The M1 Carbine - In The Movies

A brief overview of The M1/M2 Carbine as featured on film.


Movies Featured:
Detroit 2017
Hacksaw Ridge 2016
Monuments Men 2014
The Front Line 2011
Death and Glory in Changde 2010
New Kids Turbo 2010
The Pacific 2010
Che 2008
Windtalkers 2002
We Were Soldiers 2002
Band of Brothers 2001
Saving Private Ryan 1998
The Thin Red Line 1998
The Postman 1997
The Eagle Has Landed 1976
The Bridge at Remagen 1969
Planet of the Apes 1968
Dr. Strangelove 1964
Goldfinger 1964
The Longest Day 1962
To Hell and Back 1955

#guns #ww2 #warhistory

[jamesturner]

When I was in high school I took a Military History class and our teacher, being the war buff that he is in the State of Texas, was also quite the gun collector. Every "period" that we studied he would bring in his museum collection of firearms for us to see. During the WW2 period we got to hold the Garand and the Carbine. I really liked how the Carbine felt. Very easy to handle.

[SDloco]

As a Mexican the first thing I associate the m1 carbine is the 68’ student massacre. There is a lot of infamous fotos of Mexican army units holding garands, Springfields, and carbines arresting university students who where never seen again. The Mexican army at the time looked like American WW2 GIs since they got all the leftover equipment. A lot of defection and theft happened in the military in the 80’s and you can find indigenous militias or self defense groups wielding m1 carbines to this day in southern Mexico.

[militaryhistoryIG]

So of interesting note, the M1 Carbine was loved in WWII, hated in Korea, and then loved again in Vietnam. This is because in WWII, it was predominately used in close quarters in cities or in the jungles and beach landings in the Pacific which meant close quarters combat. In Korea, it was forced beyond it's intended purpose and soldiers used it as a frontline weapon, trying to push it out several hundred meters. In Vietnam, it again moved back to the close quarters combat it excelled in and was highly appreciated by both the ARVN and MAC-V-SOG units that carried it.

[blank]

The M1 Carbine ammo was also non-corrosive, a first among military ammo. Barrel and chamber lasted longer without cleaning. Ballistically, an M1 round was equivalent to a hot .357 Magnum still retaining its full energy at 100 yards. Plenty enough to do the job, as most jungle and urban firefights occurred at that range or less.

[geordiedog]

A revolutionary gun. People claiming it didn’t have any hitting power are usually people who have never been actually shot at before.
Great video as usual.

[saltymufiki]

My father owns an M1 carbine, and I had the pleasure of being able to shoot it. Not much recoil, and very fun! He was given it from one of his friends who served in the pacific during WW2. I've always been curious if that rifle had taken someone's life before. Such a beautiful and iconic gun.

[AndrewTranBaseball]

My grandpa told me that during 1954 battle of Dien Bien Phu, he (A Viet Minh soldier) and his best friend tried to disassemble a M1 carbine in their free time, but they never managed to reassemble the gun back to one piece. They laughed it off every time they talked about that story. Most of my grandpa’s comrade has already gone, including his best friend. My grandpa is 90 and he is still going strong. His stories about war and firearms are really nice to hear.

[gpby]

People might call the .30 Carbine "whimpy", but at 100 yards it has the same power as a .357 Magnum at the muzzle. And I don't know a single person willingly want to be shot point blank by a .357 Magnum.

[erikkaingebretsen]

The Navy was still using the M1 up to 1973. In 1971 I was in the Navy in Vietnam, as a non-combatant, and I carried the carbine. Loved it. Years later I got one for home defense and go to the range a couple times a month.

[BHuang]

Also note, the M1 Carbine was a favored captured firearm for the Germans due to its compact design.
It was also the basis for many civilian firearms such as the Ruger Mini-14.
The M2 and M3 Carbine variants saw the first implementation of night vision sights and given its select fire capabilities, it was a precursor to Assault rifles.

[cheekymonkey]

I own three M-1 carbines. I purchased the first from the Civilian Marksmanship Program. It is a 1942 National Postal Meter. The second I purchased from a colleague at work. It was unfortunately a civilian clone. A 1962 National Ordinance. It had all military parts except the receiver. These were produced for law enforcement and prison guards. The receivers were manufactured in California. Impossible today.
The third was inherited from my dad. It is a 1941 Inland. It never went through the arsenal upgrades. It has the pushbutton safety and the flip up peep sight and no bayonet mount.
They all are accurate, and eat just about any ammo I feed them.
They were brought back in service during the Vietnam War. The South Vietnamese soldiers had trouble handling the M-1 GARAND so they were issued the Carbine. They were a better fit and the soldiers could handle the recoil.

[robertonavarro]

My Dad was a US Army captain when Japan invaded the Philippines. He and his group did not surrender and formed a guerilla unit to fight the Japanese. His M1 Carbine sent many enemy soldiers to their early demise.

[badape]

When I was a kid, my dad bought me a M1 Carbine as my first rifle. Mine was made in 44. I loved shooting that little piece of history

[Chris_the_Dingo]

I was the director of a county history museum near Carbine Williams' hometown in NC. We had an M1 carbine in our collection, with his autograph on the buttstock. According to local lore, he'd trade his autograph for a bottle of whiskey lol

[caloyp]

this rifle was already written in history. already proven its worth in the field. Carbine, Garand, AK47... these are top of the line weapons in the field. Old but GOLD.

[Lonovavir]

I call the M1 carbine the little gun that could. It doesn't look like much, but it punches above its weight and is a fun plinker/piece of history today. The best feature for me is the buttstock ammo pouch, 45 rounds just by picking it up.

[pikasome]

This weapon was one of Audie Murphy’s favorite weapons. People may think it’s the Ma Deuce or the Double Barrel he used to sleep with.

[tyrian_baal]

My grandfather was in the 65th Infantry regiment in Korea, my father told me stories of him complaining about having to use the Garand and how much he loved the Carbine over it due to its light weight

[ShogunMongol]

My great grandmother, when she lived in South Korea had one, not sure how she got it, but she had one. She called it "The Carbine" according to my dad. Anyway, one night she was in her house, and someone broke into, kicked down the door. She grabbed her Carbine, racked the bolt, and the guy ran out as fast as he could, even climbed over a wall. She apparently saw him, she thinks anyway, limping along because he probably pulled every muscle he had when he ran.

Because of that, I ended up getting my own M1 Carbine, a 43 Inland with an IBM barrel and the later pattern retrofit parts, mainly the safety. Just holding that gun puts a smile on my face, and shooting it is just fantastic, light recoil, incredibly easy to aim, trigger is very good, everything you'd ever want in a rifle.

[CurtisDrew]

I bought a Mossburg 250C (New Haven) 22 caliber copy of the M1 in 1964.
It has been my go to backpacking rifle for decades.
I have 10 & 15 round magazines for it and carry them in an ammo pouch just like the one they strapped onto the stock of the M1 Carbine. I would love to have a 30 cal M1 Carbine. Maybe someday I'll add one to my collection.
I also have a M6 Scout folding, ejection seat rifle from the 70's era. It's chambered in 22 Hornet on the top barrel and 410 in the lower. I keep it in my 4X4 truck for a survival tool.
I have always been a fan of lightweight firearms. Especially folding ones that adapt well to backpacking.