The M1 Tanker Garand,In 1944 US Army Ordnance initiated a program to find a shortened, lighter versi

The M1 Tanker Garand,In 1944 US Army Ordnance initiated a program to find a shortened, lighter version of the standard M1 Garand infantry rifle.  The common M1 Garand was a long and hefty rifle, and it was decided that a carbine variant would be ideal for paratroopers and other specialist troops.  One variant that was test was the T-26, a Garand variant that featured a barrel which had been shortened by 6 inches to a total barrel length of 18 inches.  The design was one of 150 designs submitted from common soldiers who had made personal modifications to their rifles in order to meet battlefield demands.  Testing of the T-26 began in 1944 at the Springfield Armory, and it became readily apparent that the new carbine had several issues.  First, the carbine’s recoil, muzzleflash, and report was overbearing.  Secondly the prototype was mechanically unsound.  Shortening the barrel also required shortening of the gas tube, which greatly affected the functioning of the action.  It was found that prolonged use (such as in combat) would wear down the parts of the action, leading to malfunctions and breakages.  It wasn’t until 1948 that the technical issues with the T-26 were worked out, by then the war was well over.  The T-26 was never adopted and only one surviving prototype remains, on display at the Springfield Armory Museum.The T-26 remained a forgotten design until the early 1960’s when a businessman named Robert E. Penney Jr. visited the Springfield Armory Museum.  Penney was head of a small time military surplus firm called National Ordnance (later Alpine Ordnance), which was in the business of selling cheap M1 Garands from mismatched surplus parts.  Penney came up with the idea of the “Tanker Garand” because as a former tank crewman, he believed they would have made excellent weapons to issue to tank crews.  The misnomer stuck giving many people the idea that the Tanker Garand actually was issued to tank crews.  In the 1960’s National Ordnance produced thousands of Tanker Garands from surpluse M1 Garand parts.  It was long before other small time manufacturers also produced their own Tanker Garands.  Today, the Tanker Garand is still produced and up for sale with some small time producers. -- source link

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