This M1 Garand was built by Springfield Armory in about October 1942 and carries the six digit serial 8826xx. Six digit Springfield receivers are the earlier wartime guns: the armory’s numbering did not pass one million until late in 1942, and the October 1942 date comes from Springfield’s published month by month production figures. The receiver is marked U.S. RIFLE CAL. .30 M1 SPRINGFIELD ARMORY. The barrel is a Danish arsenal barrel, stamped with a crown over VAR, the drawing number D 6535448, the date 11-66 for November 1966, the number 311 and a DK proof. A good many of the smaller parts carry the PB mark of Beretta: the trigger housing is marked D-28290-PB, the bolt D-28287 P.B., and the clip ejector, the follower and the follower arm are PB marked as well. The walnut stock carries no cartouche. The bore is mirror bright and the rifle is mechanically excellent. It comes with a Korean marked web sling.
The M1 Garand was adopted in 1936 and was the first semi-automatic rifle to become the standard issue arm of any army. It was designed by John Garand at Springfield Armory, is chambered in .30-06, and feeds from an eight round en bloc clip that is pressed into the magazine from above and thrown clear with the distinctive ping once the last round is fired.
Denmark was occupied by Germany from 1940 to 1945 and rebuilt its forces afterwards with American help, joining NATO as a founding member in 1949 and signing a mutual defence agreement with the United States in 1950. The Garand came with that agreement. The Americans first lent Denmark some twenty thousand rifles, which entered service in 1950 and took the designation Gevaer m/50 from the year they were issued. Denmark bought tens of thousands more from the United States over the following decade, and ordered a further twenty thousand or so built under contract in Italy, divided between Beretta and Breda, which is why Danish rifles so often carry PB and BMB marked parts alongside their American ones. The rifles were looked after at Vaabenarsenalet, the Arms Arsenal in Copenhagen, which made replacement barrels marked VAR and dated by month and year until the arsenal closed in 1970. Denmark chose not to rebarrel its Garands for the 7.62 NATO cartridge, so they served out their time in .30-06. When they were finally retired, large numbers were returned to the United States and passed on to collectors through the Civilian Marksmanship Program. The Danes never marked the receivers, so it is the barrel and the smaller parts that record a rifle’s Danish service.
Specifications
Manufacturer: Springfield Armory
Country of origin: United States
Model: U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1 (Garand)
Action: Gas-operated semi-automatic
Caliber: .30-06
Serial: 8826xx, six digit
Year: Receiver about October 1942
Barrel: Danish, crown over VAR, D 6535448, dated 11-66, numbered 311, DK proof
Trigger housing: D-28290-PB (Beretta)
Bolt: D-28287 P.B. (Beretta)
Other Beretta parts: Clip ejector, follower and follower arm, all PB marked
Stock: Walnut, no cartouche
Bore: Mirror bright
Mechanical condition: Excellent
Service history: Danish issue as the Gevaer m/50, rebarrelled at Vaabenarsenalet in November 1966
Included: Korean marked web sling
