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Title:RIFLE, MILITARY -  U.S. RIFLE M1E10 7.62MM SN# 3060727
Maker/Manufacturer:GARAND, JOHN C.
Date of Manufacture:08/01/1944
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:SPAR 3481
Measurements:OL:110.4CM 43 1/2" BL: 60.9CM 24"

Object Description:

U.S. RIFLE M1E10 7.62MM SN# 3060727
Manufactured by Springfield Armory, Springfield, Ma. in 1944 - Standard M1 fitted with Swedish Ljungman-type gas system. Consisted of long gas tube extending from the gas port to a support down the barrel. Test demonstrated heat problems.

Markings:
Receiver: U.S. RIFLE/CAL..30 M1/SPRINGFIELD/ARMORY/30660727.
Bolt: D28287-12SA/RE5B.
Stock: P in circle. S.A./M.

Notes: "Another design modification for the basic M1 Rifle was identified as the M1E10. This was an attempt to apply the Ljungman type of gas system in place of the standard impingement system. Although gas would be tapped from the barrel at about the same point (and at the same pressure), the Ljungman system pipes the gas to the point of application on the bolt assembly. Thus the use of the long operating rod with its manufacturing and maintenance problems might be avoided.
While no examples of this modification of the M1 are known to have been built, the gas system had found application in the Armalite series of rifles, the AR-10 and AR-15, and the M16/M16A1 rifles. The reader should not infer, however, that just because the Ljungman gas system has the advantage cited it is necessarily good. Many factors in addition to ease of production must be considered for military weapons. A significant drawback to this type of gas system is the very basic fact that distance can be equated to time. And 'time' for a hot gas means cooling. When hot propellant gases cool, trouble happens. Without a proper choice of propellant or without due regard for propellant chemistry, gas tubes clop, bolt mechanisms get dirty, and rifles malfunction. When this combination of events occurs during the height of a war, considerable effort and technical talent must be brought to bear on the problem. The current excellent performance of the M16 rifles system is a testimonial to the fact that this was done." - T.E. Cosgrove, American Rifleman, March, 1974.

References:
Stevens, Blake. U.S. RIFLE M14 FROM JOHN GARAND TO THE M21. Collector Grade Publications Inc. Toronto, Canada. 1991.

See, Historical Summary of Activities, 1Jul63-30Jun64.

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