Evening star., 1941-03-02
By Richard L. Stokes.

proving ground at Aberdeen, Md, Oc-
tober 9 and 10 of that year, and was re-
turned for correction of defects revealed
by the test.
A second trial was made at Aberdeen
during February, 1882, and the model
was again sent back to Springfield be-
cause of difficulties encountered. After
third test in March, 1882, an order was
given for the manufacture of 80 rifles.
They were completed in May, 1884. For
extended service tests, so were delivered
to the Infantry Board at Fort Benning,
Ga, and 80 to the Cavalry Board at Fort
Riley, Kans. These trials concluded in
December of the same year. The Garand
was officially standardized on January 6,
1886. The first delivery of production
weapons was made in September, 1887,
at rate of 10 day.
Garand Is Semi Automatic.
The Garand is defined as "semi-auto-
matte" because the trigger must be
pulled for each separate shot In full
automatic weapons, until the ammuni-
ton cylinder, chamber or belt is ex-
hausted, fire continues as long as the
trigger is drawn. The motive power for
reloading Semi-automatic rifle may be
obtained from the recoil or kick of the
weapon, or else from its propellant pow
der gases. The Garand is a gas-operated
weapon. An example of the recoil-
operated rifle is its most publicized COM
petitor, the johnson semi-automatic.
In this ordeal of some IA years, the
Garand was compelled to meet the ri
valry not only of entries in its own field,
but also the formidable competition of
the 1908 Springfield, idol of the dough-
boy, which is ranked as the most accu-
rate and reliable weapon of the sort in
the world. The record adverse to the
Garand and then in its favor will now
be stated.
Following the Fort Riley tests, Mai.
Gen. John K. Herr, chief of cavalry, was
quoted as announcing that his arm was
in favor of "a rugged rife" This was
widely interpreted as condemnation of
the Garand
Testifying before the Senate Military
Affairs Committee, Capt. George o. Van
Orden, commanding officer of the rifle
range at Marine Corps Barracks, Guam
tico. Va, related that lie had fired COM
petitive tests of the Garand and john
son rifles, covering slow and rapid fire
at distances of 300 and 1000 yards. For
combined rate-of-f1re and accuracy per-
formance, he found the latter to be go
per cent superior to the former. The
efficiency scores were as follows: Garand,
71.3 per cent; johnson, 812 per cent.
Gen. Reckord's Testimony.
Even more drastic was the testimony
OF Maj. Gen. M. A. Reckord, commander
of the 29th Division of the National
Guard, before a House Appropriations
subcommittee. He declared bluntly that,
in my opinion, great mistake has been
made in adopting the Garand."
Further declarations were that the
Garand jams unless it is oiled after so
to 100 shots of MI ammunition, and
after $50 to 200 shots of M-2; that the
barrel bends and the gun is painful to
handle when it becomes heated from
rapid fire; that high temperature causes
oil to squirt back and blind the marks
man, and that none of the European
belligerents in the present conflict is
making use of semi-automatic rifles The
Germans are said to cling to the Mauser
and the British to the Lee-Enfield, both
of them long-range, time-tested and ac-
curate Single-shot guns like the Spring.
field"
In rebuttal appear spokesmen of the
Ordnance Division and Army officers
who have testified at various congress
sional hearings. The gist of their case
Is as follows:
l. The Cavalry Board did not condemn
the Garand rifle. After the Fort Riley
tests, it recommended certain changes,
which have since been incorporated in
the weapon. Rihemen of the 1st Cavalry
Division at Fort Bliss are equipped ex-
clusively with Garands.
2. In recommending the Garand, the
Ordnance Division had in mind COM
bat and not a target weapon. The fact
of its adoption by no means indicates a
belief that it is perfect. Every weapon
undergoes persistent improvement as
long as it is in use. Numerous correc-
tions have already been made in the
Garand and will continue. The SPRING
field has been in production nearly 40
years, but three improvements in de-
sign have been introduced in the last
four years.