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Video—ARTV: Melvin Johnson’s Automatics

by American Rifleman Staff - Monday, July 23, 2018

When the M1 Garand was adopted in 1936, Melvin Johnson—a lawyer and Capt. in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve—believed it was a badly flawed rifle, and set out to develop his own. Thus, the Johnson Model of 1941 rifle was born. In the end, the Johnson rifle was not selected by the military, but a few did see service with Marines at the Battle of Guadalcanal. Despite this setback, Johnson continued to develop more automatic firearms including the M1941 Light Machine Gun, which later became a sought-after gun in the early days of the Pacific War in World War II. Continuing to invent more firearms, Johnson also developed an auto carbine named Daisy Mae, with only a total of five produced. He also did some pioneering work with existing Gatling Guns, eventually leading to the development of the Vulcan Gatling Gun, for which he is not credited. Check out this segment from a recent episode of American Rifleman TV to learn more about inventor Melvin Maynard Johnson and his guns.