The M1 Garand, known formally as U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, is a semi-automatic battle rifle designed by John C. Garand. Introduced in 1936, the weapon was revolutionary. While certainly not the first semi-automatic rifle to be adopted by a military force, nor the first widely-issued, it was the first semi-automatic rifle adopted as a standard-issue rifle. Used by every branch of the US military during World War II, it served with great distinction and praise. General George S. Patton referred to it as "the greatest impliment of battle ever devised." In the context of World War II, he was certainly correct. While other nations have fielded semi-automatic or select-fire weapons such as the Soviet SVT-40, the German Gewehr 43, FG 42, and revolutionary Sturmgewehr, they were by no means standard-issue. The soldiers of other nations, by and large, entered battle with bolt-action rifles whose origins date before World War I. Given this and the fact that the M1 Garand was standard-issue in the US Army by December of 1941, it is easy to see how the M1 gaive the US infantryman significantly more firepower than the average infantryman of any other nation. The weapon would eventually be replaced in 1959 by the M14, and exported widely. Today, the rifle sees use in the US military as a drill rifle.