Was there such a thing as a Winchester Garand that was a carbine

[braggscowboy]

Does anyone out there know if there was such a thing as a Winchester M1 Garand that was a carbine? Someone told me the saw one in a gun shop and the propieter said they thought it was made for a tank crew? It was not a .30 carbine. Like to know, if you know? Thanks1!

[Murray in ME]

There were carbine versions of the Garand. There was a prototype made by Springfield Armory during WW2. It was called the T26 (also known as the "Tanker Garand"). After the war, there were more cobbled together from suplus parts. Here's a link to the story. http://www.securityarms.com/20010315.../2100/2115.htm

So, your friend might have seen one of these cobbled together rifles with Winchester markings on some of the parts but, the complete rifle almost certainly wasn't made by Winchester.

Not many years ago, Springfield Armory produced both the standard M1 Garand and the tanker version for the civilian market. As far as I know, they no longer make either version.

[Cabin Fever]

As Murray's article implies, the so-called "Tanker Garand" was never a USGI issue firearm.

Tankers are a non-military firearm made from either modified original Garand parts or newly manufactered parts. I've seen several at gun shows.

If you desire a carbine-size "Garand," I'd recommend looking into Sprinfield Armory's M1A SOCOM.

[braggscowboy]

Thanks guys! You seem to know more than some of the gun boards.

[backwoodsman]

My brother had one of the civilian "tanker" Garands. I was thinking I read where some we assembled and sold to South Korea in the 50's?