The American Classic: M1 Garand

Nothing is quite as definitive and iconic for American ground forces during World War 2 than the badass M-1 Garand. If you needed to kill Nazis or stop a banzai charge, there was no better friend (except maybe the BAR) to have than the M-1 Garand.This fine piece of military equipment was designed by a Canadian born designer (We guess Canada did something cool or at least they used to), John Garand who went to work for the United States Springfield Armory and designed what General George S. Patton called "the greatest battle implement ever devised". The Garand packed a wallop that's for sure and nothing slows down the enemy like a sucking chest wound, which the Garand was almost certain to deliver.Replacing the 1903 Springfield, the Garand was the first rifle issued to the U.S. military that would dispense hate and discontent in the semi-automatic fashion. Gone were the days of working the bolt on the 1903. Now, soldiers, sailors, and Marines could all lay down sustained suppressive fire, with a projectile that really made the enemy stop and re-evaluate their life decisions. Mainly through the gaping hole now in their bodies.

What left that gaping hole? Well, it was the .30-06 round of course. For years that round stopped the enemies of America dead in their tracks.The M-1 fostered a new era of warfare, where sustained accurate fire supported maneuver warfare which is America's warfare. While certainly men could operate those bolt action rifles with extreme speed and accuracy, the Garand was instrumental in beating back the forces of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. With a blistering 40-50 rounds a minute compared to the 1903 Springfields 10-15 rounds a minute, the Garand really upped the wall of lead production at the time.We may have moved on as technology advanced, but lets never forget the awesome job the M-1 did in ruining the Axis powers plans for world domination.