This M1 Carbine was made by the Inland Division of General Motors, carries serial 54062xx, and is fitted with an original M1A1 folding paratrooper stock. The stock is marked OI in the barrel channel and carries a P proof together with an A A L arsenal rebuild stamp. The barrel is an Inland barrel dated 8-44 and the hammer is marked E. The front barrel band is the bayonet lug type and is marked SI, a pattern brought in during 1945, so the carbine has been through an arsenal rebuild at some point in its service life, which is the ordinary history for a carbine that stayed in use. The bore is mirror bright and the carbine is in excellent mechanical condition. It comes with its original oiler and a sling, together with one thirty round M2 magazine and two fifteen round magazines, marked LU and I.I. The serial number falls inside the block that collectors associate with Inland's second M1A1 production run, which ran from April to December 1944, and the 8-44 barrel date sits inside that window
The M1 Carbine was standardised on 22 October 1941, developed from a 1940 request for a light semi-automatic arm for support and rear echelon troops who were served poorly by either the Garand or a pistol. Winchester engineers built the first prototype in thirteen days, and the design uses a short stroke gas piston and a rotating bolt, chambered for the .30 Carbine cartridge. More than six million carbines were built during the Second World War across a number of prime contractors, and the largest producer by a wide margin was the Inland Division of General Motors. The carbine entered service with a straight fifteen round magazine; the curved thirty round magazine arrived with the selective fire M2 carbine in October 1944 and became standard for both models after the war, while the fifteen round magazine stayed in service until the end of Vietnam. A bayonet lug attached to the barrel band was added starting in 1945, and very few carbines so fitted reached the front before the war ended. The M1A1 was the folding stock version, developed after a request for a compact and light arm for airborne troops, and the Inland Division built them in two production runs, the first beginning in late 1942 and the second during 1944, with something on the order of 140,000 made.
Specifications
Manufacturer: Inland Division, General Motors
Country of origin: United States
Model: U.S. Carbine, Caliber .30, M1
Action: Gas-operated semi-automatic, short stroke piston, rotating bolt
Caliber: .30 Carbine
Serial: 54062xx
Stock: Original M1A1 folding paratrooper stock, marked OI in the barrel channel, with a P proof and an A A L arsenal rebuild stamp
Barrel: Inland, dated 8-44
Hammer: Marked E
Front band: Bayonet lug type, marked SI
Service history: Arsenal rebuilt
Bore: Mirror bright
Mechanical condition: Excellent
Magazines: One thirty round M2 magazine and two fifteen round magazines, marked LU and I.I.
Included: Original oiler, sling, three magazines
