U.S. Springfield Armory T1E2 M1 Garand Rifle Serial Number "5"

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  Lot #1304  (Sale Order: 305 of 597) 
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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

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. As a result, many of the model shop rifles were discarded and destroyed by U.S Ordnance, making surviving examples today extremely rare, especially in T1E2 configuration such as this rifle. Other surviving examples include serial number "1" in the U.S. Springfield Armory Museum collection, serial number "2" in the U.S. Rock Island Arsenal Museum collection, and serial number "3" in a private collection, as photographed on pages 105-107 of “The M1 Garand Rifle” by Bruce Canfield, with serial number “5” also photographed on pages 99 (along with the early pattern experimental .30 caliber en-bloc clip included with the rifle) and 104 of that publication.
more... Provenance: The John C. Garand Collection; The Art Tuttle Collection; The Billy Pyle Collection

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This item is part of Premier Firearms Auction - Day 2
 Saturday, May 3, 2025 | 9:00 AM  Central
 
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U.S. Springfield Armory T1E2 M1 Garand Rifle Serial Number "5"
U.S. Springfield Armory T1E2 M1 Garand Rifle Serial Number "5"
Lot number: 1304
Seller: Rock Island Auction Company
Event: Premier Firearms Auction - Day 2
Ends: Saturday, May 3 | 9:00 AM  Central

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