M1941 Johnson rifle

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Johnson M1941

Type Semi-automatic rifle
Place of origin USA
Service history
In service 1941–1945
Used by United States, Holland.
Production history
Designer Melvin Johnson
Designed 1939
Number built ~ 20 000
Variants -
Specifications
Weight 4.3 kg (9.5 lb)
Length 1156 mm
Barrel length 558 mm
Cartridge .30-06 Springfield
7 x 57 mm Mauser
Action Short-recoil, rotating bolt
Rate of fire semi-automatic
Muzzle velocity 865 m/s (2840 ft/s)
Effective range 550 m (600 yd)
Feed system 10 round cylindrical magazine
Sights Adjustable Iron Sights

The M1941 Rifle was an American short-recoil operated semiautomatic rifle designed by Melvin Johnson prior to World War II. The M1941 competed unsuccessfully with the U.S. M1 Garand.

Contents

[edit] Design

The M1941 rifle used the energy from recoil to operate the rifle. As the bullet and propellant gases moved down the barrel, they imparted a force on the bolt head that was locked to the barrel. The barrel, together with the bolt, moved a short distance rearward until the bullet left the barrel and pressure in the bore had dropped to safe levels. The barrel then stopped against a shoulder allowing the bolt carrier to continue rearward under the momentum imparted by the initial recoil stage. A cam arrangement then rotated and unlocked the bolt to continue the operating cycle. The Johnson rifle utilized a 10-round rotary magazine and utilized a two-piece stock.

This system had some advantages over the M1 Garand, including less perceived recoil, greater magazine capacity, and the ability to load the rifle while it was in battery. Unfortunately, the Johnson's recoiling barrel mechanism resulted in excessive vertical shot dispersion that was never fully cured during its production life, and was prone to malfunction when a bayonet was attached to the reciprocating barrel. The Johnson also employed a number of small parts that were easily lost during field stripping. Partially because of lack of development, the M1941 Johnson was less rugged and reliable than the M1 Garand, though this was a matter of degree and was not a universal opinion among those that had used both weapons in combat.

[edit] History

Melvin Johnson campaigned heavily for the adoption of the Johnson rifle by the U.S. Army and other service branches. However, after limited testing, the U.S. Army rejected the Johnson in favor of the M1 Garand rifle developed by Springfield Armory. The M1941 Johnson was ordered by the Netherlands for issue to its troops in the Dutch East Indies, but the Japanese invaded the islands before the rifles could be shipped from California. At this time, the U.S. Marine Corps found itself in need of a modern fast-firing infantry rifle, and acquired some rifles from the Dutch East Indies shipment for issue to its Marine Raider and Paramarine battalions then preparing to deploy for action in the Pacific theatre. By all accounts, the M1941 Johnson performed acceptably in combat with the Marines in the early days of the Pacific fighting.

Despite repeated requests to adopt the rifle by the Marine Corps.[1], the Johnson rifle also lacked the support of US Army Ordnance, which had already invested considerable sums in the development of the M1 Garand and its revised gas operating system, then just going into full production. Johnson was successful in selling small quantities of the Johnson Light Machine Gun to the U.S. armed forces, and this weapon was later used by both Para-Marines and the Army's First Special Service Force.[2]

[edit] Notes

Melvin Johnson continued to develop small arms. In 1955, he was asked to assist Fairchild/ArmaLite in (unsuccessfully) promoting Eugene Stoner's AR-10 rifle with the U.S. Department of Defense, then with ArmaLite and Colt's Manufacturing Company as an advocate for the AR-15. The AR-15 used a similar bolt design to the M1941 Johnson, though it was not identical. The AR-15 is still manufactured today in the guise of the M16 rifle and variants. One of his last postwar ventures was to promote a 5.7 mm version of the M1 Carbine, aka "the Spitfire".[3]

[edit] Other firearms

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Weeks, John, WWII Small Arms, Galahad Books, 1980
  2. ^ Pikula, Sam (Maj.), The Armalite AR-10, 1998
  3. ^ Barnes, Frank C., Cartridges of the World, DBI Books, 1989

[edit] Further reading

  • Smith, Joseph E., Small Arms of the World, Stackpole Books, 1969.
  • Weeks, John, WWII Small Arms, Galahad Books, 1980.
  • Barnes, Frank C., Cartridges of the World, DBI Books, 1989
  • Pikula, Sam (Maj.), The Armalite AR-10, 1998.
  • Canfield, Bruce N., Johnson Rifles and Machine Guns, Mowbray Publishing, 2002.

[edit] See also

United States infantry weapons of World War II and Korea
Side arms
Colt M1911/A1 | M1917 revolver | Smith & Wesson "Victory" revolver
Rifles & carbines
Springfield M1903 | M1 Garand | M1 Carbine | M1941 Johnson | Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR)
Submachine guns
Thompson ("Tommy Gun") M1928/M1/A1 | M3 "Grease Gun" | Reising M50/M55 | United Defense M42
Machine guns & other larger weapons
Browning M1917 | Browning M1919 | Johnson LMG | Browning M2 HMG | Bazooka | M2 flamethrower
Cartridges used during World War II and the Korean War
.45 ACP | .38 Special | .30-06 Springfield | .30 Carbine | 9 mm Luger | .50 BMG
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