Recently I had the good fortune to look over and then purchase two battlefield pickups that figure prominently in U.S. semi-automatic small arms design. These were an M-1 rifle and a Johnson 1941 semi-automatic rifle (Serial Number 9812). These were the rifles that were the cornerstones of the “so-called” Garand-Johnson controversy in the early 1940’s. This wasn’t as much of a controversy as some may believe as the M-1 rifle was already into production for several years and it was extremely unlikely, considering the international situation that production would stop on the M-1 rifle to manufacture the 1941 Johnson rifle. Melvin Johnson, the inventor, did try to get the U.S. Marines to adopt the rifle and his light machine gun as these men were armed primarily with the 1903 Springfield rifle. Melvin Johnson felt that a nation at war needed rifles and the two could stand side by side during the hostilities. As it was, these two rifles served with the U.S. Marine Corps during the war; the Johnson rifle was used by the regular Marines and the Marine Raiders. The Marines had some of the Johnson rifles early on and they removed the front sight guards so that they would not confuse the shooter in the jungle and be more like the front sight of the M-1903 Springfield. The Marines were trained on the l903 Springfield which just had a single front sight; no guards.
PROVENANCE
These two rifles were brought back from the southwest Pacific by a sailor who served on the USS Mercury in World War Two. This was primarily a cargo ship used for resupply but also engaged in the evacuation of dead and wounded marines from the battlefront. The USS Mercury (AK-42) was launched 15 July, 1939 and decommissioned on 28 May, 1959. It was eventually scrapped in 1975. Her maiden voyage was completed 27 September, 1942 after having delivered petroleum products, landing mats, dynamite, engineering equipment and food to Noumea and Guadalcanal. On 17 February, 1944 she landed men and supplies on Engebi Island and Eniwetok Island and then headed to Kwajalein to unload casualties for eventual return to the United States. On 7 June, 1944 she anchored south of Garapan, Saipan and was attacked by a Japanese bomber on the 26th that plunged a torpedo into the side of the ship….which did not explode. The wing of the Japanese plane hit the ship’s starboard boom and crashed into the sea. After repairs at Pearl Harbor the USS Mercury returned to the 7th Fleet to take part in the liberation of the Philippines. She then continued to serve by bringing cargo and reinforcements to the Dulag beachhead and Leyte. In January, 1945 she arrived in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon where she unloaded her cargo in two days and then returned to Leyte to embark units of the 38th Infantry Division. She was refitted so that she could unload cargo at sea and serving in this capacity spent 51 days off loading cargo to fast carriers near Okinawa. This completed her World War II service in the SW Pacific, yet she went on to serve in the Navy until she was retired.
The sailor who brought these rifles back from the war zone participated in the reinforcement of Guadalcanal from 8 – 15 December 1942, and then the Marshall Islands campaign from 23, January 1944 to March l944. He participated in the invasion of Saipan from 26 June, 1944 to 2 July, l944 and then the invasion of Leyte Island, P.I. from 20 – 24 October 1944. Following that he was involved with the invasion of Lingayen Gulf, Luzon Island, P.I. from 9 – 12 January, 1945. The final campaign that he participated in was in the support of Task Force 58 during the Okinawa campaign 26 march to 12 May, 1945.
THE RIFLES
The M-1 rifle was manufactured by Springfield Armory and has a serial number of 1,567,600 and a barrel date of SA 5-43 which is correct for a rifle made in June or July, 1945. All of the parts are correct for a rifle of this period including the rear sight with a locking bar. The “P” stamp and the inspector’s stamp are also on the stock although some overzealous owner gave the wood a light sanding. This rifle has seen a lot of use during its campaigns in the SW Pacific. The throat has a reading of “5” on the erosion gauge and the gauge rattles in the muzzle of the rifle. The bore is black and has seen a lot of firing. It is rare to find an M-1 or any other rifle that has come off the battlefield in its original, battlefield condition with the correct parts that were on it when it left the armory. So many M-1 rifles that one finds at the CMP or the gun shows have been retrofitted during arsenal rebuilds or were recipients of endless use in many other countries. It is noteworthy that these two rifles have stayed in the sailor’s family since he brought them home; first to his brother and then the final recipient, his nephew. This has resulted in them not being reworked, reparkerized, restocked or sporterized to some degree. It is unfortunate that it was previously owned by a Marine who suffered the indignities of the battlefield. It was brought to the attention of this writer that when rifles which were originally issued to a specific Marine were brought onto a ship, they were thrown overboard.
The Johnson M-1941 rifle also has an interesting background. The author of this article has had the rare fortune of going through the Johnson files in l972 -1973 while attending University in New Haven, CT. At that time the files and the log books of the Johnson rifles were complete. Several interesting facts are pertinent at this point in my dialog. Virtually all of the 30,000 M-1941 Johnson rifles went to the Netherlands Purchasing Commission (NPC). If you believe what you hear at the gun shows, then most of them were “Marine rifles.” Bruce Canfield, in his book on the Johnson rifles and machine guns feels that only about 600 were used by the Marines. Of these only about 6 can be verified by serial numbers. Some were lost in a fire at Pendleton at San Diego and 100 were purchased by Melvin Johnson after the war. The serial numbers were not to be found of these 100 on the invoice of the sale. Furthermore, Melvin Johnson repaired all of these rifles with new parts as required and then sold them for $250 each. Only a small quantity were used in tests by the U.S. Army as more of a matter of courtesy since the Army already had their favored rifle in production; the M-1 rifle. When the Marines requested a small quantity of Johnson rifles, they were pulled from the NPC orders and shipped to the requested Marine Corps base. Thus, it is extremely hard to verify an original Marine Johnson rifle. AS the Marines were under the authority of the Navy, the Marines choose not to purchase any Johnson rifles and machine guns en-mass and let the Navy do the purchasing including the use of the infamous Reising sub-machinegun!
One of the recipients of Johnson M-1941 rifles and light machine guns were the Raider Battalions. Having been trained in the use of the M-1903 Springfield rifle, they preferred that the front sight was not encumbered by front sight guards. These “ears” were then ground off as was done on another Marine rifle owned by this author. The rifle being discussed in this treatise has these ears removed. It was fortunate that I obtained this rifle when I did as the previous owner wanted to replace the front sight due to this obvious modification!! This would have rendered this rifle less interesting and less valuable both historically and financially.
Only one ledger remains of the Johnson M-1941 log books and that is the one for those rifles manufactured with no letter prefix to the serial number. The second log book had those with an “A” prefix and the third log book has the serial numbers with the “B” prefix. There are no Johnson rifles with “C”, “D”, etc. prefixes. Although many of the parts have serial numbers, they left the factory without matching serial numbers.
This Johnson rifle was manufactured 3/18/42 which is about the time that a Raider Battalion left Quantico, VA and shipped out to the west coast. The barrel serial number presently on the rifle does not match that which was on the barrel when it left the factory. This mixing of barrels could well have been done when the armorer ground off the ears on the front sight. This bore is black but not worn out by any means. The rifle is in overall good condition and was not beaten to death. Whoever used it in the islands took good care of it or did not get to use it very long during the war. The stock had a light sanding as did the M-1 rifle, but not so much as to distract from the looks of the rifle. It, like the M-1, was not refinished! No other modifications of the rifle were carried out. This is definitely a Raider rifle that came off the battlefield. What luck to find these two rifles from World War Il with the same family.
The Johnson rifles and light machine guns were used in a very limited number from Guadalcanal to Okinawa. There is a photo of a number of 1903 Springfield rifles and one Johnson stacked “tepee” fashion on Edson’s Ridge on Guadalcanal. I have a copy of a letter sent to Marvin Johnson from a Marine who used one in Guadalcanal and beyond. He died on Okinawa. I have a bayonet that was picked up at Okinawa by a relic hunter. This lock on the bayonet is gone and that is probably how it got separated from the rifle. Recently I read a book on one Marine’s experiences in the Korean War and it relates the story of a “gunny” sergeant carrying a Johnson rifle. And you may have seen the photos in Life magazine in 1962 of Cuban expatriates training with Johnson rifles. Although some of the gun show crowd tell stories on why the Johnson was not liked by the Marines or whoever, I have found nothing but praise for the rifle by those who used it in the S.W. Pacific. I talked with a Marine Raider in the 4th Raider Battalion who used a Johnson light machine gun throughout the war. He never changed magazines but just kept topping off the magazine using 5 road stripper clips.
Both of these battlefield pick-ups are interesting weapons and gives one an insight as to what was used during the campaigns and the amount of use that they took. Although many of the firearms that repose in museums and our own paltry collections have a story to tell as to where they served, their voices are mute. These two weapons are also mute but by knowing where the sailor was that brought them back lends a great deal more relevance about their journey through the battle of the Pacific Theater of Operations.
About The Author:
Clyde Cremer is a historian and firearms collector and has done extensive research on Johnson firearms. He is also selling the rifles mentioned above.
You can read more about a different Johnson rifle here:
http://talkingwithclyde.blogspot.com/2008/12/1941-marine-model-johnson-semi.html
Clyde can be contacted at:
Email:
co120@postnet.com
jscremer@gmail.com
Phone:
719 547-2135
