Di Di Mau: M1 Carbine For When Things Go Dinky-Dau
Di Di Mau: Hurry up. Dinky-Dau: Insane. M1 Carbine: Your stalwart soldier.
In the jungles of Vietnam, the language of war was Vietnamese. The Americans at the battle lines, never quite sure whether they were speaking to their friend or foe, learned to speak the tongue of their allies and their enemies. The M1 Carbines they carried, though, spoke only one language: .30. These carbines served America’s allies in the struggle against communism. The handy size and extra magazine capacity made the M1 Carbine the perfect tool for close combat. It still is, in fact … and this video from Auto-Ordnance explains why.
A friend of mine from about 25 years ago loaded his defensive .30 Carbine ammo using a .32 ACP JHP bullet swaged down to fit the casing. At defensive ranges they definitely shot flat, and were accurate enough.
The barrel on my Blue Sky “repatriated” rifle was a bit shot out, but I could easily keep the hits in the black out to about 75 yards. After not too much further it got a bit iffy, but that was probably down to my skills as much as the rifle’s capabilities.
Due in part to the physical size of the ARVN forces the M1 carbine and similar rifles were a match that was better than the M1 Garand, M14 or similar rifles.
When the XM177 series was introduced they originally went to ARVN special ops units for field testing. Then on to SF units.
No way was the US going to claim in the 1960’s that we could not produce our own firearms and go with the AK platform. We use the Swedish K (M45) or Carl Gustaf) until we were no longer allowed to because Sweden being neutral. hence the US then made the M76. Exceptional piece of hardware.
Having trained with all types of US, and foreign weapons systems the M1 Carbine was a solid system if you used 15 round mags (not the curved 30) and like many such items kept it clean.
As a marine we marched with the M1, 1967. Trained with M14 for range qualifications. Then used M14’s and M16’s in Viet Nam, 1968 on!
I have read that the magazines of the M1 Carbine were so unreliable that soldiers tossed them instead of reloading them. Reviews have found that the Auto Ordinance version of the rifle has the same problem, leading to multiple jams with no remedy except a different mag.
Further, as light and as handy as the M1 Carbine is, the round really did not have enough energy for anything but close contact combat at ranges less than 200 yards. That was quite a problem in dense jungle where the AK ruled.
Doesn’t mean I don’t want one though.
the US was derelict in not adopting the AK-47 or FN FAL
Both were/are more reliable than the M1Carbine,M14,M16