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LOT 1304
Extremely Rare, Historic, and Extensively Documented “National
Treasure” U.S. Springfield Armory T1E2 “Model Shop” M1 Garand
Semi-Automatic Rifle, Serial Number “5”, as Photographed in Billy
Pyle’s “The Gas Trap Garand” with Book, Springfield Armory Research
Letter, U.S. Ordnance Records, Art Tuttle Letters, and Early En-Bloc Clip
- Serial no. 5, 30-06 Springfield cal., 22 3/8 inch round bbl., parkerized/blue
finish, walnut stock. Manufactured by the U.S. Springfield Armory model shop
c. 1932-1934, as one of the first 80 pre-mass production “T1E2” M1 Garand
semi-automatic trial rifles, popularly known amongst M1 Garand enthusiasts
and collectors as the “model shop” rifles, with this specific example, serial
number “5”, being the first completed. Following the intervention of
General Douglas MacArthur on the proposed adoption of the .276 Pedersen
cartridge for the new semi-automatic rifle program in early 1932 and the
successful modification of John C. Garand’s .30-06 Springfield chambered
T1E1 prototype (which suffered from a cracked bolt) with the T1E2, the U.S.
Ordnance Department placed an order with the U.S. Springfield Armory to
manufacture 80 of the rifles for troop trials in March of that year, for a total
of $80,000. Work on manufacturing these rifles commenced in 1932, with
each example, numbered “1” through “80”, machined, fitted, and assembled
by hand in the armory’s model shop, as the jigs and tooling that would later
manufacture the M1 rifle for mass production had not yet been developed,
leading to the “model shop” nickname. As such, the process of completing
the model shop rifles took well over a year and did not occur in numerical
order, as the components for each required varying levels of hand fitting and
adjustment. This specific rifle, serial number “5”, was the first of the model
shop rifles to be completed in early 1934 as discussed and photographed on
page 59 of “The Gas Trap Garand” by Billy Pyle, with this rifle formerly being a
part of the author’s personal collection.
This is further corroborated by an included Springfield Research Service letter,
dated August 2, 1995, and addressed to Billy Pyle from Chief Researcher
Franklin B. Mallory, which confirms the rifle by serial number as the first
of the 80 trial rifles completed and ready for testing at the U.S. Aberdeen
Proving Grounds, with the rifle shipped to the proving grounds from the
U.S. Springfield Armory on April 10, 1934, returned to the U.S. Springfield
Armory on April 24, 1934, for modification, and then sent to the U.S.
Ordnance Department Office in Washington, D.C., on July 3, 1934. The letter
references and includes seven copies of U.S. Ordnance documents found
at the Washington National Records Center that provide specific references
to the whereabouts of serial number “5” from April to July 1934. These
documents also provide noteworthy details on the completion of the first
five Model Shop rifles, with the first one, an April 11, 1934, dated “IMMEDIATE
ACTION” letter addressed to the Chief of Ordnance, Washington, D.C., from
the U.S Springfield Armory Commanding Officer Lt. Col. T. J. Smith, noting
that serial number “5” was shipped to the U.S. Aberdeen Proving Grounds
with three other rifles (serial numbers “1”, “3”, and “4”) along with 50 clips per
rifle and “Notes on Material” (which detailed the action, proper methods of
disassembly, assembly, cleaning, and adjustments), that each of the rifles had
been tested with 200 rounds prior to shipment from the armory, that one of
the rifles in the intended first batch of five to be completed (presumably serial
number “2” by process of elimination) was damaged during the preliminary
testing and could not be included in the shipment, and that during the
completion of the first five rifles it was found necessary to make a number
of minor adjustments which were implemented in the completion of the
remaining 75 Model Shop rifles. The 80 model shop rifles were extensively
tested over the following years as the M1 Garand design was further
developed and improved, but were subsequently considered “unserviceable”
by U.S. Ordnance once mass production was underway.
26 January, 1945
My dear General Campbell:
In my opinion, the M-1 Rifle is the greatest
battle implement ever devised.
Truly yours,
G.S. PATTON, JR.,
Lieut. General, U.S. Army,
Commanding.