Other Definitions
carbine (dict)
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CarbineA carbine is a firearm, similar to, but shorter or weaker relative to an ordinary rifle or musket of a given period. A carbine has often been, but not always derived from longer weapons. There have also been long rifle's developed from carbines, and in many cases the carbine and long rifle adopted by armed forces were largely unrelated. This was true both in the 1800s and earlier and also in the 1900s. Early History of the Carbine: 1800s and Before The carbine was originally a lighter, shorter, or weaker weapon developed to be used by cavalry soldiers, for whom a full-length rifle was too heavy and cumbersome to be fired from horseback. Carbines were usually less accurate and powerful than the full length rifles they were based on, due to a shorter sight plane and lower potential power of the shortened barrel. With the advent of fast burning smokeless powder, the velocity disadvantages of the shorter barrels became less of an issue (see internal ballistics). After the demise of horse-mounted cavalry, carbines, continued to be issued as secondary weapons for armored cavalry and non-combat personnel, such as cooks, technicians etc., for whom a lighter, more compact weapon is desirable at the cost of reduced accuracy and power. Many bolt action military rifles have been manufactured in both full-length and carbine versions. There were carbines developed that were unrelated to a army's long rifle, there were carbines that later a long rifle was made from, and there were carbines that were derived from long rifles. Smaller Long Rifles, Smaller Carbines:Early 1900s In WWI and even before, the standard battle rifle used by militaries around the world started had been growing shorter, either by redesign or by the general issue of carbine versions instead of full length rifles. As result, the weapons called carbines were becoming smaller and weaker as well. For example, the Russian model 1891 31.5 inch (800mm) barrel went to 28.75in (730mm) in 1930, and to 20in (510mm) in 1938; the German Mauser 98 model line went from 29in (740mm) in 1898 to 23.6in (600mm) in 1935 with Karabiner Kurz (K98k), or short carbine. In WWI there had been carbine version of the Model 1898 that was even shorter than the later 1935 model. The US's the barrel length did not change between the M1903 rifle used in WWI and the M1 Garand, but the 24in (610mm) barrel on the M1903 was already short for its day. The US carbine was more of a traditional carbine in that it was significantly lighter, and also shorter (18in (460mm)) than the infantry long rifle. Unlike other carbines of the day, which were often derived from long rifles, but not much shorter, the M1 was more of a traditional carbine in that it was unrelated to the US long rifle and significantly lighter. Trend toward Carbines Continues:WWII and the Cold War The trend had been towards infantry carbines was continuing. Not only were long rifle's that were adopted becoming shorter, but infantry was adopting carbines as their standard weapon. In particular the M1 Carbine initially intended only for second-line troops, and with a intermediate round had proven nearly as popular among front-line troops as long rifle's. Initially it was to be be produced with automatic fire but it was produced with semi-automatic. A automatic version, the M2 was also deployed during the WWII. In Nazi Germany there were experiments with selective fire carbines firing rifle cartridges. These were determined to be too powerful, as the recoil of full power rifle cartridges caused the weapon to be uncontrollable in full auto fire. They then tried making a intermediate round, but with better performance then the M1 Carbine round, which they did by reducing the power and the length of the standard 8x57mm cartridge, making the 8x33mm. The project resulted in the Mkb 42, a machine carbine that resulted in the MP 43 which was later renamed eventually to StG 44 "Sturmgewehr", literally "Storm Rifle". Later it was popularized as the 'assault rifle', a term which is now used for light machine carbine weapons. After the war the USSR would adopt a similar weapon as the StG, the AK-47 Assault Rifle, which became the standard infantry weapon. This was mainly due to the USSR lacking a any light automatic rifles. Also, while most soldier were switched over to being armed with these lighter weapons, some soldier were still equipped with semi-automatic long rifle's. Western countries who had deployed larger numbers of light automatic rifles, such as the Bren, did not have as much need for the another intermediate weapon. The trend toward shorter and lighter long rifle's continued though, with the NATO adoption of the NATO 7.62 weapon, and a series of semi-automatic rifle such as the FN FAL and M14. By the 1960's NATO adopted a new round, the NATO 5.56mm, and with a host of what were otherwise light automatic carbines, but now popularly called assault rifles. This round was even lighter and smaller then the AK-47's round, it was smaller and higher velocity. In US service the M16 it replaced the M1 Carbines and the M14, though the M14 continued to be used by some troops. The weapons were of similar weight and size as the M1 Carbine, but with somewhat better range. The trend was continuing, lighter carbines were being adopted as the standard infantry long rifle. What changed was that a certain amount of soldier's were now retaining longer range weapons, designated marksmen. The trend towards even lighter weapons, and carbines even lighter then these assault rifle's were being developed. At the same time the infantry switched to 5.56mm weapons, even lighter carbines like the AK74SU (which fired a Warsaw pact 5+ mm round) and CAR 15 were developed. Backlash against Carbines:Higher powered rifles vs PDWs By the 1990s, the US had adopted the M4 Carbine, a derivative of the M16 family but lighter and of reduced power. As result of widespread adoption of body armor, there were other developments as well. These would be called PDWs and use a even smaller round then carbines and many pisol rounds. Examples include the FN P90 and HK MP7. Whether these ultra-light weapons will receive widespread adoption has yet to be seen, particularly their stopping power has been a subject of debate. The cartrdige used by the FN P90, the 5.7x28mm, for example, fires a 30 grain armor piercing bullet at velocities of around 2300 ft/s. This gives similar ballistics to the high velocity loadings in the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire round, and round that is generally considered wholly inadequate for defensive use. The H&K MP7 fires an even smaller 4.6mm round with ballistics similar to the .22 WMR derived .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire. The small diameter rounds at high velocities are needed to penetrate kevlar armor, as a light weapon with sufficient energy to push a large caliber bullet through the armor would have prohibitive recoil. The small bullets, however, do not have much wounding power. They are generally designed to tumble after penetration, and while that works in theory, other tumbling rounds such as the 5.56 x 45 mm and the 5.45 x 39 mm have shown erratic performance in the field (see below). Due to the low wounding power of a single round, PDWs depend on high volumes of fire for effectiveness. With this is mind, while the PDW may experience success in the military realm, it will likely doom the PDW and derivatives to dangerously marginal performance in the civilian market. Meanwhile, many armies are experience a backlash against carbines, and lighter rifles and are reverting to more soldier being equipped with higher power rifle. Both the range and stopping power of lighter rounds have been found to have some drawbacks. Particularly, while firing more smaller bullets makes it easier to hit a target, and is good for beginner marksmen it offers little to more advanced marksmen. Also, while driving force behind weaker and lighter weapons had been that the extra range was mostly unused, there was still some need for more capability in combat. In more open environments like deserts, this can shift from being mostly uneeded, to mostly needed. As result, the focus on soldiers equipped with 7.62 NATO firing rifles and more highly trained as increased somewhat. Snipers, have experienced a near reverse trend and have adopted heavier calibers, such as .50 BMG rifle's. To what extent armies will adopt even lighter carbines, and to what extent they will be avoided has yet to be seen entirely. It is likely that harder hitting, or at least higher penetrating weapons will become more common, due to a rise in use of body armor making weaker weapons ineffective. Stacked against this is mainly the amount of urban warfare that is required, which favours lighter carbine weapons. Modern Usage The modern usage of the term carbine covers much the same scope as it always had, of lighter weapons generally rifles with barrels of less than about 18 inches (460mm). These weapons can be considered carbines, while rifles with barrels of 20 inches (510mm) or more are generally not considered carbines unless specifically named so, and depending on the weapon power. Modern carbines are chambered in calibers from pistol calibers to full power rifle cartridiges--all but the highest velocity magnum rifle cartridges. In the extremely high powered rounds, the short barrel of a carbine has significant disadvantages in velocity, and the high residual pressure when the bullet exits the barrel results in a punishing amount of muzzle blast. Pistol caliber carbines One of the more unusual classes of carbine is the pistol caliber carbine. These first appeared soon after metallic cartridges became common. These were developed as "companions" to the popular revolvers of the day, firing the same cartridge but allowing more velocity and accuracy than the revolver. These were carried by cowboys, lawmen, and others in the Old West. The classic combination would be a Winchester lever action carbine and a Colt revolver in .44-40 or .45 Colt. Modern equivalents also exist, such as the Ruger Police Carbine, which uses the same magazine as the Ruger pistols of the same caliber. Beretta has also recently released a pistol caliber carbine that shares magazines with Beretta pistols, which might indicate that there is a growing demand for these companion carbines. Another class of pistol caliber carbine is unique to the US market. It is a semi-automatic version of a submachine gun, with an extended barrel (just over 16 inches long) to make it legal as a rifle. While functionally identical to other pistol caliber carbines, these are often banned as "assault weapons" based on their cosmetic similarity to submachine guns, even though they are designed specifically not to accept critical parts from the submachine guns they resemble. These are generally used primarily for plinking, and are a popular compromise for shooters who would like to own a submachine gun but cannot due to local restrictions or the prohibitive cost of buying a civilian legal submachine gun. While these submachine gun lookalikes would technically be acceptable for use for self defense, the media protrayal of these as "semi-automatic assault weapons" (usually, in television reports, with accompanying footage of bursts of automatic fire from a submachine gun) would make them a bad choice from the perspective of legally defending ones use of such a carbine for defensive purposes. Ultra Carbines Due to legal restrictions in the US, firearms with shoulder stocks and barrels less than 16" in length are classified as "short barreled rifles", and are restricted in the same way that sawed off shotguns and machine guns are. Because of this, rifles with barrels of less than 16" (or pistols with shoulder stocks) are very rare. In the world of airguns, however, firearms restrictions don't apply. There is a small but growing class of what are called "ultra carbines", that have extremely short barrels. These may be rifles with barrels cut down to as short as 8 inches, or pistols converted into carbines with the addition of a shoulder stocks. Famous carbine rifles:
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