Evening star., 1940-03-25

for all shoulder weapons. Subse-
quently, 1t was adopted for all ma
chine guns, except the aircraft type,
when tests demonstrated that its
maximum effective range was ade-
quate."
Gen. Wesson expressed the be-
lief that, as result of further
tests now being made, the M2 am
munition will also become standard
for aircraft use and that the Army
in the future will have only this one
type Of caliber 80 ball ammunition,
which, he said, lis as it should be
and ought to serve every purpose. !"
From military standpoint" )"
Gen. Wesson said, lit is my opinion
that the adoption of this M
cartridge has been a great step
forward. 1t not only provides our
troops with an entirely satisfactory
combat cartridge, but one which
can be manufactured much more
readily than the MI type"
With the Garand rifle and the
M2 ammunition, Gen. Wesson said,
the American doughboy is on his
way to become "the most formi-
dable rifleman in the world"
The Garand has met the follow
ing exacting requirements set up
by the services for it, the War De-
partment said ofnfiicially: 1t Is
within the maximum weight limit
of 8 pounds. it is we'll balanced and
adapted to easy shoulder firing; it
is simple, strong, compact and
adapted to ease of manufacture,
it is designed to prevent prema-
ture unlocking and the use of oil
or grease on the cartridge case Is
not necessary for proper function
ing.
Passed in Field Tests.
Field tests conducted by the in
fantry and cavalry passed the
Garand with flying colors, it was
announced.
1T might be we'll to mention, in
passing. that these services are not
prone to nurse a weapon along in
any test" it was pointed out in an
omcial statement from the ord
nance department. I'm such cases
1t is customary to issue the test
weapon to all classes Of soldiers
from the tyro to the expert rifle
man. When d test weapon receives
diploma from the school Of the
doughboy it is truly fit for the wars.
TN all comparative tests between
the -semi-auomatic 50 Garand5 and
the bolt-action, shoulder rife (the
Springf1eld). conducted by the
Ordnance Department.. as well as
the using services, the new rifle
clearly demonstrated its marked
superiority. These tests included
combat and anti-aircraft firing
with expert, partially trained and
unframed soldiers. It generally is
conceded that for short periods of
flre the MI has the value of ap-
proximately three bolt-action rifles.
Many skeptics of the principle of a
semi-automatic shoulder rife have
been converted by one personal ex-
perience in firing this weapon. The
lack of fatigue after continuous fir
ing and the ease with which the
piece can be held on the target
throughout the firing of a complete
clip is remarkable for the type Of
fire. The average rifleman is
capable of firing approximately 40
shots per minute.
Light "Kick" in Garand.
"The rifle shows its greatest
superiority over the Springfield in
anti-aircraft work. The so-called
kick of the conventional, bolt-ac-
ton rifle throws the line of aim
well away from the target at each
shot. The aim is further disturbed
by manipulating the bolt for the
insertion of new cartridge. In the
MI (GarandD the kick is very
light and it Is easy to keep the rifle
on the target throughout succeed
ing shots.
"The advantage of this for de-
fense against high-speed, low-alti-
tude aircraft, where the target Is
present for a fractional period of
time, can be appreciated readily
Try, for the moment, to visualize
a company of soldiers, on the march,
equipped with semi-automatic rifles
An airplane travelling at speed OF
about 200 miles per hour suddenly
appears over the top of the trees
Within a split second each man can