U.S. Carbines in Germany and Austria

U.S. M1 Carbine
in
Austria

Training Carbines

(ÜBÜNGSWAFFEN)













National Agencies Additional Info
Gendarmerie Bundespolizei Accessories Oddities
Bundesheer Zoll Training Rifles

In Europe countries occasionally contracted for the manufacture of training rifles to limit the level of sound, recoil, and the cost of using centerfire rifle cartridges. They were also safer to train with.

The Bundesheer & Bundespolizei

In the 1950's the Austrian company TYROL (now VOERE, Austria) manufactured a C02 rifle known as the COMATIK. The dimensions of the COMATIK were similar to those of the M1 carbine, so TYROL was requested to modify the COMATIK to handle and operate like an M1 carbine.

TYROL replaced the COMATIK trigger housing with an aluminum trigger housing that operated like the trigger housing on an M1 carbine and accomodate the genuine M1 carbine 15 round magazine. The only original M1 carbine part on the housing was the rotary safety. The wood stock was altered to accomodate the M1 carbine oiler and sling. The front sight was designed to appear and work like the genuine front sight. For the rear sight TYROL used a genuine M1 carbine type 1 flip sight.

The rifle was fed by spring tension in a tube under the barrel that held thirty 4.5mm metal balls. When filled with C02 it would fire approximately 200 balls before it needed to be refilled with CO2. The chamber that held the ammunition was designed to stop the feeding mechanism every 15 rounds. Before the rifle would fire again, the magazine had to be removed and replaced then the slide pulled back and released.

TYROL manufactured two models that differed only in name. The CM1 (C02-M1) for the Bundespolizei and the ÜbGer.KM1 for the Bundesheer. Both models looked and functioned the same. The Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) received a total of 500 CM1's/ÜbGer.KM1's from TYROL by 1960. The Bundesheer received a total of 342 ÜbGer.KM1's. The remaining CM1's went to the Bundespolizei.

Unofficial indoor practice with these CO2 carbines earned them the nickname "moth rifle".

Twenty of the ÜbGer.KMl's were converted to artillery training units. One rifle was mounted on an 106mm anti tank gun and had a range of about 15 meters. This variation does not use a handguard. For anti-aircraft weapon training two of these rifles were mounted on an anti-aircraft weapon platform, in place of the two normal barrels. The sights of the anti-aircraft weapon were left in place.

With the retirement from service of the M1 carbine by the Bundesheer in the 1970's, the ÜbGer.KMl was placed in storage. In 1989 the ÜbGer.KMl was brought out of storage for one final sport shooting competition. Large quantities of the ÜbGer.KMl were sold to Germany.

These specific CO2 air rifles are highly sought after rare collectibles.


Photo courtesy of Robert Beeman Ph.D., Airgun Information Int'l

For further information on ERMA Werke and their EM1, including the American companies and their variations, see M1CarbinesInc.com.


The Gendarmerie

The Gendarmerie did not use the Tyrolian CO2 rifle for training. Instead, they used a .22 LR caliber rifle made by ERMA Werke, designated the EM1, that closely resembled the M1 carbine. These included both 15 round and 30 round magazines. Operation, size, weight, handling, and appearance was similar to that of the M1 carbine.


Variations of the EM1 were manufactured by ERMA for several different American companies 1967-1990's. For further information on ERMA Werke and their EM1, including the American companies and their variations, see M1CarbinesInc.com.

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