M1A1 Carbine[]
The M1 and M1A1 Carbine
The M1A1 Carbine is a rifle designed in 1941 to be a replacement for the Colt M1911 Pistol and the M1 Garand rifle. Though criticized for its stopping power at close and long range, the M1A1 Carbine was manufactured by the millions by the end of World War II.
History[]
The M1 Carbine was a replacement of the M1917 Enfield rifle, to be used by cooks, NCO's, radio operators, tank crews, machine gun crews, and mortar teams. Used to be a replacement of the Colt .45 Pistol, the M1 Carbine used an intermediate .30 Carbine round, an in-between as the .45 ACP round, and the .30-06 round. The design was created by the Winchester Repeating Arms factory in 1941. A later model was designed for the Airborne units, dubbed, the M1A1 Carbine. This new Carbine had a collapsible stock, and a flatter bolt. By the end of World War II, the M1 and M1A1 Carbines could now use a bayonent, to improve the close quarters combat, the bayonet lunge wasn't seen at all during World War II. By the Korean War, the Carbine got a new look, and could fire at full auto. This was dubbed the M2 Carbine, and could have a 30 Round box magazine. The M2 was used throughout the Vietnam War as well, used by both US troops and the Vietcong. By the end of Vietnam, the Carbine series was put to rest, mainly for its lack in stopping power, and with the adoption of the M16 series. The M1 and M1A1 Carbine are considered to be the first Personal Defense Weapon (PDW) ever manufactored in large quantities.
Band of Brothers[]
Both the M1 and M1A1 are seen throughout the series. Mostly the M1A1 due to the fact the series follows Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Unit. The M1 Carbine is only seen in the hands of Lt. Harry Jones, and in the Okinawa film reels, it is never fired. The M1A1 Carbine, the more popular one, is seen in the hands of George Luz, Carwood Lipton (for a period of time), Norman Dike, Lewis Nixon, and Don Malarkey. It has a somewhat metallic fire sound, and can be fired somewhat rapidly, due to the fact that the .30 Carbine round has little recoil.
Gallery[]
