Canadian IHC Garand?

[purple]

Actually Canada did use the Garand,but in pre-IHC times. The 6th Cdn Inf Div was formed in 1945 to be a part of the Invasion of Japan in co-operation with US forces. For the sake of interoperability and logistics,the force structure was organized in conformity with the US Army(regiments instead of brigades,etc) and the Div was equipped and trained with US infantry small arms.

I suspect that some/all of these weapons and associated spares and equipment may have wound up in Cdn supply depots as they were a special issue for the Japanese operation which never came off. A friend has attested to the fact that Garand parts were held in Cdn Army inventory and that some parts of obvious Cdn origin were re-imported from Denmark in the late 1990s.My personal copy of the 1947 TM came out of the technical reference library in 25 Central Ordnance Depot,Montreal.

When I joined the Cdn Army in 1964 most of our officers and NCOs were WW2 and/or Korean vets and many had discussed the fact that Garands and carbines were often unofficially aquired and used by Cdn troops in Korea because of their greater firepower in relation to the Lee Enfields and STENs.Other than this,Garands were used by RCAF personnel for NATO airbase defence in Europe in the 1950s.

Information

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[Sunray]

"...Canadians who fought in Alaska..." They got issued American helmets because our issue hat was too similar to the Japanese hat. Didn't stop 'blue on blue' casualties though.
"...Canada did use..." Used and adopted aren't the same thing. Our first 25th Brigade troopies raised for Korea were sent Stateside for training on American weapons, but they weren't adopted or used by our Regular Army. Except for the .30 Browning MG. 1st SSF used 'em, of course.
Certainly not used by 2 Div at Dieppe. 50 or so U.S. Rangers were at Dieppe though. The picture, that works just fine, could have been taken anywhere at any time and published as being Dieppe. Despite it being a Canadian Army photo. No indication of what Regiment the troopies were.
"...has the BNP..." British proof mark required on any surplus firearm sold through England. Nothing to do with Canada.

[mdoerner]

OK, Maybe they're Americans in that photo then? Another site says the Rangers used the old WW1 style helmets during the raid. Can anyone confirm if they used Garands or not?

http://www.americainwwii.com/stories/dieppe-d-day.html

Mike Doerner

[purple]

Let's keep our history straight here. The 25th Bde was raised for service in Korea and was sent to Ft Lewis,WA in the fall of 1950 for pre-deployment training. The reason for this was the season of the year and the fact that suitable ,warmer weather training area was available in the US. The Bde deployed directly to Korea on completion of training in Ft Lewis.

The 25th Bde was equipped with standard Cdn/UK small arms throughout as it operated in Korea under first the Commonwealth Bde,then the Commonwealth Div. Members of the Cdn units did use a variety of US small arms in Korea,but only on an unofficial basis as they were "aquired" by individual soldiers.

Back to WW2 and the 6th Cdn Div which was raised for service in the Pacific n 1945.This Div was euipped with standard US weapons and US Army training cadres were sent to concentration points and training camps in Canada to provide weapons training.

[Cavalry Scout]

I mentioned Canadian to this individual and he agreed that the marking were typical British with the Crown BNP and the 9 tonnes markings. Don't know why he's listed it as Canadian?

[tiriaq]

Because he doesn't understand the difference?
Because a Canadian marked M-1 would be a remarkable rarity, and could be worth a lot more than an M-1 that happened to be surplused through Britain?

[Joe W]

I think the original question was "would you consider it import marked". It wasn't marked as an "import" as would have been required if imported into the U.S. subsequent to the 1968 Federal Gun Control Act. This rifle is "export" marked, as required by the "British Rules of Proof". The "BNP" (British Nitro Proof), on the top of the receiver ring is the mark used in that location by the Birmingham Proof House.

[Finestkind]

I believe there is a time life photo of an american with an M1 dressed in British commando gear. I am trying to find which book it is in. It is after the raid and they are back in england.

Chuck

[Sunray]

"...the Crown BNP and the 9 tonnes markings..." Like Joe W says, those would be standard 'sold through England' marks. Proofing was required for any milsurp rifle sold by surplus rifle dealers in England. Nothing whatever to do with Canada. 18 tons per Sq inch(a wee box with ".) though. http://www.thegca.org/glossary-terms2.pdf
"...on an unofficial basis..." Met a 2PPCLI vet, long ago, who was at Kap Y'ong. Said he didn't care if the .30 Carbine took two rounds, he loved the M1 Carbine. 1,000 M1 Carbines and 1 million rounds of ammo were para-dropped to 2PPCLI when they stopped the Chinese advance. The PPCLI has done that in every war they've been in since W.W. I. Kind of surprising that their motto is 'Once a Patricia, Always a Patricia" instead of just 'Stand'.

[canadiangunuser]

As far as Alaska goes, that confusion is probably about the FSSF (origin of the special forces), being a joint Canadian/American unit, they ended up being equipped with mostly american gear and weapons.