M7 Rifle Grenade Launcher

M7 rifle grenade adapter

M9A1 Rifle Grenade

M17 Rifle Grenade

Mk 2 training grenade fitted with M1A2 rifle grenade adapter

The M7 Rifle Grenade Launcher (Remington T14 prior to adoption) was a muzzle device that could be attached to the M1 Garand in order to allow it to fire rifle grenades using blank propelling cartridges. Fitting the original M7 turned the M1 into a single-shot rifle as long as it was mounted, since the assembly included a stud that depressed the valve of the rifle's gas cylinder lock screw to vent all of the gas that would normally cycle the action. This was intended to prevent serious damage to the gas system (original production M1 Garands with the B147428 solid lock screw do not have a hole large enough to even mount an M7, but those with reproduction solid screws that can fit an M5-seris bayonet may explode if used with an M7), and prevent the rifle ejecting spent casings into the operator or trying to eat him when cycling next to his leg. Since this meant the launcher had to be constantly dismounted and re-mounted, they were frequently lost: period documents indicate that 15-20% of M7 launchers in inventory were being lost per month. In addition, it was not until Janunary 1944 that the "poppet" lock screw with a self-closing valve was standardised for the M1 Garand: prior to this, the user would have to fire off a round upon dismounting the M7 to close the valve via gas pressure. Only the postwar M7s, the M7A1 (1949), M7A2 (1951) and M7A3 (1953) allowed semi-automatic fire with the launcher mounted: these used the recoil from the grenade actually being launched to open the gas port.

It could accept several grenade types, but the most common were the M9A1 Rifle Grenade with a HEAT warhead, the M19 with a white phosphorous smoke / incendiary warhead, and the M17 Rifle Grenade with a fragmentation warhead. The latter was rendered obsolete when the M1 rifle grenade adapter adapters was introduced in 1944, which could make any Mk 2 Hand Grenade (and later the M34 White Phosphorous grenade) capable of being fired from the M7 launcher, and could also be adapted to launch the warhead of a 60mm mortar shell.

The pin needs to be pulled from the grenade before the M1 rifle grenade adapter is fired, something often forgotten in media depictions. The adapter then retains the grenade's spoon with an arming clip that separates due to inertia on launch: assembled M1 rifle grenades often had a block of wood under the spoon to hold the clip securely during transport.

The M8 Rifle Grenade Launcher is a variant of the M7, used with the M1 Carbine.

The M7 Rifle Grenade Launcher and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms	Lee Van Cleef	Corp. Stone	M8 launcher on M1 Carbine	1953
Reptilicus		A Danish soldier		1961
Merrill's Marauders		U.S. Army soldiers		1962
Battle of the Bulge	George Montgomery	Sgt. Duquesne		1965
Saving Private Ryan		US Army soldier		1998
Flags of Our Fathers	Joseph Cross	PFC Franklin Sousey		2006
The Front Line		South Korean Army		2011
Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed	Jasen Wade	Corporal Curtis		2012

Television

Actor	Character	Show Title / Episode	Note	Air Date
Adam James	Pvt. Cleveland Petty	Band of Brothers / "Carentan"		2001
	Cpl. Schmidt	Band of Brothers		2001
Dexter Fletcher	Sgt. Johnny Martin	Band of Brothers / "The Last Patrol"		2001
	US Marines	The Pacific		2010

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Day of Defeat: Source				2005
Medal of Honor: Airborne				2007
Call of Duty: World at War				2008
Project Reality: Normandy				2013