M1 CARBINE -Small, Handy, & Light

 M1 CARBINE

The .30" caliber semi-auto Carbine was designed from the outset as a handy, light-weight, and easy to use rifle, and is not a shortened full-sized weapon. It is gas operated with a rotating bolt and uses 15 round or 30 round detachable box magazines.

                                                CARBINE Caliber .30" M1

A selective fire model is called the M2 Carbine , and there was a little known (well – I'd never heard of it!) M3(T3) Carbine that had an infrared scope system that was highly successful when used in Okinawa and later in Korea.

US Army Ordinance specified the M1 for use by army specialists not using the service rifle as a fulltime arm. They called for a compact, lightweight defensive weapon that weighed less than half as much as the M1 Rifle or Thompson machine gun, was more accurate than a M1911 Pistol, and had a range of 300 yards. - Designed at Winchester – by Jonathon "Ed" Browning, the M1 was refined/completed by David Marshall "Carbine" Williams who worked on his short-stroke gas piston design while serving a prison sentence for second degree murder in a North Carolina minimum-security work farm! Winchester were late submitting their prototype carbine – but it was an 'immediate hit' with the army observers while other submisions were unsatisfactory.

.30" Carbine Cartridge

The carbines were chambered in a new .30" caliber cartridge (7.62mm) that is essentially a rimless version of the obsolete .32 Winchester Self Loading Cartridge. Fired from an 18"barrel having four lands & grooves and a 1 in 20 right-hand twist, its 110gr round-nose bullet made a muzzle velocity of 1970 fps (600m/s) – about twice the muzzle energy of a .45"ACP. The exclusive use of non-corrosive primer ammunition was cheered as a great advance, but the M1 Carbine gained a reputation as lacking penetration and knock-down power, and for jamming in Korean exteme cold weather conditions (caused by inadequate recoil impulse & weak return springs). More than 6.5Million carbines were built by various makers during WW2, at an average cost of $45 each (less than half the cost of an M1 Rifle). Some 10 carbine producers and 6 barrel makers are recorded.

The handy, easy shooting nature of the M1 Carbine ("- more than a pistol, less than a rifle.") - its power being only a little more than a .357"Magnum make it (almost) ideal for use on a Club pistol range.. except for it being rated as a M.S.S.A . 'E' Category firearm by NZ Police with the original magazines.- However, 5 round (and 10 round) magazines are made. The Ruger Blackhawk Revolver has been available in .30 Carbine caliber since 1967 to make a neat handgun / rifle combo.

American company Legacy Sports recently (Nov 2013) announced a blowback 9x19mm version called the 'Citadel M1 Carbine' using Beretta 92 magazines (10 or 15 round capacity) -This would be very handy if cut-down smaller capacity (non-'E'Cat.) magazines were available.- Made in Italy by Chiappa.

 Marty K.
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