Automatic rifle

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
2nd Lt. Val Browning with the Browning Automatic Rifle in France during World War I

An automatic rifle is a type of autoloading rifle that is capable of fully automatic fire. Automatic rifles are generally select-fire weapons capable of firing in semi-automatic and automatic firing modes (some automatic rifles are capable of burst-fire as well). Automatic rifles are distinguished from semi-automatic rifles in their ability to fire more than one shot in succession once the trigger is pulled. Most automatic rifles are further subcategorized as battle rifles or assault rifles.

History

Maxim

In June 1883

Martini-Henry rifles as well as an original automatic rifle and blowback- and recoil-operated machine guns, both single and multi-barrelled.[1]

Mannlicher

1885 Mannlicher Self-Loading Rifle

In 1885 Ferdinand Mannlicher made an experimental self-loader based on work begun in 1883 in both semi-automatic and fully automatic modes. It was an impractical failure due to fouling by its black powder ammunition, but it influenced later designs. Furthermore, Mannlicher produced smokeless powder automatic rifles from the early 1890s onwards until his death in 1904.[2][3][4]

Cei-Rigotti

The Italian Cei-Rigotti, one of the world's first automatic rifles.

One of the world's first automatic rifles was the Italian

6.5mm Carcano or 7.65×53mm gas-operated, selective-fire carbines attracted considerable attention at the time.[7][8] They used 10-, 20- and 50-round box magazines.[8] The Cei-Rigotti had several failings, including frequent jams and erratic shooting.[8] In the end, no Army took an interest in the design and the rifle was abandoned before it could be further developed.[8] Although the rifle was never officially adopted by any military, aside from the 1895 variant which never came through, it was tested extensively by the Italian Army during the lead-up to the First World War.[9]

Chauchat

Chauchat Automatic Rifle

The

8mm Lebel was also extensively used in 1917–18 by the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.), where it was officially designated as the "Automatic Rifle, Model 1915 (Chauchat)".[citation needed
]

Lewis Gun

Lewis

The

gas operated
and fires automatically at 500-600 rounds per minute.

More than 50,000 Lewis guns were produced during WW1, becoming the most common automatic weapon used by British and American troops. Although superseded by the

Bren gun
by 1939, nearly 60,000 Lewis guns were refurbished and reissued to British forces after the Dunkirk evacuation of 1940.

Fedorov Avtomat

Fedorov Model 1916 Automatic Rifle

The Fedorov Avtomat (also anglicized as Federov, Russian: Автомат Фёдорова) or FA was a select-fire, crew-served automatic rifle and was one of the first practical automatic rifles, designed by Vladimir Grigoryevich Fyodorov in 1915 and produced in the Russian Empire and later in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. A total of 3,200 Fedorov rifles were manufactured between 1915 and 1924 in the city of Kovrov; the vast majority of them were made after 1920. The weapon saw limited combat in World War I, but was used more substantially in the Russian Civil War and in the Winter War. In 1916, the Weapons Committee of the Russian Army made a decision to order no less than 25,000 Fedorov automatic rifles. In the summer of 1916, a company from the 189th Izmail Regiment was equipped with 8 Fedorov Avtomats. Trained in tactics with the new weapon, they concluded that the Fedorov worked best as a crew served weapon. The gunner armed with the Fedorov and an ammo bearer armed with an Arisaka rifle. As both weapons used the same ammo and same 5 round stripper clips, this allowed for the greatest flexibility. It also allowed for the ammo bearer to fire defensively, while the gunner reloaded. It was also recommended that the primary mode of fire be in semi-automatic, as the Fedorov's would rapidly overheat in full-auto. Some consider it to be an "early predecessor" or "ancestor" to the modern assault rifle,[10][11][12][13] while others believe that the Fedorov Avtomat was the world's first assault rifle.

Browning Automatic Rifle

Browning Automatic Rifle

The

walking fire", an idea urged upon the Americans by the French who used the Chauchat light machine gun to fulfill that role.[14] The BAR never entirely lived up to the designer's hopes; being neither a rifle nor a machinegun.[14] "For its day, though, it was a brilliant design produced in record time by John Browning, and it was bought and used by many countries around the world. It was the standard squad light automatic of the U.S. infantry during World War II and saw use in every theater of war."[14] The BAR was praised for its reliability and stopping power. "The US forces abandoned the BAR in the middle 1950s, though it was retained in reserve stocks for several years; it survived in smaller countries until the late 1970s."[14]

AVS-36

The Soviet AVS-36 battle rifle,

The

Infantry Journal, in an article by John Garrett Underhill Jr. Simonov would later design an anti-tank rifle, the PTRS-41, and the SKS
carbine, which employed simpler tilting bolt operation.

FG 42

Both early (top) and late-war (bottom) variants of the FG 42.

The

bolt-action rifle. It was considered one of the most advanced weapon designs of World War II.[21][22] The FG 42 influenced post-war small arms development and most of its design was copied by the US Army when they developed the M60 machine gun.[23]

Sturmgewehr 44

The German StG 44, the first assault rifle manufactured in significant numbers

The Germans were the first to pioneer the

Sturmgewehr 44.[24][25][26][27]

AK-47

An AK-47 with a machined receiver

Like the Germans, the Soviets were influenced by experience showing most combat happens within 400 meters and that their soldiers were consistently outgunned by heavily armed German troops, especially those armed with the

Type 56).[29]
The AK-47 and AKM type rifles are the most produced firearms in history.

M14 rifle (battle rifle)

The M1 Rifle and M1 Carbine

The U.S. Army was influenced by combat experience with semi-automatic weapons such as the M1 Garand and M1 carbine, which enjoyed a significant advantage over enemies armed primarily with bolt-action rifles.[32] Although U.S. Army studies of World War II combat accounts had very similar results to that of the Germans and Soviets, the U.S. Army maintained its traditional views and preference for high-powered semi-automatic rifles.[27]

After World War II, the United States military started looking for a single automatic rifle to replace the

M2 Carbine largely replaced submachine guns in US service.[34] However, combat experience suggested that the .30 Carbine round was underpowered.[35] American weapons designers reached the same conclusion as the Germans and Soviets: an intermediate round was necessary, and recommended a small caliber, high velocity-cartridge.[36]

U.S. M14 rifle, advanced by the proponents of the battle rifle concept

However, senior American commanders, having faced fanatical enemies and experienced major logistical problems during World War II and the Korean War,

Rheinmetall MG3
GPMGs.

FN FAL

British L1A1 (FN FAL)
The T48, an American copy of the FN FAL

The

British Commonwealth as the L1A1. It is one of the most widely used rifles in history, having been used by more than 90 countries.[45] 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".[46]

H&K G3

AG-3
(HK G3)

The

MP5 SMG
.

M16 rifle

The first confrontations between the AK-47 and the M14 (assault rifle vs battle rifle) came in the early part of the Vietnam War. Battlefield reports indicated that the M14 was uncontrollable in automatic mode and that soldiers could not carry enough ammo to maintain fire superiority over the AK-47.[49] A replacement was needed: A medium between the traditional preference for high-powered rifles such as the M14, and the lightweight firepower of the M2 Carbine.

AR-10 rifle
AR-15
M16A1

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 6 lbs (2.7 kg) when loaded with a 20-round magazine.[27] The 5.56mm round had to penetrate a standard U.S. helmet at 500 yards (460 meters) and retain a velocity in excess of the speed of sound while matching or exceeding the wounding ability of the .30 Carbine cartridge.[50]

This request ultimately resulted in the development of a scaled-down version of the ArmaLite AR-10, called ArmaLite AR-15 rifle.[51][52][53] 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.[53] 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.[53] 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 AR-10 to the rear of the receiver),[52] the new redesigned rifle was subsequently adopted as the M16.[53][54]

The M16 entered U.S. service in the mid-1960s and was much lighter than the M14 it replaced, allowing soldiers to carry more ammunition.[54] Despite its early failures, the M16 proved to be a revolutionary design and stands as the longest continuously serving rifle in American military history.[55][56] It is a benchmark against which other assault rifles are judged,[53] and used by 15 NATO countries, and more than 80 countries worldwide[57]

HK33

Heckler & Koch HK33A2 with Trijicon Compact ACOG

During the 1960s, other countries would follow the Americans lead and begin to develop 5.56×45mm assault rifles, most notably Germany with the Heckler & Koch HK33. The HK33 was essentially a smaller 5.56mm version of the 7.62×51mm Heckler & Koch G3 rifle. As one of the first 5.56mm assault rifles on the market, it would go on to become one of the most widely distributed assault rifles. The HK33 featured a modular design with a wide range of accessories (telescoping butt-stocks, optics, bipods, etc.) that could be easily removed and arranged in a various configurations.

5.56mm NATO

The 7.62×51mm NATO and 5.56×45mm NATO cartridges compared to an AA battery.

The adoption of the M16, the H&K33, and the 5.56×45mm cartridge inspired an international trend towards relatively small-sized, lightweight, high-velocity military service cartridges that allow a soldier to carry more ammunition for the same weight compared to the larger and heavier 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The 5.56mm cartridge is also much easier to shoot.[43][58][59] In 1961 marksmanship testing, the U.S. Army found that 43% of ArmaLite AR-15 shooters achieved Expert, while only 22% of M-14 rifle shooters did so. Also, a lower recoil impulse allows for more controllable automatic weapons fire.[43][58][59]

Therefore, in March 1970, the U.S. recommended that all

STANAG 4172) in October 1980.[60] 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 600 meters).[27]

During the 1970s, the USSR developed the AK-74 and the 5.45×39mm cartridge, which has similar physical characteristics to the U.S. 5.56×45mm cartridge.[61] Also during the 1970s, Finland, Israel, South Africa and Sweden introduced AK type rifles in 5.56×45mm.[62] During the 1990s, the Russians developed the AK-101 in 5.56×45mm NATO for the world export market.[63][64] In addition, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and former countries of Yugoslavia have also rechambered their locally produced assault rifle variants to 5.56mm NATO.[65][66] The adoption the 5.56mm NATO and 5.45×39mm cemented the worldwide trend toward small caliber, high-velocity cartridges.

Steyr AUG (bullpup rifle)

The Steyr AUG was one of the first bullpup rifles to enter widespread use.

In 1977, Austria introduced the 5.56×45mm

Tavor TAR-21 and China's People's Liberation Army's adopted QBZ-95
. By the turn of the century, the bullpup design had achieved world-wide acceptance.

See also

Other weapons:

Other related articles:

References

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