Tracing an M1A1 Carbine's History: What You Need to Know

Question
to begin with, thats my wife's e-mail address.  my question is:  my family came across an M1A1 Carbine in my grandmothers house.  considering my family's history, this beautiful weapon should have seen combat, what I'm wondering is if there is a way to track the weapon's history through the serial number.  I'd really like to know what this weapons seen.

Answer
Hi.

I am not an expert on M1A1 carbines but I did find some info which may help.  Here is a great page with lots of info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_Carbine

Since these carbines were made by many different manufacturers you first need to determine which company made yours.  Check this site out:

http://home.att.net/~ra-carbines/history.html

If you are able to determine the manufacturer then is is possible that the blue book will have some additional info that can help you confirm the production date.  Here is the link to check their logs by manufacturer, some of which are free and others you have to pay to download or buy the book:

https://store.bluebookinc.com/download/Manufacturer.aspx?product=GUN

And finally, here is a general search link in case you need more info:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=m1a1+carbine

Hope this helps.  Good luck!

Bob