Part name: Gas Cylinder

Part Function: The Gas Cylinder is a critical part of the M1. It serves as the receptacle for a small amount of the gas which is vented from the barrel when the M1 is fired. The gas then propels the piston end of the the oprod rearward and this operates the semiautomatic action of the weapon. In addition the Gas Cylinder provides a mounting point for the front sight and the stacking swivel.

Special Notes: Many problems with the cycling of the semiautomatic action of the M1 Garand can be traced to gas cylinder problems.

Other items of interest in this photograph: In the photograph above and the photograph below a W.W.II Rifle Scorebook can be seen. These were issued to the men when they were in training and were used to record how well they did with the M1 Garand, the bolt action M1903, and the BAR - Browning Automatic Rifle M1918A2.

Gas Cylinder assembled.

Gas Cylinder assembled on the M1 rifle

This page was last updated on: March 14, 2002