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AR-10
AR-10 Rifle
AR-10
Type Battle rifle
Place of origin Flag of the United States United States
Service history
In service 1958–1985 (Sudan) 1960-1976 (Portugal)
Used by Guatemala, Sudan, Portugal, Italy, Cuba, Burma
Wars Angola, Mozambique, Sudan, Dominican Republic, Portuguese Timor
Production history
Designer Eugene Stoner
Designed 1955-56
Manufacturer Fairchild Armalite, Artillerie Inrichtingen (AI)
Produced 1956–1960
Number built approx. A Battle Rifle or Main Battle Rifle is a full-size Rifle designed for military use that fires a high-power rifle cartridge such as the U The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Guatemala (República de Guatemala) is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west the Pacific Ocean to the southwest Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. The Angolan Civil War began in Angola after the end of the war for independence from Portugal in 1975 The Mozambican Civil War began in 1975 following the war of independence. The Dominican Republic ( Spanish: República Dominicana;) is a nation located in the Caribbean region and shares the island of Hispaniola with Portuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portuguese control Eugene Morrison Stoner (Born November 22, 1922 in Gosport, Indiana; died in Palm City Florida) 10,000
Specifications
Weight 3. 29-4. 05 kg (7. 25 - 8. 9 lb)
Length 1050 mm (41 in)
Barrel length 528 mm (20. For the fictional characters see Gunbarrel (Transformers. A gun barrel is the tube usually Metal, through which a controlled Explosion 8 in)
Cartridge 7.62x51mm NATO
Action Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire 700 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity 820 m/s (2,700 ft/s)
Effective range 630 m (700 yd)
Feed system 20-round detachable box magazine / belt
Sights Adjustable aperture rear sight, fixed "blade" front sight
Portuguese paratroopers, armed with AR-10 rifles, jump from a helicopter in Angola War in the 1960s
Portuguese paratroopers, armed with AR-10 rifles, jump from a helicopter in Angola War in the 1960s

The AR-10 is a lightweight, air-cooled, magazine-fed, gas operated, select-fire rifle that fires 7.62x51mm NATO (. A cartridge (also known as a "round" packages the Bullet, Gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the The 762x51mm NATO is a Rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard firearm cartridge among NATO countries In Firearms terminology an action is the system of operation used to load rounds and/or seal the Breech. Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate Autoloading firearms Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific Weapon can fire or launch its projectiles A gun's muzzle velocity is the speed at which the Projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun A magazine is an Ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating Firearm. A belt is a device that holds cartridges adjacent to each other in a single row for feeding into a Firearm, typically a Machine gun. A magazine is an Ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating Firearm. Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate Autoloading firearms A selective fire Firearm can be fired in both semi-automatic and any number of automatic modes by means of a selector A rifle is a Firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves ("rifling" cut into the barrel walls The 762x51mm NATO is a Rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard firearm cartridge among NATO countries 308 Win cal. ) ammunition. Ammunition, often referred to as ammo, is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which Designed by Eugene Stoner, the AR-10 operates on the direct impingement gas principle and features an in-line stock, aluminum alloy receiver, and reinforced fiberglass furniture. Eugene Morrison Stoner (Born November 22, 1922 in Gosport, Indiana; died in Palm City Florida) Direct impingement is a type of gas operation for a Firearm that directs gas from a fired cartridge directly to the bolt carrier or slide assembly The AR-10 was built in relatively small numbers with perhaps 10,000 rifles assembled.

The differences between the AR-10 and other rifles of the time were stark, and its appearance was unique. When it was introduced in 1956, it was almost two pounds (1 kg) lighter than most infantry rifles. It was significantly easier to control in automatic fire, was more accurate in semi-auto fire, and arguably handled better than any other weapon of the period.

Contents

Design

The AR-10's basic design is credited to Eugene Stoner at Armalite, then a division of the Fairchild Aircraft Corporation. Eugene Morrison Stoner (Born November 22, 1922 in Gosport, Indiana; died in Palm City Florida) ArmaLite, originally the ArmaLite Division of the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation, is a Small arms manufacturing company Fairchild was an aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in Farmingdale New York, Hagerstown Maryland and San Antonio Texas The innovative features of the AR-10 would eventually be developed into the U. S. Army's M16 rifle. M16 (more formally United States Rifle II Caliber 556 mm M16) is the U While mostly original, the AR-10 built upon previously proven designs. From the FAL it took the hinged receiver system allowing the rifle to be opened for cleaning much like a break-action shotgun. The Fusil Automatique Léger (Light Automatic Rifle or FAL is a 7 The ejection port cover is similar to that found on the German Sturmgewehr 44. The bolt locking mechanism is similar to the M1941 Johnson rifle (itself an adaptation of the Browning-designed Remington Model 8 bolt). The M1941 Rifle was an American short-recoil operated Semiautomatic rifle designed by Melvin Johnson prior to World War II. John Moses Browning ( January 21 or January 23, 1855 – November 26, 1926) born in Ogden Utah, was an American Remington Arms is a major American manufacturer of Rifles Shotguns other Firearms, Revolvers and Ammunition. From the German FG42 and Johnson Light Machinegun came the idea of straight-line stocks to reduce muzzle climb in fully-automatic fire. The Fallschirmjägergewehr 42 ( FG42) was an Automatic rifle produced in Nazi Germany during World War II. The M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun was an American recoil-operated Light machine gun designed in the late 1930s by Melvin Johnson. The AR-10's method of rotary bolt locking, straight-line recoil, and gas operation enhanced its inherent accuracy.

The gas system, bolt carrier, and bolt-locking design was novel for its day. Most gas-operated rifles divert combustion gas from a port in the barrel to a piston and cylinder arrangement adjacent to the port. In Stoner's design the gas travels from a port near the middle of the barrel through a steel tube back into the receiver. Eugene Morrison Stoner (Born November 22, 1922 in Gosport, Indiana; died in Palm City Florida) The gas enters a chamber formed between the rear of the bolt and the inside of the bolt carrier. Once the bolt carrier moves to the rear a small distance, excess gas is vented through holes in its side. This use of the bolt and bolt carrier for the separate actions of a piston and gas cylinder simplified construction and saved weight. Movement of the bolt carrier was in-line with the bore, greatly improving inherent accuracy, as well as keeping the rifle on target as the gun fired. Since the straight-line stock placed the shooter's eye well above the barrel the rifle's sights were mounted high, with the rear sight contained in a carrying handle that also protected the cocking/charging lever.

The receiver was made from forged and machined aluminum to reduce weight. The bolt locked into an extension on the barrel instead of the receiver allowing for a lightweight receiver while not reducing the strength of the bolt locking mechanism. On a few prototype guns, an all-aluminum ('Sullaloy') or aluminum/steel barrel was fitted at the insistence of George Sullivan, Armalite's president, though all production AR-10s utilized a solid steel barrel. The stock was made from a plastic-reinforced fiberglass with a core of rigid plastic foam. The handguards and pistol grip were also fiberglass. Fairchild was an aircraft manufacturer, and the use of plastics, titanium, and aluminum were common in the aircraft industry at the time, though not generally used in firearms.

There was also a belt-fed variant of the AR-10, The belt was fed by a feed-chute connected to an ammo box carried on the user's back.

History

ArmaLite first opened as a division of Fairchild in 1954, specifically to bring new materials and designs to the firearm industry. Fairchild was an aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in Farmingdale New York, Hagerstown Maryland and San Antonio Texas Later that year they were joined by Eugene Stoner, a talented small arms engineer. Eugene Morrison Stoner (Born November 22, 1922 in Gosport, Indiana; died in Palm City Florida) Armalite quickly released a number of interesting rifle designs.

At the time the Army was in the midst of testing several rifles to replace the obsolescent M1 Garand. The M1 Garand (formally the United States Rifle Caliber.30 M1) was the first Semi-automatic rifle to be generally issued to the infantry in any nation Springfield Armory's T44E4 and heavier T44E5 were essentially updated versions of the Garand chambered for the new 7. This is an article about the US Government Arsenal For the contemporary commercial manufacturer see Springfield Armory Inc 62 mm round, while Fabrique Nationale submitted their FN FAL as the T48. Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, more often abbreviated as Fabrique Nationale or simply FN, is a Belgian manufacturer of Firearms The official The Fusil Automatique Léger (Light Automatic Rifle or FAL is a 7 Armalite's AR-10 entered the competition late, submitting two AR-10 rifles in the fall of 1956 to the United States Army's Springfield Armory for testing. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. Initial comments by Springfield Armory test staff were favorable, and some testers commented that the AR-10 was the best lightweight automatic rifle ever tested by the Armory.

Unfortunately for Armalite, the rifle's aluminum/steel composite barrel (an untried prototype design specified for the tests by George Sullivan over Stoner's vehement objections) burst in a torture test conducted by Springfield Armory. In Engineering and Manufacturing, quality control and quality engineering are involved in developing systems to ensure products or services Armalite quickly replaced it with a conventional steel barrel, but the damage had been done. The final Springfield Armory report advised against adoption of the rifle. Army politics are often mistakenly credited for being the reason the Army rejected the AR-10 and T48 (FN FAL). In fact, the M14 was selected because it was the most fully developed platform and outperformed the AR-10 and FAL during testing. In testing, the M14 edged out the T48 (FAL) in both reliability, and accuracy. The M14 held a slight advantage over the T48 (FAL) in the reliability testing phase, with the M14 also showing better results during accuracy testing. After testing was completed, the Army report stated that both the M14 and FAL rifles would be suitable for adoption. The AR-10, a brand-new design, was at a disadvantage compared to competing rifle designs with longer development cycles. In the end the Army chose the conventional T44, which entered production as the M14 rifle in 1957.

In 1957, Fairchild Armalite sold a manufacturing license for the AR-10 to a Dutch arms manufacturer named Artillerie Inrichtingen (AI). Firearms historians have separated AR-10 production into at least four basic identifiable versions, along with various sporting, carbine and other experimental designs and calibers. The four main variants have been termed the Hollywood model (Armalite prototypes and initial production), the Sudanese model, the Transitional, and the Portuguese model AR-10. AI built the vast majority of these rifles, beginning with the Sudanese model AR-10. The Sudanese version was equipped with a lightweight, fluted steel barrel and weighed only 7. 25 lbs. empty. Over time, AI would engineer additional improvements to the AR-10, including the provision of a heavier barrel with chrome-lined chamber, a different cocking mechanism and simplified gas regulator.

AR-10 production was limited, though Guatemala, Burma, Italy, Cuba, Sudan and Portugal all purchased AR-10 rifles for limited issue to their military forces. Guatemala is a signatory to the Rio Pact and was a member of the Central American Defense Council (CONDECA The Italian Armed forces are under the command of the Italian Supreme Defense Council presided over by the President of the Italian Republic. Military of Cuba Military manpower The Sudan People's Armed Forces is a 117000-member army supported by a strong Air Force and Navy The Portuguese Army (Exército Português is the ground branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which in cooperation with other branches of the Portuguese military is charged with Sudanese-variant AR-10s were employed in frequent clashes with guerrilla forces and conflicts with neighboring countries, and captured rifles eventually turned up in unofficial service with various African armies and guerilla forces. The AR-10 remained in service with Sudanese Special Forces until 1985. In 1958, a special 7.62x39mm caliber variant of the Sudanese AR-10 was produced in very small numbers for evaluation by Finland and Germany. The Soviet 762x39mm rifle cartridge was designed during World War II and first used in the SKS Carbine. The Finnish Defence Forces is responsible for defence of Finland. The Bundeswehr ( German for "Federal Defence Force") is the name of the unified Armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany The Italian navy acquired the AR-10 for its COMSUBIN underwater commando teams. COMSUBIN ( Com ando Raggruppamento Sub acquei ed In cursori Teseo Tesei) is the elite Italian combat Frogman force and Germany, Austria, Holland, Finland, and South Africa also purchased small numbers of the AR-10 for test purposes, and Cuba's Batista government purchased 100 rifles in 1958. Fidel Castro's forces eventually captured the AR-10 shipment intact. In 1959, Fidel, his brother Raul, and Che Guevara test-fired the AR-10 outside Havana, and were reportedly impressed by the weapon's firepower. Castro later apparently gave some of the AR-10 rifles to Communist revolutionaries in the Dominican Republic, where captured rifles from the Cuban shipment were found on the bodies of guerrillas killed in firefights with government forces.

The final AI design is known as the 'Portuguese' model AR-10. Most of them were sold to the Portuguese Air Force by the Brussels-based arms dealer SIDEM International in 1960. These rifles in particular saw considerable combat service in counterinsurgency warfare in Africa with Portuguese paratroop (paraquedista) battalions and other elite forces in Angola and Mozambique. In Portuguese service the AR-10 soon gained a reputation for accuracy (some rifles would group into 1" at 100 meters with service ammunition) and reliability despite rugged African service conditions.

Some Portuguese-model AR-10s were fitted with AI-modified upper receivers in order to mount 3x or 3. 6x telescopic sights. These rifles were used by marksmen on small patrols to eliminate individual enemy at extended ranges in open country. Other AR-10s were used by the paratroopers in a secondary role to launch rifle grenades. The Armalite's built-in gas cutoff design enabled the rifle to fire mounted grenades without adjustment of the gas system, and the self-loading action would even eject the spent blank shells and load the next one, allowing several grenades to be quickly launched. Such constant pounding took its toll on rifle stocks, and some Portuguese rifles were fitted with all-metal buttstocks to withstand the added recoil and strain caused by frequent grenade-firing. Plans to augment issue of the AR-10 rifle were stymied after Holland embargoed further shipments of the rifle to Portugal, and most airborne units were subsequently issued a collapsible stock version of the German Heckler & Koch G3 rifle. The G3 is a 762 mm Automatic rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH (HK in collaboration Nevertheless, the AR-10 continued in service with a few paratroop units, and was in use as late as 1975 in the Portuguese Timor (East Timor) emergency.

In 1958, Armalite developed the 5.56 mm AR-15 from the AR-10. 556x45mm NATO, standardized under STANAG 4172 is a Rifle cartridge. AR-15 (for Ar malite model 15, often mistaken for A utomatic R ifle is the common name for the widely-owned semi-automatic The company continued its efforts to sell both the AR-10 and AR-15 to various military forces around the world. However, the AR-10 model marketed by Armalite after 1958 was not the product-improved AR-10 developed by Artillerie Inrichtingen, but was instead a design scaled-up from AR-15 plans and specifications, known as the AR-10a. All of the product improvements incorporated by AI were lost in the new AR-10a. While interest in the AR-15 design was considerable, the AR-10a failed to attract much interest from domestic or foreign military customers. In 1959, Armalite sold its rights to the AR-10/AR-15 to Colt, who successfully marketed the AR-15 to the U. S. military. Disappointed with Armalite's marketing efforts, Fairchild dissolved its association with Armalite in 1962.

By 1960, Artillerie Inrichtingen had ceased all licensed production of the AR-10. By that time, less than 10,000 AR-10's had been produced, mostly military select-fire rifles, with a few semi-automatic-only rifles produced for civilian use.

With the rights to the AR-15 design sold and AR-10 production discontinued, Armalite next developed a series of new rifle designs in 5. 56 mm and 7. 62 mm. These rifles utilized more traditional gas piston designs along with stamped and welded steel construction in place of aluminum forgings. The 7. 62 mm AR-16 (not to be confused with the M16) was produced only in prototype quantities. The AR-18 was produced in limited quantities by Armalite and other manufacturers, and its basic operating mechanism was later adapted and used in several later assault rifle designs. The AR-18 is an Assault rifle chambered for 556x45mm NATO Ammunition. By the 1970s, Armalite had essentially stopped all new rifle development, and the company became moribund.

In later years, some ex-military Sudanese and Portuguese AR-10s were sold to civilian markets in the U. S. , Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Nearly all of the rifles imported to the latter three countries had their full-automatic fire selector disabled. As many as 2500 Australian AR-10 rifles may have been seized and destroyed as a result of anti-gun legislation in 1997.

Most of the AR-10 ex-military rifles shipped to the USA were in the form of parts kits, having been previously dismantled, though a few were legally imported as Class III weapons. Large numbers of AR-10 7. 62 mm magazines were imported as well. Many of these 'kit' rifles were combined with various semi-auto receivers made by civilian manufacturers in order to permit legal ownership.

Rebirth

In 1995, former Army Ordnance officer Mark Westrom, owner of Eagle Arms, purchased the ArmaLite brand and the company became Armalite Inc. Shortly thereafter Armalite introduced a modern version of the AR-10. The new Armalite AR-10 was patterned after the AR-15A2, scaled up to take the 7. 62x51mm NATO (. 308 Win) cartridge, along with various design improvements designed to strengthen the rifle. Ironically the original AR-15 itself was a scaled-down AR-10. The new AR-10 is offered in several versions including a carbine with collapsible stock, a target model, and one version chambered in 300 Rem SAUM.

The AR-10B prototype was composed of individual sub-components tested on a special lower receiver made of two slabs of aluminum fitted to an Knights Armament Company SR-25 upper receiver assembly. Knight's Armament Company ( KAC, also Knight's Manufacturing Company) is an American Firearms and firearms parts manufacturer For State Route 25 or State Road 25 see List of highways numbered 25. The full prototype AR-10B was the first rifle off the production line. [1]

While Armalite holds a US trademark on the word "AR-10", other rifle manufactures currently produce . 308 semi-auto rifles that are based on the AR15/AR10 design:

References

  1. ^ Armalite History

See also

External links


The SIG SG 510 or Sturmgewehr 57 is an Automatic rifle manufactured by Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (now SAN Swiss Arms) of
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