Evening star., 1940-03-22

criticisms and defense of the new
rife in order TO present q fair
picture OF the controversy The
merit article ,Oill appear Sunday.
BY WALTER McCALLUM.
Is the new Garand semi AUTO
matte rifle, present standard infan-
try arm of the United State Army,
the efficient military arm it is sup
posed to be? Is this new gas
operated rife, equipped to throw
lead at almost machine-gun speed,
equal in battle efficiency with aimed
fire Of the Springfield, the standard
infantry arm for almost three
decades?
Does the rapldity OF flre OF the
Garand rifle make it overwhelm-
ingly the superior of the Springfield
in the hands of competent marks
men? Does the No ammunition.
now specified as the cartridge for
the Garand, compare in battle or
war efficiency with the heavier,
more powerful MI bullet used in
the Springfield?
Experts Differ.
In the quiet, peaceful precincts
of the Army Navy Club in WASH
ington, on Army posts all over the
world, in the Offices and corridors
OF the War Department and on fir
ing ranges of the infantry and the
marines these questions are being
pondered, raised alike by technical
experts and hard boiled military
men, and raised as we'll in the Of
fees of the National Rife Associa-
ton. The Garand rifle, adopted
four years ago as the standard in
fantry arm of the military forces OF
the United States, is the center of
series of questions that today find
qualified experts both for and
against the rife.
In its present state of develop
ment We do not believe the Garand
rife has proven itself to be the
perfect military arm, with the M2
ammunition, says Maj. Gen. M. A.
Reckord, executive vice president of
the National Rifle Association, ad-
jutant general of the State of Mary
land. member of the National
Board for the Promotion of Rife
Practice and a combat officer in
France in l9l7-18.
The Garand is the finest shoul-
der rifle in the world" says the War
Department, backing up a prepared
statement with description of an
exhaustive test given the new rifle
at Fort Benning, Ga, under ap-
proximate war service conditions.
Projectile "Less Efficient"
"The M ammunition. a 150-grain
projectile propelled by a compare
lively low-pressure powder charge,
is specified for the Garand because
the Garand will not operate satis-
factorily with the more efficient MI
ammunition" says Gen. Reckord.
Technical experts of the rife asso-
citation, including F. c. Ness and
C. B. Lister, both highly qualified
experts, guardedly point to several
weak points in the Garand rife
which might impair its battle eff
cheney under service conditions.
Nothing less than the perfect
combination of rifle and ammuni-
ton should be adopted by our
Army" says Gen. Reckord. "The
Garand does not function satisfac-
torily with MI ammunition and in
its present state of development
practically is limited to the use OF
M ammunition, which is decidedly
inferior from many angles.
This is a backward step. Why
accept ammunition which was dis
carded 20 years ago Immediately
following the experiences of the
World War? I insist that the War
Department should perfect the rifle
so that it will be dependable with
the best and most accurate ammuni-
ton that can be made. The Spring
field uses MI ammunition, with a
boat-tail bullet of 172 grains, pro-
PEELED by a heavy powder charge.
The Garand, because of its me-
chanical faults, cannot satisfac-
torily use MI ammunition, over q
lengthy test, and is, therefore, re-
stricted in practice to the use Of
the M ammunition, throwing
projectile of $50 grams, with lighter
powder charge, Of less penetration
and shocking power and of generally
less efficiency in battle"
Gen. Reckord pointed out that
against tanks, airplanes, revetments
and trenches the MI ammunition
has proven itself superior to the
M used in the Garand.
Airplane Speed Cited.
"The M projectile takes about
one-tenth Of a second longer to 60
1000 yards than the MI bullet"
says Mr.. Lister. can airplane flies
at about 100 yards a second"
Entering into the complex situa-
ton is q difference In schools of
thought on military tactics, with
one group strongly recommending
so-called "area fire." which means,
in layman's terms, covering enemy
positions with a curtain of lead in
the hope that some of 1t will strike
the objectives. The other group
holds that aimed fire by skilled
marksmen is superior in battle effi-
cheney to the indiscriminate scat
tering of lead over the landscape.
This latter group back up their
arguments, In part, by a terse mes
sage sent to the War Department
by Gen. John ]. Pershing in 1918.
Send no more men to France" the
cable said in effect, unless they
are trained In the handling and fire
of the military rife"
"A rifle which jams is out of ac-
tion," points out Gen. Reckord.
"And q man may also be out Of
action by the jamming of a rife.