What are the classic models of carbines?

The carbine, or horse and riding rifle. It is a lighter rifle with a shorter barrel than an ordinary rifle, a slightly lower muzzle velocity of the bullet and a slightly shorter range.

Carbine, that is, cavalry rifle, carbine originated in the late 15th century, the Spanish cavalry used a short rifle. At that time, Spain called the cavalry "carabinieri", from which the carbine got its name.

Russia also made a short, small, corded rifle at the end of the 14th century, which had the beginnings of a smoothbore carbine. In many cases, the carbine was simply a shortened version of the same type of ordinary rifle. Originally, the carbine was primarily used by cavalry and artillery. It was also used as a basic weapon for special forces, non-commissioned officers and junior officers after cavalry was phased out.

After the 1980s, the carbine gradually lost its necessity as a separate type of weaponry due to the development of light automatic rifles and miniature submachine guns.

The carbine is actually categorized as a rifle. It generally utilizes the same mechanism as a standard rifle, but with a truncated barrel, making it a shorter-barreled, lighter rifle. Some have given it a simple definition - a short rifle.

As for how short the barrel of a carbine is, most dictionaries agree that it is no more than 558.8mm.

The use of different ammunition for carbines and sub-machine guns is a significant difference. Carbine and sub-machine gun has the same, short and light, maneuverability is good, the main difference between the two compared to the main difference is that the sub-machine gun firepower is dense, but due to the firing of pistol rounds, the power is smaller, the range is closer; while the carbine belongs to the class of rifles, the use of ammunition and the use of pistol rounds of sub-machine gun is different, in the power and the range of the sub-machine gun is better than the sub-machine gun.

The U.S. M1 carbine uses ammunition that is different from the U.S. Army's standard 7.62×63mm rifle round, a 7.62×33mm round-tipped round, and although the head shape is very much like that of a pistol round, this ammunition is more powerful than a pistol round, with a stronger penetrating effect than a pistol round, and a longer effective range.

History

After the introduction of the 1898-style Mauser rifle in Germany, a modified gun with a shortened barrel appeared in the 1930s - the carbine, model Kar98k Mauser rifle, which was shortened in overall length from the 1898-style 1.25 meters to 1.1 meters, with a barrel length of 600 millimeters.

The standard rifle length in the late 19th century was about 1.25 meters, in the early 20th century by the British production of Lee Enfield short rifle pioneered a "short rifle" concept, the full length of the gun by the Lee's rifle length of 1.25 meters shortened to 1.1 meters. To be precise, this type of short rifle length between the traditional long rifle and carbine.

The Second World War saw an unprecedented development of the carbine, and the M1 carbine was the first carbine in the history of firearms to be designed and mass-produced in accordance with the accepted definition of a carbine.

Originally, the U.S. Army provided a self-defense weapon to replace the standard pistol for second-line troops, and the U.S. Army's specific tactical specifications called for the following: a mass of less than 2.5kg, replacing the pistol and sub-machine gun as the basic weapon used by the non-commissioned officer, the basic officer or the machine gunner, the gunner, the communications officer, or the second-line personnel.

In October 1941, the M17.62mm Carbine was formally designated as the "M17.62mm Carbine". In addition, there was also the Soviet Union's 1943-style Simonov semi-automatic carbine.

In modern warfare, conventional rifles are unable to meet the operational needs of some types of individual combat, so it is necessary to develop a better mobility and special operations of the carbine.

Today's various carbines are based on prototype standard rifles, carbines and prototype standard rifles with the same ammunition, which is very important in the logistical support, such as the M16 and the M4, with the ammunition is the NATO standard 5.56 × 45 mm rounds, both of which can be common to many parts of the two, greatly facilitating the logistical supply and maintenance.

The German G36 automatic rifle also evolved into the carbine-type G36k, and the ammunition between them was also common. Due to the use of rifle cartridges and the short barrel, there was a large muzzle flame and poor stopping power.

Typical models

The M1 carbine was originally developed as a self-defense alternative to the standard pistol for second-line troops, a request originally made in 1938. The U.S. Army's request was put on hold for a while, then resubmitted in 1940.

In mid-November, the U.S. Army commissioned Winchester to develop a new cartridge with a power between rifle and pistol rounds. The development of the new gun, in turn, came out of 11 companies, including **** Winchester, Colt, Smith & Wesson, and others.

M4A1 CarbineThe M4 Carbine, a variant of the Ml6A2, was officially finalized in March 1991 and was first equipped to the 82nd Airborne Division to replace the Ml6A2 automatic rifle, the M3 sub-machine gun, and the vehicle driver's choice of the Ml6Al/A2 rifle and certain 9mm pistols.

The M4 carbine has the same basic construction as the M16A2. It is beloved by U.S. paratroopers and special operations forces, as well as other military personnel who are not first-line combat infantry such as detachment commanders. Even vigilantes put a lot of trust in it.

The M4A1's predecessor, the M16 rifle, made its official debut in early 1965 because of the M14 rifle's poor performance in the Battle of From the Woods in Vietnam. Later on, the improved M16A1 and M16A2 appeared, and after a few minor modifications to the M16A2, the M4 was officially born.

The M4, numbered Model 720, was officially designated by the military in March 1991 as the U.S.A. & North Atlantic Treaty Organization M4 Carbine in 5.56mm caliber. The M4 and the M16A2 are so similar, in fact, that 80% of their parts are interchangeable, and so the M4 was initially also known as the M16A2 Carbine.

Performance data

M1 Carbine

Empty weight 2.36kg;

Overall length 904mm;

Barrel length 458mm;

Muzzle muzzle velocity 600m/s;

Effective range 175-275m;

Magazine capacity 15,30 rounds;

Rifling capacity 15,30 rounds.

Rifling 4, right-handed, wrap distance 508mm.

M4A1 Carbine

Caliber 5.56×45mm SS109/M855;

Overall length of the gun unfolded buttstock 840mm;

Retracted buttstock 760mm;

Barrel length 368mm;

Rifling 6, right-handed, wrap distance 178mm;

Effective range 175~275m;

Magazine capacity 15, 30 rounds;

Bore length 4, right-handed, wrap distance 508mm. Right-handed, winding distance 178mm;

Empty weight (without magazine) 2.68kg;

30-round empty magazine 0.11kg;

30-round full magazine 0.45kg;

Theoretical rate of fire 700~950RPM;

Effective range 600m;

Aiming baseline length 368mm;

Matrix velocity 884m/s.