Giant M1 Garand Training Aid
The photographs above show the scaled up demonstration models used to instruct soldiers and marines on how their M1 Garand rifles worked. The training aids were approximately 2 or 3 times larger than an actual M1 Garand and were made out of aluminium and wood.
The graphic training aid rifles were 86 inches (218cm) in overall length and had their right side cut away and marked out with red paint to show the functioning inner workings of the rifle including the gas system, op rod, magazine and trigger mechanism.
A Browning M1918A2 Instructional Cutaway (source)
The US Army had a series of enlarged training aids which were used at infantry schools, training camps and ordnance training centres. These were instrumental in classes teaching troops how weapon’s fit together and worked and familiarising soldiers with the principles behind how the weapons functioned.
Sources:
Images: 1 2 3
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