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Show 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 the most significant changes of weapons for the army that has ever taken place." The carbine, a "little brother" of the Garand rifle, i 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 Pounds. Only five pounds in weight and three ieet long, the carbine is designed de-signed mot 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 rarjk of major, all noncommissioned non-commissioned officers and most of the enlisted men, how armed with the pistol, will carry the carbine. Primarily intended for men whose duties make it impracticable to carry car-ry the regular servioe Tifle, 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 ibe 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 mure striking power. Its weight of five pounds contrasts with the Garand and Springfield, of about nine pounds each, while its firing range is effective up to 300 yards as compared with the pistol range of 50 yards. In the infantry, nearly 175,000 men will receive the carbine. More than 600 of the 944 light rifles which will be added to an infantry regiment regi-ment will go into "the forward area," increasing the fighting strength of the units there. 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. |