.30 Carbine

Infobox Firearm Cartridge
name= .30 Carbine (7.62×33)


caption= From left: 8 mm Mauser, two 8 mm Lebel cartridges, .30 Carbine
origin=flagcountry|United States
type= Carbine, Pistol
service= World War II to 1960s
used_by= See Users
wars= World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War
designer=
design_date=
production_date=World War II to 1950s, present (civilian)
variants= M1, M6 (Grenade), M13 (Dummy), M18 (Heavy, High Pressure Test) 152gr, M27 (Tracer)
is_SI_specs= yes
parent=
case type= Rimless
bullet= 7.62mm/.308
neck= 8.41
shoulder=
base= 8.99
rim_dia= 9.14
rim_thick=
case_length= 32.76
length= 41.91
rifling= 1:20"
primer= Small pistol
is_SI_ballistics=yes
bw1= 110
btype1= FMJ
vel1= 600
en1= 1190
bw2=
btype2=
vel2=
en2=
bw3=
btype3=
vel3=
en3=
bw4=
btype4=
vel4=
en4=
bw5=
btype5=
vel5=
en5=
test_barrel_length= 457.2
balsrc= Winchester [http://www.winchester.com/ Winchester Ammunition] ]

The .30 Carbine (7.62x33mm) is the cartridge used in the M1 Carbine introduced in the 1940s. It is an intermediate round designed to be fired from the M1 carbine's 18-inch (458 mm) barrel.

History

The .30 Carbine cartridge and the M1 Carbine were developed by Winchester to provide assault troops and rear area units more firepower and accuracy than the standard issue M1911A1 .45 ACP caliber handgun and .45 Thompson submachine gun. The weapon was originally issued with a straight 15-round detachable magazine. The cartridge itself is basically a rimless .308 caliber version of the much older .32 Winchester Self-Loading cartridge of 1906.Barnes, Frank C., "Cartridges of the World", DBI Books, 1975, 1989] However, the propellant was much newer, taking advantage of chemistry advances. However, the cartridge's relatively straight case and the rounded nose of its bullet led some to believe it was designed for use in pistols.

The M1 Carbine was issued to infantry officers, machine gun, artillery and tank crews, paratroopers and other line-of-communications personnel in lieu of the larger, heavier M1 Garand. The Carbine and its reduced-power .30 cartridge was not intended to serve as a primary infantry weapon, nor was it comparable to more powerful intermediate cartridges later developed for assault rifles.

Its reputation in combat was mixed. Some infantrymen and Marines, especially those who did not use a rifle as their primary weapon, preferred the carbine over the M1 Garand because of the weapon's small size and light weight. Other soldiers found the weapon to have insufficient stopping power and penetration. Reports of Axis soldiers being shot multiple times in chest and body without immediate effect began to surface, and like the .45 ACP used in the Thompson submachine gun and M1911 Colt pistol, some troops found the .30 Carbine cartridge incapable of penetrating small trees and other light cover. [Dunlap, Roy F., "Ordnance Went Up Front", Samworth Press, 1948.]

The M1 Carbine and the later M2 Carbine continued in service during the Korean War. The M2 Carbine featured a selective-fire switch allowing optional fully-automatic fire at a rather high rate (850–900 rpm) and a 30-round magazine. Both versions acquired a poor reputation for jamming in extreme cold weather conditions, eventually traced to inadequate recoil impulse and weak recoil springs.

A postwar U.S. Army evaluation reported on the weapon's cold-weather shortcomings, and noted complaints of failure to stop heavily-clothed North Korean and Chinese troops at close range after multiple hits. Recent test have shown however that the round in fact has significant penetrative capabilities, and the reports contrary should be considered hyperbole. [Citation
title = The Box O Truth #36: Frozen Clothing and the Box O Truth
url=http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot36.htm
access-date = 2007-04-18 ] Despite this record, the carbine was again issued to some U.S. troops in Vietnam, particularly reconnaissance units (LRRP) and advisors as a substitute standard weapon. Reports of the ineffective stopping power of the .30 Carbine in close combat continued through the rest of its U.S. service.

In 1994, Israel introduced the "Magal", a compact weapon based on the Galil MAR using the .30 Carbine cartridge. After complaints of overheating and other malfunctions, the "Magal" was withdrawn from service in 2001. The M1 Carbine is still issued to the Israel Police and Civil Guard.

Civilian use

Today the .30 Carbine cartridge is used by civilians who have an M1 Carbine or other firearm chambered for that cartridge. It is considered a small-game cartridge, of marginal power for deer-size game. A number of handguns are chambered for .30 Carbine ammunition, such as the AMT AutoMag III pistol and the Ruger Blackhawk revolver. Full-jacketed .30 Carbine ammunition is considered an ineffective self-defense cartridge in pistols, as their short barrel length robs the round of much of its power.Fact|date=June 2008 Even in longer-barreled carbines, the high sectional density of the projectile causes the bullet to overpenetrate, causing little tissue damage. On the other hand, hollowpoint cartridges, offered by only a few manufacturers, are considered reasonably effective as a self-defense cartridge, even in pistols.Fact|date=June 2008 While its heyday in the Second World War and Korean War has passed (as well as in the Vietnam War), the popularity of the M1 Carbine for collecting, sporting and re-enactment use has resulted in continued popularity of the .30 Carbine cartridge.

Handguns

In 1944, Smith & Wesson developed a hand-ejector revolver to fire .30 Carbine. It went through 1,232 rounds without incident. From a four-inch (102 mm) barrel, it launched the standard GI ball projectile at convert|1277|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on, producing a large average group of convert|4.18|in|mm at convert|25|yd. The loud blast is the most oft-mentioned characteristic of the .30 M1 Carbine cartridge fired in a handgun (Cumpston 2001).

In 1958, the short-lived J. Kimball Arms Co. produced a .30 Carbine caliber pistol that closely resembled a slightly scaled-up High Standard Field King .22 target pistol. The Ruger Blackhawk revolver chambered for the .30 Carbine round has been in the catalogs since the late 1960s. Standard government-issue rounds clock over convert|1500|ft/s|m/s, with factory loads and handloads producing similar velocities. Other handguns chambered for this cartridge include the Thompson Center Contender and the AMT AutoMag III.

pecifications

*Length:
**Case: 1.29 in
**Overall: 1.65 in
*Diameter:
**Rim: .360 in
**Base: .354 in
**Neck: .331 in
**Bullet (nominal): .3085 in (.308 cal)
*Bullet weight: convert|110|gr|abbr=on
*Muzzle velocity: convert|1975|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on
*This cartridge has a tapered case for reliable feeding and should be full length resized when reloading.

A standard .30 caliber ball round weighs 110 grains (7.1 g) m and has a muzzle velocity of convert|1900|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on giving it 880 foot-pounds (1,190 joules) of energy. By comparison, a .357 Magnum revolver fires the same weight bullet from a 4 inch barrel at about 1,700 ft/s for about 705 foot-pounds of energy, though it is important to note that the .357 bullet is larger in diameter (caliber) and is normally an expanding or hollow-point design.

Users

*flag|Brazil
*flag|France
*flag|Israel
*flag|Norway
*flag|Mexico
*flag|South Korea
*flag|South Vietnam
*flag|United States

Cartridge types

Common types used by the military with the carbine include:

*Cartridge, Caliber .30, Carbine, Ball, M1
*Cartridge, Caliber .30, Carbine, Grenade, M6
*Cartridge, Dummy, Caliber .30, Carbine, M13
*Cartridge, Caliber .30, Carbine, Ball, High Pressure Test, M18
*Cartridge, Caliber .30, Carbine, Tracer; M27

ynonyms

*.30 M1 Carbine
*7.62x33mm

ee also

*List of handgun cartridges
*List of rifle cartridges
*7 mm caliber

Books/References

* U.S. Army, "Commentary on Infantry and Weapons in Korea 1950–51", 1951

* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_12_47/ai_79586230 Cumpston, Mike, "The .30 Carbine Blackhawk: Ruger's Enduring Dark Horse"] Guns Magazine, December 2001, San Diego, Von Rosen Publications 2001