Assault rifle

An assault rifle is loosely defined as a selective fire rifle designed for combat that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies. Examples of assault rifles include the M16 rifle, A family, !"6, #$ #$%, and the &teyr A'!. Definition (he term assault rifle is a translation of the !erman word Sturmgewehr )literally *storm rifle*, as in *to storm a position*+. (he name was coined by Adolf ,itler-1. to describe the Maschinenpistole //, subse0uently re1christened &turmgewehr //, the firearm generally considered the first true assault rifle that served to popularise the concept. (he translation assault rifle gradually became the common term for similar firearms sharing the same technical definition as the &t! //. 2n a strict definition, a firearm must have at least the following characteristics to be considered an assault rifle3-4.-".-/.

It must be an individual weapon with provision to fire from the shoulder (i.e. a buttstock); It must be capable of selective fire; It must have an intermediate-power cartridge: more power than a pistol but less than a standard rifle or battle rifle; Its ammunition must be supplied from a detachable magazine.

5ifles that meet most of these criteria, but not all, are technically not assault rifles despite fre0uently being considered as such. #or example, semi1automatic1only rifles that share designs with assault rifles such as the A5116 )which the M16 rifle is based on+ are not assault rifles, as they are not capable of switching to automatic fire and thus not selective fire. 7elt1fed weapons )such as the M4/8 &A9+ or rifles with fixed magazines are li:ewise not assault rifles because they do not have detachable box magazines. ,owever, in this case, the M4/8 &A9 has the ability for both being fed by belt or detachable box magazine. (he term *assault rifle* is often more loosely used for commercial or political reasons to include other types of arms, particularly arms that fall under a strict definition of the battle rifle, or semi1 automatic variant of military rifles such as A5116s. (he '& Army defines assault rifles as *short, compact, selective1fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between submachinegun and rifle cartridges.*-6.
Assault rifles vs. Assault weapons

(he term assault weapon is a political and legal term used to describe a variety of semi1 automatic firearms that have certain features generally associated with military assault rifles. (he 188/ #ederal Assault 9eapons 7an, which expired on &eptember 1", 4;;/, codified the definition of an assault weapon. 2t defined the rifle type of assault weapon as a semiautomatic

firearm with the ability to accept a detachable magazine containing more than 1; rounds, and two or more of the following3

Folding or telescoping stock rimar! pistol grip Forward grip "hreaded barrel (for a #uppressor$ commonl! called a silencer) %arrel shroud

(he assault weapons ban did not restrict weapons capable of fully automatic fire, such as assault rifles and machine guns, which have been continuously and heavily regulated since the $ational #irearms Act of 18"/ was passed. &ubse0uent laws such as the !un %ontrol Act of 186< and the #irearm =wners >rotection Act of 18<6 also affected the importation and civilian ownership of fully automatic firearms, the latter fully prohibiting sales of newly1manufactured machine guns to non1law enforcement or &=( )special occupational taxpayer+ dealers.

1900s1930s: Pre-Sturmgewehr Light automatic rifles

These automatic firearms generally used pre-existing rifle cartridges, with kinetic energies between 1960 !,000 " #$,$00 %,&00-foot-pounds', (elocities of 660 900 m)s #1,**! $,9!0 ft)s' and bullets of 9 to 1% g #1%9 $00 grains'+ Amerigo %ei15igotti developed a rifle with essentially all the characteristics of an assault rifle between 1<8;118;;.. 2t was tested but did not see service. (he first in1service precursor of the assault rifle was the 5ussian #edorov Avtomat issued for the first time in 1816 and chambered for the ?apanese 6.6x6;mm Arisa:a rifle cartridge. @i:e the 6.6x64mm Mannlicher1%arcano round used in the %ei15igotti, this was a relatively low1powered rifle cartridge already in production. (he 1,86; ? bullet energy of the Arisa:a round from the short barrel of the Avtomat was in fact less than the 4,;1; ? bullet energy of the A 1/A. (he #edorov Avtomat, though a service rifle, was only used in small numbers. 2t was however highly favored by 5ussian and &oviet troops and saw service until 9orld 9ar 22. 7oth these rifles had selective fire capability and weighed under 6 1B4 :gs loaded. Curing 9orld 9ar 2 the #rench %hauchat was introduced, a light machine gun and a precursor to the modern assault rifle. 2t was produced in large numbers )46;,;;;+. @i:e the later assault rifle it was capable of both single and automatic fire, and was loaded with a magazine and also featured a pistol grip. %ompared to other light machine guns of the time the %hauchat was fairly light at the weight of 8 :g but it was still too cumbersome for closer 0uarters and had recoil that was too heavy to control when firing fully automatic due to the use of full powered rifle rounds li:e original #rench chambering of the < mm @ebel )<x6;mm5+ or variants produced later for '& forces in .";1;6 &pringfield and other international customers in A.84 mm and A.66 mm rifle calibres. Cespite some serious flaws it was so important to infantry combat that desperate

!erman troops who had no comparable weapon of their own started using captured %hauchats.-6. 9hile it was chambered for the full1size calibre and therefore did not use an intermediate cartridge, it was an intermediate weapon between submachine guns and heavier machine guns such as the @ewis !un. (he 5ibeyrolle 181< may be the first weapon fitting the definition of an assault rifle )including select fire and portability+ to use a purpose1designed intermediate round. (he cartridge was based on the ."61 9inchester &elf1@oading case nec:ed down to accept a < mm @ebel bullet. 2t was first introduced to the Army (echnical &ervice on ?uly 6, 181<. 2ts official designation was ,arabine -itrailleuse )English3 machine carbineD !erman3 -aschinenkarabiner+. 2t was finally reEected in 1841 because it was not accurate enough at distances beyond /;; meters. &imilar weapons were the Canish 9eibel MB18"4 and !ree: E> light machine guns chambered in experimental rounds considered similar to what would become the A.84x""mm urz within the following decade. (he American M181< 7rowning Automatic 5ifle )7A5+ copied the %hauchat concept in a more reliable design but was not introduced or used in any significant numbers before the end of the #irst 9orld 9ar. @ater developments added heavier barrels and bipods that made it more li:e todayFs light machine gun or s0uad automatic weapon, though it did help establish the doctrine of use for light selective fire rifles. (hese versions of the 7A5 were produced in large numbers, widely adopted, and served well into the 186;s with the '.&. military and other nations.
&uring 'orld 'ar I$ submachine guns also entered service$ such as the (illar erosa$ the %eretta )odel *+*, and the ) *,. "hese weapons shared man! elements with assault rifles$ but the! fired pistol cartridges such as the +-*+ mm arabellum. "he developers of the "hompson submachine gun (also developed during the *+*.s) originall! intended to use riflepowered rounds. /owever$ a mechanical s!stem that could handle their power was not available and the .01 23 cartridge was chosen instead. "hese firearms are considered part of the submachine gun class$ but were an important step in the development of assault rifles. 1930s: Automatic interme iate weapons

%ontinuing evolution of the intermediate1calibre automatic rifle was primarily driven by ammunition. ,andgun ammunition used by submachine guns was only effective at shorter ranges. %onversely, full1sized military rifle calibres were uncomfortable to fire repeatedly, were large and lead to unwieldy and heavy rifles, and were difficult to control during fully automatic or rapid fire because of significant recoil. (he cost of design and manufacture of full1size rifles ammunition was also higher. =ne attempt to combine an intermediate cartridge with an automatic rifle by the 2talian arms company 7eretta resulted in the MA7 "< )-oschetto .utomatico /eretta 19%0+. (he MA7 "< used a #iocchi 9-%0 cartridge, a higher1powered version of the 8x18mm >arabellum pistol cartridge, which could provide longer effective range up to 4;; m. 2n 18/4, the 'nited &tates introduced the M1 carbine, which was an intermediate power weapon chambered for the ."; %arbine cartridge. 9hile select1fire capability was initially planned for the M1 carbine, this was dropped from the initial version. @ater in the war, selective fire variants were made )M4 and M"+. (he weapon had greater range and accuracy than submachine guns,

but was not as powerful as full1size automatic rifles such as the M181< 7A5. (he longer barrel provided the carbine with a higher muzzle velocity than pistols and submachine guns chambered for the same .";1calibre round. =riginally the carbine was envisioned as an inexpensive lightweight weapon for issue to rear1 echelon and support troops )truc:ers, tan:ers, coo:s, etc.+ in place of the more expensive M1811 pistol or M1 !arand rifle. (he M1 series was soon found suitable for close 0uarter battle engagements, a concept that would be re1applied later. (he M1 carbine series would remain in service with the '.&. military primary forces until supplemented and finally replaced by the M16 rifle in the 186;sD it continued to be used in limited roles, particularly by the '.&. $avy, Air #orce, %oast !uard, and many (raining %ommands in the various branches of the '.&. armed forces well into the 18<;s. (he 18";s was also the beginning of the important !erman -aschinenkarabiner program of arms development that resulted in the prototype Maschinen:arabiner M"6 that was however not adopted for service.-A.
19!0searl" 19#0s: $aschinen%ara&iner' Sturmgewehr ( A)-!*

Some of these automatic firearms used pre-existing rounds1 others used new intermediate cartridges+ 2inetic energy ranged between 1,*00 $,100 " #1,0%% 1,!!0-foot-pounds', mu33le (elocities of 600 000m)s #1,9&0 $,6$! ft)s' and bullets of & 9g #100 1%9 grains'+ !ermany, under the Gersailles (reaty, was limited to a professional army of long service soldiers numbering only 1;;,;;; men and forbade tan:s or military aircraft. (his encouraged an approach that emphasied high 0uality, and reduced emphasis on low cost. 2nfantry tactics became based on teams of !eneral >urpose Machine !uns )!>M!+ supporting and supported by a section of infantry. !>M! had high rates of fire to permit small numbers of men to fire at long range to defend a wide front. Enemy soldiers, briefly exposed, would be engaged with a high rate burst of fire to cause casualties before they could ta:e cover. %lose range assaults would be conducted by units with submachine guns, for greater mobility, and higher rates of fire. (his tactical approach was a refinement of the *,utier* tactics used by !ermany in the last year of 992. !ermany, li:e other countries, had observed and studied the emerging demand of infantry rifles evolving since 9orld 9ar 2, and their factories made a variety of non1standard cartridges, therefore having less incentive to retain their existing calibres. (he A.84x"; mm ) urz+ cartridge was an example of these experimentsD in 18/1, it was improved to A.84x""mm urz 4nfanterie 2ur3 5atrone )*2nfantry &hort %artridge*+. 2n 18/4, it was again improved as -aschinenkarabiner 5atrone S, and in 18/", 5istolen 5atrone *%m6D then, finally, 4nfanterie 2ur3 5atrone *%. (he similarity in size between the A.84x""mm !erman cartridge and the A.64x""mm developed for the M1 %arbine is a curious coincidence, but was ultimately nothing more than independent yet similar solutions to the same problem. (he A.84x""mm round used the same cartridge case head as the standard A.84x6Amm Mauser and the bullet was made from the same diameter rod.

2n 18/4, 9alther presented the -aschinenkarabiner )*automatic carbine,* abbr. M b+, named M b/4)9+. 2n the same year, ,aenel presented the M b/4),+, designed by ,ugo &chmeisser as a result of this program. 5heinmetall17orsig )some said rieghoff+ presented its #!/4 )7allschirm89ger :ewehr *$, sponsored by ,ermann !Hring+ though this was in a different role, and using a heavy A.84x6Amm Mauser cartridge, which was not an intermediate round. 9artime tests in 5ussia indicated the M b/4),+ performed better than the other two. &chmeisser developed it first as the M>/", then M>/"B1, and finally as the M>//B&turmgewehr // )abbreviated &t!//, or sometimes &tg //+. 2t immediately entered large scale production. More than 6,;;; units had been produced by #ebruary 18//, and 66,;;; by the following $ovember. #ollowing the end of the war in 18/A, Mi:hail alashni:ov developed the A 1/A, inspired by the concept and layout of the !erman &t!//, but is 0uite different mechanically. 2t fired the A.64x"8mm cartridge, which had been developed as model /" for use in their & & carbines that were developed by &imonov in 18/6 and subse0uently adopted as the & &1/6 . (he round was similar to the &t!//Fs in that the bullet was an intermediate round of the same calibre as the larger full1size 5ussian rifle ammunition. (hough it further supports claims that alashni:ov closely followed his !erman counterpart, 5ussian historians point out that ,ugo &chmeisser arrived to 2zhevs: in late 18/A, while alashni:ov had relocated development of his rifle to the same premises only as late as 18/< )the development itself began in 18/"+. &till, &chmeisser greatly helped &oviet gunsmiths to master the cold stamping technology, which was extensively used in the A design )this especially relates to the later stamped receiver variant+-<.. Mauser had developed several prototype &turmgewehr /6 assault rifles, first with the !erIt ;6 )Cevice 6+ using a roller1delayed blowbac: mechanism originally adapted from the roller1loc:ed recoil operation of the M!/4 machine gun but with a fixed barrel and gas system. 2t was realised that with careful attention to the mechanical ratios, the gas system could be omitted. (he resultant weapon, the !erIt ;6),+ was supposedly slated for adoption by the 9ehrmacht as the &t!/6.
"he 4erman technicians involved in developing the #turmgewehr 01 continued their research in France at 352). "he #t401 mechanism was modified b! 6udwig (orgrimler and "heodor 67ffler at the )ulhouse facilit! between *+08 and *+0+. "hree versions were made$ chambered in .9. 3arbine$ :.+;-99mm <urz as well as the :.81-91mm cartridge developed b! 3artoucherie de (alence and adopted in *+0,. 2 :.1-9,mm cartridge using a partial aluminium bullet was abandoned in *+0:. 5ngaged in the Indochina war and being the second =2"> contributor$ France cancelled the adoption of these new weapons. (orgrimler moved to #pain and began production of 35")5 )odelo 2$% and 3 precursors of /eckler ? <och@s 49 battle rifle and ) 1 submachine gun 19!0searl" 19#0s: $aschinen%ara&iner' Sturmgewehr ( A)-!* Many of these automatic firearms used intermediate cartridges with much lighter bullets and smaller calibres, but fired at very high velocity; kinetic energy ranged between 13001800J !"01,330#foot#$ounds%, velocities of !0010&0m's (,!&03,)&0 ft's%, and bullets of 3)g )""( grains%*

#ollowing the end of 9orld 9ar 22, the '.&. Army conducted a number of studies of what happened in the war and how it was actually fought. &everal things were learned which applied directly to personal weapon design. >erhaps most important, research found that most combat casualties caused by small1arms fire too: place at short range. &o the long range and accuracy of the standard rifle was, in a real sense, wasted. &econd, the research found that aiming was not a maEor factor in causing casualties. 2nstead, the number one predictor of casualties was the total number of bullets fired.-8. (hird, psychological studies found that many riflemen )as much as 4B"+ never fired their weapons at the enemy. 7y contrast, those soldiers e0uipped with rapid1fire weapons )submachine guns and the early assault rifles+ were far more li:ely to actually use their weapons in battle.-1;. (his combination of factors led to the conclusion that a fairly short1range weapon capable of rapid fire would be the most effective general purpose weapon for infantry. 9hile these studies were being digested, the 'nited &tates insisted on introducing their own A.64x61mm full1power cartridge as the standard for $A(= armies. 2t could :ill at distances of more than 6;; meters )though this was increasingly seen as irrelevant+. At the time, the 7ritish were developing their own Ax/"mm ).4<; 7ritish+ intermediate cartridge for their modern EM14 bullpup assault rifle. Cue to political pressure from the %onservative >arty, which agreed with the American standardisation campaign, the whole proEect was shelved at the eve of introduction. 2n 7elgium, the famous arms producer #$ ,erstal started experimenting with the !erman A.84x""mm urzpatrone. (hey built a prototype of a rifle using this cartridge, but the impending $A(= standardisation forced them to rebuild it to use American ammo, giving birth to the #$ #A@, &witzerland introduced the &2! 61; that still fired &wiss service full1length rifle rounds but also produced the &2! 61;1/ that fired the A.64x61mm $A(= round. 7olivia and %hile adopted the &2! 61;1/ as their service rifle, 7olivianB%hilean exports were licence produced by the 2talian firm 7eretta. 2n conEunction with the A.64x61mm %artridge, (he 'nited &tates had developed the M1/ rifle, which was largely based on the 9922 M1 !arand, the most significant change being the addition of a 4; round detachable box magazine and selective fire capability. 9hile initial tests loo:ed promising, and professional rifleman were able to put on favorable demonstrations, the select1fire capabilities 0uic:ly proved unrealistic once the rifle was in the hands of a more average soldierD (he A.64mm $A(= cartridge is a full power rifle cartridge and produces too much recoil to control a lightweight rifle in full automatic fire. About the same time the M11/ was entering service, Eugene &toner of Armalite was developing a totally new rifle named the A511;, which was still designed to fire the A.64mm $A(= cartridge. As testing of the &toner rifle progressed, army ordinance finally decided to loo: more seriously at the intermediate cartridge concept, and the 6.66x/6mm $A(= was born. &toner scaled down his design and renamed the smaller weapon the A5116, which would ultimately be adopted by the '& armed forces as the M116 rifle. (he M16A1 version soon followed to rectify issues found during use in the Gietnam 9ar. (he M16A4 was a further refinement and upgrade introduced in 18<6 meant to use the 7elgian1updated 6.66x/6mm $A(= cartridge with a heavier 641grain )/.; g+ bullet :nown as the &&1;8 or M<66. (he latest incarnation of the M116 rifle is the M/A1 selective fire carbine. (he smaller1calibre military cartridges such as the 6.66x/6mm and 6./6x"8mm were sometimes considered less lethal than the previous generation of assault rifle rounds, such as the

A.64x"8mm, which were large1calibre bullets with reduced propellant or cases. ,owever, the lighter, small1calibre bullets achieved higher velocities, more favourable ballistic properties, and reduced carrying weight. =ne aspect of the smaller calibre ammunition that is sometimes hotly debated is its fragmentation behaviour. &topping capability is the effectiveness of the round in completely stopping the target when it hitsJeither :illing or fully incapacitating. 9ithin a certain range of ballistic conditions, the lighter 6.66 mm and 6./6 mm will, upon stri:ing tissue, first tumble and then fragment. 7eyond 1;; yards )81 m+, or when fired from shorter barrels, such bullets can often fail to fragment upon impact because of insufficient velocity. (hus, the result in a target is a rather small .44 calibre bullet hole, instead of a much larger wound channel. Effectiveness depends on what tissues of the enemy body the round destroys. @arger destroyed areas increases the probability that sufficient damage will be done to end enemy resistance. 'ltimately, any pointed )spitzer+ round will tumble in soft tissue. 2f the Eac:et has a cannelure, such as the '.&. 6.66x/6mm M18" round, and the bullet is in the proper ballistic state and high enough velocity, the bullet will fragment, inflicting significant blood loss and internal damage, as well as a wound channel profile that is more complex to address medically. 2f the bullet acts as a solid, and doesnFt fragment, full effectiveness occurs only if stri:ing the brain or spinal cord, causing immediate loss of control. (here is a distinct, though lesser effectiveness if the heart, large blood vessels, or liver )which last tends to tear+ is hit causing fairly 0uic: loss of blood pressure, and conse0uent unconsciousness. >art of the dispute over small1calibre rounds arises here. 7lood loss leads to indirect incapacitation, but often ta:es longer than direct destruction of tissue. Cefence &ecretary 5obert Mc$amara presented wounding ability as a reason for adoption of the M16 over the M1/ as a 0uestion of battlefield efficiency 1 that it is better to wound an adversary than :ill him, as wounded must be tended to by their comrades, ta:ing them out of the fight and demoralising them in the process.-11. Many claim that this theory was wed to the findings of >roEect &A@G=, but nowhere in the &A@G= findings was reduced lethality of rifle rounds ever stressed or presented as an argument for adoption of a lighterBsmaller calibre round. &A@G= concluded that the main factor in inflicting casualties in infantry combat was solely rounds fired 1 aiming had negligible impact. (he theory that enemy soldiers would stop to aid a wounded comrade was 0uestionable. (he heavier A.64 mm bullets in use were claimed to hit harder with more mass, would not deflect or destabilise as readily, and more reliably :illed what it hit. )&ome of the substantiated issues were later addressed in 18<4 with the changes made in the M16A4, which used a heavier 641grain )/.; g+ bullet with different ballistic characteristics than its M16A1 predecessor.+