Carbine Ousts Pistol in Army New Weapon Is a Defense Against Parachute and Low-Flying Planes. WASHINGTON. The 45-caliber automatic pistol of the army will be displaced by a new weapon, a semi-automatic carbine, in what Secretary Stimson called "one of tha most significant changes of weapon! for the army that has ever taken place." The carbine, a "little brother" oi the Garand rifle, is described as filling a long-felt need, inasmuch as the pistol is . a defensive weapon while the new gun may be used offensively or defensively. Weighs Five Founds. Only five pounds in weight and three feet long, the carbine is designed de-signed not only for the infantry, but will find, Colonel Stimson said, an important place in the cavalry, artillery, ar-tillery, engineers, armored corps, parachute troops and other branches. All infantry officers below be-low the rank of major, all noncommissioned non-commissioned officers and most of the enlisted men, now armed with the pistol, will carry the carbine. Primarily intended for men whose duties make it impracticable to carry car-ry the regular service rifle, the carbine car-bine will increase the number of rifles in an infantry regiment by almost al-most 50 per cent. It will also be a significant factor in defending rear areas against sudden attack by parachute and other air-landing troops and low-flying airplanes. Two models out of seven submitted will be tested, one made by the army ordnance department, the other oth-er by a commercial concern. Long Firing Range. The carbine will be of 30 caliber with a bullet similar to a 38 caliber but with much more striking power. i Its weight of five pounds contrasts ! with the Garand and Springfield, of j about nine pounds each, while its j firing range is effective up to 300 j yards as compared with the pistol range of 50 yards. In the infantry, nearly 175,000 men will receive the carbine. More i than 600 of the 944 light rifles which j will be added to an infantry regi- j ment will go into "the forward area," j Increasing the fighting strength if j the units there. j Six out of eight men in a machine gun squad will carry the carbine. The gunner and the assistant gunner, gun-ner, who carry the gun and tripod, will have pistols. With the carbines, the squad may keep on fighting even if the machine gun is wrecked.