T20 Family: Springfield Makes the Garand a Grenade Launching Sniper Machine Gun (Ad-free)
Added 2025-11-17 12:00:05 +0000 UTCLate in 1944 the Ordnance Committee recommended adoption of a magazine-fed, select-fire version of the M1 Garand as a new standard US infantry rifle. Both Springfield and Remington developed rifles to meet the requirement, with Springfield's being the T20 and Remington's the T22.
The Springfield design went through several iterations from the original T20 to the T20E1 and T20E2, with the capability to launch rifle grenades, mount optical sights, and fire in either semiautomatic or full auto. The first examples of the final T20E2 design were ready in June 1945, but the program lost momentum in August when Japan surrendered. It did continue slowly until 1949, providing some of the basis for the eventual M14 rifle.
Thanks to the Springfield Armory National Historic Site for giving me access to these original examples from their reference collection to film for you! Don't miss the chance to visit the museum there if you have a day free in Springfield, Massachusetts:
https://www.nps.gov/spar/index.htm
Comments
Because WEIGHT; the BAR is a 16#(less mag) rifle in original form, even more in the inferior later -A2 config. The wt. limit on the M1 was 9.5#; they may have allowed that to climb to 10# with full mag in the T20 config.
Bruce Brodnax
2025-11-17 22:03:00 +0000 UTCdid not work out too good. though I like the m1/m14/mini14... .
Guido Schriewer
2025-11-17 20:04:04 +0000 UTCUnderstanding that the BAR cost about 4 times as much as an M1 to produce, why not step up BAR production instead? Or limit the improvements to the 20 round magazine as used in the T20E2?
ViejoLobo
2025-11-17 15:16:15 +0000 UTC
