World War II Era M1 Carbine, with Dark Walnut Stock, 'L' peep sight and no bayonet lug - .30 Carbine - correct for most of WWII, shown with khaki sling and oiler and a period twin magazine pouch for buttstock
Korean War Era M1 Carbine, with Birch Stock, Adjustable sight, bayonet lug, and twin magazine pouch - .30 Carbine. Most of the World War II variations of the M1 Carbine were sent back to the Military Arsenals and retrofitted with the Bayonet Lug and adjustable rear sight. This is the version seen after late 1945 and all the way until the 1960s. This version is seen most often in World War II movies, despite being anachronistic for most World War II battles
Korean War Era M1 Carbine, with M4 bayonet and twin magazine pouch - .30 Carbine
The Modern Manufactured version of the M1 Carbine, with standard stock, from Auto-Ordnance (affiliated with Kahr Arms and Thomson Arms) - .30 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. Surplus M1 Carbines were widely exported to US allies, and it remains a popular weapon among Israeli police to this day.
Specifications
(1941 - Present)
- Barrel length: 18 in (45.7 cm)
- Feed System: 15 or 30-round detachable box magazine
- Fire Modes: Semi-Auto (M1), Semi-Auto/Full-Auto (M2, M3)
The M1 Carbine and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
M1/M1A1 Carbine
M1 Carbine (Post-War) - .30 Carbine
M1 Carbine with heat shield and 20 round magazine - .30 Carbine
Post-war M1 Carbine with 30 round magazine and metal barrel shroud - .30 Carbine
M1A1 Carbine with original L style rear sights, and side-folding stock, often referred to as the 'Paratrooper' carbine - .30 Carbine.
M1 Carbine in Universal folding stock - .30 Carbine
M1 Carbine manufactured by Plainfield, with pistol-grip, post-WWII paratrooper stock and vertical foregrip - .30 Carbine.
Short-barrel M1 Carbine with pistol grip, retractable wire stock and forward pistol grip - .30 Carbine
Film
Title
|
Actor
|
Character
|
Note
|
Date
|
Machete Kills |
|
|
On gun wall |
2013
|
Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed |
|
US Army soldiers |
|
2012
|
Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed |
Corbin Allred |
T-5 Rossi |
M1A1 Carbine |
2012
|
Memorial Day |
|
US Army Soldiers |
With anachronistic bayonet lugs, with and without folding stock |
2011
|
My Way |
|
US Army Soldiers |
w/ anachronistic bayonet lugs |
2011
|
My Best Enemy |
|
Corporal of MP guards |
|
2011
|
The Heineken Kidnapping |
|
Dutch SWAT team |
WWII era model |
2011
|
The Heineken Kidnapping |
|
Dutch SWAT team |
paratrooper stock and customized grips |
2011
|
The Front Line (2011) |
|
South Korean Army |
|
2011
|
Death and Glory in Changde |
Ray Lui |
Lt. Gen. Yu Chengwan |
|
2010
|
Death and Glory in Changde |
Fan Lei |
Col. Chang Ruan |
|
2010
|
Death and Glory in Changde |
|
Chinese officers |
|
2010
|
71: Into the Fire |
Seung-woo Kim |
Kang Suk-Dae |
with 30-round magazine |
2010
|
71: Into the Fire |
|
US Army soldiers |
w/ 30-round magazine |
2010
|
71: Into the Fire |
|
South Korean soldiers |
w/ 30-round magazine |
2010
|
New Kids Turbo |
|
Dutch police sniper |
|
2010
|
Red and White (Merah Putih) |
|
Dutch soldier |
Korean War Era model |
2009
|
Spoils of War |
Krash Miller |
Sgt. Miller |
|
2009
|
Inglorious Basterds |
|
American Soldiers |
|
2009
|
Black Dynamite |
|
Militant |
|
2009
|
Che Part Two: Guerrilla |
Franka Potente |
Tamara "Tania" Bunke |
|
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
|
Miracle at St. Anna |
Douglas M. Griffin |
MP Freddy Naughton |
with anachronistic bayonet lugs and 30-round magazine |
2008
|
Miracle at St. Anna |
|
Military Policemen |
with anachronistic bayonet lugs and 30-round magazine |
2008
|
Warbirds |
Brian Krause |
Colonel Jack Toller |
|
2008
|
Warbirds |
Caleb Michaelson |
Sergeant John Lee |
|
2008
|
Warbirds |
Jon McCarthy |
Sergeant Murphy |
|
2008
|
Intimate Enemies |
|
Fellaghas |
M1A1 |
2007
|
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
|
In China They Eat Dogs |
|
A gangster |
|
1999
|
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 collapsible buttstock and handgrip |
1998
|
The Thin Red Line |
John Cusack |
Captain Gaff |
|
1998
|
The Thin Red Line |
Elias Koteas |
Captain Staros |
|
1998
|
The Thin Red Line |
Woody Harrelson |
Sgt. Keck |
|
1998
|
The Thin Red Line |
Jared Leto |
2nd Lt. Whyte |
|
1998
|
The Thin Red Line |
John Savage |
Sgt. McCron |
|
1998
|
The Postman |
Kevin Costner |
The Postman |
|
1997
|
Heaven's Burning |
|
STAR team member |
|
1997
|
Mulholland Falls |
|
US Army soldiers |
|
1996
|
Ed Wood |
Brent Hinkley |
Conrad Brooks |
prop |
1994
|
A Midnight Clear |
Kevin Dillon |
Mel Avakian |
|
1992
|
Pink Cadillac |
Clint Eastwood |
Tommy Nowak |
|
1989
|
Good Morning Vietnam |
|
American troops |
|
1987
|
Ishtar |
Dustin Hoffman |
Chuck Clarke |
|
1987
|
Nadine |
Jeff Bridges |
Vernon Hightower |
|
1987
|
Nadine |
Rip Torn |
Buford Pope |
|
1987
|
Nadine |
Gary Grubbs |
Cecil |
|
1987
|
Nadine |
Mickey Jones |
Floyd |
|
1987
|
F/X |
|
Assassin |
|
1986
|
Thirteen at Dinner |
|
Actor portraying assassins |
scope, suppressor, custom stock |
1985
|
Under Fire |
|
FSLN rebels |
|
1983
|
Thief |
|
Mobster |
|
1981
|
Green Ice |
|
Colombian guerillas |
|
1981
|
Brubaker |
|
|
|
1980
|
...And Justice For All |
|
Police officers |
|
1979
|
Midnight Express |
|
Turkish police |
|
1978
|
Go Tell the Spartans |
|
South Vietnamese troops |
|
1978
|
Go Tell the Spartans |
Marc Singer |
CPT Alfred Olivetti |
|
1978
|
Go Tell the Spartans |
Craig Wasson |
CPL Courcey |
|
1978
|
Go Tell the Spartans |
Jonathan Goldsmith |
1SG Oleonowski |
|
1978
|
Go Tell the Spartans |
Evan C. Kim |
Cowboy |
|
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
|
The Deadly Tower |
Kurt Russell |
Charles Whitman |
|
1975
|
Savage Sisters |
Cheri Caffaro |
Jo Turner |
w/ 30-round magazine |
1974
|
Savage Sisters |
John Ashley |
W. P. Billingsley |
w/ 30-round magazine |
1974
|
Savage Sisters |
|
Philippine soldiers, guerrillas |
w/ 30-round magazine |
1974
|
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot |
George Kennedy |
Red Leary |
|
1974
|
The Terrorists |
|
Various police and military personnel |
|
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
|
Cotton Comes to Harlem |
|
Robbers |
M1A1 Carbine |
1970
|
Mr. Freedom |
|
Various |
|
1969
|
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 Last Adventure |
Hans Meyer |
The Mercenary |
|
1967
|
The Last Adventure |
Lino Ventura |
Roland Darbont |
|
1967
|
The Last Adventure |
|
The henchman |
|
1967
|
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
|
None But the Brave |
Clint Walker |
Capt. Dennis Bourke |
|
1965
|
Dr. Strangelove |
Keenan Wynn |
Col."Bat"Guano |
|
1964
|
Goldfinger |
|
U.S. Army soldiers |
|
1964
|
The Manchurian Candidate |
Frank Sinatra |
Capt. Marco |
|
1962
|
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
|
Hell to Eternity |
. |
US Marines |
anachronistic |
1960
|
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
|
Never So Few |
Frank Sinatra |
Cpt. Tom Reynolds |
|
1959
|
Never So Few |
|
Burmese soldiers |
|
1959
|
The Black Battalion (Cerný prapor) |
|
French foreign legionaries |
|
1958
|
The Young Lions |
|
U.S. Army soldiers |
|
1958
|
When Hell Broke Loose |
|
Extras |
|
1958
|
20 Million Miles to Earth |
William Hopper |
Col. Robert Calder |
M1A1 Carbine with collapsible buttstock and handgrip |
1957
|
20 Million Miles to Earth |
|
Used by Sicilian police officers |
M1A1 Carbine with collapsible buttstock and handgrip |
1957
|
China Gate |
James Hong |
Charlie |
|
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
|
Battle Circus |
Humphrey Bogart |
Maj. Jed Webbe |
|
1953
|
Keenan Wynn |
Sgt. Orvil Statt
|
Steve Forrest |
U.S. Army Sergeant
|
Robert Keith |
Lt. Col. Hilary Walters
|
|
U.S. Army soldiers
|
Carbine Williams |
James Stewart |
David "Carbine" Williams |
|
1952
|
Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951) |
|
U.S. Army soldiers |
|
1951
|
Go for Broke! |
Van Johnson |
2LT Michael Grayson |
|
1951
|
Go for Broke! |
Henry Oyasato |
2LT Ohhara |
|
1951
|
Go for Broke! |
Dan Riss |
Captain Solari |
|
1951
|
Halls of Montezuma |
Richard Widmark |
Lt. Anderson |
with anachronistic bayonet lug |
1951
|
Halls of Montezuma |
Reginald Gardner |
Sgt. Johnson |
with anachronistic bayonet lug |
1951
|
Halls of Montezuma |
|
US Marines |
with anachronistic bayonet lug |
1951
|
When Worlds Collide |
|
|
|
1951
|
The Steel Helmet |
|
U.S. Army soldiers |
World War II model |
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
|
Gung Ho! |
|
Marine Raider |
|
1943
|
Television
Video Game
Anime
Title
|
Character
|
Note
|
Date
|
Orguss 02 |
Rivellian soldiers |
|
1993
|
Animation
M2 Carbine
An M2 Carbine select Fire carbine - .30 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
Television
Video Game
M3 Carbine
The short-lived M3 Carbine, known by many who field-tested it as "The Abomination" - .30 Carbine
The M3 Carbine in its final configuration, including backpack for the infrared sight's large 12-volt battery. - .30 Carbine
The M3 Carbine was an M2 Carbine fitted with an early night-vision scope and active infrared sight. By the end of the Korean War, a forward pistol grip had been added to aid in handling the M3's increased bulk. An external power source for the infrared sight had to be carried in a backpack.
Film
Video Games
Iver-Johnson Enforcer Pistol
Iver-Johnson Enforcer Pistol - .30 Carbine
Film
Television
Title
|
Actor
|
Character
|
Note / Episode
|
Date
|
Dark Angel |
|
Krit |
"…And Jesus Brought a Casserole" (S1E22) |
2000
|