Results 1 - 30 of 39 - 1944, serial number 6305071,.30 carbine caliber, walnut stock with. Boxes of Gun Parts, Magazines, and a Reproduction M1 Carbine Paratrooper Stock. Inland Manufacturing M1 Carbine, serial number 170597,.30-06.
Up until just recently, the M1 Carbine had the distinction of being the most mass produced U.S. Service rifle. The M1 Carbine is gas operated with a rotating bolt that locks into the barrel. The charging handle is similar to that of the M14/Mini-14 rifles and the safety in the front of the trigger guard is somewhat like them, though the 'switch' of the lever is much different.
Oddly enough the magazine release is a button on the right side of the receiver-an arrangement that was later apparently copied by designers of the AR-15 rifle. The Carbine was the most unusually produced service rifle. It was designed by David M. 'Carbine' Williams, a convicted killer. Williams helped engineers at Winchester perfect his basic design. The Army was looking for a semi-automatic rifle more powerful than a handgun, but less powerful than the M1 Rifle, effective out to 300 yards and light enough to be issued to personnel who needed a weapon, but didn't need the M1 Rifle.
The Carbine was one of over twenty designs submitted to the Government. It took over a year and a half to decide on this example. There were over 6 million Carbines produced over a span of just 38 months (the first carbines were delivered in June 1942, the last in August 1945). The original gun was designated by the US military as the M1 Carbine. Later a selective-fire version was fielded in an effort to create a more potent weapon.
The M2 carbine was designed to permit both semi-automatic and fully-automatic fire, allowing a soldier to select which mode of operation he required in the heat of battle. Finally a selective-fire version that could accept early infrared viewers was created and designated the M3. In addition there were many experimental configurations of the firearm created for the commercial as well as foreign military markets. The M1 and M2 were the only ones to be made in large numbers. The M1 Carbine was appreciated, first and foremost, for its weight. Half as heavy as the M1 Rifle, it was quite handy and its fifteen, and later in the war, thirty round magazine gave a fair amount of firepower. 'STRIKE-THROUGH' RECEIVERS- It was not uncommon for M-1 Carbine manufacturers to produce parts for another manufacturer.
In the case of some receivers, they would be shipped from a manufacturer and then the name would be 'struck through' with a line and the name of the second manufacturer stamped in. SERIAL NUMBERS - The War Department would issue a contract to a manufacturer, and then assign them starting serial numbers to them. That way there was a contiguous series of unique serial numbers that went across company bounds. Note: THIS IS FOR USGI CARBINES ONLY AND NOT YOUR COMMERCIAL MADE MODEL. 'UN-QUALITY' RECEIVER STAMP- To avoid the extra effort in having to strike-through and restamp the receivers; when Union Switch & Signal made receivers for Quality Hardware, they merely stamped them 'Un-Quality'. Union Switch & Signal also made receivers for Postal Meter and stamped 'U' on the bevel. Errors in books.
Underwood cartouche book errors. There’s a commonly used book out there that states UEF had no periods. This is incorrect. Correct marking are U.E.F. With cartousche. Look on page 118 the book states NO periods on UEF. Look at the picture on 122 of the same book and Use a magnifying glass and you will clearly see a period behind U.E.F.
Both pages contradict each other. Also the book on Page 44 says barrels are 16 inch’s long. This is wrong as they were 18 inches.
Also page 30 he left out PB marked NPM flip sights. Barrel skirt change he says is mid 44, They were changed in 12-43. I’ll be adding more updates as I have time. INLAND- Any Carbine Inland paratrooper models issued with folding stocks.
Opinions should be supported by documentation or databases from actual examination. CMP is selling M1A1's out of Riesch's ranges. What are the current DOCUMENTED ranges? Old books become outdated as new information is discovered. No disrespect, as I KNOW you are far more knowledgeable than I, but I dislike and tend to disregard unsupported blanket statements. 'Life is Good!' Base on your first statement you should disregard everything in Riesch book since there are no actual references given.
Based on that where is the documentation to support the serial number ranges in Riesch book? For that matter where does the CMP say all the M1A1s they are selling are in the proper serial number ranges and left Inland as M1A1s?
If you want to see one example of how inaccurate Riesch's serial number ranges are look in the M1A1 chapter in War Baby! For the November 1942 weekly report. I'm currently away from home so I can't provide the exact page number. The lowest M1A1 serial number listed in the report is in the low 36K range IIRC.
While you're looking n War Baby! Look at the data on the Fifth Interchangeability Test report. Over half the test carbines were in the 4.98 serial number range. The actual test report shows the Inlands used in the test were packed for shipment in late February 1944.
I've posted the exact date here several times. Search function may come in handy. As usgicollector posted the last shipment of M1A1s in 1943 was in October and the next shipment was in May 1944.
So unless you subscribe to the theory complete carbines were sitting around for several months waiting to be delivered a 4.983 or even a 5.0 mill Inland is too low a serial number to be an original M1A1. I don't suscribe to any theories. I try to go to generally accepted reference materials, realizing that they may be outdated.
As a new collector simple 'yes' or 'no' answers do not help me learn. And, since I wasn't trying to answer the OP's question, I had no reason to do a search. Usgicollector's explanation helped teach; your one word answer did not. I am sorry that you seem to take offense at my posting a request for a more useful answer. However, I read these Forum postings to learn. 'Life is Good!'