The origins of the Ml Carbine lay in the US Army's decision to develop a weapon that could replace the pistol carried by many soldiers with a more effective weapon. In today's terminology the Ml Carbine was an attempt to develop a PDW (Personal Defense Weapon) for those troops not involved in front-line infantry combat. Although some personnel who would previously have been armed with the pistol did carry an Ml Carbine instead, it did not completely supplant the pistol. However, it proved to be one of the most popular US small arms of all time, serving from World War II through at least the Vietnam War. The USA had issued carbines in the past, primarily to cavalry and artillery personnel, but, beginning with the 1903 Springfield, design philosophy had shifted to favor a standard-issue rifle with a medium-length barrel intended for use by all. Likewise, when the Ml Garand was adopted in 1936 there was no carbine version. Because one of the problems in issuing the Garand to support troops who often had to carry other equipment was its length and weight, one criterion for the Ml Carbine was a weight of 51b or less. This made it far handier than the Ml Garand (9.51b unloaded) or Thompson submachine gun (10.61b unloaded). Since many of the troops who would be issued the Ml Carbine had previously carried a pistol, it was considered necessary for the carbine to have greater range and firepower than the pistol. An effective range of 300yd was considered optimal.
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