Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate-rifle cartridge and a detachable magazine. 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. While immediately after World War II, NATO countries were equipped with battle rifles, 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 standard weapon in most of the world's armies, replacing full-powered rifles and submachine guns in most roles. The two most successful modern assault rifles are the AK-47 and the M16 designs and their derivatives.
Origin of term
The term assault rifle is generally attributed to Adolf Hitler, who used the German word Sturmgewehr as the new name for the MP 43 , subsequently known as the Sturmgewehr 44. Allied propaganda suggested that the name was chosen for propaganda purposes, but the main purpose was to differentiate the Sturmgewehr from German submachine guns such as the MP 40.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.
Definition
The U.S. Army defines assault rifles as "short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between submachine gun and rifle cartridges." In this strict definition, a firearm must have at least the following characteristics to be considered an assault rifle:- 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; examples of intermediate cartridges are the 7.92×33mm Kurz, the 7.62×39mm and 5.56×45mm NATO.
- Its ammunition must be supplied from a detachable box magazine.
- It must have an effective range of at least.
- Select-fire rifles such as the FN FAL, M14, and H&K G3 main battle rifles are not assault rifles; they fire full-powered rifle cartridges.
- Semi-automatic-only rifles like the Colt AR-15 are not assault rifles; they do not have select-fire capabilities.
- Semi-automatic-only rifles with fixed magazines like the SKS are not assault rifles; they do not have detachable box magazines and are not capable of automatic fire.
Distinction from assault weapons
History
WWI designs
The Fedorov Avtomat is a select-fire infantry rifle and also one of the world's first operational 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. Some consider it to be an "early predecessor" or "ancestor" of the modern assault rifle.Sturmgewehr 44
The Germans were the first to successfully implement the assault rifle concept during World War II, based upon research that showed that most firefights happen within and that contemporary rifles were overpowered for most small arms combat. They would soon develop a select-fire intermediate powered rifle combining the firepower of a submachine gun with the range and accuracy of a rifle.The result was the Sturmgewehr 44, an improvement of the earlier Maschinenkarabiner 42, 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. 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. This weapon was the prototype of all successful automatic rifles. Characteristically 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."
AK-47
Like the Germans, the Soviets were influenced by experience showing that most combat engagements occur within and that their soldiers were consistently outgunned by heavily armed German troops, especially those armed with Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifles. On July 15, 1943, a Sturmgewehr was demonstrated before the People's Commissariat of Arms of the USSR. The Soviets were so impressed with the Sturmgewehr that they immediately set about developing an intermediate caliber automatic rifle of their own to replace the outdated Mosin–Nagant bolt-action rifles and pistol-caliber PPSh-41 and PPS-43 submachine guns that armed most of the Red Army.The Soviets soon developed the 7.62×39mm M43 cartridge, which was first used in the semi-automatic SKS carbine and the RPD light machine gun. 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. 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 mobile warfare doctrines. In the 1960s, the Soviets introduced the RPK light machine gun, 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. 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."
Post-StG battle rifles
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. 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 failed to recognize the importance of the assault rifle concept, and instead maintained its traditional views and preference for high-powered semi-automatic rifles. At the time, the U.S. Army believed that the Sturmgewehr 44 was "intended in a general way to serve the same purpose as the U.S. carbine" and was in many ways inferior to the M1 carbine, and was of "little importance".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. Early experiments with select-fire versions of the M1 Garand proved disappointing. 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. Combat experience suggested that the.30 Carbine round was under-powered. 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.
Senior American commanders had faced fanatical enemies and experienced major logistical problems during World War II and the Korean War, 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 in concurrent development. 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. 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. During the Cold War it was adopted by many North Atlantic Treaty Organization 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. 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".
The Heckler & Koch G3 is a 7.62×51mm, selective fire, automatic rifle produced by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME. The rifle proved successful in the export market, being adopted by the armed forces of over 60 countries. 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.