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An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate-rifle cartridge and a detachable magazine.C. Taylor, The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat, F.A. Moyer Special Forces Foreign Weapons Handbook, R.J. Scroggie, F.A. Moyer Special Forces Combat Firing Techniques, Musgave, Daniel D., and Thomas B. Nelson, The World's Assault Rifles, vol. II, The Goetz Company, Washington, D.C. (1967): 1 Assault rifles were first put into mass production and accepted into widespread service during World War II. The first assault rifle to see major usage was the German StG 44, a development of the earlier Mkb 42. Firearms: The Life Story of a Technology, by Roger Pauly. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2004. pp. 145–146[1] The Atlantic. "A Brief History of the Assault Rifle". (The gun's name may have been coined by Adolf Hitler.) by Michael Shurkin. Jun. 30, 2016 While immediately after World War II, NATO countries were equipped with , the development of the M16 rifle during the Vietnam War prompted the adoption of assault rifles by the rest of NATO. By the end of the 20th century, assault rifles had become the Service rifle in most of the world's armies, replacing battle rifle and Submachine gun in most roles. The two most successful modern assault rifles are the AK-47 and the M16 designs and their derivatives.
It has been suggested, however, that the Heereswaffenamt was responsible for the name Sturmgewehr, and Hitler had no input besides signing the production order.
Furthermore, Hitler was initially opposed to the idea of a new infantry rifle, as Germany lacked the industrial capacity to replace the 12,000,000 Karabiner 98k rifles already in service, only changing his mind once he saw it first-hand.The StG 44 is generally considered the first selective fire military rifle to popularize the assault rifle concept. Today, the term assault rifle is used to define firearms sharing the same basic characteristics as the StG 44.
Rifles that meet most of these criteria, but not all, are not assault rifles according to the U.S. Army's definition. For example:
The result was the Sturmgewehr 44, an improvement of the earlier Maschinenkarabiner 42(H), and approximately half a million Sturmgewehrs were produced by the war's end. It fired a new and revolutionary intermediate powered cartridge, the 7.92×33mm Kurz.[4] M16 Rifle Case Study. Prepared for the President's Blue Ribbon Defense Panel. March 16, 1970. By Richard R. Hallock, Colonel U.S. Army (Retired) This new cartridge was developed by shortening the standard 7.92×57mm Mauser round and giving it a lighter 125-grain bullet, which limited range but allowed for more controllable automatic fire. A smaller, lighter cartridge also allowed soldiers to carry more ammunition "to support the higher consumption rate of automatic fire".
The Sturmgewehr 44 features an inexpensive, easy-to-make, stamped steel design and a 30-round detachable box magazine. Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. 7th ed., Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. pp. 242–243 This weapon was the prototype of all successful automatic rifles. Characteristically (and unlike previous rifles) it had a straight stock with the barrel under the gas cylinder to reduce the turning moment of recoil of the rifle in the shoulder and thus help reduce the tendency of shots to climb in automatic fire. The barrel and overall length were shorter than a traditional rifle and it had a pistol grip to hold the weapon more securely in automatic fire. "The principle of this weapon—the reduction of muzzle impulse to get usable automatic fire within the actual ranges of combat—was probably the most important advance in small arms since the invention of smokeless powder."
The Soviets soon developed the 7.62×39mm M43 cartridge, which was first used in the semi-automatic SKS and the RPD light machine gun. Small Arms Identification and Operations Guide-Eurasain Communist Countries. by Harold E. Johnson. September 1973. U.S. Army Foreign Science and Technology Center of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. Hugo Schmeisser, the designer of the Sturmgewehr, was captured after World War II, and, likely, helped develop the AK-47 assault rifle, which would quickly replace the SKS and Mosin in Soviet service.[11] Interview with AK-47 rifle inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov. 'I sleep soundly' Shamed by his parents' exile, he was determined to do his bit for the Soviet cause. And so Mikhail Kalashnikov invented what was to become the world's most prolific killing machine. Nick Paton Walsh tracks down the 83-year-old at his tranquil lakeside. by Nick Paton Walsh. The Guardian, Thursday 9 October 2003 The AK-47 was finalized, adopted and entered widespread service in the Soviet army in the early 1950s. Its firepower, ease of use, low production costs, and reliability were perfectly suited for the Red Army's new Maneuver warfare doctrines. In the 1960s, the Soviets introduced the RPK, itself an AK-47 type weapon with a bipod, a stronger receiver, and a longer, heavier barrel that would eventually replace the RPD light machine gun.
The AK-47 was widely supplied or sold to nations allied with the USSR, and the blueprints were shared with several friendly nations (the People's Republic of China standing out among these with the Type 56). As a result, more AK-type weapons have been produced than all other assault rifles combined. As of 2004, "of the estimated 500 million firearms worldwide, approximately 100 million belong to the Kalashnikov family, three-quarters of which are AK-47s."
After World War II, the United States military started looking for a single automatic rifle to replace the M1 Garand, M1/M2 Carbines, M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, M3 "Grease Gun" and Thompson submachine gun.The M16. By Gordon Rottman. Osprey Publishing, 2011. p. 6 Early experiments with select-fire versions of the M1 Garand proved disappointing.[12] |CUT DOWN in its Youth, Arguably Americas Best Service Rifle, the M14 Never Had the Chance to Prove Itself. By Philip Schreier, SSUSA, September 2001, pp. 24–29, 46 During the Korean War, the select-fire M2 Carbine largely replaced the submachine gun in U.S. service
and became the most widely used Carbine variant.Leroy Thompson (2011). The M1 Carbine. Osprey Publishing. p. 35. . Combat experience suggested that the .30 Carbine round was under-powered. Arms of the Chosin Few . Americanrifleman.org. Retrieved on 2011-11-23. American weapons designers reached the same conclusion as the German and Soviet ones: an intermediate round was necessary, and recommended a small-caliber, high-velocity cartridge.Donald L. Hall An effectiveness study of the infantry rifle (PDF). Report No. 593. Ballistic Research Laboratories. Maryland. March 1952 (released March 29, 1973)Senior American commanders had faced fanatical enemies and experienced major logistical problems during World War II and the Korean War, Fanaticism And Conflict In The Modern Age, by Matthew Hughes & Gaynor Johnson, Frank Cass & Co, 2005 HyperWar: The Big 'L'-American Logistics in World War II . Ibiblio.org. Retrieved on 2011-12-24. The Logistics of Invasion . Almc.army.mil. Retrieved on 2011-11-23. and insisted that a single powerful .30 caliber cartridge be developed, that could be used by the new automatic rifle, and also by the new general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) in concurrent development.Col. E. H. Harrison (NRA Technical Staff) New Service Rifle (PDF). June 1957Anthony G Williams Assault Rifles And Their Ammunition: History and Prospects . Quarry.nildram.co.uk (revised 3 February 2012). Retrieved on 2011-11-23. This culminated in the development of the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge and the M14 rifle which was basically an improved select-fire M1 Garand with a 20-round magazine.[19] Small Arms Review, "M14 Vs. M16 In Vietnam", By Robert Bruce Jane's International Defence Review. Vol. 36. Jane's Information Group, 2003. p. 43. "The M14 is basically an improved M1 with a modified gas system and detachable 20-round magazine." The U.S. also adopted the M60 GPMG, which replaced the M1919 Browning machine gun in major combat roles. Its NATO partners adopted the FN FAL and Heckler & Koch G3 rifles, as well as the FN MAG and Rheinmetall MG3 GPMGs.
The FN FAL is a 7.62×51mm, selective fire, automatic rifle produced by the Belgian armaments manufacturer Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN). During the Cold War it was adopted by many NATO (NATO) countries, most notably with the British Commonwealth as the semi-automatic L1A1. It is one of the most widely used rifles in history, having been used by more than 90 countries. Jane's Guns Recognition Guide. Ian Hogg & Terry Gander. HarperCollins Publishers. 2005 p. 275 The FAL was predominantly chambered for the 7.62mm NATO round, and because of its prevalence and widespread use among the armed forces of many western nations during the Cold War, it was nicknamed "The right arm of the Free World".Bishop, Chris. Guns in Combat. Chartwell Books, Inc. (1998). .
The Heckler & Koch G3 is a 7.62×51mm, selective fire, automatic rifle produced by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ( Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales Especiales).Woźniak, Ryszard: Encyklopedia najnowszej broni palnej—tom 2 G-Ł, p. 7. Bellona, 2001. The rifle proved successful in the export market, being adopted by the armed forces of over 60 countries. Jane's Guns Recognition Guide. Ian Hogg & Terry Gander. HarperCollins Publishers. 2005 p. 288 After World War II, German technicians involved in developing the Sturmgewehr 45, continued their research in France at CEAM. The StG 45 mechanism was modified by Ludwig Vorgrimler and Theodor Löffler at the Mulhouse facility between 1946 and 1949. Vorgrimler later went to work at CETME in Spain and developed the line of CETME automatic rifles based on his improved StG 45 design. Germany eventually purchased the license for the CETME design and manufactured the Heckler & Koch G3 as well as an entire line of weapons built on the same system, one of the most famous being the MP5 SMG.
As a result, the Army was forced to reconsider a 1957 request by General Willard G. Wyman, commander of the U.S. Continental Army Command (CONARC) to develop a .223 caliber (5.56 mm) select-fire rifle weighing when loaded with a 20-round magazine. The 5.56 mm round had to penetrate a standard U.S. helmet at and retain a velocity in excess of the speed of sound, while matching or exceeding the wounding ability of the .30 Carbine cartridge.Hutton, Robert (ed.), The .223, Guns & Ammo Annual Edition, 1971.
This request ultimately resulted in the development of a scaled-down version of the ArmaLite AR-10, called the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle.Danford Allan Kern The influence of organizational culture on the acquisition of the m16 rifle . m-14parts.com. A thesis presented to the Faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCE, Military History. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 2006Peter G. Kokalis Retro AR-15 . nodakspud.com
However, despite overwhelming evidence that the AR-15 could bring more firepower to bear than the M14, the Army opposed the adoption of the new rifle. In January 1963, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara concluded that the AR-15 was the superior weapon system and ordered a halt to M14 production.[23] The M14 not much for fighting (A case against the M14 legend) At the time, the AR-15 was the only rifle available that could fulfill the requirement of a universal infantry weapon for issue to all services.After modifications (most notably, the charging handle was re-located from under the carrying handle like it was on AR-10 to the rear of the receiver), the newly redesigned rifle was subsequently adopted as the M16 Rifle. Report of the M16 rifle review panel . Department of the Army. dtic.mil. 1 June 1968 "(The M16) was much lighter compared to the M14 it replaced, ultimately allowing soldiers to carry more ammunition. The air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed assault rifle was made of steel, aluminum alloy and composite plastics, truly cutting-edge for the time. Designed with full and semi-automatic capabilities, the weapon initially did not respond well to wet and dirty conditions, sometimes even jamming in combat. After a few minor modifications, the weapon gained in popularity among troops on the battlefield."GX. The Guard Experience. The Pride of the Guard. by Major Darrin Haas. Volume 10. Issue 3. 2013. p. 67. "Nicknamed a 'Mattel toy' because of its small caliber and lightweight design, the M16 became the standard service rifle for U.S. forces in Vietnam in 1967. The weapon was much lighter compared to the M14 it replaced, ultimately allowing Soldiers to carry more ammunition. The air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed assault rifle was made of steel, aluminum alloy and composite plastics, truly cutting-edge for the time. Designed with full and semi-automatic capabilities, the weapon initially did not respond well to wet and dirty conditions, sometimes even jamming in combat. After a few minor modifications, the weapon gained popularity among troops on the battlefield. Still in service today, the M16 is being phased out by the M4 carbine.
Despite its early failures, the M16 proved to be a revolutionary design and stands as the longest continuously serving rifle in American military history. It has been adopted by many U.S. allies and the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge has become not only the NATO standard but "the standard assault-rifle cartridge in much of the world". Small Arms. By Martin J. Dougherty. The Rosen Publishing Group, Dec 15, 2012. p. 26Per G. Arvidsson Weapons & Sensors . NATO Army Armaments Group It also led to the development of small-caliber high-velocity service rifles by every major army in the world, including the USSR and People's Republic of China. Today, many small arms experts consider the M16 the standard by which all other assault rifles are judged.[26] Compendium Special Operations by Armada. Assault Rifles. by Paolo Valpolini 2/2012 "Among western armies the M4 with its 356-mm-long barrel remains the benchmark type, although reports from the field have shown some criticism regarding its reliability in sand and dusty environments due to the direct impingement or 'gas-tube' system that tends to bring carbon blow-back into the chamber, while hot gases used to cycle the weapon generate heat problems."
In March 1970, the U.S. recommended that all NATO forces adopt the 5.56×45mm cartridge. This shift represented a change in the philosophy of the military's long-held position about caliber size. By the middle of the 1970s, other armies were looking at assault rifle-type weapons. A NATO standardization effort soon started and tests of various rounds were carried out starting in 1977. The U.S. offered the 5.56×45mm M193 round, but there were concerns about its penetration in the face of the wider introduction of ballistic vest. In the end the Belgian 5.56×45mm SS109 round was chosen (STANAG 4172) in October 1980. The SS109 round was based on the U.S. cartridge but included a new stronger, heavier, 62-grain bullet design, with better long-range performance and improved penetration (specifically, to consistently penetrate the side of a steel helmet at ).
Also during the 1970s, Finland, Israel, and South Africa introduced AK type assault rifles in 5.56×45mm. Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. 7th ed. by Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications 2000. pp. 235, 258, 274, 278 Sweden began the transition with trials in 1981 and full adoption in 1986. During the 1990s, Russia developed the AK-101 in 5.56×45mm NATO for the world export market. LEGION Ltd. – the producer of high quality firearms with period artistic treatment (threading, engraving, incrustation) and improved finishing. izhmash.ru In addition, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Yugoslavia (i.e., Serbia) have also rechambered their locally produced assault rifles to 5.56mm NATO. Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. 7th Edition. by Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications 2000. pp. 233, 257, 266, 296
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