The Little M1 Carbine Appreciation Blog

The M1 Garand is the star when it comes to American WWII milsurp, and while of course it is a great firearm with tons of history...Now its time to give the little M1 Carbine its due.

The M1 Carbine was ahead of its time in several ways, was easy to mass produce, and is easy to learn how to shoot effectively. It saw extensive military service for over 3 decades, and in fact was used longer than the Garand. Today, the Carbine is a great firearm for milsurp collectors and is a lot of fun to take out to the range thanks to its reliability and low recoil.

Truth is, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for this gun. For years it was under appreciated, but it makes me happy that in recent years it has finally been given the recognition it deserves. So lets dive in and take a brief look at the M1 Carbine family of smallarms.

(sorry this was a bit rushed, i've been very busy lately)

Development:
After the Army had adopted the M1 Garand, it was soon discovered that it was a bit too heavy and long for use by specialized units. So in 1938, a request went out to various smallarms manufacturers for a lightweight and compact weapon, capable of firing in both semi-automatic and fully-automatic modes. Later, it would further specify that the new weapon should weigh roughly 5 lbs and be effective out to at least 300 yards. Around the same time, Winchester hired a former convict named David Marshall Williams , who had been working on just such a carbine type weapon.

In 1941, the military began testing a new 7.62x33mm caliber intermediate type cartridge, which became the .30 US Carbine round. It used a round nosed bullet, straight walled casing, and non-corrosive primer. At first, Winchester was not interested and declined to submit a prototype for the trials. However, a short time later after encouragement from many in the military, Winchester changed its mind. Frederick Humeston and William Roemer helped further develop Williams's initial design, and a working prototype was created very rapidly. In September of 1941, the new Winchester carbine design was entered into another round of trials, and was declared the winner a mere month later.

WWII & the M1:
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An Underwood mfg M1 in original WWII configuration: no bayonet lug, stamped sling swivel, flat-top bolt, 2 position flip sight, and push-button safety. Shown with 15 rd mag, sling, oiler, and belt mag pouch.

During the final part of 1941, the M1 Carbine was made ready for mass production. Most noteably, the ability to fire in full-automatic was dropped to save time, so the weapon became a semi-auto only like the M1 Garand. It used a Tappet type short stroke gas piston system developed by Williams, with a two lug rotating bolt. It fed from detachable 15 round magazines and had a flip rear sight with two elevation settings. In mid 1942, the first carbines were taken into actual combat. During the early part of WWII, most were sent to the European Theatre. It wasn't until 1944, that they began to appear in real numbers in the Pacific.

Soldiers liked the new M1 Carbine for many reasons. It was compact, lightweight, fed from detachable magazines with a high capacity, was easy to learn to fire accurately, was easy to use in the field, and it was easy to clean and maintain. It did have some shortcomings though. Most of all, it had a limited range, with limited stopping power. Also, it was issued as a frontline weapon at times when it might have been wiser to hand out something like an M1 Garand or M1918 BAR. Nevertheless, most considered it handier and more effective than either the M1928A1/M1 Thompson or M50 Reising. It was often issued instead of a sidearm to secondline troops and vehicle drivers. A friend's father piloted landingcraft in the Pacific, and his issued weapon was an M1. I've been told he was quite faund of it.

From 1942 through 1945; Winchester, Irwin-Pedersen, Saginaw , Underwood , National Postal Meter, Quality Hardware Manufacturing, IBM, Standard Products, Rock-Ola, and Commercial Controls manufactured a combined total of over 6,500,000 M1 carbines. Production did not continue after the end of WWII, but the US military had enough Carbines to equip its troops for decades to come. In fact, the M1 was the most mass produced American military firearm of the war.

M1 Family Variants:
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A reproduction M1A1 mfg by Auto-Ordnance, with original style folding stock and pistol grip. Shown with 15 rd mag, sling, oiler, and later style mag pouch.

In May of 1942, the M1A1 variant was officially accepted into service. It was an even more compact version, with a metal folding stock and pistol grip. It was intended primarily for use by Paratroopers and saw extensive use at Normondy during the D-Day invasion. Generally speaking, it was well received; however, its folding stock was somewhat primative. While stronger than the one found on the Reising M55 SMG, it lacked a positive locking mechanism. Instead, it relied on spring tention to keep it in both its folded and unfolded positions. It was still able to get the job done though. Between 1942 and 1944, Inland turned out roughly 150,000 M1A1s, with the final production run in November of that year.

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An Underwood M1 in M2 configuration (less the full-auto parts). Has bayonet lug with later style barrel band, 4 rivet handguard, "potbelly" berch stock, M2 mag catch, M2 bolt, milled adjustable rear sight, and M2 op-rod. Shown with M1 Recoil Check device, 30 rd magazine, sling, oiler, and M2 mag pouch.

In October of 1944, the select fire T4 prototype of the Carbine was adopted as the M2. It began to be issued to the troops in April of the following year, both as a complete firearm and as a conversion kit for existing M1s. A semi/full selector switch was located on the left side of the receiver, towards the front. Only a few other parts were required to convert a standard M1 into the M2. To strengthen the carbine for automatic fire, a heavier bolt with a round body was used. Also, the forearm was made slightly thicker and the handguard was held together with four rivets rather than two. It is estimated that over 600,000 M2s were built. To go along with the full-auto capable weapon, new extended 30 round magazines went into production. To support these heavier magazines, a reinforced mag catch was introduced. It had three locking tabs rather than the original two. In the late 1940s, a new device was issued for use on the M2. Named the M1 Recoil Check" it was a muzzle brake which slipped over the barrel and tightened down with a wing nut. It was designed to reduce muzzle climb during automatic fire and was quite effective. The M1 Check was manufactured by Inland throughout the early 1950s.
In 1945, a specialized night fighting version of the M2 Carbine began to be fielded. It was known as the M3 and featured the M1 (later upgraded as the M2 and M3) active infrared night vision scope system. It had a dovetail for the optic and lacked standard iron sights. The T3 prototype version made its combat debut during the invasion of the Japanese island of Okinawa. The night vision system was primative, heavy, bulky, and had a short battery life; but it was one of the first of its kind and did give US soldiers a tactical advantage. The T3 was standardized as the M3 in August and roughly 2,100 would be produced in total. The design would see continual improvements as technology advanced throughout the 1950s. One attachment developed for it was the M3 flash hider, which appeared right after the end of the war. It had a conical shape and attached like the Recoil Check device. These were manufactured by both Springfield and Underwood during and after the Korean War. The M3 Carbine was last used in combat during the Vietnam War.

The M1 Carbine had several relatively minor but important changes/alterations during its military service. One of the first was in 1943, when the original 'v' shaped extractor was changed to a straight style. This was done to address extraction related reliability issues. At first, the M1 did not have the ability to mount a bayonet. Instead, it was issued with the M3 combat knife; however in 1945, the barrel band was changed to include a bayonet lug. After WWII and during the Korean War, the Carbine was issued with the M4 bayonet, which itself was basically an M3 knife altered so it could lock onto a lug. The safety was changed from a button style to a rotating lever type, so soldiers would not easily confuse it with the magazine catch. The 2 aperture rear flip sight was replaced with a fully adjustable one and several stock variations appeared. Many M1 Carbines also received a new pattern of round bolt. It was heavier which improved lock time, and it was also faster and easier to machine. It is worth noting that by the end of 1944, only Winchester and Inland were still manufacturing the Carbine.

the Carbine Soldiers On:
Large numbers of the M1/M2 were issued during Korea; and in that war, it developed a rather mixed reputation. While it was quite popular in WWII, in Korea many accused it of jamming (especially in the Cold) and of not having enough stopping power (especially when fired against soldiers wearing heavy winter clothing). The Marine Corps utilized the M2 effectively at Inchon and Seoul, but when it was used at Chosin Reservoir in freezing weather, results were not positive. Studies conducted by the military showed these claims were not 100% accurate, but nevertheless the Carbine's reputation suffered. Many soldiers tried to get their hands on an SMG such as the Thompson or Grease Gun instead of sticking with their issued Carbine. Nevertheless, as the war drug on, the M1 Carbine replaced the M1 Garand in ever larger numbers.
The weapon was still in active service when the Vietnam War heated up in the mid 1960s. It was primarily used by special forces and by soldiers on guard duety. Thousands were also given to the South Vietnamese army. The Air Force hung onto the M1 Carbine longer than the other brantches, finally retiring most of its stockpile in the early 1970s. Today, the firearm is strictly the domain of shooters and collectors. It is interesting to note though that the M1 Carbine did remain in active (actual use) military service longer than the M1 Garand.

The M1 was ahead of its time. The original version was nearly a PDW, and the M2 was just shy of being one of the very first assault rifles. If it had been chambered for a slightly more powerful cartridge, its place in history might have been very different. That said, it is still a very important part of American milsurp today. The .30 US Carbine cartridge itself could be considered one of the earliest "intermediate" cartridges; a class which today includes 7.62x39mm, 5.56x45mm, and more.

Specifications
U.S. Service: 1942-1973
weight: 5 lb 3 oz
length: 35.5"
barrel: 18"
Muzzle velocity: 1990 fps, 967 ft-lbs.
Effective Range: 300 ft.
Caliber: .30 US Carbine / 7.62x33mm (108 gr bullet, 13 gr charge)

I admit it....I like the M1 Carbine more. I also think it was a more forward-thinking and modern gun for its day and time. Afterall, it had a detachable and high-capacity magazine, was compact and light, was offered in a folding stock variant, was also offered as a select-fire, and was fast and easy to mass-produce. All of these things would define later military rifles such as the AK47, M16, and so so so many others.