M1 carbine

Performance

The M1 Carbine bolt mechanism is similar to the M1 Garand rifle however the Carbine has a different gas system and trigger mechanism design. The gas system is a lightweight tappet-and-slide gas system. Initially fed from a 15 round magazine, a 30 round magazine was introduced for use with the M2 model.

One characteristic of .30 Carbine ammunition is that from the beginning of production, non-corrosive primers were specified. This was the first major use of this type of primers in a military firearm. Because the rifle had a closed gas system, not normally disassembled, corrosive primers would have led to a rapid deterioration of the gas system. The use of non-corrosive primers was a novelty to service ammunition at this time. Some misfires were reported in early lots of .30 M1 carbine ammunition, attributed to moisture ingress of the non-corrosive primer compound.

The very first Carbines, those made before mid-1943, were originally equipped with a "V-cut" extractor for removal of the fired round from the chamber. The "V-cut" design was found to be flawed and unreliable. In the field "V-cut" extractors were reground to a straight configuration, which enhanced reliability, until factory production was able to supply the better design.

Reports of insufficient power have been reported with the M1 Carbine during its period of military service, though the carbine was not designed for offensive use. The M1 Carbine had a high practical rate of fire. This, and the carbine's light weight, compactness, and low recoil made it a convenient self-defense weapon. With a much-reduced kick compared to the M1 Garand, a soldier would be able to fire multiple aimed shots more rapidly.

The .30 Carbine's bullet weighs 110 grains (7.1 grams) and has a muzzle velocity of 1,900 ft/s, (580 m/s) giving it 880 foot-pounds (1,190 joules) of energy. In comparison, a .357 Magnum revolver fires the same weight bullet at about 1,300 ft/s (396 m/s) for about 410 foot-pounds (560 J) of energy, though the .357 is of larger diameter, and often equipped with an expanding bullet design. (Reference: Winchester Ammunition). Nevertheless, reports of the carbine's failure to stop enemy soldiers are well documented in individual after-action reports, postwar evaluations, and service histories of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps.

Categorizing the M1 Carbine series has been the subject of much debate. The M1 Carbine is sufficiently accurate at short ranges. At 100 yards, the Carbine can deliver groups of between 3 and 5 minutes of angle, sufficient for its intended purpose as a close-range defensive weapon. Its muzzle energy and range are beyond those of any submachine gun of the period, though its bullet is much lighter in weight and smaller in diameter than .45 caliber weapons, and much less powerful than those of other service rifles of the period.

The classification of the M2 and M3 is also a controversial subject. The M1 and later M2 Carbine was never designed to be an assault rifle, in league with the later German StG44 and Russian AK-47, and the .30 Carbine gives up significant muzzle velocity (roughly 350 ft/s or 100 m/s) to both. Additionally, the bullets used in the cartridges of the AK-47 and StG44 are spitzer designs, and suffer less energy loss and trajectory drop at distances beyond 100 yards. Most authorities list the effective combat range of the M1 Carbine at around 200 yards, compared to 250-300 yards for the AK-47 and StG44.

[edit] Attachments

The M1 Carbine was used with the M8 grenade launcher, which was fired with the M6 cartridge. The M1 Carbine was designed to be used with the M4 bayonet. The M4 bayonet formed the basis for the later M6 and M7 bayonet-knives.

During World War II, the T23 flash hider was also developed, which could greatly reduce muzzle flash; it was developed from an earlier model for the M1 Garand.

The M3 Carbine was initially used with the M1 sniper scope ("Snooperscope"), which was an active infrared scope system. Before the M3 Carbine and M1 sniper scope were type-classified, they were known as the T3 and T120, respectively. The system continued to be developed, and by the time of the Korean War, it was used with the M3 sniper scope. Eventually, the scopes would be superseded by passive infrared scopes. All the M1 attachments would fade out of U.S. military service during the 1960s, when the M1 Carbine would be replaced by the 5.56 mm firearms — the M16 and its carbine variants, such as the XM177/CAR-15. Many of the attachments continued to be used with other countries that also used the M1, such as South Vietnam and Israel. Civilians also bought many surplus attachments.

The M1 carbine could also launch rifle grenades using special ammunition.

[edit] Production and usage

A total of 6.25 million M1 Carbines of various models were manufactured, thus making it the most produced small arm in American military history. Despite being designed by Winchester, the great majority of these were made by other companies. The largest producer was the Inland division of General Motors, but many others were made by contractors as diverse as IBM and the Rock-Ola jukebox company. Rock-Ola carbines are considered to have the highest collector value, as they are the rarest version.[1]

The German designation for captured Carbines was Selbstladekarabiner 455(a). The "(a)" came from the country name in German; in this case, Amerika.

The SAS used the M1 & M1A1 Carbines after 1943. The weapon was taken into use simply because a decision had been taken by the Allied authorities to supply 0.30 calibre weapons from US stocks in the weapons containers dropped to Resistance groups sponsored by an SOE, or later also OSS, organizer, on the assumption the groups so supplied would be operating in areas that would be within the operational boundaries of USA forces committed to Operation Overlord.^{[citation needed]} They were found to be suited to the kind of operation the two British, two French and one Belgian Regiment carried out. It was handy enough to parachute with, and, in addition, could be easily stowed in an operational jeep. Other specialist intelligence collection units, such as 30 Assault Unit sponsored by the Naval Intelligence Division of the British Admiralty, which operated across the entire Allied area of operations also made use of this weapon.^{[citation needed]}

A variant of the M1 Carbine was produced shortly after WWII by the Japanese manufacturer Howa Machinery, under U.S. supervision. These carbines were issued to all branches of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and large numbers of them found their way to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.

Numerous M1 Carbines were obtained and used by the Israeli Palmach-based special forces in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Because of their compact size and semi-auto capabilities, the M1 Carbines were given to reconnaissance companies of the Israeli Defence Forces.

It was also used by police and border guard in Bavaria after WWII and into the 1950s. The carbines were stamped according to the branch they were in service with; for instance, those used by the border guard were stamped "BUNDESGRENZSCHUTZ". Some of these weapons were modified with different sights, finishes, and sometimes new barrels.

After the Korean War, the carbine was widely exported to U.S. allies and client states (such as South Korea, Taiwan, ROC and other European allies), and was used as a frontline weapon well into the Vietnam era. The M1 Carbine was also issued to the Korean and Israeli military and police forces.

[edit] Hunting and civilian use

Surplus Carbines are popular among firearms enthusiasts in the U.S. and elsewhere. Starting in the mid-1950s, U.S. military surplus M1 Carbines were sold through the National Rifle Association for $20 (USD). When surplus stocks began to wane, there was limited civilian production of the design by Iver Johnson, Universal (who made some changes in the parts), and then Israel Arms International. This extended production into the 1990s. As of 2004, the M1 Carbine was again being manufactured commercially by a subsidiary of Kahr Arms, Auto-Ordnance Company.

The M1 Carbine is still in use today by many civilian shooters and police around the world. The .30 Carbine is used for a number of types of hunting, including that of white-tailed deer. It is considered minimally acceptable as a deer cartridge: the .30 Carbine is essentially the .32 Winchester SL, a cartridge that was found to be underpowered for the same game and was obsolete by 1940. The .30 Carbine cartridge is definitely underpowered for larger North American game such as elk, moose, and bear, which are significantly tougher than humans. Some U.S. states prohibit the use of the .30 Carbine round for deer and larger animals due to a lessened chance of killing an animal in a single shot, even with expanding bullets. The select-fire version is highly restricted.

The gun's inherent short-range accuracy, combined with a somewhat diminished risk of over-penetration due to its round-headed comparatively lightweight projectile, is considered to be of tactical use in urban areas, where civilians may be on the other side of walls. The bullet is actually about twice as heavy as 5.56 mm NATO bullets, and has an order of magnitude higher penetration than submachine guns, as various ballistic tests confirm.

In 1963, firearms designer and promoter Melvin Johnson introduced a 5.7 mm caliber version of the M1 Carbine, aka 'the Spitfire'. Johnson promoted the smaller caliber and the modified carbine as a survival rifle for jungle or other remote areas. While the concept had some military application when used for this role in the selective-fire M2 Carbine, it was not pursued and few 5.7 mm Spitfire carbines were made.^[1]

The Israeli police still uses the M1 Carbine as a standard long gun for non-combat elements and MASHAZ volunteers. During the late 1990s, the police started to issue a Micro Galil variant called the Magal chambered in .30 Carbine, but after extensive problems with various malfunctions, they withdrew the weapon from service in 2001. Today, non-combat police units are equipped with Micro Galils chambered in 5.56mm and M1 and M1A1 Carbines.

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a police battalion named BOPE (Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais, or "Special Police Operations Battalion") still uses the M1 Carbine.

The government of the Philippines still issues M1 carbines together with M1 Garands, M14s and M16s to the Civilian Auxiliary Forces Geographical Unit or (CAFGU) and Civilian Volunteer Organization (CVO).

[edit] Operators summary

• Allies of World War II (1940s)
• Bavaria (1940s–50s, Border Guard)
• Brazil (present, BOPE)
• Greenland (present, police)
• Israel (1945–1957, Israeli Defence Forces; 1970s–present, Israeli Police; 1974–present, MASHAZ)
• Italy (Carabinieri, as of 1992)
• South Vietnam (1960s–70s)
• United Kingdom (Royal Ulster Constabulary, as of 1992)
• United States (1940s–60s/70s, Armed Forces)
• Norway (Used by the Norwegian Army 1951-70, as well as with some Norwegian police units until the 1990s)

[edit] Current production

The Auto-Ordnance division of Kahr Arms began production of an M1 Carbine replica in 2005. It is largely a faithful reproduction of the original, but with a later lever-safety (instead of the more common button safety). The AOM110W and AOM120W models feature a birch stock and handguard, parkerized receiver and flip style rear sight. The AOM130 and AOM140 models feature American walnut stock and handguard, parkerized receiver, flip style rear sight, flat bolt and a barrel band.

An Israeli arms company called Advanced Combat Systems offers a modernized bullpup design of the M1 Carbine called Hezi SM-1. The company claimed accuracy of 1.5 MOA in 100 yards with the weapon.[2]

[edit] Variants

[edit] Carbine, Cal .30, M1A1

• Folding stock, 15-round magazine
• Paratrooper usage
• About 150,000 produced

[edit] Carbine, Cal .30, M1A2

• Proposed variant with improved sight adjustable for windage and elevation
• Not produced, instead new sight incorporated into new production carbines

[edit] Carbine, Cal .30, M1A3

• Pantograph stock, 15-round magazine
• Type standardized to replace the M1A1 but may not have been issued.
• Pantograph stock was more rigid than the M1A1's folding stock and folded flush under the fore end.

[edit] Carbine, Cal .30, M2

• Early 1945
• The M2 carbine was a selective fire (capable of fully-automatic fire) version and was used with a 30-round magazine
• About 600,000 produced

[edit] Carbine, Cal .30, M3

• M2 with mounting (T3 mount) for an early active (infrared) night vision sight.
• An improved version of the M3, with a revised mount and with the infrared spotlight mounted on top of the scope instead of hanging from the barrel, was used in Korea and Vietnam.
• About 3,000 produced.

The M1 .30 Carbine is a fun gun to shoot.  Recoil is very mild and its light weight makes it ideal for women shooters.  World War 2 produced Carbines were produced by several different contractors.  None of the contractors actually produced complete guns.  That is, many parts were subcontrated, and the major producers assembled complete guns from their own parts and those of the subcontractors.

 

The Carbine shoots an "intermediate" power cartridge similar to the 7.62x39 Combloc and .223 Remington, but it is not as powerful as either of them.  It's effective range is about 200 yards.  The Carbine was issued to replace the .45 pistol for service troops, NCO's, and officers during WW2 and Korea.  The idea was to give them a longer-ranged weapon than the service pistol.  The Carbine is more like a long ranged pistol than a rifle.  However, since it looks like a rifle, people expected it to perform like a rifle.

 

In the real world of combat, the .30 Carbine was not a good "stopper" of bad guys in both WW2, Korea, and Vietnam.  Many troops issued Carbines got rid of them at the first opportunity and replaced them with the heavier .30 M1 Garand rifle.  The Carbine was issued as the M1 with a wooden stock, the M1A1 (for paratroops) with a folding wire stock, the M2 a select-fire version with a wooden stock, and the M3 with select-fire and an infra-red night scope. 

 

During the 1960's, a cottge industry grew up building civilian replicas of the Carbine using surplus parts and newly made receivers.  Later as G.I. parts dried up, Carbines were assembled with new commercial parts.  Some of the commercial guns were of good quality and some were not.  That's why G.I. Carbines are highly prized -- they work pretty well.  Most of the time, if you have a G.I. Carbine that malfunctions, a new set of springs will usually cure most problems.  For some of the commercial guns, their problems are more difficult to cure.