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M1 Carbine
The M1 Carbine was a lightweight, intermediate cartridge firearm, developed and adopted in 1941, as a supplement to the then standard Issue M1 Garand. The M1 Carbine was to take the place of pistols for vehicle drivers, members of crew served weapons, NCOs and other secondary roles to the frontline infantryman. Despite its lack of 'knockdown' power, it was popular, primarily due to its handiness and lightweight and was seen in front line usage in both the European and Pacific Theaters of World War II.
Contrary to what movie and TV viewers see, the M1 Carbine did not have a bayonet lug during World War II. There is no photographic evidence of any soldiers carrying or using the M1 Carbine or M1A1 paratrooper Carbine between 1942 and early 1945, with a bayonet lug. The version with the bayonet lug, and the replacement of the "L" peep sight with the adjustable windage rear sight was an undesignated upgrade to the model and was not given a separate model number. This upgrade officially started in late 1944, but were only seen in the field in late 1945, in the very last months of the war. Occupation troops did, however, get this version of the gun.The upgraded version was used extensively during the Korean conflict and into the early years of Vietnam. The M1 carbine could still be found in US National Guard, Army or Air Force reserve unit armories on into the early 1970s, in addition it was a common police weapon from the mid 1950s into the late 1970s.
Specifications
- Weight: 5.2 lb (2.4 kg) empty
- Length: 35.6 in (900 mm)
- Barrel length: 18 in (460 mm)
- Cartridge: .30 Carbine
- Action: Gas-operated, rotating bolt
- Rate of fire: Semi-automatic (M1/A1)
- 850–900 rounds/min (M2/M3)
- Muzzle velocity: 1,970 ft/s (600 m/s)
- Feed system: 15 or 30-round detachable box magazine
Manufacturers: Inland (a Division of General Motors), Winchester, Saginaw, Irwin-Pedersen, Rock-Ola (the juke box company), Underwood (Underwood Elliot Fisher), National Postal Meter, Quality Hardware Manufacturing Corp., I.B.M., Standard Products, Commercial Controls Corporation. Post war manufacturers include Auto Ordnance, Plainsfield Machine Company, Howa, Iver Johnson, Universal, & Texas Armament Co.
The M1 Carbine can be seen in the following films, television shows, video games and anime used by the following actors:
M1/M1A1 Carbine
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Kids Turbo | Dutch police sniper | 2010 | ||
| Inglorious Basterds | American Soldiers | 2009 | ||
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Harrison Ford | Indiana Jones | 2008 | |
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Soviet soldiers | 2008 | ||
| Warbirds | Brian Krause | Colonel Jack Toller | 2008 | |
| Warbirds | Caleb Michaelson | Sergeant John Lee | 2008 | |
| Warbirds | Jon McCarthy | Sergeant Murphy | 2008 | |
| Desperation | Steven Weber | Steve Ames | 2006 | |
| Flags of our Fathers | Adam Beach | PFC Ira Hayes | 2006 | |
| Flags of our Fathers | Barry Pepper | Sgt. Mike Strank | 2006 | |
| Flags of our Fathers | U.S. Marines | 2006 | ||
| Land of the Dead | Robert Joy | Charlie | 2005 | |
| The Lost City | Nestor Carbonell | Luis Fellove | 2005 | |
| The Lost City | Cuban rebels, police, army | 2005 | ||
| Coronado | Kristin Dattilo | Claire Winslow | 2003 | |
| Coronado | Numerous rebels | 2003 | ||
| We Were Soldiers | Vietnamese ARVN interpreter | 2002 | ||
| Saving Private Ryan | Tom Sizemore | Technical Sergeant Mike Horvath | Fitted with a buttstock magazine pouch | 1998 |
| Saving Private Ryan | Members of the 101st Airborne Division, other Airborne paratroopers | M1A1 Carbine with collapsable buttstock and handgrip | 1998 | |
| The Postman | Kevin Costner | The Postman | 1997 | |
| Heaven's Burning | STAR team member | 1997 | ||
| Mulholland Falls | . | U.S. Army soldiers | . | 1996 |
| Pink Cadillac | Clint Eastwood | Tommy Nowak | 1989 | |
| Good Morning Vietnam | American troops | 1987 | ||
| Nadine | Jeff Bridges | Vernon Hightower | 1987 | |
| F/X | Assassin | 1986 | ||
| Under Fire | FSLN rebels | 1983 | ||
| Thief | Mobster | 1981 | ||
| Brubaker | 1980 | |||
| ...And Justice For All | Police officers | 1979 | ||
| Midnight Express | . | Turkish police | . | 1978 |
| Black Sunday | Terrorists, police officers and Israeli commandos | 1977 | ||
| Police Python 357 | French criminals | 1976 | ||
| Dog Day Afternoon | Al Pacino | Sonny | 1975 | |
| Jaws | Carried by man patrolling waters | 1975 | ||
| Thunderbolt and Lightfoot | George Kennedy | Red Leary | 1974 | |
| Charley Varrick | Police officers | 1973 | ||
| Scorpio | Alain Delon | Jean Laurier a.k.a. "Scorpio" | 1973 | |
| The Crazies (1973) | U.S. National guard | 1973 | ||
| Hickey & Boggs | . | Black revolutionaries | . | 1972 |
| The Omega Man | Seen in Neville's gun rack | Post WW2 version | 1971 | |
| The Bridge at Remagen | George Segal | Lt. Phil Hartman | 1969 | |
| The Bridge at Remagen | Paul Prokop | Captain John Colt | 1969 | |
| Planet of the Apes | Charlton Heston | Commander Taylor | Visually modified | 1968 |
| Planet of the Apes | Apes | Visually modified | 1968 | |
| Targets | Tim O'Kelly | Bobby Thompson | 1968 | |
| The Green Berets | David Janssen | George Beckworth | 1968 | |
| The Green Berets | George Takei | Captain Nim | 1968 | |
| The Green Berets | U.S. Navy Seabees, ARVN soldiers and Viet Cong | 1968 | ||
| The Sergeant | Rod Steiger | MSgt. Albert Callan | 1968 | |
| The Battle of Algiers | . | French soldiers | . | 1966 |
| The Navy vs. the Night Monsters | . | US Navy personnel | 1966 | |
| The 317th Platoon | Jacques Perrin | 2nd Lt. Torrens | 1965 | |
| Alphaville | French security force | 1965 | ||
| None but the Brave | Tommy Sands | 2nd Lt. Blair | 1965 | |
| Dr. Strangelove | Keenan Wynn | Col."Bat"Guano | 1964 | |
| Goldfinger | U.S. Army soldiers | 1964 | ||
| Hell Is for Heroes | U.S. Army soldiers | 1962 | ||
| Merrill's Marauders | Jeff Chandler | General Merrill | . | 1962 |
| The Longest Day | French Resistance and US Forces | 1962 | ||
| The Longest Day | Roddy McDowall | Private Morris | 1962 | |
| Pork Chop Hill | Cliff Ketchum | Cpl. Payne | 1959 | |
| Pork Chop Hill | Gregory Peck | Lt. Joe Clemons | 1959 | |
| Pork Chop Hill | Norman Fell | S/Sgt. Coleman | 1959 | |
| Pork Chop Hill | U.S. Army soldiers | 1959 | ||
| The Young Lions | U.S. Army soldiers | 1958 | ||
| 20 Million Miles to Earth | William Hopper | Col. Robert Calder | M1A1 Carbine with collapsable buttstock and handgrip | 1957 |
| 20 Million Miles to Earth | Used by Sicilian police officers | M1A1 Carbine with collapsable buttstock and handgrip | 1957 | |
| Earth vs. the Flying Saucers | Donald Curtis | Maj. Huglin | 1956 | |
| Earth vs. the Flying Saucers | Used by U.S. Air Force soldiers | 1956 | ||
| To Hell and Back | Audie Murphy | Himself | 1955 | |
| The Bridges at Toko-Ri | Earl Holliman | Nestor Gamidge | 1954 | |
| The Bridges at Toko-Ri | Mickey Rooney | CWO Mike Forney | 1954 | |
| The Bridges at Toko-Ri | William Holden | Lt. Harry Brubaker | 1954 | |
| War of the Worlds, The (1953) | War of the Worlds, The (1953) | 1953 | ||
| Carbine Williams | James Stewart | David "Carbine" Williams | 1952 | |
| Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951) | U.S. Army soldiers | 1951 | ||
| When Worlds Collide | 1951 | |||
| Battleground | U.S. Army Airborne Paratroopers | 1949 | ||
| A Walk In The Sun | U.S Bazooka Team | 1945 | ||
| The Story of G.I. Joe | U.S. Soldiers | 1945 |
Television
| Title/Episode | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top Shot - Season 4 / "Sweating Bullets" (S4E1) | Various | Various | 2012 | |
| The Pacific | Dwight Braswell | PFC Steve Evanson | 2010 | |
| The Pacific | Jon Seda | Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone | 2010 | |
| The Pacific | Joseph Mazzello | Eugene Sledge | 2010 | |
| The Pacific | Leon Ford | 1st Lt. Edward 'Hillbilly' Jones | 2010 | |
| The Pacific | Martin McCann | R.V. Burgin | 2010 | |
| The Pacific | Martin McCann | Pvt. Hamm | 2010 | |
| The Pacific | Rami Malek | Meriell 'Snafu' Shelton | 2010 | |
| The Pacific | Scott Gibson | Capt. Andrew Haldane | 2010 | |
| Tankboy | Charles Knight aka Tankboy | U.S. Ranger during WW2 Op | 2009 | |
| Weaponology | 101st Airborne troops, French troops | 2007-2008 | ||
| Jericho (TV series) | Gerald McRaney | Johnston Green | 2006-2008 | |
| Jericho (TV series) | Skeet Ulrich | Jake Green | 2006-2008 | |
| Lost | Alexandra Krosney | young Ellie | 2004-2010 | |
| Lost | Elizabeth Mitchell | Juliet Burke | 2004-2010 | |
| Lost | Henry Ian Cusick | Desmond Hume | 2004-2010 | |
| Lost | William Mapother | Ethan Rom | 2004-2010 | |
| Lost | Various "Others" | 2004-2010 | ||
| Mail Call | Re-enactors | M1 and M1A1 variant | 2002- | |
| Band of Brothers | Colin Hanks | Lt. Henry Jones | M1A1 Carbine with collapsable buttstock and handgrip | 2001 |
| Band of Brothers | Donnie Wahlberg | Carwood Lipton | M1A1 Carbine with collapsable buttstock and handgrip | 2001 |
| Band of Brothers | Scott Grimes | Sgt. Donald Malarkey | M1A1 Carbine with collapsable buttstock and handgrip | 2001 |
| Band of Brothers | Richard Speight, Jr. | Sgt. Warren "Skip" Muck | M1A1 Carbine with collapsable buttstock and handgrip | 2001 |
| Band of Brothers | Rick Gomez | Sgt. George Luz | M1A1 Carbine with collapsable buttstock and handgrip | 2001 |
| Band of Brothers | Ron Livingston | Capt. Lewis Nixon | M1A1 Carbine with collapsable buttstock and handgrip | 2001 |
| Band of Brothers | . | U.S. Army soldiers | With and without folding stocks | 2001 |
| Crime Story | Dennis Farina | Lt. Torello | . | 1986-1988 |
| The Equalizer / Pilot | Edward Woodward | Robert McCall | . | 1985-1989 |
| M*A*S*H (TV Series) | Various characters on guard duty and some patients | . | 1972-1983 | |
| Hawaii Five-O | Jay J. Armes | Stoner | Fitted with a scope, wire stock and forward pistol grip. Season 6 Episode: "Hookman" | 1968-1980 |
| Hawaii Five-O | Jack Lord | Steve McGarrett | Season 2 Episode: "Savage Sunday" | 1968-1980 |
| Mission Impossible (TV Series) /Season 1, Old Man Out part 2 | . | Border guard | . | 1966-1973 |
| Hogan's Heroes | Felice Orlandi | Maurice Dubois | . | 1965-1971 |
| The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | . | THRUSH agents | A modified M1 with an infrared sniper scope, rather than an M3 | 1964-1968 |
| Combat! | Rick Jason | Lt. Hanley | . | 1962-1967 |
Video Game
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Note | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway | M1A1 with folding stock | 2008 | ||
| Call of Duty: World at War | Original M1 carbine, referred to as M1A1 variant | 2008 | ||
| Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts | 2008 | |||
| Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood | M1A1 with folding stock | 2005 | ||
| Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 | M1A1 with folding stock | 2005 | ||
| Call of Duty 2 | Original M1, referred to as M1A1 | 2005 | ||
| Call of Duty: Big Red One | 2005 | |||
| Call of Duty: United Offensive | M1A1 with folding stock | 2004 | ||
| Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault | . | . | . | 2004 |
| Call of Duty (2003) | M1A1 with folding stock | 2003 | ||
| Silent Storm | 2003 | |||
| Vietcong | 2003 |
Anime
| Title | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orguss 02 | Rivellian soldiers | 1993 |
Animation
| Title | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Iron Giant | U.S. Army soldiers | 1999 |
M2 Carbine
The M2 Carbine was a select Fire upgrade of the M1 Carbine that was developed in late 1944/early 1945. No examples of the M2 Carbine were issued before the surrender of Nazi Germany, however, there were some field conversion kits for altering M1 Carbines sent to units for field testing before the end of the war. Though not impossible, it would be very rare to see an M2 in any sort of action prior to Germany's surrender (however they do show up in late war Combat photographs in the South Pacific). The M2s were common among the occupation forces and U.S. Forces in Korea (1950-1953). M2 Carbine along with the M1 Carbine were used by the Army of The Republic of Vietnam as well as the Vietnamese police. US Army soldiers and Marines also used solely the M2 Carbine in extremely small numbers. A small number of M1 and M2 Carbines were captured by the National Liberation Front, also known as the Vietcong who used them against anti-communist forces.
Note: Just because an M1 Carbine is seen with a 30 round magazine, it doesn't automatically make it an M2 carbine. In Movie Armories and in real life, there were many more M1 Carbines built than M2s and many forces still used the M1 Carbine all around the world, as well as law enforcement into the 1970s. There must be a visible selector switch or the weapon must be seen firing fully automatic to declare it to be an M2 Carbine.
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Che | Benicio del Toro | Che Guevara | 2008 | |
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Harrison Ford | Indiana Jones | 2008 | |
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Soviet soldiers | 2008 | ||
| In China They Eat Dogs | A Serbian gangster | 1999 | ||
| Apocalypse Now | French colonists | 1979 | ||
| The Odd Angry Shot | Viet Cong | 1979 | ||
| The Eagle Has Landed | Larry Hagman | Col. Pitts | 1976 | |
| The Eagle Has Landed | Treat Williams | Captain Clark | 1976 | |
| The Eagle Has Landed | Various U.S. Army Rangers | 1976 | ||
| Skyjacked | Soviet troops | Mocked up to resemble AK-47 rifles | 1972 | |
| Murderers' Row | Dean Martin | Matt Helm | 1966 |
Television
| Title/Episode | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Border: Film 6, The | Can be seen in documentary footage | 1987 |
M3 Carbine
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The 'Burbs | Bruce Dern | Rumsfield | 1989 | |
| The Omega Man | Seen on a chair and in a gun rack in Neville's apartment | 1971 |
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Note | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return to Castle Wolfenstein | "Snooper Rifle" | with suppressor and infrared scope | anachronistic | 2001 |
| Stubbs the Zombie | U.S. Army snipers | 2005 |
Iver-Johnson Enforcer Pistol
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trailer Park of Terror | 2008 | |||
| El Mariachi | Hitman | 1992 | ||
| Good Guys Wear Black | Chuck Norris | John T. Booker | 1978 | |
| The Gauntlet | Hitman | 1977 | ||
| Slaughter | Don Gordon | 1972 |