Some yrs ago I corresponded with a gent in California who had a 1945 vintage Garand in a C/broad arrow marked stock. Unfortunately it had been glass bedded in the stock w/o enough release agent, so could'nt be removed.
The 6th Canadian Infantry Div Canadian Army Pacific Force was to have been organized and equipped along US Army lines(incl weapons) to simplify logistics and command/control arrangements for the pending invasion of Japan. In mid-1945 teams of US Army weapons trainers came to Canada to assist with training and quite a number of 6th Div officers and NCOs attended courses in the US. I believe that Canada did receive some quantities of US small arms, incl Garands, in preparation for this deployment which never came off because the war was terminated by the A-bombing of Japan. My understanding is that residual stocks of these weapons and spares were held in the supply system until they were finally disposed of. Another CGN member has first hand knowledge of Garand spares being in the Canadian supply system and subsequently being imported from Denmark as part of the Danish Garand sale. I have a copy of the 1947 US Army TM on the Garand which came out of the technical library at 25 COD Montreal, which was the Cdn Army storage facility for weapons and spares.
All of this is quite apart from the documented use of Garands and BARs by the RCAF for airfield defence in Europe in the early 1950s. As far as Cdn combat use of US weapons is concerned, many were picked up and used by the troops unofficially in Korea, and to some extent in WW2, where the M1 Carbine was a particular favourite because of light weight and high firepower. Thompson SMGs, and later M3 Greaseguns, were issued as checklist/on board equipment with Sherman tanks and various other vehicles which were obtained from US sources. I even have one of my late uncle's pics of a buddy firing a Garand in Holland which was a left-over from Operation Market-Garden in the fall of 1944. One thing is for sure, the No4 LE was our official service rifle until replaced by the FN in 1957-1959. No Garands in between the two.
The 6th Canadian Infantry Div Canadian Army Pacific Force was to have been organized and equipped along US Army lines(incl weapons) to simplify logistics and command/control arrangements for the pending invasion of Japan. In mid-1945 teams of US Army weapons trainers came to Canada to assist with training and quite a number of 6th Div officers and NCOs attended courses in the US. I believe that Canada did receive some quantities of US small arms, incl Garands, in preparation for this deployment which never came off because the war was terminated by the A-bombing of Japan. My understanding is that residual stocks of these weapons and spares were held in the supply system until they were finally disposed of. Another CGN member has first hand knowledge of Garand spares being in the Canadian supply system and subsequently being imported from Denmark as part of the Danish Garand sale. I have a copy of the 1947 US Army TM on the Garand which came out of the technical library at 25 COD Montreal, which was the Cdn Army storage facility for weapons and spares.
All of this is quite apart from the documented use of Garands and BARs by the RCAF for airfield defence in Europe in the early 1950s. As far as Cdn combat use of US weapons is concerned, many were picked up and used by the troops unofficially in Korea, and to some extent in WW2, where the M1 Carbine was a particular favourite because of light weight and high firepower. Thompson SMGs, and later M3 Greaseguns, were issued as checklist/on board equipment with Sherman tanks and various other vehicles which were obtained from US sources. I even have one of my late uncle's pics of a buddy firing a Garand in Holland which was a left-over from Operation Market-Garden in the fall of 1944. One thing is for sure, the No4 LE was our official service rifle until replaced by the FN in 1957-1959. No Garands in between the two.
