As Issued 1944 IBM M1 Carbine

Updated as requested.

T

1944 IBM M1 Carbine Slideshow by majspud | Photobucket

Thanks for posting the needed pictures. I see what I believe are clear index marks (short slash) on top of the dovetail. This means most likely that your IBM had a flip sight on it at some point. Very few IBM carbines ended up with original rear adjustable sights. I still think this is a super nice carbine, one that I'd gladly own.

Maybe someone else will see something I'm missing. Field upgrades on the rear sights of these weapons definitely happened when the adjustables became more abundant. Also, I didn't even touch postwar arsenal updates that so many M1 carbines went through.

Daylight pics.

T

OK, the $64 question: was this worth the two mix-master carbines (1/44 NPM and 2/44 IBM) that I traded for it?

T

Depends on what you paid for the two mix masters, verses how you value this I.B.M.
If I had two $600-$800 mixed parts carbines, I would trade for yours.

One I paid $630 for (NPM, engineer's holster, flash hider, three mags, sling, oiler), the other was a CMP service grade (IBM, 1 mag) for $700. As I still have the engineer's holster ($300 itself), flash hider, and six mags I think I'm ahead.

T

Yeah its proves that i need a new prescription, i used my cheaters and i can see the small O in the 9 now. But anyway like i said, Its a sweet looking Carbine. Happy Shooting, Thanks

Frank

Thank you very much for this post! Some time ago while on FLA vacation, I purchased a late IBM carbine in Jensen Beach(?). It was buried in the used guns section so that only the front sight was visible. No history available. Serial number is 3934176. Very late non AO. In short, it is almost exactly the same as the one pictured here. Differences appear to be stock markings AND rear sight. Mine IS the milled T2 Hemphill adjustable sight. I posted the pictures here and received some comments regarding the "staked rear sight" not being correct! Now we find out that T2 sights were in fact installed and I'll bet so were T3s. The so called "witness marks" are in fact an early standard form of chisel staking used to secure flip sights by tightening the dove tail. On my carbine it is obvious the aperture ramp was moved side to side and chisel staked on each side as per ordinance recommendations. This staking continued to be used on the EARLY adjustable installations because the results of the PUNCH testing being conducted by International Register CO (IRCO) and QHMC to fix the loosening problems of the heavier adjustable sights either wasn't finished or disseminated. In short, leave the gun alone. IMHO It's probably 100% as built and just maybe pushes back the IBM T2 & T3 adjustable sight introduction threshold.

Life is so much simpler for readers of MWO ORD B28-W3 which includes 30 ea. "PUNCH, Staking" with each package of 360 adjustable rear sights shipped to field forces (either type adjustable). Figure 5 of that document clearly depicts a round pointed punch and para. 7(c)(18) requires the punch's point be kept sharp at a 90-120 deg angle.

As has been pointed out, there are several anecdotes of rear sight replacement at the unit level in the ETO and for those really on the ball, there was a late ETO requirement to perform MWO-W3 on all carbines being packed for shipment overseas. This work was done well before MWO-4 was published and the two prior carbine MWOs would not have been needed on late IBMs.

No status reports on this work have been located to date, but it is worth noting that of 13 rear sights visible in Larry Ruth's photo of carbine processing at FN post-V-E day, every one sports an adjustable sight.

Having seen the updated photos of the dove tail. I must agree that it could be an upgrade installation or repair. That being said, however, we see what appears to be an original set of lighter stake marks on the front of the dovetail (similar to milspec flip staking) and a heavy punch on the rear. Could the punch have been done later to the new milspec when the original staking started to fail before the gun even left the factory? We will never know.