The Springfield Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield located in the city of

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

, was the primary center for the manufacture of United States military

firearms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

from 1777 until its closing in 1968. It was the first federal armory and one of the first factories in the United States dedicated to the manufacture of weapons. The site is preserved as the Springfield Armory National Historic Site,

Western Massachusetts Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as “Western Mass,” is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and u ...

' only unit of the

national park system The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properties ...

. It features the world's largest collection of historic American firearms. Famous first as the United States' primary arsenal during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and then as the scene of a confrontation during

Shays' Rebellion Shays Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. The ...

, the Springfield Armory in the 19th and 20th centuries became the site of numerous technological innovations of global importance, including

interchangeable parts Interchangeable parts are parts ( components) that are identical for practical purposes. They are made to specifications that ensure that they are so nearly identical that they will fit into any assembly of the same type. One such part can freely r ...

, the

assembly line An assembly line is a manufacturing process (often called a ''progressive assembly'') in which parts (usually interchangeable parts) are added as the semi-finished assembly moves from workstation to workstation where the parts are added in seq ...

style of

mass production Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...

, and modern business practices, such as hourly wages. The facility would play a decisive role in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, producing most of the weaponry used by Union troops which, in sum, outpaced Confederate firearm production by a ratio of 32 to 1. American historian

Merritt Roe Smith Merritt Roe Smith (1940) is an American historian. He is the Leverett and William Cutten Professor of the History of Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Life Smith graduated from Georgetown University, and Pennsylvania State U ...

has posited that advancements in machine manufacturing which allowed the facility to increase production capacity by more than 25 fold, from 9,601 rifles in 1860 to 276,200 in 1864, served as a precursor to the mass production of the

Second Industrial Revolution The Second Industrial Revolution, also known as the Technological Revolution, was a phase of rapid scientific discovery, standardization, mass production and industrialization from the late 19th century into the early 20th century. The Firs ...

and 20th century assembly line production. The numerous firearm models produced at the Springfield Armory from 1794 to 1968 are referred to as "Springfield

muskets A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

and

rifles A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with bo ...

Founding (1777)

Local and colonial militia used the bluff on which the Springfield Armory would become located during the 17th century for militia training, particularly after the

Attack on Springfield The siege of Springfield was a siege of the colonial New England settlement of Springfield by Native Americans during King Philip's War. Springfield was the second colonial settlement in New England to be burned to the ground during the war, fol ...

during

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

. In 1777, during the

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

scouted and approved the site of the Springfield Armory, after it was referred to him by General

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...

, his artillery chief. Although a small town at the time,

, offered obvious geographical advantages—it lay at the intersection of three rivers (including the major

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

), and four major roads headed toward New York City, Boston, Albany, and Montreal. Additionally, Springfield is located just north of the Connecticut River's first waterfall (

Enfield Falls Enfield Falls Canal (commonly known as the Windsor Locks Canal) is a canal that was built to circumvent the shallows at Enfield Falls (or Enfield Rapids) on the Connecticut River, between Hartford, Connecticut and Springfield, Massachusetts. It ...

), which is too steep to be navigated by ocean-going vessels. Thus, Springfield was the first town on the Connecticut River protected from attack by seafaring naval vessels. The Armory site itself sits atop a high bluff like a citadel, overlooking a wide stretch of the Connecticut River, at its confluence with the

Westfield River The Westfield River is a major tributary of the Connecticut River located in the Berkshires and Pioneer Valley regions of western Massachusetts. With four major tributary branches that converge west of the city of Westfield, it flows (measured ...

. General Knox concurred with Washington that "the plain just above Springfield is perhaps one of the most proper spots on every account" for the location of an arsenal. In 1777, patriot colonists established "The Arsenal at Springfield" to manufacture cartridges and gun carriages for the war effort. During the Revolution, the arsenal stored muskets, cannon, and other weapons. Patriots built barracks, shops, storehouses, and a magazine. Some doubt exists that the colonists manufactured arms during the Revolutionary War. After the war, the Army kept the facility to store arms for future needs. By the 1780s, the Springfield Arsenal functioned as a major ammunition and weapons arsenal. Some time later, when manufacturing became important, the arsenal expanded to a second area south and west in Springfield, where water power was available. Around that time, the Mill River was dammed to form a mile-long lake called

Watershops Pond Watershops Pond (or Lake Massasoit) is a lake in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Located in the Upper Hill neighborhood, it is the city's second-largest body of water, after the Connecticut River. Watershops Pond features 7 miles of shorel ...

. The main shops were behind the dam and a foundry was built below it. This factory was modernized, and the greater part of machining for Springfield and Garand rifles was conducted in it. President George Washington appointed David Ames as first superintendent of the armory. His father Capt. John Ames was a blacksmith who had provided guns to the Colonial army.

Shays' Rebellion (1787)

Shays forces flee Continental troops, Springfield

In 1786 and 1787,

veteran

Daniel Shays Daniel Shays (August 1747 September 29, 1825) was an American soldier, revolutionary and farmer famous for allegedly leading Shays' Rebellion, a populist uprising against controversial debt collection and tax policies in Massachusetts in 1786� ...

led an armed, populist uprising that attempted to overthrow the

Government of Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is governed by a set of political tenets laid down in its state constitution. Legislative power is held by the bicameral General Court, which is composed of the Senate and House of Representatives. The governo ...

. On January 25, 1787, thousands of Shays' Regulators marched on the Springfield Armory, hoping to seize its weaponry and force a change of government. That day the Springfield Armory was defended by state militia, who fired

grape shot Grapeshot is a type of artillery round invented by a British Officer during the Napoleonic Wars. It was used mainly as an anti infantry round, but had other uses in naval combat. In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of ammunition that consists of ...

at the rebels, forcing them to flee. This confrontation proved decisive, as Shays' Rebellion was crushed soon thereafter, and some of its participants tried for treason. Shays' Rebellion directly influenced the delegates at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Washington cited it as his reason for coming out of retirement. During the debates over the U.S. Constitution, in encouraging a stronger Federal government,

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

cautioned the attendees that "the rebellion in Massachusetts is a warning, gentlemen."

Production (1795–1968)

Early years

In 1793, the National Arsenal contained brass ordnance,

howitzers A howitzer () is a long-ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like oth ...

, traveling carriages, shot strapt, canisters filled, quilted grape, iron shot, shells, powder,

musket ball A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

, cylinders, caps, paper cartridges, fuzes filled,

, swords, various military stores, and implements. In 1795, the Springfield Armory produced the new nation's first musket - the

Model 1795 Musket The Springfield Model 1795 was a .69 caliber flintlock musket manufactured in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in the United States. The Model 1795 was the first musket to be produced in the United States by Eli Whitney at both the Springfi ...

which was largely patterned after the French

Charleville musket The Charleville musket was a .69 caliber standard French infantry musket used in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was made in 1717 and was last produced during the 1840s. However, it still saw limited use in conflicts through the mid-19th centur ...

which had armed the French army during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

Early 19th century

Organ of Muskets, Springfield Armory Museum

The Armory played a major role in providing weapons for the American Army during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. Its monthly reports to the War Department are online, and they indicate it made 9588 new muskets in 1814 and repaired 5190 old ones that year. It several times reported that its funding had been delayed. Fueled by the Springfield Armory, the City of Springfield quickly became a national center for invention and development. In 1819 Thomas Blanchard developed a special

lathe A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to c ...

for the consistent mass production of rifle stocks. Thomas Blanchard worked at Springfield Armory for 5 years. The lathe enabled an unskilled workman to quickly and easily turn out identical irregular shapes. The large drum turned two wheels: a friction wheel that followed the contours of the metal rifle pattern, and the cutting wheel that imitated the movements of the friction wheel to make an exact replica of the pattern in wood. In the 1840s the old flintlock gave way to a

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

ignition system that increased the reliability and simplicity of longarms. The Springfield Armory was largely involved in the growth and influence of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

. Much of this grew out of the military's fascination with

, which was based on the theory that it would be easier to simply replace firearm parts than make battlefield repairs.

Mass production Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...

of truly interchangeable parts demanded greater use of machines, improved gauging, quality control, and division of labor; all characteristics of the Industrial Revolution. From these individual components, the concept of the assembly line was devised. The Springfield Armory also contributed to improved business management techniques. Colonel Roswell Lee, hired as superintendent in 1815, brought centralized authority, cost accounting for payroll, time, and materials, and increased discipline to a manufacturing environment—all business practices still in use today. In 1843,

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

visited the Armory and wrote his poem "The Arsenal at Springfield." The anti-war poem described the rows of finished guns, by that point 1,000,000 stockpiled there, stored vertically in open racks: "Like a huge organ, rise the burnished arms."

Late 19th century

With the destruction of the

Harpers Ferry Armory The Harpers Ferry Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, was the second federal armory created by the United States government. (The first was the Springfield Armory.) It was located in Harpers Ferry ...

early in the

, the Springfield Armory was briefly the only government manufacturer of arms, until the

Rock Island Arsenal The Rock Island Arsenal comprises , located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It lies within the state of Illinois. Rock Island ...

was established in 1862. During this time production ramped up to unprecedented levels ever seen in American manufacturing up until that time, with only 9,601 rifles manufactured in 1860, rising to a peak of 276,200 by 1864. These advancements would not only give the Union a decisive technological advantage over the Confederacy during the war but served as a precursor to the mass production manufacturing that contributed to the post-war

and 20th century machine manufacturing capabilities. American historian

has drawn comparisons between the early assembly machining of the Springfield rifles and the later production of the

Ford Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

, with the latter having considerably more parts, but producing a similar numbers of units in the earliest years of the 1913–1915 automobile assembly line, indirectly due to mass production manufacturing advancements pioneered by the armory 50 years earlier. In 1865, Master Armorer Erskine Allin introduced the "Allin Conversion," which incorporated the far more advanced design of

breech-loading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally breech ...

into the now-obsolete

muzzleloader A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern (higher tech and harder to make) design ...

s, thereby extending their service life. In 1891 a new function was assigned to the Armory—it became the army's main laboratory for the development and testing of new small arms. One of the most distinctive elements of the Armory is the fence surrounding the site, which was started after the Civil War and completed in 1890. Unable to find funding for the purchase of a fence, Major James W. Ripley requested obsolete cannons from government storage, some from the Revolutionary War. He had the cannons sent to a local foundry to be melted down. The foundry kept some of the iron as payment, and the remainder was cast into 9-foot palings, formed as pikes and spearheads which were then sunk into a red sandstone base.

Early 20th century

Springfield Armory's experimental shop in Bldg

During the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, it was recognized that the Spanish

Mauser Model 1893 The Mauser Model 1893 is a bolt-action rifle commonly referred to as the Spanish Mauser, though the model was adopted by other countries in other calibers, most notably the Ottoman Empire. The M1893 was based on the experimental M1892 rifle, whic ...

, exhibited characteristics superior to the "trapdoor" Springfield and

Krag–Jørgensen The Krag–Jørgensen is a repeating bolt-action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Norway, Denmark, and the United States. About 300 wer ...

rifles carried by the United States troops. On August 15, 1900, Springfield Armory completed an experimental magazine rifle which they believed to be an improvement over the Krag. They fashioned a clip loading magazine rifle in which the cartridges were contained within the stock, preventing damage to an otherwise exposed magazine. It was approved for production in as the Model 1903.

Mauser Mauser, originally Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik ("Royal Württemberg Rifle Factory"), was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols has been produced since the 1870s for the German arme ...

later sued for patent infringement and won royalties from Springfield. By the time that the United States entered World War I, approximately 843,239 standard service Model 1903 rifles had been manufactured. However, this was insufficient to arm U.S. troops for an undertaking of the magnitude of World War I. During the war Springfield Armory produced over 265,620 Model 1903 rifles. In addition, the War Department contracted for production of the

M1917 Enfield Rifle The M1917 Enfield, the "American Enfield", formally named "United States Rifle, cal .30, Model of 1917" is an American modification and production of the .303-inch (7.7 mm) Pattern 1914 Enfield (P14) rifle (listed in British Service as Rifle No. ...

to help aid American troops. These, along with the additional 47,251 rifles produced by the

and the weapons already in service, were enough to supply the war effort. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the Springfield Armory produced ≈25,000

M1911 pistol The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for th ...

s before all facilities were dedicated to production of M1903 rifles. In 1919, when

John Garand Jean Cantius Garand (; January 1, 1888 – February 16, 1974), also known as John C. Garand, was a Québec-born American designer of firearms who created the M1 Garand, a semi-automatic rifle that was widely used by the U.S. Army and U.S. ...

was 31, he came to Springfield, where he worked to develop a

semi-automatic rifle A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt-act ...

. Over the next five years many designs were submitted for the rifle, but none met the army's rigid specifications. In 1924, Garand offered a design that was approved for further testing. This was the famous M1, or " Garand rifle" as it came to be known. The army adopted the rifle in 1936, and production began the next year. This began what was to become the greatest production effort in the armory's history: during the entire production history of the M1 rifle, the Springfield Armory produced over 4.5 million of them. The M1's accuracy and durability in battle earned it high praise. General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

reported on the M1 to the Ordnance Department during heavy fighting on Bataan that "Under combat conditions it operated with no mechanical defects and when used in foxholes did not develop stoppages from dust or dirt. It has been in almost constant action for as much as a week without cleaning or lubrication." Further testament to the M1s role in combat was given by another well-respected military officer, General

George S. Patton, Jr. George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a General (United States), general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, Mediterranean Theater ...

, who reported to the Army Ordnance Department on January 26, 1945, "In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised."

Late 20th century

The last small arm developed by the Armory was the

M14 rifle The M14 rifle, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber 7.62 mm, M14, is an American selective fire battle rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO (.308 in) cartridge. It became the standard-issue rifle for the U.S. military in 1959, ...

, which was, essentially, a highly modified version of the M1 Garand. The M14 was produced from 1959 to 1964 and was the U.S. Army's primary combat rifle until being replaced by the

M16 rifle The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...

gradually from 1964 to 1970. The M14 has evolved over the years into a more modern sniper rifle—the M21. By the time the U.S. was involved in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, Springfield Armory developed not only rifles but

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

s for ground and air use,

grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mos ...

s, and associated equipment. Many weapons were not manufactured at the Armory, but plans and specifications were drawn up for the use of private contractors who built them elsewhere, representing an economic shift toward the American private arms industry.

Closure and rebirth as a National Historic Site (1968–present)

In 1968, U.S. Secretary of Defense

Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the Lis ...

announced the closure of the Springfield Armory. Outer portions of the armory were sold off, including the "Water Shops" production facilities, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the

Water Shops Armory The Water Shops Armory, located at 1 Allen Street, was a part of the Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts. Developed beginning in 1857, it served as the heavy manufacturing complex for the armory. It was listed on the National Registe ...

. The core site was preserved and the property was turned over to the city and state. It is now the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, and is managed and operated by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

. As of 2011, the 35 acres behind the Springfield Armory (and several of its former buildings) house

Springfield Technical Community College Springfield Technical Community College (STCC, Stick) is a public Hispanic-serving technical college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It is the only technical community college in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Located on the site of the Sp ...

(STCC). STCC is the only "technical" community college in Massachusetts, which aims to continue the legacy of technological innovation at the Springfield Armory site. The Main Arsenal Building and the Commandants House were extensively renovated by Eastern General Contractors of Springfield, Massachusetts between 1987 and 1991. The Main Arsenal now houses the Springfield Armory Museum, which includes the Benton Small Arms Collection, one of the largest collections of weaponry.

Use of the name "Springfield Armory"

Following the closure of the U.S. Army Springfield Armory in 1968, the L. H. Gun Co. of

Devine, Texas Devine is a city in Medina County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,350 at the 2010 census. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Devine, Texas, is named for Hon. Thomas J. Devine, a native of San Anton ...

, was renamed

Springfield Armory, Inc. Springfield Armory, Inc., is an American commercial firearms manufacturer and importer based in Geneseo, Illinois. Founded in 1974 by Bob Reese and family, the company produces rifles such as the Springfield Armory M1A, M1A and imports handguns ...

to capitalize on the name recognition. There is no affiliation or licensing between the original Springfield Armory and Springfield Armory, Inc., despite a timeline on the commercial website of the latter that includes the history of the former. The company's products include M1911 pistols and the

M1A The Springfield Armory M1A is a semi-automatic rifle made by Springfield Armory, Inc., beginning in 1974, based on the M14 rifle, for the civilian and law enforcement markets in the United States. "M1A" is a proprietary name for Springfield Armo ...

rifle series.

References

External links

Springfield Armory National Historic Site

SPR.BL - Springfield Armory National Historic Site
Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS)

''Our Plural History'', Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) {{authority control Government buildings completed in 1777 Armories on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Springfield, Massachusetts Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Springfield, Massachusetts Firearm manufacturers of the United States Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Massachusetts in the American Civil War Military and war museums in Massachusetts Museums in Springfield, Massachusetts National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts National Historic Sites in Massachusetts Parks in Springfield, Massachusetts United States Army arsenals during World War II Tourist attractions in Springfield, Massachusetts American Revolution on the National Register of Historic Places Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Government-owned companies of the United States 1777 establishments in Massachusetts Manufacturing companies established in 1777 Installations of the U.S. Army in Massachusetts Closed installations of the United States Army