This incredibly desirable and exceptional Johnson Model 1941 rifle is documented as part of the U.S. Marine Corps initial acquisition of 23 Johnson rifles on March 26th, 1942; originally transferred from the Netherlands Purchasing Commission to Johnson Automatics, Inc. and shipped the U.S. Marine Corps base at New River, North Carolina. Only approximately 750 Johnson Model 1941 rifles are said to have been procured by the Marines in total for use by the Para-Marines, with a very small fraction of those rifles actually documented as Marine Corps shipped, and less surviving today, like this rare example offered. Table #3 on page 249 of Bruce Canfield's book, "Johnson's Rifles and Machine Guns" lists this rifle, 7246, by serial number as part of the first U.S. Marine Corps acquisition of 23 rifles, based on Johnson factory transfer ledgers, and also lists another 16 rifles subsequently acquired by the Marines. Canfield states, "These twenty-three rifles were undoubtedly used by the Marine paratroopers in the initial Solomons campaign (Guadalcanal/Gavutu) and were referred to by Maynard Johnson as a 'loan that developed into a gift.'" Most, if not all, of the Marine issued examples would have seen hard use in the most important battles of the World War II Pacific Theater, lending to their very low survival rate today. Many were used by the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment, who is known to have participated in a parachute drop into France as part of an OSS team to support the French Resistance, and is also famously known for participating in the Guadalcanal campaign (August 7th, 1942-February 9th, 1943) in the Pacific theater of World War II. On August 7th, 1942, the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment conducted an amphibious assault on the island of Gavutu, later seizing the island of Tanambogo with other Marine units. In the writing "Silk Chutes and Hard Fighting: U.S. Marine Corp Parachute Units in World War II" by Lieutenant Colonel Jon T. Hoffman, it recalls the amphibious assault on Gavutu in which it states on page 19, "Platoon Sergeant Harry M. Tully used his marksmanship skill and Johnson rifle to pick off a number of Japanese snipers." The 1st Parachute Regiment fought alongside the 1st Marine Raiders in the Tasimboko Raid and the Battle of Edson's Ridge between September 12th-14th, 1942. The 1st Parachute Regiment was involved in the Bougainville campaign, with initial landings on November 1st, 1943 and several ensuing tough fought battles against the Japanese forces. This example is bearing serial number "7246" on top of the receiver and the bolt is numbered "9242" (numbered components on Johnson rifles did not match). The face of the barrel collar is stamped with the caliber ".30 06" above the barrel and "41" below it. The top of the receiver is roll-stamped: "CAL. 30-'06 SEMI-AUTO./"JOHNSON AUTOMATICS"/MODEL OF 1941/MADE IN PROVIDENCE, R.I., U.S.A." in four lines above the serial number. The patent markings are stamped in five lines between the factory legend and the rear sight. "CRANSTON/ARMS /CO." is stamped in an inverted triangle on the right rear of the receiver below a five-pointed Dutch star as commonly seen on Johnson rifles, as they would have been transferred from the Netherlands Purchasing Commission to Johnson Automatics, Inc. before being delivered to the Marines. Includes a modern hard case.

Exceptionally fine, retains 97% arsenal refurbished parkerized finish with a few areas of light freckling, some patches of light pitting visible underneath the finish, and sharp markings and edges in the metal overall. The wood is excellent with a few light handling marks and defined edges overall. Mechanically excellent. As a true documented example of one of the first 23 Johnson 1941 rifles acquired by the U.S. Marine Corps and used by the Para-Marines in combat, this is a very rare opportunity for any U.S. military arms collector!