In some regards, but was more akin to the Winchester .32 and .35 self-loading cartridges. Winchester's Edwin Pugsley chose to design the cartridge with a .30 caliber, 100–120 grain bullet at a velocity of 2,000 feet per second. The first cartridges were made by turning down rims on .32SL cases and loading with .308 caliber bullets which had a similar profile to that of the U.S. military .45 ACP bullet. The first 100,000 cartridges manufactured were headstamped ".30 SL" (for "Self-Loading").

I think an interesting comparison can be made to the 7.62x25 cartridge in the PPSh-41 and PPS-43. Out of those subguns an 85 grain bullets at 1750 fps were pretty effective in places like Stalingrad with good penetration from a handy bullet hose at mostly short range. Conditions in the Pacific made the M1 carbine an attractive option. The full auto capability of the M2 would have found great favor, I think, with island hopping Marines.

There is some validity in having an overwhelming volume of fire to reduce the other guy's willingness to poke his head out to take an aimed shot back at you.