Original Item. Only One Available. This is a nice example of the rare WWII Canvas Scabbard for the U.S. M1 Carbine that is in a wonderful state of preservation. The scabbard shows signs of being honestly used and the deep black finish is mostly worn on all metal parts. There are some spots where the canvas is heavily worn, but overall it’s in great shape. There is a light strap in the loop on the back. The only marking is U.S. on the front.

A good example, ready for further research and display.

The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight, easy to use semi-automatic carbine that became a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and was produced in several variants. It was widely used by U.S. and foreign military, paramilitary and police forces.

Use in WWII: the M1 carbine with its reduced-power .30 cartridge was not originally intended to serve as a primary weapon for combat infantrymen, nor was it comparable to more powerful assault rifles developed late in the war. Nevertheless, the carbine was soon widely issued to infantry officers, American paratroopers, NCOs, ammunition bearers, forward artillery observers, and other frontline troops. Its reputation in front-line combat was mixed. The M1 carbine gained generally high praise for its small size, lightweight and firepower, especially by those troops who were unable to use a full-size rifle as their primary weapon.

In the Pacific theater, soldiers and guerrilla forces operating in heavy jungle with only occasional enemy contact also praised the carbine for its small size, lightweight and firepower. Other soldiers and marines engaged in frequent daily firefights (particularly those serving in the Philippines) found the weapon to have insufficient stopping power and penetration. Reports of the carbine's failure to stop enemy soldiers, sometimes after multiple hits, appeared in individual after-action reports, postwar evaluations, and service histories of both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps. Aware of these shortcomings, the U.S. Army, its Pacific Command Ordnance staff, and the Aberdeen small arms facility continued to work on shortened versions of the Garand throughout the war, though none was ever officially adopted.

While the .30 Carbine cartridge was less capable of penetrating small trees and light cover when compared to the .30-06 rifle cartridge, the M1 carbine itself was markedly superior to the .45 caliber Reising and Thompson submachine guns in both accuracy and penetration. Also, troops armed with M1 carbines could easily carry 2 to 3 times more ammunition than with other weapons. Lt. Col. John George, a small arms expert and intelligence officer serving in Burma with Merrill's Marauders, reported that .30 carbine bullets would easily penetrate the front and back of steel helmets, and the body armor used by Japanese forces of the era.