Arnold Goode - who was responsible for putting together the fascinating array of weaponry seen on "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." - came across a nightscope-equipped M3 Carbine (the last version of the M1 Carbine issued for military service) in an Army Surplus store on Colorado Avenue in Los Angeles. He decided to put this gun in the hands of the show's sinister THRUSH villains.

The first THRUSH Carbine looks like a reconfigured M3 - with its original infra-red scope.   

This mostly unaltered weapon featured in some early episodes - its impact enhanced by a special sound effect (an unsettling cricket-like chirp) which alerted viewers that its sights were aimed at a target.

The second version of the THRUSH Carbine was fitted with an impressive-looking 'Snooper Scope', a fore-grip & a 'Flash Suppressor'. The THRUSH emblem was fixed on the buttstock.

As the series became more popular, MGM increased its budget and the designers introduced slicker, more fascinating guns and gadgets. The THRUSH Carbine was restyled to give it extra menace and more practical qualities as a film prop. Dozens were produced - some real, some made out of resin, some fabricated in rubber (for fight sequences).

We now know that some U.N.C.L.E. fans made versions of the 'Special' Walther P38 Pistol (with all the accessories needed to transform it into a semi-automatic carbine) used by the show's good guys - but did any gun enthusiasts produce  their own THRUSH Carbines?  

The THRUSH emblem.

The criminal organisation's enigmatic name was never explained in any of the television episodes, but some of the associated U.N.C.L.E. novels suggested that it was an acronym which stood for the Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesireables & the Subjugation of Humanity.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. spawned a host of 'official' and 'unofficial' merchandise - toys, clothes, books, games. The toy THRUSH Carbine which delighted many boys in the 1960's bore only a superficial resemblance to the adapted M1-type weapons on the screen, but nobody seemed to be very bothered about that. Surviving examples of the toy have become collectors' items - often changing hands for hundreds of dollars on eBay.