The M1 Carbine is the standard by which all PDWs are measured.

[stanc]

As many of you have suggested, the M1 Carbine was a pretty ideal solution to the problem. I am a giant 45 acp pistol fan but few can hit anything at anything beyond spitting distance (conscripts under duress). So while the M1 Carbine it much more to carry than a 1911, it is profoundly and overwhelmingly more likely to hit it's target in battle than the 1911. So if there is any practical or possible way for a man to carry something bigger than the handgun, the M1 Carbine was a brilliant 1938 decision.

Actually, there was nothing ideal or brilliant about the M1 carbine. It was an unimaginative solution to a problem that existed only because Army leadership chose to field a heavy battle rifle -- the M1 Garand -- that was no more than an incremental improvement on the M1903 Springfield.

A truly brilliant decision would've been to develop the M1 Garand around a cartridge similar to today's .30 HRT, or the .30 RAR.




That would have enabled the M1 Garand to be the size and weight of a Mini-14, making it unnecessary to develop the M1 carbine.
Give it a "straight-line" stock, and feed it with 30-round magazines instead of 8-round clips. Now, that would have been brilliant.