Assault rifle
[1][2][3][4][5] Assault rifles were first put into mass production and accepted into widespread service during World War II.
[20][21] The Fedorov Avtomat (also anglicized as Federov,[22][23] Russian: Автома́т Фёдорова, romanized: Avtomát Fyódorova, IPA: [ɐftɐˈmat ˈfʲɵdərəvə], lit.
[6][7][8][9][28][29][30] 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.
[6][7][8][9][28][29][30] A smaller, lighter cartridge also allowed soldiers to carry more ammunition "to support the higher consumption rate of 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.
[41] Hugo Schmeisser, the designer of the Sturmgewehr, was captured after World War II, and, likely, helped develop the AK-47 assault rifle,[17] which would quickly replace the SKS and Mosin in Soviet service.
[32] Its firepower, ease of use, low production costs, and reliability were perfectly suited for the Red Army's new mobile warfare doctrines.
"[44] 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.
[51] 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.
[8][52] Senior American commanders had faced fanatical enemies and experienced major logistical problems during World War II and the Korean War,[53][54][55][56] 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.
During the Cold War it was adopted by many North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, most notably with the British Commonwealth as the semi-automatic L1A1.
[62] 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).
[64] After World War II, German technicians involved in developing the Sturmgewehr 45, continued their research in France at CEAM.
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.
[29] The 5.56 mm round had to penetrate a standard U.S. helmet at 460 metres (500 yd) and retain a velocity in excess of the speed of sound, while matching or exceeding the wounding ability of the .30 Carbine cartridge.
[8][59][68] 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.
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.
"[59][73][74] Despite its early failures, the M16 proved to be a revolutionary design and stands as the longest continuously serving rifle in American military history.
[68][75][76] 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.
[68][77][78] 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.
[83][84] In addition, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Yugoslavia (i.e., Serbia) have also rechambered their locally produced assault rifles to 5.56mm NATO.
[87][88][89] The Soviet military realized that the M16 had better range and accuracy over the AKM, and that its lighter cartridge allowed soldiers to carry more ammunition.
It was highly advanced for the 1970s, combining in the same weapon the bullpup configuration, a polymer housing, dual vertical grips, an optical sight as standard, and a modular design.
[citation needed] The G36 was made with the extensive use of lightweight, corrosion-resistant synthetic materials in its design; the receiver housing, stock, trigger group (including the fire control selector and firing mechanism parts), magazine well, handguard and carrying handle are all made of a carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide.
