History

The US Army's M1 Garand rifle was originally developed to chamber a light .276 round, but this design feature was canceled in the early 1930s, delaying introduction of the Garand (eventually chambered for the same powerful .30-06 Springfield round used in the Springfield 1903 rifle, the Browning Automatic Rifle, and the M1917/M1919 machine guns) until 1936. This left the army without the lighter, handier rifle it had wanted. This, along with lessons learned during earlier wars, observations of conflicts during the 1930s, and dissatisfaction with existing submachine guns and rifles contributed to the development of the M1 carbine.
Troops in the rear, or frontline troops required to carry a lot of other equipment (such as medics and engineers) had found the older full-size rifles too cumbersome, and pistols and revolvers to be insufficiently accurate or powerful. Submachine guns like the Thompson submachine gun were more than sufficiently powerful for close range encounters, but lacked effective range and were not significantly less difficult to carry and maintain than the existing service rifles (such as the M1903 and Garand). Much the same constraints applied to airborne infantry, a concept that was also under consideration at the time. Prior to the development and issue of machine pistols such as the M3 Grease Gun, a submachine gun like the Thompson was also much more expensive than pistols and most rifles of the period. The .30-06 Garand then entering into service in the late 1930s was as heavy and cumbersome as the existing service rifles. It was decided that a new weapon was needed for these other roles. While the range of a pistol is about 50 yards (45 m) and the existing rifles several hundred yards, the requirement for the new firearm called for a firearm with a range of 300 yards (275 m).
A carbine version of the standard issue semi-automatic rifle was considered, but the .30-06 round for which the M1 Garand was chambered was found to be too powerful. The requirement was for a weapon lighter and handier than the Garand, with less recoil than the Garand but greater range, accuracy, and effective stopping power than the M1911A1 pistols in current issue. The M1 Carbine was particularly intended for soldiers who needed a lightweight rifle - such as paratroopers and engineers - and for infantry involved in such shorter range engagements as commonly occurs in urban and jungle warfare.
In 1938, the Chief of Infantry requested that the Ordnance Department develop a lightweight rifle or carbine, though the formal requirement for the weapon type was not approved until 1940. This lead to a competition in 1941 by major US firearm companies and designers. Winchester Repeating Arms at first did not submit a design. The company was too busy perfecting the Winchester Military Rifle in .30-06. The rifle originated as a design by Jonathan Edmund "Ed" Browning, the half-brother of inventor John Browning. A couple of months after Ed Browning died in May of 1939, Winchester hired ex-convict David M. "Carbine" Williams, a some-time bootlegger who had devised a short-stroke gas piston design while serving a prison sentence for murder. (This unlikely true story, a natural for the movie industry, was the basis of the 1952 movie Carbine Williams starring James Stewart.) Winchester hoped that Williams would be able to complete various designs left unfinished by Ed Browning. Williams first design change for the rifle was the incorporation of his short-stroke piston design. After Marine Corps semi-automatic rifle trials in 1940, Browning's rear-locking tilting bolt design was considered to be unreliable in sandy conditions. As a result, the rifle was redesigned yet again to incorporate a Garand-style rotating bolt and operating rod.
By May 1941, the rifle prototype had been shaved to a mere 7.5 pounds (3.4 kg). Winchester contacted the Ordnance Department to examine their design. They believed that the design could be scaled down to a carbine which weighed 4.5 to 4.75 pounds (2.0 to 2.2 kg). In response, Major René Studler demanded that they produce a carbine prototype as soon as possible. The first model was developed in 13 days by William C. Roemer and Fred Humeston. It was cobbled together using the trigger housing and lockwork of a Winchester M1905 rifle. The prototype was an immediate hit with Army observers. After the initial Army testing in August 1941, Winchester set out to develop a more refined version. The improved model competed successfully against other carbine candidates in September 1941, and Winchester was notified of their victory the very next month. Standardization as the M1 Carbine was approved October 22, 1941. Contrary to popular myth, Williams had little to do with the carbine's development. As a matter of fact, he went about creating his own design apart from the other Winchester staff. Williams' carbine design was not ready for testing until December 1941, two months after the Winchester M1 carbine had been adopted and type-classified.
The weapon was designed primarily to offer non-frontline troops a better weapon than a pistol in terms of range and hitting power, but without the recoil, cost, or weight of a full power weapon. The weapon would give rear-echelon troops a better chance to defend themselves if directly attacked. It was also easier for less experienced soldiers and smaller framed people to fire the weapon than the full power rifles of the day. In addition, it was useful for soldiers like radiomen, engineers, and medics that had to carry a lot of other equipment. Also, officers or NCO's would sometimes choose it over a submachinegun. The automatic and dedicated paratrooper versions would further expand its use.
The first M1 Carbines were delivered in mid 1942. Initially the weapon was scheduled to be developed with selective fire capability, but the decision was made to put the M1 into production without this feature. Fully-automatic fire capability was incorporated in the design of the M2 Carbine, a selective fire version of the M1. The M2 Carbine proved to be quite popular among frontline troops as well, and would go on to be used heavily in WWII, Korea, and in the earlier years of the War in Vietnam. These weapons began to be replaced by the M16 in the late 1960s, and many M1, M2, and M3 Carbines were given to the South Vietnamese.
The M1 series was finally replaced by the M16 in the 1960s, though it continued to be used as a civilian firearm. The M1 series was the most heavily produced US weapon for several decades, until surpassed by M16 production.