Julian Hatcher

Julian Sommerville Hatcher (June 26, 1888 – December 4, 1963) was a major general in the United States Army. As a firearms expert, he wrote technical books and articles relating to military firearms, ballistics, and autoloading weapons. He also pioneered the forensic identification of firearms and ammunition.

Biography

Hatcher was born in Hayfield, Virginia, and graduated with honors from the United States Naval Academy in 1909. He transferred out of the Navy, due to chronic sea sickness, and was assigned to the Army Coast Artillery Corps. Hatcher married Eleanor Dashiell, daughter of naval ordnance expert Robert B. Dashiell, in October 1910. The couple had three children.

In 1916, the Hotchkiss M1909 Benét–Mercié machine gun was in general use with the U.S. Army and was seeing action during the Punitive Expedition against the bandit Pancho Villa. Reports of its use in Mexico indicated the gun was not functioning properly. Investigation revealed that the chief problems were the 30-round metallic feed strips used in the gun, and inexperienced gunners. It was Hatcher, then a lieutenant, who was sent to the border to solve the problems. He found that none of the soldiers had been taught the proper use of the weapon. He set up the Army's first machine gun school and was soon turning out trained crews. Soon, the Benét–Mercié proved to be an effective weapon.

In 1919, at age 31 and holding the acting rank of lieutenant colonel, Hatcher was named commanding officer of Springfield Armory in Massachusetts. He was instrumental in developing a solution to the vexing problem of brittle metal in early receivers of M1903 Springfield rifles, built by Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal. His solution to the "grenading" of receivers (damage caused when shell casings failed catastrophically) was to drill a gas vent hole in the left side of the receiver, adjacent to the breech. The hole allowed gases escaping from a ruptured case to be exhausted safely and away from the face of the shooter. Dubbed the "Hatcher Hole", the modification was typically added to receivers at overhaul.

As Chief of the Small Arms Division in the United States Army Ordnance Department and the Assistant Commandant of the Ordnance School before and at the beginning of World War II, Hatcher worked closely with Springfield Armory as an engineering trouble-shooter in resolving early production issues associated with the early iterations of the M1 Garand rifle.

Hatcher's premier works are ''Hatcher's Notebook'' and ''Book of the Garand'', both published shortly after World War II. Prior to the war, he wrote ''Pistols and Revolvers and Their Use'' and ''Textbook of Pistols and Revolvers''. In the latter work, he introduced the Hatcher Scale, probably the first attempt to determine the stopping power of a handgun round by a formula.

After retiring from the military in 1946, Hatcher served as technical editor of ''American Rifleman'' magazine. He died at his home in Falls Church, Virginia, on December 4, 1963.

Books

Hatcher author or co-authored the following books:

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References

External links

''Hatcher's Notebook''
at archive.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatcher, Julian
1888 births
1963 deaths
Military personnel from Virginia
Ballistics experts
American military writers
United States Army generals
United States Naval Academy alumni
United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni
United States Army War College alumni
United States Army personnel of World War I
United States Army personnel of World War II
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
Recipients of the Legion of Merit