The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight, easy to use semi-automatic carbine that became a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, and was produced in several variants. It was widely used by U.S. and foreign military, paramilitary and police forces, and has also been a popular civilian firearm.
In selective fire versions capable of fully automatic fire, the carbine is designated the M2 Carbine. The M3 Carbine was an M2 with an active infared scope system. Unlike conventional carbines, which are generally a version of a parent rifle with a shorter barrel, the M1 carbine has only one minor part in common with the M1 rifle (a short buttplate screw) and fires a different cartridge.
Prior to World War II, Army Ordnace received reports from various branches (infantry, armor, artillery, supply) that the full size M1 rifle was unsuitable as issued for an increasing number of soldiers with specialized training (mortar crews, Rangers, paratroopers, machine gun crews, radiomen, tankers, artillerymen, forward observers, signals troops, engineers, headquarters staff, etc.) who did not use the service rifle as a primary arm. During prewar and early war field excersises, it was noticed that these troops, when issued the rifle, often found their individual weapon too heavy and cumbersome. In addition to impeding the soldier's mobility, a slung rifle would frequently catch on brush, bang the helmet, or tilt it over the eyes. Many soldiers found the rifle slid off the shoulder unless slung diagonally across the back, where it prevented the wearing of standard field packs and haversacks. Alternate weapons such as the M1911 pistol and M1917 revolver, while undeniably convenient, were often insufficiently accurate or powerful, while the Thompson submachine gun, though reliable, was heavy and limited in both practical accuracy and penetration at typical combat ranges.
WWII M1 Carbine
Additionally, Germany's use of glider-borne and paratroop forces to infiltrate and attack strategic points behind the front lines generated a request for a compact, selective-fire infantry small arm to equip support units and line-of-communications troops who might find themselves engaged in combat without prior warning. U.S. Army Ordnance decided that a selective-fire carbine would adequately fulfill all of these reqirements, but specified that the new arm should add no more than five pounds to the existing equipment load. The requirement for the new firearm called for a compact, lightweight defensive weapon with an effective range of 300 yds, with greater range, firepower, and accuracy than the pistol, while weighing half as much as the Thompson submachine gun or M1 Garand. Parachutists were added to the list of intended users after Ordnance received a request for a lighter and more compact infantry arm for airborne forces, and a folding stock (M1A1) version of the carbine was introduced in May 1942 to meet this requirement.
Designing the M1 carbine[]
M1 rifle and M1 Carbine.
In 1938, the Chief of Infantry requested the Ordnance Department develop a "light rifle" or carbine, though the formal requirement for the weapon type was not approved until 1940. This led to a competition in 1941 by major U.S. firearm companies and designers. The prototypes for the carbine competition were chambered for a new cartridge, the .30 Carbine, a smaller and lighter .30 caliber (7.62mm) round very different from the .30-06 in both design and performance. The .30 Carbine cartridge was intermediate in muzzle energy and velocity. Essentially a rimless version of the obsolete .32 Winchester Self-Loading cartridge, the .30 Carbine had a round-nose 110-grain bullet. From an 18 in barrel, the .30 Carbine round produced a muzzle velocity of approximately 1,970 ft.
Winchester at first did not submit a carbine design, as it was occupied in developing the .30-06 Winchester M2 military rifle. The rifle originated as a diesign by Jonathan Browning. A few months after Browning's death in May 1939, Winchester hired ex-convict David M. Williams, who had begun work on a short-stroke gas piston design while serving a prison sentence. Winchester hoped Williams would be able to complete various designs left unfinished by Browning, including the Winchester .30-06 M2 rifle. Williams incorporated his short-stroke piston in the existing design. After the Marine Corps semi-automatic rifle trials in 1940, Browning's rear-locking tilting bolt design proved unreliable in sandy conditions. As a result, the rifle was redesigned to incorporate a Garand-style rotating bolt an operating rod, retaining Williams' short-stroke piston. By May 1941, Williams had shaved the M2 prototype from about 9.5 lbs to a mere 7.5 lbs.
From prototype to completion[]
Ordnance found unsatisfactory the first series of prototype carbines submitted by several firearms compainies and some independent designers. Winchester had contacted the Ordnance Department to examine their M2 rifle design. Major Rene Studler of Ordnance believed the rifle design could be scaled down to a carbine which would weigh 4.5 to 4.75 lbs. and demanded a prototype as soon as possible. The first model was developed by Winchester in 13 days by William C. Roemer, Fred Humeston and three other Winchester engineers under supervision of Edwin Pugsley, essentially Williams' last version of the .30-06 M2 scaled down to the .30 SL cartridge. This patchwork prototype was cobbled together using the trigger housing and lockwork of a Winchester m1905 rifle and a modified Garand operating rod. The prototype was an immediate hit with Army observers.
81mm mortar crew in action at Camp Carson, Colorado, April 24, 1943. The soldier on the left has an M1 Carbine slung on his back.
After the initial Army testing in August 1941, the Winchester design team set out to develop a more refined version. Williams participated in the finishing of this prototype. The second prototype completed successfully against all remaining carbine candidates in Sept. 1941, and Winchester was notified of their success the very next month. Standardization of the M1 Carbine was approved on Oct. 22, 1941.
In 1974 the senior technical editor at the NRA contacted Edwin Pugsley for a "technical last statement" on M1 carbine history shortly before his death. According to Pugsley, "The carbine was not developed by a single man," but was the result of a team effort including Bill Roemer, Marsh Williams, Fred Humeston, Cliff Warner, at least three other Winchester engineers, and Pugsley himself. Ideas were taken and modified from the Winchester M2 Browning rifle (Williams' gas system), the Winchester 1905 rifle (fire control group), M1 Garand (buttstock, bolt and operating slide), and a percussion shotgun in Pugsley's collection (hook breech and barrel band assembly/disassembly).
Combat Use[]
World War II[]
M1 Carbine at First Iwo Jima Flag Raising
The first M1 carbines were delivered in mid-1942, with initial priority given to troops in the European Theater of Operations (ETO).
The M1 carbine, with its reduced-power .30 cartridge was not originally intended to serve as a primary weapon for combat infantrymen, nor was it comparable to more powerful assault rifles developed late in the war. Nevertheless, the carbine was soon widely issued to infantry officers, American paratroopers, NCOs, ammunition bearers, forward artillery observers, and other frontline troops. Its reputation in front-line combat was mixed. The M1 carbine gained generally high praise for its small size, light weight and firepower, especially by those troops who were unable to use a full-size rifle as their primary weapon. However, negative reports began to surface with airborne operations in Sicily in 1943, and increased during the fall and winter of 1944.
In the Pacific theater, soldiers and guerilla forces operating in heavy jungle with only occasional enemy contact praised the carbine for its small size, light weight, and firepower. Other soldiers and marines engaged in frequent daily firefights (particularly those serving in the Philippines) found the weapon to have insufficient stopping power and penetration. Reports of the carbine's failure to stop enemy soldiers, sometimes after multiple hits, appeared in individual after-action reports, postwar evaluations, and service histories of both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps. Aware of these shortcomings, the U.S. Army, its Pacific Command Ordnance staff, and the Aberdeen small arms facility continued to work on shortened versions of the M1 rifle throughout the war, though none was ever officially adopted.
While the .30 Carbine cartridge used in the M1 Carbine could not penetrate small trees and light cover as well as the standard U.S. .30-06 rifle cartridge, it was markedly superior to the .45-caliber Reising and Thompson submachine guns in both accuracy and penetration, while its lighter .30 caliber cartridge allowed soldiers to carry more ammunition. Lt. Col. John George, a small arms expert and intelligence officer serving in Burma, reported that .30 Carbine bullets would easily penetrate the front and back of steel helmets, as well as the body armor used by Japanese forces of the era.
The carbine's exclusive use of non-corrosive primered ammunition was found to be a godsend by troops and ordnance personnel serving in the Pacific, where barrel corrosion was a significant issue with the corrosive primers used in .30-06 caliber weapons. However, in the ETO some soldiers reported misfires attributed to moisture ingress of the non-corrosive primer compound.
Select-fire and infared sight versions[]
Initially, the M1 carbine was intended to have a select-fire capability, but in order to speed development of the adopted design, a decision was made to omit this feature. On Oct. 26, 1944, in response to increased use of automatic fire weapons on the battlefield, the select-fire M2 carbine was adopted, along with a new 30-round magazine. The M2 had a fully automatic rate-of-fire of about 850-900 rounds-per-minute. Although actual M2 production began late in the war (April 1945)_, US Ordnance issued conversion part kits to allow field conversion of semi-auto M1 carbines to the selective-fire M2 configuration. These converted M1/M2 select-fire carbines saw limited combat service in Europe, primarily during the final Allied advance into Germany. In the Pacific, both converted and original M2 carbines saw limited use in the last days of fighting in the Philippines.
The M3 carbine (a selective-fire M2 with the M1 infared night sight or sniperscope) was first used in combat by Army units during the invsion of Okinawa. For the first time, U.S. soldiers had a weapon that allowed them to visually detect Japanese infiltrating into American lines at night, even during complete darkness. A team of two or three soldiers was used to operate the weapon and provide support. At night, the scope would be used to detect Japanese patrols and assault unit moving forward. At that point, the operator would fire a burst of automatic fire at the greenish image of enemy soldiers. The M3 with the M1 sight had an effective range of about 70 yards. Fog and rain further reduced the weapon's effective range. It is estimated that fully 30% of Japanese casualties inflicted by rifle and carbine fire during the Okinawan campaign were caused by the M3 carbine and its M1 sniperscope.
Korean War[]
M1 carbine in action during Korean War. Note: 30-round magazine, stock pouch for two 15-round magazine and grenade launcher.
The M1, M2, and M3 carbine all saw service during the Korean War, althought the M2 armed the majority of U.S. Army and Marine units deployed there. In Korea, all versions of the carbine soon acquired a widespread reputation among both soldiers and marines for jamming in extreme cold weather conditions, eventually traced to inadequate recoil impulse and weak return springs. A 1951 official U.S. Army evaluation of scores of individual after-action reports for all small arms usage in Korea by the Eighth Army from Nov. 1, 1950 to Mar. 1, 1951 documented the weapon's cold-weather shortcomings, as well as noting complaints from individual soldiers that the carbine bullet failed to stop heavily clothed or gear-laden North Korean and Chinese (PLA) troops at close range after multiple hits. Soldiers reported that their "reaction to the weapons family was almost universally to the point that what they have is good and adequate to the tactical need....." The one exception was the carbine. One company in the 38th Infantry Regiment expressed its satisfaction with this weapon; but it was alone in the Eighth Army. In all other units, bad experience in battle had made troops shy of this weapon. Marines of the 1st Marine Division also reported incidents of carbine bullets failing to stop enemy soldiers, and some units issued standing orders for carbine users to aim for the head. Ironically, PLA infantry forces who had been issued captured U.S. small arms disliked the carbine for the same reason.
The M3 carbine with an inproved M2 (later, M3) infared sniperscope also returned to combat, and was used principally during the static stages of the conflict against night infiltrators. The M3 with the improved M3 night sight had an effective range of approximately 125 yds.
Vietnam[]
ARVN soldiers with M1 carbines and U.S. Special forces with M16s.
The M1 and M2 carbines were again issued to U.S. forces during the Vietnam War, particularly with the United States Air Force Security Police and United States Army Special Forces. These weapons began to be replaced by the M16 and M16A1 in the early-to-mid 1960s and were generally out of service by the late 1960s. However, they were used in limited numbers by U.S. troops and security personnel until the fall of Saigon in 1975. At least 793,994 M1 and M2 carbines wer given to the South Vietnamese and were used widely throughout the Vietnam War. A number were captured during the war by the Vietcong.
The M1/M2/M3 carbines were the most heavily produced family of U.S. military weapons for several decades. They were used by every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and are one of the most recognized firearms in the world.
Design and operation[]
A U.S. anti-tank crew in combat in the Netherlands, November 4, 1944. The soldier on the far right is holding an M1 Carbine.
The M1 Carbine's bolt mechanism is similar to the M1 rifle, though 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 the M2.
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 reliablility, until factory production was able to supply the better design.
The .30 Carbine cartridge was intermediate in both muzzle energy and velocity. It is essentially a rimless version of the obsolete .32 Winchester Self-Loading cartridge. The .30 Carbine had a round-nose 110-grain bullet, in contrast to the spitzer bullet designs found in most full-power rifle cartridges of the day. From the M1 carbine's 18 in barrel, the .30 Carbine round produced a muzzle velocity of approximately 1,970 ft. At the M1 carbine's maximum effective combat range of 300 yds, its bullet has about the same energy as pistol rounds like the 8mm Nambu do at the muzzle. Bullet drop is significant past 200 yds.
One characteristic of .30 Carbne ammunition is that from the beginning of production, non-corrosive primers were specified. This was the first major use of this type of primer 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 in service ammunition at this time. Some misfires were reported in early lots of .30 Carbine ammunition, attributed to moisture ingress of the non-corrosive primer compound.
Accessories[]
A United States Marine equipped with an M1 Carbine in the Battle of Iwo Jima, February 1945. An M8 grenade launcher can be seen attached to the muzzle of the weapon.
Perhaps the most common accessory used on the M1 Carbine was a magazine pouch that was mounted to the right side of the stock and held two spare 15-round magazines. At first, these were standard belt pouches that were modified by the troops in the field to fit on the M1 Carbine's stock. However, the military soon recognized the value of these stock pouches and made them a standard-issue item. After the introduction of the 30-round magazine, it was common for troops to tape two 30-round magazines together. This led the military to introduce the "Jungle Clip", which was a metal clamp that would hold two magazines together without the need for tape.
The M1 carbine was used with the M8 grenade launcher, which was fired with the M6 cartridge to launch 22mm rifle grenades. It also accepts the M4 bayonet, which was based on the M3 knife. The M4 bayonet formed the basis for the later M6 and M7 bayonet-knives. The carbine was modified from its original design to incorporate a bayonet, due to requests from the field. Very few carbines wih bayonet lugs reached the front lines before the end of World War II. This modification was made to nearly all carbines during arsenal rebuild following WWII. By the time the Korean War began, the bayonet-equipped M1 was the standard issue. It is now rare to find a non bayonet lug-equipped original M1 carbine. As carbines were reconditioned at arsenals, parts such as the magazine catch, rear sight, barrel band with bayonet lug, and stock were upgraded with the current standard issue parts, usually parts as redesignated for the M2 carbine. During WWII, the T23 (M3) flash hider was designed to reduce the muzzle flash from the carbine, but was not introduced into service until the advent of the M3 carbine.
Production[]
A total of over 6.5 million M1 carbines of various models were manufactured, making it the most produced small arm for the American military during WWII (compared with about 6 million M1 rifles and under 2 million Thompson submachine guns). 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, the Underwood Typewriter Company, and the Rock-Ola jukebox company. Many carbines were refurbished at several arsenals after the war, with many parts interchanged from original maker carbines. True untouched war production carbines, therefore, are the most desireable for collectors.
The M1 carbine was also one of the most cost-effective weapons used by the U.S. military during WWII. At the beginning of WWII, the average production cost for an M1 carbine was approximately $45, about half the cost of an M1 rifle at approximately $85 and about a fifth of the cost of a Thompson submachine gun at approximately $225.
Foreign usage[]
Ethiopean soldiers deployed with U.S. made weapons in Korea, 1953. Note the M1 Carbine with two 30-round magazines taped together "Jungle Style".
During WWII, the British SAS used the M1 and M1A1 carbines after 1943. The weapon was taken into use simply because a decision had been taken by Allied authorities to supply .30 caliber weapons from U.S. stocks in the weapons containers dropped to Resistance groups sponsored by an SOE, or later OSS, organizer, on the assumption the groups so supplied would be operating in areas within the operational bounderies of U.S. forces commited to Operation Overlord. The carbine was handy enough to parachute with,and, in addition, could be stowed away in an operational Jeep. The Carbine continued to be utilized as late as the Malayan Emergency, by the Police Field Force of the Royal Malaysian Police, along with other units of the British Army.
Small numbers of captured carbines wer used by German forces in WWII, particularly after D-Day. The German designation for captured carbines was Selbstladekarabiner 455(a). The "(a)" came from the country name in German; in this case, Amerika. It was also used by German police and border guards in Bavaria after WWII and into the 1950s.
A variant was produced shortly after WWII by the Japanese manufacturer Howa Machinery, under U.S. supervision. These were issued to all branches of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, and large numbers of them found their way to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.
South Vietnamese Popular Force members on patrol with M1 carbines.
The M1 carbine was also used by the Israeli Palmach-based special forces in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. And, because of their compact size and semi-automatic capabilities, they continued to be used by Israeli Defense Forces after the creation of Israel. The Israeli police still use M1 carbiness as standard long guns for non-combat elements and Mash'az volunteers.
The M1 carbine was also used by French paratroopers and Legionnaires during the Indo-China War and Algerian War.
The M1 and M2 carbines were widely used by military, police, and security forces during the many guerilla and civil wars throughout Latin America until the 1990s when they were mostly replaced by more modern designs.
In Rio de Janiero, Brazil, a police battalion named BOPEstill uses the M1 Carbine.
The government of the Philippines still issues M1 Carbines to the infantrymen of the Philippine Army's Second Infantry Division assigned in Luzon Island (some units are issued just M14 Automatic Rifles and M1 carbines). In many provinces of the Philippines, M1 carbines are still highly valued as a light small arm.
After WWII, the M1 and M2 carbines were widely exported to U.S. allies and client states (1,015,568 to South Korea, 793,994 to South Vietnam, 269,644 to France, etc.), they were used as a frontline weapon well into the Vietnam War era, and they continue to be used by military police and security forces around the world to this day.
Variants[]
The standard issue versions of the carbine officially listed and supported were the M1, M1A1, M2, and M3.
Carbine, Cal .30, M1A1[]
M1A1 Carbine. Paratrooper model with folding buttstock.
Folding stock, 15-round magazine
Paratrooper model
About 150,000 produced
Carbines originally issued with the M1A1 folding stock were made by Inland, a division of General Motors. Inland production of M1A1 carbines was interspersed with Inland production of M1 carbines with the standard stock. Stocks were often swapped out as carbines were refurbished at arsenals. An original Inland Carbine with an original M1A1 stock is rare today.
Carbine, Cal .30, M1A3[]
Pantographic 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 folded stock and folded flush under the fore end.
Carbine, Cal .30, M2[]
M2 Carbine, note the selector lever on the left side, opposite of the bolt handle.
Early 1945
Selective fire (capable of fully automatic fire)
30-round magazine
About 600,000 produced
Initially, the M1 carbine was intended to have select-fire capability, but the decision was made to put the M1 into production without this feature. Fully automatic capability was incorporated into the design of the M2 (an improved, selective-fire version of the M1), introduced in 1944. The M2 had a revised wood stock and featured the late M1 improvemtns to rear sight, a bayonet lug, and other minor changes.
Although some carbines were marked at the factory as M2, the only significant difference between an M1 and M2 carbine is the fire control group. Legally, a carbine marked M2 is always a machine gun for national firearms registry purposes.
Exploded view of M2 Carbine.
Other changes developed for the M2 were a 30-round magazine with three catch nibs (as opposed to two on the fifteen-round magazine); and a magazine catch with a third retaining surface. These M2 parts including the heavier M2 stock were standardized for arsenal rebuild of M1 and M1A1 carbines.
A modified round bold replaced the original flat top bolt to save machining steps in manufacture. Many erroneously refer to this round bolt as an 'M2 bolt' but it was developed as a standard part for new manufacture M1 and later M2 carbines and as a replacement part, with priority given to use on M1A1 and M2 carbines. The slightly heavier round bolt did moderate the cyclic rate of the M2 on full automatic.
Carbine, Cal .30, M2A2[]
Arsenal-refurbished (overstamped M2) model
Carbine, Cal .30, M3[]
M2 with mounting (T3 mount) for an early active (infared) night vision sight.
About 3,000 produced.
Three versions of night sight (M1, M2, and M3)
Original Korean War era USMC M3 Sniperscope
The M3 carbine was an M2 carbine fitted with a mount designed to accept an infared sight for use at night. It was initially used with the M1 sniperscope, an active infared sight, and saw action in 1945 with the Army during the invasion of Okinawa. The system continued to be developed, and by the time of the Korean War, the M3 carbine was used with the M3 sniperscope.
The M2 sniperscope extended the effective nighttime range of the M3 carbine to 100 yds. In the later stages of the Korean War, an improved version of the M3 carbine, with a revised mount, a forwared pistol grip, and a new M3 sniperscope design was used in the latter stages of Korea and briefely in Vietnam. The revised M3/M3 had an effective range of around 125 yds.
A famous photograph of Malcolm X holding an M1 with two 30-round magazines clipped together "Jungle Style".
Patty Hearst holding a sawed-off M1 carbine during her infamous bank robbery attempt.
