Carbine

Carbine is term used in conjunction with rifles that have been shortened from their original length. They are usually slightly longer than submachine guns/machine pistols, but less than of the full size rifle. The length reduction, in World War II, was usually achieved by shortening of barrel and utilizing less powerful cartridge to combat the muzzle flash and recoil that barrel shortening causes.

The most famous WWII carbines were certainly the US M1 and M2 carbines, which were manufactured for rear-area support troops and vehicle crews. Paratroopers also utilized specialized M1A1 carbine. The success of the WWII carbines wasn't in combat, because their insufficient cartridge saw many complaints from the troops in the field. Nevertheless, M1 and M2 carbines gave something more handier to US soldiers than the M1911A1 pistol or the M3A1 submachine gun.