Inland M1A1 Carbine: Full Review

Inland has built an attainable M1A1 that honors wartime ingenuity. Here's a full review.

November 22, 2024 By Dave Emary

Staff Sergeant Robert Emary was a soldier of the 101st Airborne, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, I Company, from October 1943 to January 1946. He was part of the same regiment as “Easy” Company, which was featured in Stephen Ambrose’s book “Band of Brothers” (1992) that became a hit miniseries in 2001. My father was in the first wave of replacements immediately after D-Day, arriving in England during June of ’44. He served with the 101st from that point to the end of World War II. If you watched “Band of Brothers,” besides the D-Day scenes, you can imagine what he participated in. During the Battle for Bastogne, I Company suffered horrendous losses. Only 11 of the original 138 soldiers in I Company came out of Bastogne. My father was the highest-ranking enlisted man still walking in the company when they were relieved by the 17th Airborne.

gaad-inl-inland-m1a1-12-1200x800 — General Dwight D. Eisenhower greeted troops preparing to cross the English Channel on D-Day. Paratroopers equipped with M1A1s were essential to capturing areas behind enemy lines that would stall German reinforcements. (Photo Courtesy U.S. Library of Congress)

In “Band of Brothers,” E Company was involved in a raid across the Rhine River to capture prisoners when they were in Haguenau, France, in February of 1945. SSgt. Emary also participated in one of the raids across the Rhine to capture prisoners. He said they wanted to “travel light and quietly,” and that they all “took M1A1s and wore wool caps so there was no chance of making noise from wearing steel helmets and straps.” His unit captured two prisoners but left one on the bank of the Rhine because he was in bad shape; the situation became worse, quickly.

gaad-inl-inland-m1a1-13-1200x800 — When folded, the M1A1 carbine has a compact length of 253/4 inches. Unfolded, it measures 353/4 inches. Even loaded with a 15-round magazine, its weight is near 5 pounds. (Photo Courtesy U.S. Library of Congress)

As my father recounted, “The Germans figured us out when we were about halfway back across the Rhine to our side. We were fired on by an MG 42, and I was grazed in the head by a bullet. It knocked me unconscious, and I fell in the river. My corporal, a very good swimmer in high school, went in after me and pulled me out. I woke up in a field hospital with double pneumonia and a very bad headache. I was there for 2 weeks and probably not completely over the pneumonia when I heard the 101st was heading out and moving south. I went to the doctor and told him I wanted to be discharged and that I needed my uniform. He said, ‘No.’ I told him he could either discharge me and give me my uniform back or I was leaving barefoot in a hospital gown, but I wasn’t getting separated from my unit. I got my uniform back and hitched a ride in a Jeep and got back to I Company before they left.”

gaad-inl-inland-m1a1-02-1200x800 — Overall length was the primary concern when adapting the M1 Carbine for paratrooper use. Initially subcontracted to Royal Typewriters, and eventually by the S.E. Overton Company, the folding, so-called “wire stock” was the most noticable change to the M1. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

After hearing Dad’s story, I felt inspired to possess this connection to my father’s experience. He passed away in August 2018. I sought a Carbine that was in as close to the same configuration as the Carbine he used. However, most M1A1 Carbines I encountered were a hopeless jumble of U.S.- and foreign-made parts — and fakes.

Revisiting History

The M1 Carbine came about because of the U.S. Army’s experience during World War I, and following the observations of German Blitzkrieg tactics and use of airborne troops during the initial battles of World War II in 1939 and ’40. During World War I, the U.S. Army’s rear echelon support and headquarters personnel were armed with handguns, either a revolver or Model 1911. While the M1911 was a fine handgun, the .45-caliber Ball round had limited range. Early German successes during the Second World War showed it wouldn’t be a stagnant conflict as trench warfare became. The need to engage the enemy beyond the front lines required a more effective, portable, accurate and longer-range firearm for troops stationed in the rear.

gaad-inl-inland-m1a1-03-1200x800 — Late-production adjustable rear sights are standard to Inland’s M1A1, but an early production sight is optional. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

The War Department published its requirements for a lightweight, compact rifle using a new intermediate-power cartridge on 15 June 1940. That Fall, the U.S. Army requested that Winchester help by developing a .30-caliber cartridge based on the .32 Winchester Self Loading (WSL) round. Initial testing was to be 1 February 1941, but delays pushed initial testing to 16 June 1941. Nine prototype guns were submitted. Curiously, Winchester did not submit a design in time because it was working to get M1 Garand production going. Only two designs came out the test, one from Springfield Armory and the other from Bendix Aviation Corporation. Winchester had been working on a lightweight rifle, but it wasn’t ready at the time of the first test.

gaad-inl-inland-m1a1-04-1200x800 — Inland Mfg. offers its current-production M1A1 with round bolts, but an early-type flat bolt is available from the custom shop. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

Further requirements and refinements proved necessary to the concept. Many prototypes were rejected, but a resubmission was allowed. Updated proposals were submitted on 15 September 1941, and the second test was open to late-comers wanting to submit a rifle. Winchester had continued work on its carbine and submitted its prototype. It passed the tests on 11 August 1941, and testing was completed on 25 September 1941. The Winchester design won. Notified on 1 October 1941, a contract for 350,000 carbines was awarded on 24 November 1941. As Winchester’s contract was awarded, the U.S. Army also contracted the Inland Division of General Motors in Dayton, Ohio, to produce rifles, as Inland had more excess manufacturing capacity for the carbine than Winchester did. The “Caliber .30, M1” rifle was officially accepted by the War Department on 22 December 1941.

gaad-inl-inland-m1a1-05-1200x800 — M1A1s made in 1943 featured a narrow Type A barrel band with sling swivel on the left side. No bayonet lug was present. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

Models of 1943 & 1944

The U.S. Army quickly confirmed the benefits of the M1 Carbine as a lightweight rifle. Work began early in 1942 to further refine the M1 Carbine to make it more compact for deployment with airborne troops. A folding “wire” stock was engineered for the M1 Carbine, and both under-folding and side-folding designs were investigated; the side-folding assemblies with pistol grip was selected. The M1A1 was officially adopted in April 1942 as the “Model of 1943.” A subsequent production became the “Model of 1944.” Inland was the sole manufacturer of the M1A1, and eventually produced some 140,000 of the carbines. Inland contracted S.E. Overton of South Haven, Michigan, to produce the stock and pistol grip while Royal Typewriter Co. of Hartford, Connecticut, was contracted to produce the folding wire buttstock.

gaad-inl-inland-m1a1-06-1200x800 — Early M1A1 handguards were secured by two rivets. Late-production models were attached with four-rivet handguards. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

M1A1s were produced in two blocks. The first production block was manufactured from about November 1942 to January 1944. Slightly more than 70,000 rifles were built during the first run. The Model of 1943 had features of the early M1 Carbines including a two-position L-shaped flip-up rear sight, flat bolt, Type A straight bolt boss operating slide, push-button safety, high-wood stock, two-rivet handguard, and a narrow Type A barrel band.

The second production block, the Model of 1944, was manufactured from about May 1944 to December 1944. Slightly less than 70,000 carbines were produced during the second run. The later M1A1 saw some of the upgrades to the M1 Carbine that were occurring at that time such as the installation of an adjustable rear sight, low-wood stock, four-rivet handguard, Type B undercut operating slide bolt boss, and a wider Type B barrel band. Not many of the late-production M1A1 carbines arrived in time for combat use in the European theater.

To Honor My Father

Examples of the M1A1 in period-correct configuration have become rare. Even those that are not an original M1A1 can fetch between $6,000 and $8,000. For me, owning an original M1A1 is likely not going to happen. However, Inland Manufacturing has been producing new reproduction M1 and M1A1 Carbines since 2013 in Dayton, Ohio.

gaad-inl-inland-m1a1-07-1200x800 — Inland Manufacturing offers reproduction stampings and cartouches, though discernible not to be interpreted as real. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

Inland Manufacturing is a successful company located in the same Ohio town where the Inland Division of General Motors manufactured M1 Carbines and the M1A1 from 1941 to 1945. It has established a reputation for producing high-quality guns that are accurate to the originals. Inland offers two basic off-the-shelf gun styles for the M1A1, a 1944 and 1945 configuration. The 1944 model has an adjustable rear sight and the wide Type B barrel band without a bayonet lug. The 1945 model has the Type C barrel band with the bayonet lug. Both guns have a push button safety, Type B operating slide with undercut bolt boss, round bolt, and four-rivet handguard.

It’s unlikely my dad would have seen the second production block M1A1 in February 1945. More than likely, he would have had a carbine from the first production block. His gun would have had a flat bolt, high-wood stock, two-rivet handguard, Type A straight bolt boss operating slide, L flip rear sight, and Type A narrow barrel band.

gaad-inl-inland-m1a1-08-1200x800 — An unmarked, no-bevel “fabricated”-style front sight is installed on Inland Manufacturing’s reproduction M1A1 carbines. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

I contacted Ron Norton at Inland Manufacturing and asked if his shop could assemble an M1A1 in the Model 1943 configuration. Norton said he could except for the high-wood stock. Inland’s stock pattern is the low wood. Original, high-wood M1A1 stocks, when found, sell for an average of $3,000. I also asked Norton to include a standard M1 Carbine stock with my M1A1 order, and the reproduction rifle arrived and met these specifications.

The new-production M1A1 features a very good fit and finish. The stock has an original-appearing straight-grain dark finish, down to the leather cheekpiece and brass rivets. It’s a pleasing and original-appearing M1A1. The standard M1 stock also presented a dark finish with the correct Ordnance Department crossed-cannon cartouche and “IO” mark in the sling slot, indicating “Inland Ordnance” production. The Parkerized finish on the metal parts is dark grey, almost black. The gun and stock are faithful reproductions to the original M1A1, but few would confuse this one for an original due to the commercial-grade finish applied to the metal and wood, Parkerizing color, and lack of supplier stamps on the parts.

gaad-inl-inland-m1a1-09-1200x800 — The staggered-column magazine holds 15 rounds of .30 Carbine, which are typically loaded with 110-grain projectiles. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

The triggerpull of the Inland M1A1 measured 5 pounds, 12 ounces, having a crisp pull and the usual overtravel known to the M1 Carbine trigger. I test-fired the M1A1 with Winchester 110-grain full-metal-jacket (FMJ) ammunition, as well as a handload made of 14.8 grains of WC 296 complete with the Hornady 110-grain FMJ bullet. I tested the M1A1 at 100 yards. Results are shown in the table.

No malfunctions or feeding issues were experienced with the M1A1. Group sizes, however, must be examined through the lens of my poor eyesight after a retina repair. I’m quite sure that younger eyes could have reduced diameters of each group. Nonetheless, a man-size target could be struck regularly at 200 yards. I did a little shooting at 300 yards with the higher sight setting and hit the same silhouette targets about half the time. Looking back to 1943, that was all that was ever expected of the M1 Carbine.

gaad-inl-inland-m1a1-10-1200x800 — Inland Manufacturing’s Type III trigger housing includes the hammer, safety, sear, and a late-war (1945) Type V magazine catch. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

Allow me to offer a few notes on the M1 Carbine flip sight. Originally, the flip sight was set up to provide a 150-yard zero on the low setting and a 300-yard zero on the higher setting. These two zeros typically produce a trajectory that results in the bullet being approximately 3-inches high at 100 yards for the 150-yard setting and 15-inches high at 100 yards with the 300-yard zero. That was the specification during World War II. With the sight radius of the Carbine, a .003-inch adjustment in rear sight windage or front sight height will result in about a 1-inch change at 100 yards. With the front sight, removing material and shortening the front sight will raise the point of impact. If you must alter the front sight to zero a Carbine, go slow and only take a little off at a time. Also, the windage may not be the same for the two different sight settings. This is caused by play in the sight and manufacturing tolerances. You may have to split the difference in windage between the two settings or decide that you don’t care about the longer zero.

Tribute Carbines

gaad-inl-inland-m1a1-11-1200x800 — No-tool field stripping, using only a cartridge, was an important design consideration for the lightweight M1 Carbine and M1A1. The barreled action, trigger housing, bolt, action rod assembly, and magazine can be installed in either a fixed M1 Carbine stock or folding M1A1 paratrooper stock. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

Given the escalating prices of original M1 and M1A1 Carbines, purchasing a vintage shooter has become cost prohibitive for many of us. Inland Manufacturing offers a solution with its late-production M1 Carbine reproductions. The M1A1 is a limited offering, though highly desirable. Other variations include the Model of 1945 with bayonet lug, Jungle Carbine, Scout, and Advisor pistol. The Inland Manufacturing Custom Shop can produce earlier-configuration examples, as well as perform restoration of existing projects. It has access to several sources of original parts and can assist or perform complete refinishing of these rifles. Besides the M1 Carbine, Inland Manufacturing also offers a nice World War II-spec Model 1911 pistol.

Inland Manufacturing’s reproductions are more easily attainable alternatives to collectible originals. I’ve found that the best part about owning one is that I’m never afraid to shoot it.