NAVY: Marines’ Rifle

Before a House subcommittee last month, Major General Thomas Holcomb, Commandant of the U. S. Marine Corps, unbagged a cat, which set up a muted yowl. The cat: news that the crack-shooting Marine Corps was less than satisfied with the Garand semi-automatic rifle, Army-sponsored successor to the reliable, bolt-action 1903 Springfield. With a firm grip on the cat’s collar, General Holcomb said discreetly: “We are not certain yet that the Garand rifle will meet our needs. We will know in the course of the next two months whether it is a better rifle than the 1903 Springfield for our particular needs. . . . We require a highly dependable rifle.”

General Holcomb’s left-handed crack at the Army’s small-arms pet did not stir up again the controversy of last spring (TIME, May 6) in which the authoritative National Rifle Association panned the Garand as an inaccurate shooting piece, given to overheating, hard to maintain. But his mild remarks disclosed that the Marine Corps was doing some rifle shopping on its own account, had already given a preliminary look at a new semi-automatic put out by Winchester Repeating Arms Co. (which is now making Garands under Government contract). This week the new Winchester was ready for tests, to be conducted for the Marine Corps by the Army Ordnance Bureau.

Though the test was to be conducted by the Garand’s sponsors, the new Winchester had an advance testimonial from the boss of the Marines. Said General Holcomb last month: “We have seen a demonstration of one of these rifles and it appeared to us to be a complete answer to what we need. It will cost about half the cost of the Garand rifle.”