The World's Assault Rifles

2095 Pages·2010·40.546 MB·English

by  Gary Paul Johnston

THE WORLD’S
ASSAULT RIFLES
by
Gary Paul Johnston
and
Thomas B. Nelson
Published and Distributed by
IRONSIDE INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHERS, INC.
P.O. Box 1050
Lorton, VA 22199-1050
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
THE WORLD’S
ASSAULT RIFLES
by
Gary Paul Johnston
and
Thomas B. Nelson
© Copyright 2010 Ironside International Publishers, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any
form or by any means – graphic, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying or information storage and retrieval systems – without written
permission from the copyright holder.
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WestPub Inc.
www.westpubinc.com
Published by Ironside International Publishers, Inc.
P.O. Box 1050
Lorton, VA 22199-1050
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Introduction
The Assault Rifle
AS
important as were the stepping stones that led to the
Sturmgewehr, are those that have followed during the nearly seven
decades since. A brief overview is appropriate as an understanding
of just what constitutes an assault rifle then, now and in the future.
Christened in 1944 by, of all people, Adolph Hitler, the
Sturmgewehr (Storm, or Assault Rifle, pronounced Sh-turm Gevair)
defined a class of firearms, which had been evolving at that time for
some 30 years. By most accounts, the Sturmgewehr had achieved a
level approaching perfection, embodying the features deemed ideal
for a weapon to be the most effective in the 300-meter world in which
soldiers live or die.
Encompassing everything from stocked, selective-fire pistols to
semi-automatic and selective-fire main battle rifles (to include the
World War I Pedersen Device and the Browning Automatic Rifle),
such weapons were spawned by the need seen in “Trench Warfare.”
While none of these weapons saw wide service during WW I, they
sewed the seeds for the wide and fascinating range of developments
in the Soviet Union and Germany.
In the second “Great War,” the selective-fire characteristic of the
assault rifle would be joined by the straight-line stock, pistol grip, and
high-capacity magazine, all of these comprising key elements of an
assault rifle. While the concept of smaller, pistol-like cartridges
persisted in the wide use of submachine guns, major steps in assault
rifle development, like the German FG42 and Johnson Automatic
Rifle, continued to use main battle rifle cartridges.
At the same time, Germany and the Soviet Union were
developing shorter versions of MBR (mail battle rifle) cartridges, the
7.92×33mm Kurz (pronounced “kurts”) and the 7.62×41mm, i.e.
intermediate rifle cartridges that were midway in power between full-
power rifle rounds and pistol ammunition.
The Sturmgewehr 44 (StG 44), would be short-lived—but only
due to the fortunes of war: It would remain supremely prominent in
the eyes of key designers the world over, even though its concept
was evolving into the roller-lock design before the end of World War
II. In 1947 the development of the Soviet AK-47 (and the 7.62×41mm
[M43] cartridge), although influenced by the StG 44, would put the
assault rifle on the world’s center stage.
In the meantime, other new assault rifles such as the Belgian FN-
FAL; British EM1 and EM2; Spanish C.E.T.M.E. and others were
being developed around other new intermediate cartridges. All of
these rifles embodied all the concepts found in the StG 44, and
showed great promise. As “true” or optimum assault rifles, however,
all of these developments were derailed by the United States’
insistence on the adoption by NATO of the 7.62×51mm (.308
Winchester), still a MBR cartridge developed as part of its Light Rifle
Program. The American rifle adopted at the end of this decade-long
program was the U.S. M14 rifle, a great step backwards in the
evolution of the assault rifle. The M14 was soon replaced by the
5.56×45mm (.223 Remington) M16 rifle.
Despite the turn of events revolving around the 7.62×51mm
NATO cartridge, like all the selective-fire rifles that, through the
years, were conceived for use in close range assaults, or conversely
to thwart them, and which played their part in the evolution of the
assault rifle, those early post-war rifles, including retrograde designs
in 7.62×51mm that fired main battle rifle cartridges do, by their nature
and/or intended use, fall into the category of assault rifles. Whether
or not the adjective “true” be used with these rifles, the authors deem
this statement to be logical and valid. To declare otherwise would be
akin to defining the Fokker DR-1 Triwing or Sopwith Camel as
something other than fighter planes.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to:
Brig. Gen. (aus) Micheli dott. Aldebrano – museum director, historian
Ian Anderson – designer
Len Antaris – collector, historian
Gilbert E. Angelotti – collector, historian
Donald Alexander – trainer
Ronald Avery – writer, trainer
Jerry Baber – designer, manufacturer
Chris Barrett – designer, manufacturer
Ronnie Barrett – Barrett Mfg. Co.
Vartan Barsoumian – manufacturer
Christopher E. Bartocci – author, historian
Pedro Bello – historian
Michael Beltran – trainer, historian
Joe Bergeron – designer, manufacturer
Bix Bigler – graphic designer
Stephen Bindon – designer, manufacturer
Andrew Blumenthal – Esquire
Jan Borjesson – historian
Hugh Brock – historian
Lt. Col. Robert K. Brown – publisher, author
Robert Bruce – author, historian
Karl Bruger – manufacturer-desigher
*Larry Bullock – designer, manufacturer
Michael Bussard – designer, historian
Bruce A. Canfield – author, historian
John Capos – historian
*Tom Cash – collector
Ivan Miley Chakov – manufacturer
Wiley Clapp –author, historian
Drake Clark – designer
Jeremy Cough – writer, historian
Brian Conrad – designer
Alan Cors – collector, historian
Dan Cotterman – author
David Crain – author, historian
Stan Crist – writer, historian
John Cross – writer, historian
Charles Q. Cutshaw – writer, historian
Dr. Phillip Dater – designer, manufacturer
Carlos G. Davila – historian.
Aaron D. Davis – designer, historian
Dick Davis – designer
John Day – historian
M. Degtyarev – historian-designer
Jerry Derhammer – collector.
Irwin Derntl – designer, trainer
Guns de Vries – author, historian
John Dodds – designer, historian
Barry Dueck – designer, manufacturer
David Dunlap – designer, manufacturer
David Emary – ballistician
Leszek Erenfeicht – writer, historian
Jiri Fencl – writer, historian
Robert Faris – collector, historian
Leslie E. Field – historian
Richard Fitzpatrick – designer, historian
Mike Friend – designer, manufacturer
Pete Forras – ballistician
David Fortier – writer, historian
Brian Fraisure – collector, trainer
Robert Gaddis – designer, author
Joe Gadinni – designer, manufacturer
*Uzi Gal – designer, historian
Terry Gander – writer, historian
Robert Gates – designer
Lieutenant Colonel Joe Gibbs – author, historian
Roger Goldsberry – writer, historian
Dolf Goldsmith – author, historian
Colonel Rocky Green – designer, manufacturer
Bill Grube – designer, historian
Kenneth Hackathorn – author, trainer
Andrew Hamlett – writer, historian
Hans Dieter Handrick – writer, historian
John Hansen – historian
Jay Hard – designer
George Harris – trainer
Brian Hawthorne – trainer
*Lyn Haywood – artist, historian
Ed Head – trainer, writer
Michael Heidler – historian
Geoffrey Herring, designer, manufacturer
John Higgs – writer, historian
Virginia Higgs – typesetting, scanning
Steven Hines – designer, manufacturer
Jeff Hoffman – designer, manufacturer, historian
Steven J. Holland – designer, trainer
Wayne Holt – trainer
Cameron Hopkins – writer
Steven Hornady – manufacturer
James B. Hughes – writer, historian
Jean Huon – writer, historian
Timo Hyytinen – writer, historian
Frank Innamico – writer, historian
*Gordon Ingram – inventor, designer
Gary Jackson – trainer
Jay Jackson – collector
Frank James – author, historian
*Col. George B. Jarrett – curator, historian
Terushi Jimbo – writer, historian
David Johnson – designer, manufacturer
George Johnson – writer, historian
Harold Johnson – writer, historian
Keneth Johnson – historian
Nancy J. Johnston – for her patience and support
Richard Jones – writer, historian
Justin Juarez – designer
Mikhail Kalashnikov – designer, Doctor of Technical Sciences,
Izhevsk, Russia