, or a 50-round drum at arate of fire of 600-725 spm. It had a leaf with aperture notch battle sight.

The M-1928A1 had a removable buttstock. Most had a horizontal fore grip, but some had a vertical fore grip. The M-1928A1 was relatively heavy, and expensive in use of materials, machine time, and machine tools.
The M-1 / M-1A1 was also a blowback submachine gun, selective for semi- or fully-automatic fire. It fired the same .45 cal. cartridge in 20- or 30-round magazines with a rate of fire of 700 spm in full automatic mode. The gun was reliable, and continued to operate when similar weapons would have failed due to exposure to battle-field conditions. Production was 354,000 weapons.

The M-1 Thompson was a redesign of the model M-1928A1 to simplify production. The M-1 had a permanently attached buttstock and a spring-loaded firing pin like the M1928A1. The M-1 would not accept the M-1928A1 drum type magazine. The M-1 had a simple fixed aperture rear sight.

The M-1A1 differed from the M-1 only in having the firing pin machined into the face of the bolt. The M-1 and M-1A1 models of the Thompson were developed by Savage Arms.

The loading lever is in a horizontal position on the right side. The butt is fixed in place by two screws. The Thompson is 32 inches long and weighs 10 ¾ pounds. It has a muzzle velocity 920 fps (feet per second).

Paratroopers commonly used a 20-round magazine. By the time the M-1A1 was in production, the 30-round magazine was common. Manufactures of this weapon were Thompson, Colt and Savage. The USAF had a holster assembly for the Thompson.
 

SMG, M3 (Grease Gun)

The M-3 submachine gun was developed early in World War II as a low cost alternative to the effective but expensive Thompson submachine gun. About 679,200 of the M-3 and M-3A1 submachine guns were produced. Following World War II, the role of submachine guns was greatly diminished with the introduction of assault rifles and light portable machine guns. Submachine guns are still used by Special Forces, air crews, armored vehicles, counter-terrorist units, and certain U.S. Navy personnel.
The M-3 was designed specifically to simplify production, compared to the Thompson SMG, by making use of stamped metal parts instead of the refined machining required for the Thompson. A number of deficiencies were found during the initial two years of use, corrected in the model M-3A1.

The M-3A1, introduced in 1944, had a larger ejection port and a stronger cover spring. It was also designed so it could fire 9mm Parabellum cartridges by changing the barrel and bolt and adding an adapter to the magazine. Following World War II, a curved barrel was made for use with the M-3A1. A flash hider was developed for use with both the M-3 and M-3A1.
Often called the "grease gun" because of the resemblance, the M-3 and M-3A1 submachine guns used the .45 cal. ACP cartridge in 30-round magazines. It's cyclic rate of fire was 350-450 spm.
 

Machine Gun, Cal .30 M1919

Official name: Machine Gun, Cal. .30, M1919A4/M1919A6. The M-1919A2, the predecessor to the M-1919A4 and M-1919A6, evolved from the Browning model M-1917 water-cooled machine gun. The M-1919 series .30 cal. machine gun was replaced by the M-60 7.62mm machine gun in the mid-1950s, but continued to be used into the Vietnam War. M-1919A4 was used as both a company level flexible light machine gun on the M-2 tripod mount and as a fixed machine gun on armored vehicles. The M-1919A4 had a heavier barrel with a ventilated barrel jacket, but developed a slower rate of fire (400-550 cpm) than the water-cooled gun. The M-1919 series fired the Army's standard .30-06 round in fabric or metal link belts.

Pistol, 45 Caliber, Colt

The .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol M1911A1 (a.k.a. the "Colt .45") is a conventional semi-automatic pistol, holding seven rounds in a detachable magazine (photo, left). It is 8 ½ inches long and weights 2 ½ pounds. It has a muzzle velocity of 860 fps and uses a .45 caliber ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) cartridge. It has considerable "stopping power" in close-in fighting. Most have a lanyard loop attached to the pistol grip's base for attaching either the 1918 or 1943 lanyards.

The .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol M1911A1 is a recoil-operated hand weapon. The magazine-fed semiautomatic weapon fires one round each time the trigger is squeezed once the hammer is cocked by prior action of the slide or thumb. This design is referred to as "single action only." The thumb safety may only be activated once the pistol is cocked. The hammer remains in the fully cocked position once the safety is activated. (Note: More modern pistol designs of the "double action" type will allow the hammer to move forward to an uncocked position when the thumb safety is activated.)

The M1911A1 was widely respected for its reliability and lethality. However, its single action, cocked and locked design required the user to be very familiar and well-trained to allow carrying the pistol in the "ready-to-fire" mode. Consequently, M1911A1s were often prescribed to be carried without a round in the chamber. Even with this restriction on the user, numerous unintentional discharges were documented yearly.

M1905 Bayonet

The first model of the M-1905 bayonet was manufactured between 1906 and 1922 by the Rock Island and Springfield Arsenals (marked SA or RI with the Ordnance Department symbol, along with year and serial number). Technically this was called the "Model of 1905" since the M numbering system did not begin until the mid-1920s. The blade was 16" in length and the bayonet was 20" overall. Each bayonet had its own unique serial number (range 1 to 1,196,000). The grips were made of wood inset to the metal of the handle. The metal parts of the bayonet were unfinished until about 1917, after which they were parkerized.
The second model M-1905 was manufactured during World War II, in 1942-1943. It is sometimes called the M-1942 model by collectors, but that is not official nomenclature. These bayonets were made by contract suppliers on this list (the letters in parentheses are how the bayonets from this supplier were marked):

Wilde Drop Forge and Tool Company, Kansas City, MO (WT)
Utica Cutlery Company, Utica, NY (UC)
Union Fork and Hoe Company, Columbus, OH (UFH)
Pal Blade and Tool Company, Holyoke, MA (PAL)
Oneida, Ltd., Oneida, NY (OL)
American Fork and Hoe Company, Evansville, IN (AFH)
This model is identical to the M-1905 except they were all parkerized and were not as well finished. They had black or brown plastic grips rather than the wood used on the early M-1905 bayonet. They are marked with a year but are not serialized. Replacement grips were made for the M-1905 so you may find individual examples of any combination of dates and grips.

World War II operational requirements led to the Ordnance Department decision to shorten the M-1905 bayonet to a 10" blade. Large numbers of the M-1905 bayonets were returned to be remanufactured with 6" taken off and a new tip ground on the blade. There were two styles of tip, a spear point centered on the blade and a Bowie-knife style curved diagonal cut end. These bayonets are referred to as the M-1905E1 bayonet, the name given when in experimental production. Since no distinction was made regarding which M-1905 bayonets in inventory were to be reground, you can find examples of the M-1905E1 with any date markings. As a result of this regrinding, original M-1905 bayonets, especially the early production, are rare today.

In 1943 the M-1 bayonet was introduced with a 10" blade, putting an end to the M-1905E1 program. Since the M-1 was not cut down, its fuller (groove) stops before reaching the blade tip. The M-1905E1 can be easily differentiated because the fuller goes all the way to the tip, since it was cut from the longer M-1905 bayonet.