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NH_Pilot · June 6, 2013, 12:22 PM

There was an attempt at a D-Day thread which inspired a question about the M1 Garand and how the airborne trooper deployed it.

The night of 6 June 1944 a some friends, now old and some gone, stepped out of C-47's into the night over St Mere Eglise. Last weekend I was standing in the atrium lobby of the Airborne and Special Ops museum in Fayettevill NC, outside Ft Bragg. There are two displays, the first of which is a mannequin hanging from the ceiling under a 1944 silk parachute in full 1944 jump gear. Behind that display there is a display of a present day trooper under an MC-4 with oxygen, ruck, and his M-16 strapped horizontally across his torso.

In 1944 the rifle was strapped to the upper right leg of the soldier in a canvas bag. My understanding, and looking at the display, is that the M1 breaks down into maybe 2 parts which are put back together after landing, and hopefully before having an immediate need for that weapon.

Can an M1 owner explain the breakdown and reassembly that these guys did?

Thanks!

Wes

P.S. The one place in France where they still love Americans is St Mere Eglise.

June 6, 2013, 12:22 PM	#1
NH_Pilot Member Join Date: November 26, 2012 Posts: 33	M1 Garand Airborne Carriage There was an attempt at a D-Day thread which inspired a question about the M1 Garand and how the airborne trooper deployed it. The night of 6 June 1944 a some friends, now old and some gone, stepped out of C-47's into the night over St Mere Eglise. Last weekend I was standing in the atrium lobby of the Airborne and Special Ops museum in Fayettevill NC, outside Ft Bragg. There are two displays, the first of which is a mannequin hanging from the ceiling under a 1944 silk parachute in full 1944 jump gear. Behind that display there is a display of a present day trooper under an MC-4 with oxygen, ruck, and his M-16 strapped horizontally across his torso. In 1944 the rifle was strapped to the upper right leg of the soldier in a canvas bag. My understanding, and looking at the display, is that the M1 breaks down into maybe 2 parts which are put back together after landing, and hopefully before having an immediate need for that weapon. Can an M1 owner explain the breakdown and reassembly that these guys did? Thanks! Wes P.S. The one place in France where they still love Americans is St Mere Eglise.