Johnson M1941 Rifle
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 558 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.31 kg
- Introduced
- 1941
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Johnson M1941 is a short-recoil-operated, rotating-bolt semi-automatic rifle chambered in .30-06 Springfield, designed by Melvin M. Johnson Jr. in the late 1930s. It fed from a fixed ten-round rotary magazine that could be topped off with stripper clips even while partially loaded, and its barrel could be quickly removed for compact transport, which made it popular with US Marine parachute and special units during World War II. Although it competed closely with the M1 Garand, it was never adopted as the standard US service rifle.
Melvin Johnson, a Boston lawyer and Marine Corps reserve officer, developed the rifle and its companion light machine gun as a private rival to the US Army's M1 Garand. Rejected by the Army as too long and heavy, it found a niche with Marine paratroopers thanks to its quick-detach barrel and remains a sought-after WWII collector's piece.
Originally ordered in large numbers by the Dutch government for its East Indies colonies; after the Japanese occupation many were diverted to the US Marine Corps. Its many small parts made field stripping prone to lost components.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Johnson Automatics, Inc.
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1941 to 1945
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 558 mm
- Overall length
- 1156 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.31 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Short recoil
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 10
- Magazine
- Rotary
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 853 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 4515 J
- Effective range
- 500 m
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.
Short recoil operation
Rotating bolt
Rotary magazine
Stripper clip loading
Quick takedown barrel
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 | 4.31 kg | 3.40 kg | Among the heaviest tenth |
| Overall lengthAmong 73 .30-06 Springfield rifles | 1156 mm | 1100 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 75 .30-06 Springfield rifles | 558 mm | 584 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 78 .30-06 Springfield rifles | 10 | 4 | Holds more rounds than about 90% |
Its place in the rankings
Answers
Questions about the Johnson M1941 Rifle
How much does the Johnson M1941 Rifle weigh?
The Johnson M1941 Rifle weighs 4.31 kg (9.50 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Johnson M1941 Rifle?
The Johnson M1941 Rifle is chambered in .30-06 Springfield.
How many rounds does the Johnson M1941 Rifle hold?
The Johnson M1941 Rifle holds 10 rounds, fed from a rotary magazine.
How long is the Johnson M1941 Rifle?
The Johnson M1941 Rifle is 1156 mm (45.5 in) long overall, with a 558 mm (22.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Johnson M1941 Rifle?
The Johnson M1941 Rifle is made by Johnson Automatics, Inc. (United States). It was designed by Melvin M. Johnson Jr..
When was the Johnson M1941 Rifle introduced?
The Johnson M1941 Rifle was introduced in 1941 and discontinued in 1945.
How does the Johnson M1941 Rifle operate?
The Johnson M1941 Rifle uses a short recoil 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 Marine Corps
- 1941
- Netherlands Purchasing Commission
- 1940
Provenance
Confidence in this record
82%
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/johnson-m1941-rifle' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "johnson-m1941-rifle", "name": "Johnson M1941 Rifle", "manufacturer": { "id": "johnson-automatics", "name": "Johnson Automatics, Inc.", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1939, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-04-26 23:12:00", "updatedAt": "2026-04-26 23:12:00", "version": "387fe2c48d6cd35b5478b19cfa6ad6485c12a71075bf64e0a67e3872a7a3b1db" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1941, "barrel_length_mm": 558, "weight_empty_g": 4310, "action_type": "short_recoil"}