Garand T20
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 610 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.36 kg
- Introduced
- 1944
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Garand T20 is an experimental American select-fire battle rifle developed by John Garand at the Springfield Armory during 1944-1945 as a fully-automatic-capable evolution of the M1 Garand. Chambered in .30-06 Springfield, it used a slightly lengthened receiver, fed from detachable 20-round Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) magazines, and added a fire selector and bolt hold-open device. In automatic mode it cycled at roughly 700 rounds per minute. The most refined variant, the T20E2, was approved for limited procurement in May 1945, but the end of World War II cut the order to 100 examples and the program was terminated in March 1948, with its lessons feeding directly into the later T44 and M14.
Designed by John Garand himself, the T20 answered a wartime call to give the GI the firepower of the BAR in a rifle-sized package. Had the war in the Pacific continued, the T20E2 was slated for mass production; its premature cancellation left the door open for the M14 a decade later.
Full-automatic fire was achieved through a connector assembly actuated by the operating-rod handle. The receiver was machined and tapped on the left side for a scope mount and retained M1-pattern grenade-launcher hardware. The T20 is a direct conceptual ancestor of the M14.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Springfield Armory (US Government)
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Prototype
- Produced
- 1944 to 1948
- Variant of
- Select fire prototype
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 610 mm
- Overall length
- 1226 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.36 kg
- Weight, loaded
- 5.67 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 20
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Parkerized
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 853 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 4242 J
- Effective range
- 500 m
- Maximum range
- 3200 m
- Rate of fire
- 700 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Select fire
Detachable bar magazine
Fire selector
Bolt hold open- Scope mount provision
Grenade launcher compatible
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 75 .30-06 Springfield rifles | 4.36 kg | 3.40 kg | Among the heaviest tenth |
| Overall lengthAmong 73 .30-06 Springfield rifles | 1226 mm | 1100 mm | Among the longest tenth |
| Barrel lengthAmong 75 .30-06 Springfield rifles | 610 mm | 584 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 78 .30-06 Springfield rifles | 20 | 4 | Among the largest capacities |
Its place in the rankings
Answers
Questions about the Garand T20
How much does the Garand T20 weigh?
The Garand T20 weighs 4.36 kg (9.61 lb) empty and 5.67 kg (12.50 lb) loaded.
What caliber is the Garand T20?
The Garand T20 is chambered in .30-06 Springfield.
How many rounds does the Garand T20 hold?
The Garand T20 holds 20 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the Garand T20?
The Garand T20 is 1226 mm (48.3 in) long overall, with a 610 mm (24.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Garand T20?
The Garand T20 is made by Springfield Armory (US Government) (United States). It was designed by John C. Garand.
When was the Garand T20 introduced?
The Garand T20 was introduced in 1944 and discontinued in 1948.
How does the Garand T20 operate?
The Garand T20 uses a gas operated action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- United States Army
- United States
Provenance
Confidence in this record
80%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/garand-t20' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "garand-t20", "name": "Garand T20", "manufacturer": { "id": "springfield-armory-us", "name": "Springfield Armory (US Government)", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1777, "website": "https://www.springfield-armory.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "updatedAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "version": "b9dd0910a7c8bee7c58786e8b0a8f572a1d60da9a0b15c41d155cb38023c6bd8" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1944, "barrel_length_mm": 610, "weight_empty_g": 4360, "action_type": "gas_operated"}