eclancy
Member
Gentlemen,
This is just a part of the Garand Papers. Following this report by date would be the Ordnance files they are talking about. Have fun.
· Chapter Three
A file dated July 7, 1937, informs us of problems at Springfield Armory. The file is from Lt. Col. W. A. Borden, Ordnance, Springfield Armory, to Lt. Col. S.P. Spalding, Office, Chief of Ordnance, War Department, Washington, D. C. In it we find the following:
" Our expectation to assemble the first rifle this week has been modified by one or two minor delays which have developed since our letter of last Friday. A fixture on the last operation of the Follower Slide broke although we succeeded in getting a few through. To get these, we had to nurse the fixture a bit and parts were delayed.
" We received late Friday and examined the welded Operating Rods which we are having welded by Gilbert & Barker. These came in and were found to have the weld broken through the metal so that a broaching operation must be added to clean up these rods.
" The first trial lot of three bolts through Heat Treatment did not give sufficient hardness and these have to be reheat treated. Also the first trial run of condemned Receivers through the case hardening operation gave us rather brittle Receivers and we are running another trial lot through before putting the production Receivers in the furnace. We expected the first trial to give us satisfactory results and permit us to release the run on the production Receivers but the results require that the trial be repeated and this will delay us at least another day.
" From the outlook at present, it probably would be wiser to expect that the first gun will be assembled the latter part of next week. However, if we have luck, we should get most of the components through by the end of this week and possibly be able to start assembly at least by the middle of next week.
" None of the delays which I have cited are at all serious but are confusing in obtaining the assembly of the first rifle on a specific day. Rest assured that we are doing everything possible to for see these delays and make necessary corrections so that our estimates on the initiation of the production lot will not be delayed."
Are you CRAZY ? You must hand it to these guys, what with the fixture that makes the Follower Slide broken, and the bolts not heat treated right, and the Receivers being brittle, and the Operating Rods not welded right, they still think that they can have a production gun ready in one week. That has to be AMERICAN KNOW HOW. At least we now know that the first gun will not be ready by July 6th. Also that the welding job for the Operating Rods were given to Gilbert & Barker.
On July 9, 1937, we have a file from Springfield Armory, to Lt. Col. S. P. Spalding from Col. T. J. Smith, Commanding Officer, at the Armory. It is an update from the July 7th letter, and is as follows: " There has been no change in the Semi-Automatic Rifle situation since Borden's letter of July 7. The Bolts which came out soft are in the fire as I dictate this, ready to be taken out, and we trust that these will come out all right. The next trial of condemned Receivers in the carburizing furnace has been completed this morning. The Receivers have been hardened and tempered and apparently Rockwell satisfactorily. They have just at this moment been turned over to Tool Design for check of dimensions to determine the amount of warpage and they will be expedited to the Laboratory to test the depth of case and character of break. On the assumption that these turn out satisfactorily, we should start assembly of the first rifle the middle of next week.
A word to the WISE for CONGRESS:
"You cannot invade America. There is a rifle behind every blade of grass." Admiral Yamamoto
A Veteran, whether active duty, retired, national guard, or reserve, is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America” for an amount of “up to and including my life.”
Thanks again for taking the time and effort to read this data. I hope you have learned a little of the history of the M1 Garand.
Clancy
ps Could use some hits. I hope to have both sites update in soon. Have fun hope you enjoy and learn.
NRA Life Endowment
NRA Training Counselor
NRA Instructor
FSS 90% / BW X Speed Div by 1000 = PF
This is just a part of the Garand Papers. Following this report by date would be the Ordnance files they are talking about. Have fun.
· Chapter Three
A file dated July 7, 1937, informs us of problems at Springfield Armory. The file is from Lt. Col. W. A. Borden, Ordnance, Springfield Armory, to Lt. Col. S.P. Spalding, Office, Chief of Ordnance, War Department, Washington, D. C. In it we find the following:
" Our expectation to assemble the first rifle this week has been modified by one or two minor delays which have developed since our letter of last Friday. A fixture on the last operation of the Follower Slide broke although we succeeded in getting a few through. To get these, we had to nurse the fixture a bit and parts were delayed.
" We received late Friday and examined the welded Operating Rods which we are having welded by Gilbert & Barker. These came in and were found to have the weld broken through the metal so that a broaching operation must be added to clean up these rods.
" The first trial lot of three bolts through Heat Treatment did not give sufficient hardness and these have to be reheat treated. Also the first trial run of condemned Receivers through the case hardening operation gave us rather brittle Receivers and we are running another trial lot through before putting the production Receivers in the furnace. We expected the first trial to give us satisfactory results and permit us to release the run on the production Receivers but the results require that the trial be repeated and this will delay us at least another day.
" From the outlook at present, it probably would be wiser to expect that the first gun will be assembled the latter part of next week. However, if we have luck, we should get most of the components through by the end of this week and possibly be able to start assembly at least by the middle of next week.
" None of the delays which I have cited are at all serious but are confusing in obtaining the assembly of the first rifle on a specific day. Rest assured that we are doing everything possible to for see these delays and make necessary corrections so that our estimates on the initiation of the production lot will not be delayed."
Are you CRAZY ? You must hand it to these guys, what with the fixture that makes the Follower Slide broken, and the bolts not heat treated right, and the Receivers being brittle, and the Operating Rods not welded right, they still think that they can have a production gun ready in one week. That has to be AMERICAN KNOW HOW. At least we now know that the first gun will not be ready by July 6th. Also that the welding job for the Operating Rods were given to Gilbert & Barker.
On July 9, 1937, we have a file from Springfield Armory, to Lt. Col. S. P. Spalding from Col. T. J. Smith, Commanding Officer, at the Armory. It is an update from the July 7th letter, and is as follows: " There has been no change in the Semi-Automatic Rifle situation since Borden's letter of July 7. The Bolts which came out soft are in the fire as I dictate this, ready to be taken out, and we trust that these will come out all right. The next trial of condemned Receivers in the carburizing furnace has been completed this morning. The Receivers have been hardened and tempered and apparently Rockwell satisfactorily. They have just at this moment been turned over to Tool Design for check of dimensions to determine the amount of warpage and they will be expedited to the Laboratory to test the depth of case and character of break. On the assumption that these turn out satisfactorily, we should start assembly of the first rifle the middle of next week.
A word to the WISE for CONGRESS:
"You cannot invade America. There is a rifle behind every blade of grass." Admiral Yamamoto
A Veteran, whether active duty, retired, national guard, or reserve, is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America” for an amount of “up to and including my life.”
Thanks again for taking the time and effort to read this data. I hope you have learned a little of the history of the M1 Garand.
Clancy
ps Could use some hits. I hope to have both sites update in soon. Have fun hope you enjoy and learn.
NRA Life Endowment
NRA Training Counselor
NRA Instructor
FSS 90% / BW X Speed Div by 1000 = PF