Assault rifles are selective fire intermediate-power rifles.
Note: this specific term should not be confused with the loosely-defined term assault weapon, which refers to any number of classes of pistols, rifles, and shotguns.
Mission
The typical mission of an assault rifle is to provide fire support at ranges up to 400 meters by ordinary troops. It is designed for massed anti-personnel fire at short ranges with simple maintenance.
Doctrines about the desirability of this rifle vary. Studies by the U.S. Army indicate that most conflicts between soldiers occur at ranges of 100 meters or less. Russian doctrine asserts that the typical soldier is unable to aim beyond 400 meters, and therefore 400 m should be the ultimate aimed range of a rifle for massed fire.
As a massed military weapon, assault rifles share common features: light weight, hand grips positioned for good instinctive pointing (for unaimed "intuitive" fire), bayonet lugs (to provide lethality without ammunition), selectable fire rates, high reliability, large magazines, and simplified operation. Many lightweight semi-automatic civilian rifles, meant only for personal defence use, provide similar features but omit selective-fire and bayonet lugs.
Assault rifles cause injuries more often than death. Doctrines vary concerning this effect. The U.S. military states that this is an intentional goal. Enemy logistics are overloaded with wounded, and the lack of deaths is seen by the enemy and those pulling the trigger as more merciful, enabling average troops to pull the trigger with less guilt. Some Russian accounts state that the lower lethality is an accidental side-effect of the cartridge's smaller powder charge, which they tried to overcome by making the bullet more lethal at lower energies. (See AK-47 for details).
The fastest select-fire setting of the U.S. M16A2 rifle engages a three-part automatic sear that fires "optimal" three-round bursts for each pull of the trigger. The U.S. Army uses this feature to enhance the reliability of a shot under combat conditions. The U.S. currently does not issue fully automatic weapons to ordinary riflemen in order to reduce the amount (and thus the weight) of ammunition carried by soldiers and support vehicles. In the 1990s, however, the new fully automatic M4A1 carbine was issued in large quantities to radio operators, drivers and other support troops.
Most assault rifles are capable of fully automatic fire, many do not include finite bursts, like the M16A2. The idea is that a trained soldier can effectively use aimed automatic bursts without fear of spray and pray. The low training time for US soldiers is often blamed on the known inability of the soldiers to control their fire, (the US Army basic training is eight weeks, the Canadian reserve force basic training is 12 weeks while the US Marine Corps's is 13 weeks.) Also the US focuses mainly on physical soldiering skills, whereas most other modern nations focus more on mental soldier skills, ('boot camp' is typically used to describe military basic training, whereas calling the basic training of most other nations 'boot camp' is considered a grave insult.)
Some later models of the Russian Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles can reduce the rate of fire below five rounds per second. Although this may aid logistics, lowered logistic loads is said to be a doctrine of secondary importance. The lower rate of fire is to help moderately skilled shooters, while it is said to limit better shooters. Many Russian troops apparently dislike this accessory, because it reduces the rate of fire during the assault, and is less reliable than a simple automatic sear.
Effects on doctrine and organization
To reduce logistic problems, and still provide high rates of fire, some current military doctrines employ a squad automatic weapon used by one or a few specially-trained soldiers in a squad. The term squad is largely a US term, where the equivalent to a squad automatic weapon is a part of most normal military training. Fully automatic assault rifles can, at a pinch, replace a light machine gun. Another very common method is to have one of the riflemen (the nearest and typically a fireteam partner), pick up the gun of a fallen machinegunner and thence, until proper unit reorg, become a machine gunner himself. Some weapons such as the AK-47, although classified as assault rifles, were designed as light infantry automatic weapons with single-shot capability, rather than rifles with the option of full-automatic fire, such as the M16A1. Therefore, the doctrines associated are often weapon dependent.
When assault rifles were adopted, ordinary troops became less able to perform sniping. Russian and Russian-derived doctrines retain squad-level snipers, while the U.S. and its derived doctrines maintain a sniper team at battalion level.
In the late 1970s, after experience in Vietnam, the Russians adopted lighter weight weapons. The helicopter had become an important, perhaps the primary, means of resupplying embattled troops. At this point, the USSR adopted an even lower-weight cartridge (5.45 x 39 mm) and rifle, the AK 74.
History
The first assault rifle was probably the Italian-made 6.5x52mm gas-operated Cei-Rigotti , developed in the 1890s or 1900s, but it did not enter military service. The first service assault rifle was the Russian Federov Avtomat of 1916 chambered for the Japanese Arisaka 6.5x50mm rifle cartridge. Although there were production problems due to poor Russian administration, the Avtomat was one of the best rifles of World War I. After these early starts, the idea of the assault rifle was mostly left dormant.
An attempt to provide soldiers with a rifle with an intermediate-power ammunition and heavier than submachine guns (too weak and with too short a range due to the pistol ammunition), but lighter than long rifles (uncomfortable to shoot, and difficult to control on full-automatic because of the powerful ammunition and more expensive to design and manufacture), by the Italian arms company Beretta resulted with its MAB 38 (Moschetto Automatico Beretta 1938). This was developed at the same time as the US M1/M2 carbine (the M2 version had selective fire).
The MAB 38 used a Fiocchi 9M38 cartridge, a higher-powered 9 mm Parabellum, which could provide a longer range. The useful range was about 200 m, although it was declared at 500 m.
The U.S. M1 carbine suffered because its cartridge was only marginally more powerful than pistol cartridges of the time. It was sufficiently better than the 1911A1 service pistol but not powerful enough to warrant replacing the millions of M1 Garand rifles already in service.
With its more powerful ammunition, the MAB 38 was more of a multipurpose weapon, as was the Russian PPSh.
The Germans had studied the problem since WWI, and their factories made a variety of non-standard cartridges, so they had less incentive to remain with their existing calibers. At first they were still using the 8x57JS and 8mm Mauser.
Polte's 7.92x30mm cartridge was the best of that production, and in 1941 it was improved to 7,9x33mm Infanterie Kurz Patrone. In 1942 it was improved again as Maschinekarbiner Patrone S and in 1943 Pistolen Patrone 43mE, then finally Infanterie Kurz Patrone 43. All these names follow the troubled creation of the Stg 44.
In 1942 Walther presented the Maschinenkarabiner (automatic carabine, abbr. MK), named MKb42(W). In the same year, Haenel presented the MKb42(H), designed by Hugo Schmeisser . Rheinmetall-Borsig (some said Krieghoff) presented its FG-42(Fallschirmjaeger Gewehr 42), perhaps more modern than the two MKb42s, but using a heavy 8x57 mm cartridge. The FG-42 was sponsored by Hermann Göring.
The war-time tests in Russia indicated the MKb42(H) was the best of the three. Schmeisser developed it first as the MP43, then MP43/1 and finally as the STG 44 Sturmgewehr. It immediately entered large scale production. More than 5,000 pieces had been produced by February 1944, 55,000 by the following November.
Statistical studies of real battles performed by the U.S. Army indicated that combat beyond 200 yards is rare. The Russians saw no reason to make a rifle that shoots beyond a rifleman's ability to aim. Therefore a lighter, less-powerful cartridge could be effective. This permitted a lighter rifle and enabled troops to carry more ammunition, making them more autonomous. The lighter ammunition would use far less cargo capacity on trains, trucks, ships and helicopters. This reduced the cost of resupply. In addition, the smaller size and easy handling of an assault rifle would reduce the burden on tank crews, support troops, and units with missions other than front line combat. All of these led to the widespread adoption of assault rifles.
Recent history
Near the end of WWII, development of the assault rifle continued as the individual histories of the AK-47 and M-16.
In the US, the term has recently been modified and applied (for political reasons) to various semi-automatic firearms. Arms manufacturers had for decades advertised the supposed resemblance of their civilian products to military weapons.
Significant models
The first assault rifle labeled as such was the German StG 44 "Sturmgewehr" [1] http://www.artehistoria.com/batallas/jpg/AFS14879.jpg ("assault rifle"). The term stuck with the weapon type and is still used to describe similar weapons.
For much of the pre-WWII period the German Army had relied on the machine gun as the primary infantry weapon, with rifles as a support weapon only. However in close combat both weapons proved largely ineffective, the machine gun being too heavy and powerful to move in "snapshot" situations while walking, and the rifle having far too slow a rate of fire to effectively suppress quickly dodging targets. Combat teams increasingly started using the sub-machine gun in place of rifles, and by 1943 "close combat" troops were common in the German Army.
While they served well in this role, the submachine gun's lack of power was a concern. Such weapons were useful only in the short range role, leaving the infantry with a weapon with a reasonable rate of fire but useless in anything but short range, or alternately a weapon with good range but useless in close combat. The answer was a weapon half-way between the sub-machine gun and rifle, one that was fully automatic but used a less powerful round to control recoil.
Using a new "cut down" version of their standard 7.92 mm round known as the Kurz (for short), a new rifle was designed for this role. When it was introduced in late WWII as the Sturmgewehr 44 (StG44), it quickly created an intense demand that was not met before the war ended. Today this concept is known as the assault rifle.
EM-2
In the immediate post-war era the British Army, like many other forces, started research into their own versions of the StG44. The army had planned to replace their .303 inch rimmed cartridge before WWI but were forced to keep it due to time and financial constraints for another 30 years. With these constraints removed, they developed a new .280 inch (7 mm) intermediate-power round, and set about developing a new rifle to fire it. At the same time Fabrique Nationale expressed considerable interest in the round, and started development of their own rifles based on it. The Canadian Army also expressed interest in the new round, both to maintain commonality with the British, and to modernize their forces.
The Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield started working on two generally similar designs known as the Experimental Models 1 and 2. Both were bullpup style weapons ie the magazine and chamber are placed behind the trigger and pistol grip, leading to a shorter overall design (by about 20%) and a better ratio between barrel length and weapon length. It used 20-round magazines with "stripper" reloads, included simple conical optical sights for fast shooting, and had a carrying handle built into the top. They could fire semi-automatic or fully automatic. The .280 round was accurate to about 800 yards (730 meters). The two differed primarily in details, but the EM-2 was eventually selected as the better design (though some say it was mostly due to it looking less space age), and entered limited service in 1951 as Rifle, Automatic, Caliber .280, Number 9 Mark 1.
It was at this point that the US put forth its own designs for NATO standardization, using the .308 inch (7.62 mm) round in their M-14 rifle. Matters came to a head in 1951 in a shoot-off, with the US claiming the British round was underpowered, and the British claiming the US round was too powerful to be used in a full-auto mode. A series of lengthy debates followed, which were finally settled in an unlikely fashion when Canada stated they would use the British .280 round, but only if the US did as well. It was clear this would never happen. Winston Churchill felt a NATO standard was more important than any qualities of the weapon itself. The EM-2 could not be easily adapted to the .308 round, so instead the British were forced to adopt a licensed version of the FN FAL from Fabrique Nationale, itself an adaptation of their own .280 rifle design re-chambered for the .308.
It soon became clear to the US that the British had been correct all along, and the M -14 proved incapable of being fired accurately in fully-automatic mode due to heavy recoil and muzzle climb. This meant the US had spent a lot of time and money changing from one semi-auto system, the Garand, to another, the M -14. Other forces found themselves with the same problem, leaving NATO with semi-auto weapons facing true assault rifles, notably the famed AK-47, being built by the Soviets and deployed world-wide.
Into the story comes Eugene Stoner and the CONARC project to develop a new light-weight weapon for US use. His design combined the EM-2's carrying handle, the StG44's ejector port cover and hinged design, a gas-operated firing mechanism from a Swedish rifle, and a an inline stock for better control in automatic. Unlike most designs, where the stock is bent down from the barrel to raise the sights up to eye level, the new design had a raised sighting system. The result was the AR-15, firing a .223 inch (5.56 mm) round, which handily beat the other designs tested by CONARC. After special forces used it in Vietnam and worked out some early deficiencies, the new M16 rifle became the standard US weapon.
L64
Needless to say, others in NATO were less than happy with this turn of events. Once again the British Army started looking at new designs, this time with even lighter rounds. Their research suggested that a slimmer bullet of the same general weight as the M-16's 5.56x45 mm (.223") would result in the same ability to be fired in fully automatic mode, while having much better penetration and ballistics. The result was the .190-inch (4.85 mm) round fitted in "necked down" but otherwise standard 5.56mm cartridges from the M-16.
The Royal Small Arms Factory once again developed a rifle to fire the new round. The new L64/65 was outwardly similar to the EM-2, but adopted a firing mechanism very similar to Armalite's latest AR-18 design. The first examples were available in 1972.
In 1976 it was decided to try NATO standarization once again, and the various newer rounds were tested head-to-head starting in 1977. The British round proved to do what the designers had intended, completely outperforming the standard US 5.56. However Fabrique Nationale also introduced a new 5.56 mm round at the competition, the SS-109, which performed as well as the British cartridge. In the end it was selected largely due to its similarity with existing US ammunition; a theoretical advantage only, but a politically useful one.
SIG 550 / 550P / 551 / 552
The SIG 550 adopted by the Swiss Army is by any standards the most accurate mass produced assault rifle available. It also set the standard for the latest NATO specification ammunition which is now used by United States armed forces in their latest M16A2 assault rifles. Comparable in size to a M16A2, it uses 20-round magazines and is accurate out to 300 meters without optics (600 meters with optics). It has been adopted in modified form (SIG 551) by US Federal agencies because of its reliability and accuracy. The SIG 550P is the sporting variant but only has the semi-automatic mode of fire; it is mainly used in Swiss 300 meter precision contests and over 100,000 are in Swiss private ownership. The 550P is one of few assault rifles made in vivid colors like red, blue and yellow, but grey remains the standard color. For commando use a compact SIG 552 version also exists.
List of assault rifles
Some well known assault rifles are:
See also
External links
- Assault Rifles and their Ammunition: History and Prospects http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/Assault.htm
Last updated: 02-07-2005 11:31:08
Last updated: 04-25-2005 03:06:01