For example, Tanks... I made the first model in 1980 and then made them for 10 years, then I began to write and publish my own magazine about them, then the first books went, which were reviewed by good experts, and so - 38 years. It’s clear that I won’t get a tank. But as for them stories and the technology itself, I know them well.
Rifle arms, so to speak, given less, only six years, since the first articles about him appeared in my 2012 year. But if a person is given a diploma in the second higher education in three years of study in the Armed Forces with a first education that already exists, then six years seem to be enough? However, I can say that in theory - yes, but in practice it is advisable to hold onto each sample yourself, feel its weight, convenience - “application”, disassemble - assemble. Ideally, also to shoot from it, but in Russia it is an inaccessible luxury for the vast majority of authors. That is why I am especially happy when my friend, who collects various small arms, calls me and informs me that another sample is waiting for me in order to “hold on” for him.
This time the M1 carbine was such a model. By the way, this is not a cheap pleasure to buy even a hollowed such a carbine, made during the war years in the United States. Not so long ago, the price for it was 29 thousand rubles, whereas today it has grown to 85 thousand!
Carabin M1. Left and right view.
To begin with, it tells us about this weapon Wikipedia. “Oh, Wikipedia, someone wrinkles their nose, but ... British courts accept British Wikipedia as a source of information. And where does our country protect its interests in international affairs? In the British courts! Well, and since we live by the law (in any case, we try to live like this!), Then in this case we will stick to its installations and, except for proven cases of information distortion (we emphasize - proven!), We will try to use it. Well, the following is written in it: in the domestic literature, M1 Carbine is sometimes mistakenly called “baby Garand” or “Garand carbine”, but there are no such names in American sources.
The M1 carabiner in the section showing the device of its mechanism.
And then comes the information that in 1938, the US Army realized for the first time that it needed to re-equip its “second-line” servicemen (that is, tank crews, gunners, and signalmen, who already have to carry heavy coils on themselves with wires, in a word, all those soldiers who were not equipped with an army rifle), replacing self-loading pistols with a more effective lightweight carbine in their arsenal. The reasons were very solid: it is easier to train people to shoot from a carbine than from a pistol, the effectiveness of a carbine when shooting is lower, and the total cost of equipping the “second line with such” weapons!
Scheme of the M1 carbine.
Graphic diagram with the name of all parts in English.
Next, we turn to another source, namely the book by Larry L. Ruta, “War! US Caliber .30 Carbine, Vol. 1., Which contains information that complements the wiki that the development program for such weapons began on October 1, 1940, when the US Army Ammunition Division issued a five-page request for possible projects. The main requirements for the rifle were no more than 5 pounds of weight (with a magazine with ammunition), effective firing range of 300 yards and both semi-automatic and fully automatic fire. The carbines were supposed to use the .30 Carbine cartridge developed by Winchester based on the .32WSL cartridge. By the way, what were these cartridges? Cartridges for automatic rifle M1905, which was proposed for use with cartridges .32 Winchester Self-Loading (WSL) and .35 Winchester Self-Loading. .32 WSL cartridge had a bullet caliber 8,2 mm and a sleeve length 31 mm. The bullet weighed 11 g and had an initial velocity of about 420 m / s. Bullet energy was 960 J. Ammunition .35 The WSL had a 8,9-mm bullet in 12 g, but a shorter cartridge length of 29,3 mm. The initial speed of his bullet was 425 m / s, and its energy was 1050 J. Its overall dimensions were Winchester Self-Loading (Winchester self-loading) ammunition markedly different from other cartridges of those years, which was done specifically to prevent their use in other rifles and damage weapons. That is, it was impossible to confuse them with anything.
Model late release with tide on the barrel for a bayonet. Such carbines began to be produced from 1944 year.
Tide for bayonet and front sight with a fence.
However, in the new carbine, it was decided to use other cartridges. The decision to develop them was also taken on October 1 1940, at a meeting of representatives of the US Defense Committee and commercial weapons companies. That is, simultaneously with the beginning of the development of a new carbine.
Strap brace.
Winchester identified the new cartridge as .30 SR M-1, using the .32 WSL as the basis. Already by the beginning of December 1940, the first experimental batch of new cartridges was prepared; they had bullets in a tompak shell filled with lead of 6,9 g. Then in January and June two batches of cartridges each of 50 000 were tested, and in the fall an additional batch of 300 was released 000 cartridges in which another brand of gunpowder was used.
.30 Carbine cartridge (7,62 × 33 mm).
The .30 Carbine cartridge (left) and .30-06 from the Springfield rifle (right).
After all these tests, 30 October 1941, the .30 Carbine cartridge (7,62 × 33 mm) finally entered service with the US Army and received the designation Carbine Cal. .30 M-1. The creator of the patron was David Marshall Williams, who managed to achieve good results. So, the initial bullet speed of this cartridge was 607 m / s, and its energy in joules was equal to 1308 J, with a mass in 7,1 g. Moreover, even after being adopted, the cartridge continued to be improved by the company and subsequently. So, in April, 1942, she replaced the brand of gunpowder in it, thanks to which the initial speed of the bullet increased by 10%. He also became the main developer of the carbine, and he formulated the main ideas embodied in its design ... serving a sentence in prison for murder of the second degree. After his release, he took a job at Winchester and presented his sample in collaboration with other designers. Williams even honored that MGM made a feature film about him, where his role was played by James Stewart. In fairness it should be said that the M1 carbine was not a completely unique weapon. In many ways, it was created thanks to the creative processing of the preceding samples.
The fact is that Winchester first commissioned Jonathan "Ed" Browning - brother of the famous designer John Moses Browning, but he died in May 1939, and it was then that the company attracted to this work David Marshal Williams, who suggested using gas engine with a short stroke, promised to facilitate the whole structure. 1940 tests of the year have shown that the Browning construction, based on the misalignment of the bolt, turns out to be unreliable when contaminated. As a result, it was reworked to use a rotating shutter in the style of a Garand rifle, and a short gas piston.
Shop, shop button and fire interpreter.
It was planned that the tests of submitted samples will begin in just 4 months, that is, February 1 of the year 1941. But since it all boiled down to the development of a new cartridge, which needed to be brought to mind, the tests delayed until May 1941. By this time, as many as nine rifles were ready, so the commission had plenty to choose from and what to compare with. Two samples were rejected right away - Mr. Simpson from the Springfield Arsenal, because his carbine weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces, which was considered too heavy to waste time considering it. The variant for the .276 cartridge was rejected, as it does not meet the requirements for the caliber.
The shutter is closed. The locking unit of the shutter is clearly visible, thanks to which it is rotated when the slide wound moves. At the base of the reloading handle, the shutter delay button in the rear position is visible.
The shutter is open and delayed. The store feeder and the shutter are clearly visible.
The rest of the samples were thoroughly tested, until the military stopped at the model of the Winchester company, which presented David Marshall Williams' lightweight carbine with a gas engine.
Receiver. Well visible grooves for lugs left and right.
Close-up shutter. Well visible lugs and extractor.
In May, the M1941 carbine prototype 1 dropped the weight from 4,3 kg to 3,4 kg, and then it became even lighter. Well, in the end, the carbine presented for the competition compared to the Garand rifle looked just elegant, it was short and easy to use, and also turned out to be very light - just some 2,6 ... 2,8 kg with cartridges - that is, even lighter than most submachine guns of this time. That is, his designer managed to fully satisfy the requirements of the customer and create a weapon that fully meets his requirements, but this does not happen often! It is clear that this was a weapon for certain conditions and certain people, but within the framework of these conditions it fully complied with the requirements set for him then.
15 charging shop.
15-charging store close-up.
The position of the cartridges before serving with the shutter open.
To be continued ...