Brigadier General
Guy H. Drewry
Brigadier General Guy H.
Drewry was born in Las Crosse, Virginia on October 16, 1894 and died on April 6, 1973. A 1916 graduate of the
Virginia Military Institute, he was also a graduate of the Coast Artillery School and the Army Industrial College.
During a five-year period in the early 1930s, then Major Drewry worked closely with Mr. John C. Garand at Springfield Arsenal on the development of a new semiautomatic rifle. He established a close and effective working relationship with Mr. Garand which resulted in production of the M1 rifle, the Army's workhorse for more than a quarter century.
From 1936 until 1942, he served as Deputy and later Chief of the Small Arms Division, Office Chief of Ordnance and played a vital role in the design, development, procurement, production, and inspection of all small arms and small arms ammunition, critical to the war effort during World War II. He expedited production of machine guns and the development and production of the new M1 Carbine. He also fostered a comprehensive program calling for the substitution of alloys and critical steels in all small arms weapons, resulting in great savings in the use of nickel, chromium, vanadium, and molybdenum. During World War II, he directed a successful war production program as Deputy and later Chief of the Springfield Ordnance District. Under his leadership, the district became one of the major centers of American arms and ammunition production. He reduced the number of employees required without loss of efficiency, using simplified methods of manufacturing and eliminated the unnecessary use of machines that were critically needed elsewhere.
His methods were adopted as standard by the Office Chief of Ordnance, and resulted in substantial savings in money and labor. Heavy artillery ammunition, multiple gun mounts, tank oil stabilizing gear, breech blocks, truck axles, remote sighting and firing devices, and ball bearings were among the many diverse products produced under General Drewry's direction for the nations war effort.