Firearm of the Day.

[Gatorade]

Mike sent me this one a while back. I think it’s appropriate!

[Caleb]

Originally Posted by Gatorade

Any chance to get a pic with the bayonet extended? That bayonet looks like it would add another two feet to it!

Best I can right right now.


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[sdmc530]

That is a long rifle. I bet it would suck to carry in battle

[Caleb]

Today’s Firearm of the Day is........

M1 Carbine:

The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight, easy to use,[3] .30 caliber (7.62 mm) semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and well into the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced in several variants and was widely used by not only the U.S. military, but by military, paramilitary and police forces around the world. It has also been a popular civilian firearm. The M2 carbine is the selective-fire version of the M1 carbine capable of firing in both semi-automatic and full-automatic. The M3 carbine was an M2 carbine with an active infrared scope system.[4]

Despite its name and similar appearance, the M1 carbine is not a shorter version of the M1 Garand rifle. It is a completely different firearm and it fires a different type of ammunition. It was simply called a carbine because it is smaller and lighter than the Garand.

On July 1, 1925, the U.S. Army began using the current naming system where the "M" is the designation for Model and the "number" represents the sequential development of equipment and weapons.[5] Therefore, the "M1 rifle" was the first rifle developed under this system. The "M1 carbine" was the first carbine developed under this system. The "M2 carbine" was the second carbine developed under the system, etc.

Prior to World War II, U.S. Army Ordnance received reports that the full-size M1 rifle was too heavy and cumbersome for most support troops (staff, mortarmen, radiomen, etc.) to carry. During prewar and early war field exercises, it was found that the M1 Garand impeded these soldier's mobility, as a slung rifle would frequently catch on brush, bang the helmet, or tilt 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.

Additionally, Germany's use of glider-borne and paratroop forces to launch surprise attacks behind the front lines, generated a request for a new compact infantry weapon to equip support troops.[6][7] This request called for a compact, lightweight defensive weapon with greater range, accuracy and firepower than handguns, while weighing half as much as the Thompson submachine gun or the M1 rifle.[6] The U.S. Army decided that a carbine would adequately fulfill all of these requirements, but specified that the new arm should weigh no more than five pounds and have an effective range of 300 yards.[8][9] Paratroopers were also added to the list of intended users and a folding-stock version would also be developed.

Designing the M1 carbineEdit
In 1938, the Chief of Infantry requested that 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.

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 design by Jonathan "Ed" Browning, brother of the famous firearm designer John Browning. A couple of months after Ed Browning's death in May 1939, Winchester hired David Marshall "Carbine" Williams who had begun work on a short-stroke gas piston design while serving a prison sentence at a North Carolina minimum-security work farm. Winchester, after Williams' release, had hired Williams on the strength of recommendations of firearms industry leaders, and hoped Williams would be able to complete various designs left unfinished by Ed 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 and operating rod, retaining Williams' short-stroke piston. By May 1941, Williams had shaved the M2 rifle prototype from about 9.5 lb (4.3 kg) to a mere 7.5 lb (3.4 kg).

Ordnance found unsatisfactory the first series of prototype carbines submitted by several firearms companies and some independent designers.[10] Winchester had contacted the Ordnance Corps to examine their rifle M2 design. Major René Studler of Ordnance believed the rifle design could be scaled down to a carbine which would weigh 4.5 to 4.75 lb (2.0–2.2 kg) and demanded a prototype as soon as possible. The first model was developed at Winchester in 13 days by William C. Roemer, Fred Humeston and three other Winchester engineers under supervision of Edwin Pugsley, and was essentially Williams' last version of the .30-06 M2 scaled down to the .30 SL cartridge.[11] 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.[12]

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 competed successfully against all remaining carbine candidates in September 1941, and Winchester was notified of their success the very next month. Standardization as the M1 Carbine was approved on October 22, 1941. This story was the loose basis for the 1952 movie Carbine Williams starring James Stewart. Contrary to the movie, Williams had little to do with the carbine's development, with the exception of his short-stroke gas piston design. Williams worked on his own design apart from the other Winchester staff, but it was not ready for testing until December 1941, two months after the Winchester M1 Carbine had been adopted and type-classified. Winchester supervisor Edwin Pugsley conceded that Williams' final design was "an advance on the one that was accepted", but noted that Williams' decision to go it alone was a distinct impediment to the project,[11] and Williams' additional design features were not incorporated into M1 production. In a 1951 memo written in fear of a patent infringement lawsuit by Williams, Winchester noted his patent for the short-stroke piston may have been improperly granted as a previous patent covering the same principle of operation was overlooked by the patent office.[11]

In 1973 the senior technical editor at the NRA contacted Edwin Pugsley for "a technical last testament" on M1 carbine history shortly before his death 19 Nov 1975. According to Pugsley, "The carbine was invented by no 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 dimensions and bolt and operating slide principles), and a percussion shotgun in Pugsley's collection (hook breech and barrel band assembly/disassembly.

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. However, it was markedly superior to the .45-caliber submachineguns in use at the time in both accuracy and penetration,[6] and its lighter .30 cartridge allowed soldiers to carry more ammunition. As a result, the carbine was soon widely issued to infantry officers, American paratroopers,[34] NCOs, ammunition bearers, forward artillery observers, and other frontline troops.[35] The first M1 carbines were delivered in mid-1942, with initial priority given to troops in the European Theater of Operations (ETO).[6]

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.[36][37] However, its reputation in front-line combat was mixed and negative reports began to surface with airborne operations in Sicily in 1943,[38] and increased during the fall and winter of 1944.[39]

In the Pacific theater, soldiers and guerrilla forces operating in heavy jungle with only occasional enemy contact praised the carbine for its small size, light weight, and firepower.[40] The 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.[41][42] Soldiers and Marines engaged in frequent daily firefights (particularly those serving in the ippines) found the weapon to have insufficient penetration and stopping power. 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 Corp.




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[sdmc530]

very nice! I hope to get a M1 some day...very iconic rifle. Nice job!

[DrHenley]

I kicked myself for not picking one up back when they were a dime a dozen.

[Caleb]

Originally Posted by DrHenley

I kicked myself for not picking one up back when they were a dime a dozen.

Same here.... now they are around $1k.


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[AFJuvat]

Ahh, the Carbine.

Have the M1 and the M2.

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by sdmc530

That is a long rifle. I bet it would suck to carry in battle

I have the Russian version, but mine is more modern lol and yes I have the bayonette as well. fully set up it is taller then my wife.

[DrHenley]

Originally Posted by AFJuvat

Ahh, the Carbine.

Have the M1 and the M2.

I have shot an M2. After the first couple of shots you are shooting into the sky. I tried everything I could to keep the muzzle down in full auto, but to no avail.