There were a few large caliber military carbines produced during the 40's and 50's. The British had the Enfield Jungle Carbine in, the Spanish had the FR7 and FR8, the Russians and their buddies had the M44 and the variants. Did other countries make different large caliber carbines? Did the US have one?
Large Caliber American Carbine?
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if you consider .30 caliber "large" then there are tons of carbines to mention. of the US i'd say the M1 Carbine
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By the end of WWI most countries, including the US had dropped the standard carbine.
The carbine was a cavalry weapon and with the passing of importance of cavalry in a machine gun and long range rifle era, most countries went to an intermediate rifle for all troops.
Instead of a 30" barreled rifle for infantry, a short rifle for artillery, and a carbine for cavalry, most countries adopted a 25" barreled rifle for use by all troops.
What carbines you did see after WWI were almost all specialty weapons, as with the British #5 Jungle Carbine.
The US carbine of WWII was not a true carbine and didn't shoot the standard service rifle cartridge. It was a replacement for the 1911 pistol for use by non-combat troops that might suddenly be attacked in the fast moving warfare of WWII.
The last US carbine was gone with the adoption of the Model 1903 Springfield.
Strangely, the US carbine returned with the Vietnam XM177 and the current M4.
The carbine was a cavalry weapon and with the passing of importance of cavalry in a machine gun and long range rifle era, most countries went to an intermediate rifle for all troops.
Instead of a 30" barreled rifle for infantry, a short rifle for artillery, and a carbine for cavalry, most countries adopted a 25" barreled rifle for use by all troops.
What carbines you did see after WWI were almost all specialty weapons, as with the British #5 Jungle Carbine.
The US carbine of WWII was not a true carbine and didn't shoot the standard service rifle cartridge. It was a replacement for the 1911 pistol for use by non-combat troops that might suddenly be attacked in the fast moving warfare of WWII.
The last US carbine was gone with the adoption of the Model 1903 Springfield.
Strangely, the US carbine returned with the Vietnam XM177 and the current M4.
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I don't have my Brophy handy right now, but I do recall some information in it about the local US military authority approving the modification of some 1903 rifles to 18" (+/-) barreled carbines for use by (I think) troops in the Canal Zone (or some other location in Central America/ the Caribbean where troops were stationed between the wars). If I recall correctly, the modifications were done locally by US armorers.
BTW, the British #5 Jungle Carbine was not a specialty weapon. The British were committed to making it their new standard rifle, at least until the long-term bedding problems those rifles had became apparent and the decision was reversed.
BTW, the British #5 Jungle Carbine was not a specialty weapon. The British were committed to making it their new standard rifle, at least until the long-term bedding problems those rifles had became apparent and the decision was reversed.
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Back in the late '50s and early '60s, there were wildcatters making modifications to the M1 Carbine. I remember one who modified the M1 Carbine to fire the 7.92x33mm ammo of the German MP43 assualt rifle. This is the only "large caliber" Carbine I know of.
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