Posted on 03/22/2018 11:06:30 AM PDT by Elderberry
A grim-faced U.S. Army major led a group of armed men away from a tropical village he decided not to attack. Wearing jungle boots and olive-drab battle dress, Edwin Brooks grasped a lightweight, reliable, .30-caliber weapon in his right hand as he walked.
It was an M-1 carbine.
The scene could have been anywhere in the South Pacific during World War II or somewhere near the Pusan Perimeter during the Korean War. But Brooks also wore a green beret with a Special Forces flash and he was leaving the then-South Vietnamese village of Ban Me Thuot in 1964, leading the indigenous forces he commanded back to base in an effort to defuse a rebellion.
It’s all on the cover of the January 1965 National Geographic magazine in a photo by writer and photographer Howard Sochurek. Not a single M-16 is anywhere to be seen. The Pentagon had shipped thousands of the new M-16s to U.S. troops including the Special Forces, but in 1964 many Green Berets still preferred the M-1 carbine, the weapon of their fathers’ wars.
What’s more, Brooks’ Viet Cong enemy was almost certainly wielding the more modern Kalashnikov assault rifle. As for the Montagnard tribesman Brooks trained and led, they also were carrying some of the 800,000 M-1 carbines the U.S. sent to South Vietnam during the war.
For more than three decades, the M-1 carbine did more than anyone ever expected it to do. Long overshadowed by the iconic and heavy-hitting M-1 Garand, the M-1 carbine began its existence in 1940 when the Secretary of War issued orders for the development of a lightweight and reliable “intermediate rifle.”
“It was a compromise,” Doug Wicklund, senior curator at the NRA National Firearms Museum in Virginia, told War is Boring. “They called it the ‘war baby,’
(Excerpt) Read more at medium.com ...
“I recall when US cops used them, and they never complained about killing power.”
Jim Cirillo loaded it with 110 gr softpoints and said it was the only 100% one shot stopper the NYPD stakeout unit ever found. He was in 17 shootouts with revolvers, semi-autos, and 12 gauge.
I just bought an Israeli Arms version with a crooked front sight for $350, and used ones in decent (not great) shape are going for $650 - $900 (paratrooper model) in my area
Of course, it would not go full auto when the little knob was pushed forward. They had gotten rid of all M14s and not enough M16s to go around when I got transferred toe Quang Tri, so that little popgun was all I had for a few weeks.
It was intended as a weapon for support troops (in a WWII infantry battalion, it was mostly ammunition bearers, senior NCOs and vehicle crews that were issued the M1 carbine. Everybody else got an M1 Garand). It was an early example of a "personal defense weapon"; more accurate and easier to shoot than a 1911 or Thompson.
Of course, the close-in jungle warfare of the Pacific theater was nothing like Europe, and the M1 Carbine was very popular with the Marines who island-hopped towards Japan.
During the Korean war I was issued the M-2 it would frequently jam with the 40 round clip. But with short burst very accurate.
I guess this means you wouldn't mind getting shot in the foot with one, right?
Yeah it's a pistol round but big enough for whitetails.
Audie Murphy carried one.
“If I remember correctly, the .30 carbine cartridge had about as much power as the .32-20 Winchester.
If I am not correct I am sure someone on FR will set me straight.”
From memory...110 grains at about 2,000 fps.
I have my father’s M-1. Learned to shoot on it as a youngster.
“I have one I bought thru a plan the NRA had about 30 years ago”
I got one new in cosmoline the same way in about 1963...$20. Two years earlier an M1911...also $20. Both came to my home via US Mail as I recall.
CA 1965, my small stateside 40 man Air Force detachment was stripped of our arsenal. Two M1911’s, two grease guns and the rest M1 carbines all sent to the South Vietnamese never to be seen again. Thank you Lyndon and the ever estimable McNamera.
I have several M-2 magazines for my carbine. One has to steer clear of any aftermarket 30 round clips and only use M-2 clips.
Those 40 round clips must not have been used as much. I hadn't heard of 40 round carbine clips before. The supply of them must have dried up many years ago.
At 300 yards the M1 Carbine round has the energy of a .38 special at point blank.
Most police work and self defense is done at much closer range.
The main problem with the M-16 was the ball powder ammo supplied by Olin Mathieson which Remington used to load the cartridges. A good friend of mine was with Army ordinance, first at Aberdeen and later at Fort Ord, in 1966 when the determination was made that using ball powder rather than the original IMR caused the problems with the M-16. 50+ years later, he’s still mad about it. The whole deadly bureaucratic foul-up is detailed in
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1981/06/m-16-a-bureaucratic-horror-story/545153/
Nice job, mostly. I have in my lap the last army infantry battalion T/O prior to adoption of the carbine (Oct 40) and the first one after (Apr 42). Pistols went from 313 to 60.
Would any sane person argue a WWII infantry battalion would be more effective with the Oct 40 T/O with one third of members carrying a pistol?
You only earned a 'mostly' by leaving out LMGs and BARs.
Mine is in very good condition but it wasn’t in cosmoline. I think it was 15.00 including shipping, came to my home by US mail.
Don’t forget the Mini-30. The 7.62x39 is a reliable jack of all trades cartridge suitable for self defense and hunting, and can be bought cheap. The Ruger shoots ‘em all with scarcely ever a jam.
I have three, an Inland (GM), a National Postal Meter and my favorite, a Rockola.
Congrats!
They are worth Moola!
Patton...
Was speaking of the Garand.
IIRC.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.