Garand, John C.

Garand, John C.

▪ American engineer
in full  John Cantius Garand  
born Jan. 1, 1888, St. Rémi, Quebec, Can.
died Feb. 16, 1974, Springfield, Mass., U.S.
 Canadian-born U.S. firearms engineer, inventor of the M1 semiautomatic rifle, with which U.S. infantrymen fought in World War II and the Korean War.

      In 1898 Garand's family moved to Connecticut, where he learned the machinist's trade in textile mills. As a young man he worked in precision-tool factories in Providence, R.I., and New York City. During World War I he designed a lightweight, fully automatic machine rifle; it was rejected by the U.S. Army but earned Garand a position in 1918–19 as a gun designer with the National Bureau of Standards. He was then transferred to the Springfield (Mass.) Armory, where he was put to work designing a semiautomatic replacement for the Springfield bolt-action repeater. In 1920 he became a U.S. citizen.

      After 17 years of working under exacting and often contradictory military specifications, Garand came up with a gas-operated weapon of .30-inch calibre that was 43 inches (109 cm) long yet weighed only 9.5 pounds (4.3 kg). His rifle was fed from an eight-round clip. Adopted in 1936, the M1 became the first standard-issue autoloading infantry rifle in the world. Millions of the accurate, efficient, and durable weapons were produced in World War II, giving U.S. troops such an advantage in firepower that General George S. Patton (Patton, George Smith) called the M1 “the greatest battle implement ever devised.” Signing over all patents of his invention to the U.S. government, Garand worked on other experimental rifles until he retired in 1953.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Garand, John C(antius) — born Jan. 1, 1888, St. Rémi, Que., Can. died Feb. 16, 1974, Springfield, Mass., U.S. Canadian born U.S. firearms engineer. He moved with his family to Connecticut in 1898. From 1919 he worked as a civilian employee at the Springfield Armory.… …   Universalium

  • Garand, John C(antius) — (1 ene. 1888, St. Rémi, Quebec, Canadá–16 feb. 1974, Springfield, Mass., EE.UU.). Ingeniero estadounidense de armas de fuego, nacido en Canadá. Se trasladó con su familia a Connecticut en 1898. Desde 1919 trabajó como empleado civil en… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • John Garand — John C. Garand (links im Bild) John Cantius Garand (* 1. Januar 1888 in St. Rémi (Kanada), † 16. Februar 1974 in Springfield (Massachusetts)) war der Waffenkonstrukteur, der das erste halbautomatische Selbstladegewehr einwickelt hat, das bei den… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Garand rifle — /gar euhnd, geuh rand /. See M 1. [1935 40; named after John C. GARAND] * * * ▪ weapon also called  M1 rifle        semiautomatic, gas operated .30 calibre rifle adopted by the U.S. Army in 1936. It was developed by John C. Garand (Garand, John C …   Universalium

  • john — /jon/, n. Slang. 1. a toilet or bathroom. 2. (sometimes cap.) a fellow; guy. 3. (sometimes cap.) a prostitute s customer. [generic use of the proper name] * * * I known as John Lackland born Dec. 24, 1167, Oxford, Eng. died Oct. 18/19, 1216,… …   Universalium

  • John — /jon/, n. 1. the apostle John, believed to be the author of the fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and the book of Revelation. 2. See John the Baptist. 3. (John Lackland) 1167? 1216, king of England 1199 1216; signer of the Magna Carta 1215 (son of… …   Universalium

  • John — (as used in expressions) Abbot, Sir John (Joseph Caldwell) Acton (de Aldenham), John Emerich Edward Dahlberg Acton, 1 barón Adams, John Adams, John (Coolidge) Adams, John Quincy Alden, John Altgeld, John Peter André, John Arden, John Ashbery,… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Garand — Pour les articles homonymes, voir M1. Garand M1 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Garand M1 — Garand Pour les articles homonymes, voir M1. Garand M1 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • John Garand — John Cantius Garand (January 1, 1888 ndash; February 16, 1974) was a designer of firearms best known for creating the first successful semi automatic rifle to be put into active military service, the M1 Garand.Garand was born in St. Rémi, Quebec… …   Wikipedia

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