M1 Tanker
Did the military ever have a M1 Garand "tanker"? Just looked at one, It's an SA, BBL says 1957 and asking $600.00[?]
It will hurt you, More than it will hurt me..
Life Member... N R A
American Legion, MECU, MWCA, SMSC, BSC, NASDS
Thanks for all the help!
It will hurt you, More than it will hurt me..
Life Member... N R A
American Legion, MECU, MWCA, SMSC, BSC, NASDS
Thanks for all the help!
0
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The US Army experimented with them during WWII, and they didn't work well. I believe that there may be a couple of prototypes still in military museums. None were ever issued to troops or released to civilians.
Several commercial companies have made so-called "tanker" conversions, but many of these rifles do not function properly. In any case, they are still rather bulky, and the muzzle blast & recoil are particularly unpleasant.
I don't think that the asking price is out of line if you can get a full refund if it fails to function. Personally, I wouldn't want one at any price.
Neal0 -
I never saw or heard of one in WW 2 in Europe and we had he 601
T.D. BN. and the 756 tank Bn. attached to us. Most tankers seemed
to have the M-3 (ugh) or the Thompson or a few M-1 carbines. Or
the 1911a1 pistol. Yes about 10 years ago I did have one "so called
Tanker M-1" but was a civilian made. Terrible muzzle blast. Hope
Mark Christian get into this with some true facts as I would sure
like to get the truth. Or anyone with true facts. What was the
make and ser. # of the reciever, and does the barrel marked 57 have
other markings showing it was original G.I. issue.
One not too old to learn. Joe0 -
Neal: you posted while I was still typing. 0 -
ItGoBang, no shortend M1 Garand rifle ever existed beyond the prototype stages. Near the end of WWII The Pacific Warfare Board did approach the Ordanace Department with the idea of producing a shortened M1 rifle for use in the Pacific Theater. There had already been an experimental Garand Model M1E5 produced by Springfield Armory with an 18" barrel and a folding metal stock for possible use by paratroops. The rifle was a flop due to harsh recoil, tremendous muzzel blast, and assorted functioning problems. SA managed to over come most of the reliablity issues and accepted the Pacific War Boards request for 15,000 of the shortend barrel M1's with fixed wooden stocks, to be called the T26 rifle. The war soon ended and the project, along with the entire 15,000 unit order, was cancelled.
After the war various commercial firm were sitting on top of mountains of surplus M1 parts, including a number of barrels with badly nicked muzzels or otherwise DEMILED near the muzzel. A quick removal of 4" of barrel and a fast recrowning of the muzzel and you had a decent 18" M1 Garand barrel. Your SA 1957 barrel is clearly one of these DEMILED chop jobs as the timing for production is perfect. The name "tanker" was simply a marketing ploy to have people invision a compact and fast handling rifle. The first of these "tankers" were marketed in the early 1960's and they soon received a well deserved reputation for misfires, excessive muzzel blast, poor accuracy, and a host of functioning problems. Years later firms like Springfield Armory Inc. produced new "tanker" rifles which were reliable enough, but still suffered from the accuracy and muzzel blast. There is nothing wrong with purchasing one of these shortend M1 Rifles if it functions correctly, but it has no real value other than as a shooter and most folks are soon disenchanted with their "tankers" and simply pass them on to the next buyer.
Mark T. Christian0 -
WOW!! again Mark, thanks for the info.... And nmyers, joeaf1911a1..
I just got back from the range, Met the guy with the tanker.. I had some ammo, Winchester, and surplus Korean. Put 8 in the clip, it went FULL AUTO!!!!!!!! 5 rounds then JAM! The guy said, "it just needs a good cleaning"( right ) So, I tried it again... Different ammo, 1 shot "JAM".. again 1 shot "JAM" Told him, SORRY, but NO THANKS! As I got to my car... I looked back and saw someone trying to deal on the tanker [8]
It will hurt you, More than it will hurt me..
Life Member... N R A
American Legion, MECU, MWCA, SMSC, BSC, NASDS
Thanks for all the help!0 -
I have a "tanker" Garand I bought about 10 years ago. It is in 7.62 caliber.
It functions fine, but as previously mentioned it has lots of muzzle blast and more felt recoil than my 4 full size Garands in 06'.
Mark, Do you know how they shortened the op rods for use on the tanker rifles? Did they cut them in the middle and reweld so as to keep the gas piston portion in tact? Or what?0 -
That is the way it was done Lefty. The cut was typically made at the junction of the handle section and the tube section of the operating rod. These two pieces leave the factory welded so it would make since to perform the modification at that point. Once the tube was shortend to its new length it was rewelded to the handle and then the tube had to be bent so the rod would function correctly. All of this was in the hands of the fellow who performed the work: If he was a skilled welder, a good tube bender,and experienced with M1 Service Rifles there would be few problems. If he were neither and had never even seen an M1 before...well you could expect plenty of cycling problems.
Mark T. Christian0
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