What is M1 carbine?
[[Image:M1 Carbine Mk I - USA - Armémuseum.jpg|thumb|300px|M1 carbine]] The '''M1 carbine''' is a short, lightweight [[semi-automatic rifle]], or a [[carbine]], used in the [[Military of the United States|United States military]] from [[World War II]] until late in the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=M1 Carbine: The collector's item you can actually use :|url=https://www.guns.com/news/review/m1-carbine|access-date=2024-02-24|website=Guns.com|language=en|archive-date=2024-02-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224210734/https://www.guns.com/news/review/m1-carbine|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was made to arm soldiers with less of a [[combat]] role and more of a support role, such as [[Combat medic|medics]] and [[Radioman|radiomen]]. The kind of weapon the military wanted was a gun that would be more powerful and accurate than the [[M1911 pistol|M1911]], but shorter and lighter than the [[M1 Garand]]. The M1 Garand was too long and heavy for support troops to carry, especially since combat was not their main job.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forgottenweapons.com/m1-carbine-a-whole-new-class-of-weapon/|title=M1 Carbine: A Whole New Class of Weapon|last=McCollum|first=Ian|date=2020-04-09|website=Forgotten Weapons|language=en-US|access-date=2020-07-15}}</ref> Even though the M1 carbine looks similar to the M1 Garand, the two guns are actually very different. First, the M1 carbines bullets, the [[.30 Carbine]], are much smaller and lighter than the Garand's [[.30-06 Springfield|.30-06]] bullets. Second, the gun itself is much lighter, smaller, and shorter range than the Garand. The M1 carbine weighs less than half of the Garand. Third, the M1 carbine is loaded with [[Magazine (firearms)|box magazines]] that holds 15 bullets, while the M1 Garand is loaded with [[Stripper clip|clips]] that hold 8 bullets. Even though it is not used by the military anymore, it is still popular with [[Civilian|civilians]]. The '''M2 carbine''' is a selective fire version of the M1, which means it can switch between semi