One of the most famous examples of American weapons was and remains the M1 carbine. It was he who became massively used by the Allies during the Second World War. Many people confuse the M1 carbine with the Garand, but it should be noted right away that these are two completely different rifles.
History of Creation
Even at the end of the 30s, among American experts, an opinion appeared that second-line military personnel (artillerymen, tankers and other soldiers and officers who do not take part in infantry battles) need high-quality weapons. Before that, ordinary pistols were standard weapons. Alas, the pistol is not very effective in real combat due to low accuracy and short range of fire.
However, it would be inconvenient for them to use full-fledged rifles because of their length. That is why the preference was given to carbines - reliable, easy to use, long-range and at the same time quite compact.
It all started with the creation of a new cartridge. By order of the government, Winchester experts developed a 7.62 x 33 mm cartridge, or, by American standards,.30. ammunitionturned out to be quite successful. Some even call it intermediate, although it clearly lacks muzzle energy for this.
In 1938, a corresponding carbine was made for this cartridge. Of course, we are talking about the American M1 carbine.
Key Features
Outwardly, it is distinguished by elegance, sophistication and even beauty - it looks more like a hunting weapon than a combat one. It is important that the weight of the carbine without cartridges was only 2.36 kilograms - much lighter than the Thompson submachine gun, which was also considered as the main weapon for tankers and gunners.
Externally, the M1 carbine and "Garand" are similar. "Garand" - the main rifle used by the US infantry during the Second World War.
The carbine had much less weight and dimensions. It was effectively used in close and medium combat, even in the hands of not the most experienced shooters, confidently hitting targets inaccessible to pistols and submachine guns
Total length was 904mm. If you measure the folded modification M1A1, then the length of the model is only 648 millimeters. The initial speed of the bullet was not too high - 600 meters. However, for an average shooter who does not claim to be a sniper, this turned out to be quite enough.
Two types of box magazines were used for feeding cartridges - for 15 and 30 rounds - the latter appeared in 1944.
Added to this is an extremely simple device that is cheap and easy to assemble.
It is not surprising that the M1 carbine weapon, which was produced for only four years (from 1941 to 1945), became widespread - more than 6 million units were produced. Subsequently, they were used not only by the US Army, but also by soldiers of many other countries - American, European and Asian. We will talk about this a little later.
Device
When developing a new weapon, the designers were well aware that it would most likely fall into the hands of a completely inexperienced recruit who could hardly shoot. Therefore, the main emphasis was on simplicity. At the same time, this allowed not only to increase reliability, but also to reduce the cost.
Indeed, the carbine received a gas engine with a surprisingly short stroke - only 8 millimeters. When fired, the residual pressure of the gases threw back the bolt carrier, ejecting the cartridge case and immediately feeding a new cartridge into the barrel.
The trigger mechanism, like all rifles of that time, was used trigger. The first samples had a conventional push-button fuse. After pressing, he simply blocked the sear and the trigger, preventing a shot from being fired even if the weapon was accidentally dropped or hit. However, newcomers often confused it with the store latch button, especially since they were located nearby. Therefore, subsequently, the push-button safety was replaced by a lever.
Almost all parts were made on the most common metal-cutting equipment. The rejection of special high-precision weapon machines allowedhuge cost reduction. The US Army paid manufacturers only $45 for each carbine! For comparison, the M1 Garand rifle cost $85, the simplest Colt pistol $12, and the infamous Thompson submachine gun $209.
Subsequently, the device was slightly changed - in 1944 there was a place to install a bayonet-knife. As it turned out, contrary to the forecasts of experts, hand-to-hand fights are not at all a thing of the past, especially during the cleaning of houses and urban battles. Therefore, a soldier who had a long weapon with a bayonet in his hands found himself in a much more advantageous position than his opponent, who was forced to fight with a simple knife. Also, M8 rifle grenade launchers were installed on some carbines.
Largest manufacturers
During the war, the carbine was produced by three large private companies: Winchester, IBM, Rock-Ola. However, in 1945, with the end of World War II, production ceased.
But in the private sector - among ordinary hunters and shooters - there has always been a demand for such light and inexpensive weapons. Yes, and many veterans who returned from the war were happy to buy a proven, familiar carbine.
Civilian manufacturers
The baton was immediately taken over by several other companies, not so large: Springfield Armory, Auto-Ordnance and Howa Machinery Company Ltd. In addition, the license was bought by the Italian company Chiappa Firearms. Some amateurs seriously believe that the same weapon was produced in the Czech Republic, only under a slightly changed name - the carbine cz 527 m1. ActuallyIn reality, of course, this is not the case. What unites these two completely different carbines is only a slight similarity in marking. By looking at the device and simply comparing the appearance, you can easily verify this.
Where the weapon was used
Of course, the main country where these carbines were used was the United States. However, soldiers of other states, both allied and not quite, got to know him.
For example, about 25 thousand carbines were delivered to the UK under the Lend-Lease program. Nearly 100,000 were also brought to France to support local resistance forces.
Quite a lot of captured weapons fell into the hands of the soldiers of the Third Reich, where they continued to use them under the name Selbstladekarabiner 455. By the way, later, when the Bundeswehr was created, the United States supplied more than 34 thousand rifles to the Federal Republic of Germany. Semi-automatic M1s were named G54, while automatic M2s were given G55.
Weapons were also supplied to other countries. For example, the PRC received about 300 units during World War II, and then almost 116,000 more between 1951 and 1968, when the carbine was withdrawn from service in the United States. Japan received some in the post-war years.
Norway has become a major user. Military assistance provided in the post-war years included the transfer of almost 100,000 M1 and M2 carbines.
Finally, about a thousand units were purchased by Panama, where they were in service until 1989.
Such a spread of weapons around the worldgave him some notoriety. Yes, and these carbines were used in a variety of conflicts - from World War II to the wars in Korea, Vietnam and Malaya.
Main Benefits
Why did the "Carbine M1" carbine get such fame? If only because he really possessed some important virtues, highly valued, especially during the war years.
As mentioned above, the US government was pleased with the surprisingly low cost. Well, ordinary soldiers liked the fact that the weapon turned out to be very simple. On the one hand, this ensured high reliability - the carbine did not stop working due to a grain of sand that accidentally got into the mechanism. On the other hand, the same simplicity greatly facilitated the process of familiarization with weapons.
High rate of fire has become a serious plus. This proved to be useful during fights at long distances and especially in narrow corridors and rooms.
Small dimensions made it possible to easily transport it in tanks and trucks - it did not cling to anything, which made it possible to quickly jump out of the cabin to join the battle.
The weak cartridge provided surprisingly soft recoil and, accordingly, high accuracy. True, mostly at short distances. However, tankers and gunners rarely have to fire at a great distance - this is absolutely not their specificity.
But most of all, the soldiers liked the weight of the new weapon. By itself, the carbine weighed 2.4 kg, and with a magazine for 15 rounds - 2.6 kg. Forcomparison - the modern hunting carbine "Saiga" M 7 62x39 Spanish M1 without cartridges weighs 3.6 kilograms, the proven PPSh without a magazine - 3.5, and the well-known German MP-38 with cartridges - almost 5 kilograms! But a soldier must carry weapons everywhere and always. So the light weight was a very pleasant surprise.
Besides, the M1 carbine was very similar to the Garand rifle - there was no need to retrain the fighters who switched from one weapon to another.
Current shortcomings
One of the main disadvantages of the carbine was an unsuccessful cartridge. Rather weak, it did not allow aimed fire at a distance of more than 250 meters. Yes, in most cases it was not critical, but still, for a full-fledged carbine, this is a very small combat range.
Also, at low temperatures, as it turned out during the fighting, even the simplest automation often failed.
Main modifications
In total, about a dozen modifications have been developed to this day during the war years. Let's talk about the most interesting of them.
For example, M1A1 was designed specifically for airborne units and was equipped not with a wooden, but with a folding metal butt. In total, about 150 thousand of these units were produced.
M1A2 received modified sights, but never went into production. The same fate befell the M1A3, which received a modified folding stock.
But the M2, released in 1944, came in handy. Unlike the original carbine, it hadthe ability to conduct automatic fire. Due to the increased rate of fire, a new 30-round magazine was hastily developed and released. Quite on time - the battles for German cities were brewing, and the automatic fire mode turned out to be extremely important when capturing and clearing the premises. The carbine also demonstrated a very good rate of fire - up to 750 rounds per minute.
The M3 carbine can also be called a rather interesting solution. It differed from the M2 by the presence of mounts that allow the installation of an infrared sight, as well as a removable flame arrester. In total, approximately 3 thousand units were produced. Of course, the use of a carbine as a sniper weapon is a rather controversial decision, but opinions differ seriously here.
Civil modifications
M1 Enforcer is the first civilian modification. The specialists removed the stock and also significantly shortened the barrel, creating something incomprehensible, but quite funny.
Private company LSI Citadel has contributed with two new modifications: the Citadel M1 Carbine Ciadel M1-22. The first was intended for use with a 9 x 19 cartridge, essentially turning into a submachine gun. And for the second they used a very common cartridge.22LR.
Conclusion
Our article is coming to an end. In it, we tried to talk about the M1 carbine, the history of its creation, advantages and disadvantages. And at the same time, you learned about the most interesting modifications of this widely known weapon.
