The World's Assault Rifles

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: (703) 493-9120

Fax: (703) 493-9424

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.

Design Direction by

WestPub Inc.

www.westpubinc.com

Published by Ironside International Publishers, Inc.

P.O. Box 1050

Lorton, VA 22199-1050

Phone: (703) 493-9120

Fax: (703) 493-9424

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

Harry Kane – editor, historian

Tom Kapp – designer

Ira Kay – designer, manufacturer

Mark Keefe, IV – editor, author

Ken Keilholz – collector

George Kellgren – designer, manufacturer

Sheppard Kelly – author, historian

*Charles C. Kelsey – designer, manufacturer

Paul Kim – designer

Erik Kincel – designer, historian

John Klein – designer, manufacturer

C. Reed Knight, Jr. – designer, manufacturer, historian

C. Reed Knight, III – museum director, collector

Peter G. Kokalis – author, historian

Ivan Kolev – designer

*Saburl Kondo – historian

Bob Kovaks – manufacturer

* V. Jack Krcma – author, historian

Charles Kramer – designer

Mark Krebs – designer, manufacturer

Alexander Kulinsky – historian

Valery Kyrlov – historian

Tim La France – designer, manufacturer

Robert I. Landies – manufacturer, historian

*Michael La Plante – designer, historian

Arnaldo La Scala – collector, historian

Robert Latham – designer

David Lauch – designer, manufacturer

Steven Lauer – designer, manufacturer

Hans Bert Lockhoven – writer, historian

Kent Lomont – manufacturer, historian

Duncan Long – writer, historian

Joseph Lozen – collector, writer

Peder Lund – publisher, historian

Col. David Lutz – designer

Mark Malkowski – designer, manufacturer

Bas J. Martens – writer, historian

Dr. John Matthews – inventor, manufacturer

Don McLean, editor, writer, historian

Mitchell Mateko – designer

Michael Mayberry – designer

Odile Merklen – writer editor

Kelly McMillan – designer, manufacturer

M. L. Mic McPherson – ballistician, author

CWO John M. Miller – collector, historian

Owen Buz Mills – Gunsite Training Center

Travis Mitchell – trainer

Sergei Monetchikov – writer, historian

Joe Moody – inventor, manufacturer, historian

Cris E. Murray – designer, historian

Ichiro Nagata – writer, photographer, trainer

*Yu. A. Natzvaladze – museum director, historian

Alexander Nemets – translator

Il Ling New – translator, writer, trainer

Wayne F. Novak – designer, manufacturer

Matt Nyman – designer

*Warren W. Odegard – artist, historian

Ronaldo Olive – writer, historian

Edward Owen – forensics, writer, historian

Louis Pacilla – collector, historian

Markku Palokangas – museum curator, historian, writer

Michael Parker – writer, historian

Skip Patel – designer, manufacturer

Maj. John L. Plaster – author, historian

Paul Pluff – designer

Heikki Pohjolainen – writer, historian

Pekka Pohjolainen – writer, historian

Maxim Popenker – writer, historian

Joe Poyer – writer, historian

*Eugene L. Pretzeus – collector, historian

Charles Pulit – designer

Mick Ranger – historian

Dennis Reese – manufacturer

Christian Reinhart – writer, historian

John Renick – historian

C.C. Rhetts, Jr. – author

Wil Roberts – collector, historian

Alex J. Robinson – designer, manufacturer

Mike Rock – designer, manufacturer

Dan Ross – designer, manufacturer

Dr. Joeseph Rustick – designer, manufacturer

David Salvagio – manufacturer

Scott Samson – designer, manufacturer

Phil Seaberger – designer, manufacturer

James Schatz – writer, historian

Dr. David Schiller – publisher, writer, historian

John Scott – collector, historian

Paul Seibold – historian

Peter Senich – author, historian

Bob Shanen – collector, historian

Dan Shea – publisher, writer, historian

Ned Sheer – distributor

William Sheperd – historian

Tsutomu Shijo – historian

Valery N. Shilin – writer, historian

Dr. Anatoliy Shishkin – historian

James Siegfried – USSF (ret.)

Craig Sirna – collector, historian

Burke Smith – designer

Clint Smith – trainer, writer

*Joseph E. Smith – writer, historian

Neal Smith – collector, historian

Ron Smith – manufacturer, historian

Laszlo Somogyi, hungariae.com – historian

Nick Steadman – writer, historian

Blake Stevens – author, historian

Edward Stevenson – ballistician

Col. Ed Stock – trainer, historian

Giles Stock – trainer, historian

*Eugene Stoner – designer, historian

L. James Sullivan – designer, historian

Geoff Sturgess – collector, writer, historian

Richard Swan – designer, manufacturer, historian

Sharon Swan – manufacturer

*Thomas F. Swearengen – writer, historian

Capt. C.A. Chip Swicker – collector, historian

Dwight Swift – technical editor

Ferdinand S. Sy – designer

Jerry Tarble – writer, collector, historian

Robert Taubert – author, trainer

Col. Gus Taylor – designer, historian

John Tibbitts – designer, manufacturer

Dave L. Thomas – historian

Don Thomas – writer, historian

Heinrich Thomet – historian

Masami Tokoi – writer, historian

J. David Truby – writer, historian

Autumn Urban – artist, editor, writer

Dwight Van Brunt – collector, historian

Josh Van Hoelen – historian

Richard Venola – writer, historian

Dennis Versara – historian

Larry Vickers – trainer, writer

*Henk L. Visser

Paul Wahl – author, historian

Francis Warin – designer

Miles Waterman – historian

Wayne Weiss – historian

Gay Wesson – historian

Judy Westrom – manufacturer

Mark Westrom – designer, collector, manufacturer

Remigiusz Wilk – technical editor

Jon Wiler – trainer

Anthony Williams – writer, historian

Dick Williams – historian

Don F. Wood – writer, historian

*Herbert Woodend – museum curator, historian

Bill Woodin – collector, historian

Timothy Yan – writer, historian

A.B. Zhuk – artist, historian

Albert Zitta – designer

* Deceased

In remembrance and with special thanks to the late Henk L. Visser, my friend of nearly 50 years who caused many segments of this title to be more informative; particularly the chapter covering the Soviet/Russian developments.

A special thanks is given to the late Dr. Edward C. Ezell who started this book project with Mr. Nelson in the late 1980’s. Unfortunately, Dr. Ezell’s illness and premature death halted his participation, but the many photos he contributed early on have been of great help. Also we extend a most sincere thank-you to Dr. Ezell’s wife, Ginny (Virginia), who carried on as project director and assisted in many aspects of this title. Her participation ceased when she was posted overseas. Her service toward the completion of this title is greatly appreciated.

Special recognition is passed to the late Daniel D. Musgrave, who was co-author with Mr. Nelson of the original edition of this title, which was published in 1967. Mr. Musgrave’s knowledge of automatic weapons systems was recognized throughout the world. The scope of the original printing in the mid-1960s was limited, when put in context of the world-wide use and distribution the assault rifle has seen in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries.

This book would not be so complete without the help of Tony Williams and Max Popenker for granting permission to use quotes and information from their title Assault Rifle, Crownwood Press, 2004, and for their continuing consultations.

A special thanks to Val Shilin, Charles Cutshaw and Peder Lund for allowing quotes and statements from the title, Legends and Reality of the AK, Paladin Press, 2000, a must read for serious students.

A special thanks to Mr. C. Reed Knight, Jr., of Knight’s Armament Company in Titustille, Florida. Without Mr. Knight’s generous help with rare photo opportunities and his keen recollection of first-hand details provided by his friend, the late Eugene Stoner, of the early days of ArmaLite and Cadillac Gage, these and other chapters would be empty by comparison.

Special thanks is extended to Mr. John Cross for his generous, extensive and knowledgeable help in researching the chapter on Roller-Locking Systems.

Special thanks also goes to the following:

Central Russian Army Museum Army, Moscow, Russia

Fabrique National, Herstal, Belgium

Great Patriotic War Museum, Moscow, Russia

James D. Julia Auctions, Fairfield, Maine

Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineer Troops and Communications, St. Petersburg, Russia

Museum of Modern History, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Pietro Beretta S.p.A. – Gardone Valtrompia, Brescia, Italy

Royal Armouries/National Firearms Centre, Leeds, England

Small Arms Review magazine, Henderson, Nevada

TPG Atlanta Publishers, Russia

Last but far from least the authors thank the editor and graphic artist of this book, Mr. Don McLean and Mr. Bix Bigler, without whom this project could not have been completed. Mr. McLean’s expertise not only in that field, but also in the subject matter of the book proved a priceless combination. His background and knowledge of assault rifles, both historical and contemporary rivals that of many of the world’s experts on the subject, and dovetailed perfectly with the superb talents of Mr. Bix Bigler, who brought this book to life through imagery and layout.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Assault Rifle Ammunition

Chapter 2. Assault Rifle Operating and Locking Systems

Chapter 3. Albania

Chapter 4. Argentina

Chapter 5. Armenia

Chapter 6. Australia

Chapter 7. Austria

Chapter 8. Belgium

Chapter 9. Bolivia

Chapter 10. Brazil

Chapter 11. Bulgaria

Chapter 12. Burma

Chapter 13. Canada

Chapter 14. Chile

Chapter 15. China (PRC)

Chapter 16. Croatia

Chapter 17. Cuba

Chapter 18. Czechoslovakia (Czech and Slovak Republics)

Chapter 19. Denmark

Chapter 20. Dominican Republic

Chapter 21. Egypt

Chapter 22. Finland

Chapter 23. France

Germany

Chapter 24. The FG-42

Chapter 25. The Sturmgewehr

Chapter 26. The Roller-Locking Breech

Chapter 27. East Germany

Chapter 28. Post-1990 Developments

Chapter 29. Great Britain

Chapter 30. Greece

Chapter 31. Hungary

Chapter 32. India

Chapter 33. Indonesia

Chapter 34. Iran

Chapter 35. Iraq

Chapter 36. Israel

Chapter 37. Italy

Chapter 38. Japan

Chapter 39. Mexico

Chapter 40. New Zealand

Chapter 41. North Korea

Chapter 42. Pakistan

Chapter 43. Peru

Chapter 44. Philippines

Chapter 45. Poland

Chapter 46. Romania

Russia/Soviet Union

Chapter 47. Fedorov, Simonov, and Tokarev Rifles

Chapter 48. The AK and AKM

Chapter 49. AK-74, AK-74M and the AKS-74U

Chapter 50. The AL-7 and Izhmash 100 Series

Chapter 51. AN-94, AN-91 Bullpup

Chapter 52. 9×39mm and Underwater Weapons

Chapter 53. Singapore

Chapter 54. South Africa

Chapter 55. South Korea

Spain (see Germany: The Roller-Locking Breech)

Chapter 56. Sweden

Chapter 57. Switzerland

Chapter 58. Taiwan

Chapter 59. Ukraine

United States of America

Chapter 60. The BAR

Chapter 61. The Lewis Assault Rifles

Chapter 62. The Johnson Rifle

Chapter 63. The U.S. .30 Carbine

Chapter 64. U.S. Assault Rifle Developments From the M1 Garand to the M14

Chapter 65. The Sturm, Ruger MINI-14

Chapter 66. ArmaLite Assault Rifles: From the AR-10 to the M16 and Beyond

Chapter 67. The Stoner Weapon System

Chapter 68. The Advanced Combat Rifle

Chapter 69. Other U.S. Assault Rifle Developments

Chapter 70. Vietnam

Chapter 71. Yugoslavia

Glossary

Index

Foreword

This book concerns one of the two elements that comprise the most important weapon in our arsenal, the rifleman. While the book deals with a revolutionary advance in the rifle itself, we must never lose sight of the user. He is the successor to the musketeers, bowmen, spearmen, swordsmen, and slingmen of times past. Without him, a Nation cannot survive.

The universal application of the automatic principle to the individual weapon has made it necessary and convenient to give that weapon a new name, thus indicating its enlarged capabilities — the assault rifle.

Widespread use of assault rifles, particularly during the past five decades, has shown this individual weapon used by all adversaries involved in past and present conflicts; whether guerrilla wars, civil wars, wars of liberation and certainly by major combatants in larger wars. The increase in firepower for the individual has literally provided small groups of determined men armed with selective-fire assault rifles the force that here-to-fore was reserved for battalions and regiments.

When hand-held fully automatic weapons fed by detachable magazines first came on the scene, they were made in existing infantry rifle calibers. Some, such as the FN/FAL and U.S. M14 rifles, continued in such calibers until the advantages of an intermediate round — such as controllability on full automatic fire — were irrefutably demonstrated by the Kalashnikov AK-47. The early iterations of the assault rifle concept, such as the Federov, the BAR, the Simonov AVS-36 and others served to illustrate how advantageous such a design might be, but it was not until the German Sturmgewehr 44 (assault rifle 44) with its intermediate round proved just how advantageous such a design really was, that the concept was validated. Interestingly, the StG.44 was first called a submachine gun by the Germans (Machine Pistol 44), and the AK-47 was first called a submachine gun by the Soviets and by NATO in the early years. It was during WW II that the German designation of assault rifle was coined, and it was such a captivating term it has come to nearly universal usage, referring to a hand-held weapon capable of semi automatic or fully automatic (selective) fire, fed from a detachable box magazine, which fires an intermediate rifle cartridge. Earlier designs firing a full-size infantry round, such as the Fedorov, BAR or AVS-36, however, were still assault rifles as well — just as a Model T, although an early design, was still an automobile.

The weapons of mass destruction held by national powers today exist primarily to checkmate similar hostile weapons. We must continue to discourage their use. But if future wars involve the employment of tactical atomic weapons against military forces, a modern field army would see much of its sophisticated equipment reduced to shambles in a matter of minutes. When the dust settles on an atomic battlefield, to a great extent the outcome will still depend on small groups of desperate men, the assault riflemen.

Today’s emerging threats include antagonists with a suicide mentality so base it does not care if all parties lose, and they are more likely to employ asymmetrical warfare and individual terrorist operatives, or work for their goals within low-intensity conflicts. When such faceless combatants can be engaged, however, the fighters on both sides mostly comprise small units of individual riflemen, armed with what has become known as an assault rifle.

In addition to the military context, modern police fighting organized crime find their new adversary so well funded and equipped that police elements are increasingly forced to train and operate as paramilitary forces to combat traditional crime, in addition to their role in responding to terrorist threats at street level, with an assault rifle in their hands.

We must vigorously support these warriors representing the forces of freedom to ensure they will hold in their hands the best assault rifle that can be built, and that they are well trained and actively encouraged by the people for whose interests they carry it in harm’s way.

CHAPTER 1

Assault Rifle Ammunition

Assault rifle performance and technical characteristics are largely determined by the ammunition used. Designers have been aware of this fact for many years, but prior to the appearance of the German Sturmgewehr in the early 1940s, all standard military automatic and semiautomatic rifles were chambered to fire cartridges that previously had been used in older weapons. (One exception was the U.S. carbine’s .30 caliber, 7.62×33mm cartridge, which was not a true assault rifle cartridge.)

Design limitations imposed by older full power rifle cartridges made it impossible to develop truly lightweight rifles that would shoot effectively during full-automatic fire. Not only was mechanical functioning violent with such cartridges, but projectile dispersion was very great. Muzzle climb during burst fire was the usual result. After the first shot of the burst, subsequent ones generally passed harmlessly over the target, or in compensation, lateral dispersion increased.

As a first step in changing Western thinking about infantry ammunition, French armament engineer Marcel Devouges offered the following observations about ammunition for automatic weapons in 1924: The cartridges for automatic arms (except pistols) were originally designed for non-automatic weapons, and for tactical concepts which have been greatly modified since the experiences of the last war. He noted that during World War I, each army designed its machine guns for the same cartridge used in their service rifles.

Devouges commented that there was a growing opinion favoring separate cartridges for each class of weapon, because of the contrasting needs in today’s terms of the general purpose machine gun, those of the squad automatic weapon, and those of the automatic rifle (self-loading rifles). General purpose machine guns were expected at the time to kill out to as far as 3,500 meters. Squad automatic weapons and automatic rifles would be employed against targets up to 800 meters. Devouges suggested that 7mm would be the optimum caliber for lightweight automatics, and that 7.5mm would be suitable for GPMGs. His ideas and suggestions were far ahead of contemporary thinking.

In actual practice, those nations that employed a single cartridge (7.62mm or larger) for rifles and machine guns retained that type ammunition through the end of World War II. Those countries that had calibers smaller than 7.62mm (generally those in the 6.5mm class) adopted a larger, more powerful caliber cartridge during the 1939-1945 conflict. Most notable in this latter group were the Dutch, Greeks, Italians, Japanese, Norwegians, Portuguese, and Swedes. Adoption of a second cartridge was usually related to the needs of the machine gun. In some instances — such as the Italian 8×59mmRB Breda cartridge and the 7.9×57R M.v.M. Dutch — the new ammunition was provided exclusively for machine guns.

As with the American decision to keep its Model 1906 .30 caliber (7.62×63mm) cartridge, and not adopt the proposed .276 Pedersen (7×53mm) ammunition, other industrialized nations opted to retain their older munitions because of the enormous expense involved in fielding a new round — even if they agreed to the reduction in power and range of the service rifle ammunition. In addition to research, development and tooling costs, huge quantities of ammunition must be stockpiled in peacetime in anticipation of wartime usage. For nations such as the United States and the former Soviet Union, which have large territories and global commitments of troops, ammunition also must be prepositioned worldwide. Allied and enemy experience with the unanticipated magnitude of cartridge expenditures during the World War led to cautious behavior in the post-1918 period. Nearly all belligerents had artillery shells and small arms ammunition shortages. For some, for example the Russians, these shortfalls were chronic and fatal.

During the final years of World War II, and in the immediate post-war period, all major armed forces examined the tactical advantages of switching to less bulky and lower power infantry ammunition types. The decade 1943-1953 was a period of much experimentation with new rifle cartridges. Many competing designs appeared, with a few key ones surviving testing and evaluation through to adoption. Since ammunition is critical to weapon design, this chapter summarizes the most important cartridges of the post-1945 era as background to the weapons discussions that follow.

Within alliance groupings, interoperability has become a priority. Standardization of ammunition and weapon types simplifies logistics involved in the field supply of large armies. It also requires more stringent attention to common standards and quality control. The Warsaw Pact armies were all very successful in standardizing both guns and cartridges, NATO allies have settled for a few standard types of interoperable ammunition that will work in a wide variety of weapons of the same caliber. In theory, all 7.62×51 mm NATO cartridges will function equally well in the Fabrique Nationale FAL, Heckler & Koch Gewehr 3 (G3), U.S. M14 rifles, and FN MAG, Rheinmetall MG3, Manufacture Nationale d’Armes de Saint Etienne (MAS) AAT 52, and U.S. M60 GPMGs, without concern about the country in which the weapon or ammunition was manufactured. As we shall see in subsequent discussion, this interoperable ideal is sometimes elusive. Weapons types respond differently to differnt cartridge case materials (e.g., brass vs. steel, material hardness) or to variations in chamber pressures or gas port pressures. Projectiles can respond significantly differently to even slight changes of barrel twist. The basic goal of interoperability is often difficult to attain.

From left are the .303 British (7.7×56mm), .276 Pedersen (7×51mm), .280 British (7×44mm), 7.62mm bullet in T65 aluminum case (7.62×48mm) experimental, 7.62×51mm NATO, .22/.308 (5,56×52mm) experimental, .222 Remington (5.56×43mm), .223 Remington (5.56×45mm NATO M855) and 6×45mm SAW.

Within NATO, Standardization Agreements were created to insure interchangeability and interoperability. STANAG 2310 covers 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition. Functional interchangeability of this group of small arms cartridges is obtained through prescribed uniform proof and inspection procedures laid out in the NATO Small Arms Ammunition Panel’s Manual of Proof and Inspection Procedures for NATO 7.62mm Ammunition, first issued in May, 1960 and updated several times since. STANAG 4172, dated May 5, 1993, covers 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition.

Concern about interoperability arises from the need to make cartridges work in different self-actuating firearms. In the early days of fixed metallic cartridge small arms ammunition, the primary function of the cartridge was to serve as a container for the primer, propellant, and projectile until it was time to shoot the weapon. At the instant of firing, all manually operated firearms have essentially the same functional characteristics, determined by the locked breech and the fixed barrel with no gas vent except for the muzzle opening. Factory acceptance testing of ammunition for such weapons considered a small list of issues: hang-fires, barrel erosion, chamber pressures and muzzle velocities. Difficulties relating to feeding, extraction, and ejection were more likely to be attributable to the weapon than the cartridge.

In the self-loading weapon, the cartridge case also serves as the power package to supply the operating energy. In blowback types, the cartridge is an integral element of the self-actuating system. Since the advent of the self-loading weapon (both semi-automatic and full-automatic), the metallic cartridge must also assure the reliable operation of the weapon.

In bolt-action rifles, many of these concerns are inconsequential. The most crucial factor is ammunition ballistic interoperability. Other considerations include headspace tolerance, and sensitivity to firing pin shape, protrusion, and momentum. In manually operated weapons there is no gas pressure remaining during extraction, and the velocities associated with extraction, ejection and chambering (governed by the strength and dexterity of the shooter) are very low.

In self-actuated (self-operated) weapons, bolt velocities can be very significant. In some types there is no slow initial extraction, and those that are blow-back operated use gas pressure on the head of the cartridge case to open the bolt. Cocked self-loading breech weapons that are gas operated will function most reliably when the internal ballistics of the ammunition being fired are reasonably matched to the gun. Higher or lower pressures, variations in pressure peak times, and other variables can cause erratic or poor performance of the self-loading mechanism. Blow-back weapons are also sensitive to variations in cartridge performance parameters.

Markings on cartridge cases fired in barrels with fluted chambers.

The nature of the cartridge case materials can be critical. The metal case must act as an operating piston, at high residual chamber pressures, without sticking in the chamber or disintegrating during the bolt opening process. To facilitate this process, when the remaining chamber pressures are high, some delayed blowback weapons have longitudinal slots machined into the chamber to ease case extraction. Some locked-breech designs require these chamber slots or flutes to ease case extraction.

Cartridge cases fired in gas operated weapons such as the Soviet Tokarev and the delayed blow-back operated Gewehr 3 (G3) have groove marks engraved on the expended case as a consequence of the cartridge case material having expanded slightly into the chamber during the firing process, particularly when employing soft brass cases.

The design of cartridges and weapons must go hand in hand. Once a type of ammunition is standardized with a specific set of technical characteristics, arms designers must conform to those specifications. That is, unless the designer is bold enough and talented enough to propose a significantly new cartridge. We shall see several examples in which such proposals have been made. For each successful new cartridge suggested, dozens of unsuccessful designs litter the experimental shop floor. They do so largely because of political and economic considerations associated with attempting standardization of new ammunition.

The most widely used assault rifle cartridges of today.

Some small arms cartridges have proven to be very versatile. A good example is the U.S. Army .30 Model 1906 cartridge. Prior to World War I, this 7.62×63mm round had been made only in quantities sufficient to meet the needs of a peacetime armed force. It was fired from a bolt-action rifle, a recoil-operated machine gun, and in two models of gas operated machine guns. During the 1914-1918 European conflict, the American army used the .30-06 in two bolt-action rifles, two gas-operated automatic rifles, two recoil-operated machine guns, and four gas-operated machine guns. Originally designed for the simple M1903 Springfield rifle, the .30-06 cartridge was adapted to the eccentricities of 10 different weapons. Weapon and ammunition performance and interoperability were reasonably good considering the problems of wartime manufacture. Still, some production lots of cartridges were restricted for training purposes only, and their use was limited to only certain guns.

From time to time, proposals have been advanced for the development of small arms that fire cartridges with no case (moulded propellant), combustible cases or liquid propellants, and remain a focus of active research and development. Principle obstacles to this type of development have been:

Sealing the breech against gas leakage

Cook-off due to heat transfer from the barrel to the chambered propellant

Unpredictable pressure curves

Environmental stability of ammunition

Handling and safety hazards

If these and other problems can be solved, then the next step in rifle design may be the inclusion of a radically different cartridge type.

Rifle Cartridge Types: World War I — Present

There are three basic types of rifle cartridges used world-wide. First among these are those cartridges that are now described as full-power, most of which were originally designed for use in non-automatic (bolt-action) rifles followed by use in machine guns and self-loading rifles. The second group, called intermediate power, consists of cartridges with a significant reduction in overall size and in ballistic performance. The term intermediate power comes from the energy levels of the cartridge which are between those of the full power rifle cartridges and the low power pistol cartridges used in submachine guns. This grouping was created with the goal of reducing recoil and increasing controllability of automatic weapons. And finally, there are the newer small caliber, high velocity, cartridges. These latter two groups were designed to reduce recoil and increase controllability in automatic weapons.

While the concept of the intermediate cartridge led to a reduction in projectile weight and velocity, the small caliber, high velocity cartridges (SCHV) propelled smaller diameter and even lower weight bullets at significantly higher velocities than ever before. These cartridges take advantage of the physical fact that kinetic energy is a combined function of mass and velocity: E= MV²

Thus as velocity(V) increases slightly, energy (E) increases significantly. By reducing the weight of the projectile and increasing its velocity, designers of SCHV weapons sought to enhance weapon controllability without reducing bullet killing power. The phenomena of the small caliber, high velocity cartridge and the debate it engendered is discussed in later chapters.

Full Power Rifle Cartridges

6.5×50.5mmSR Japanese

Adopted in 1897, this Year 30 or Type 30 cartridge was used in the Type 30 (1897) and Type 38 (1905) Arisaka bolt-action rifle and several early Japanese machine guns. This semirimmed 6.5×50.5mmSR Japanese round qualified as a full-powered type due to its overall length. Its energy levels would have otherwise placed it nearer the intermediate class. World War II vintage 6.5mm ammunition had a 139-grain (9-gram) bullet with a book velocity of 2,500 feet per second (762 m/s). With one notable exception, this 6.5mm cartridge was restricted to Japanese weapons. The Russian designer Fedorov used this Japanese cartridge in his Model 1916 Avtomat, because of its modest recoil impulse and availability. As the Fedorov Avtomat is acknowledged to have been the world’s first assault rifle, the 6.5mm Japanese might be considered to have been the first assault rifle cartridge.

Powerful cartridges used in assault rifles, but originally designed for bolt-action rifles.

6.5×52.5mm Italian

The 6.5mm Italian Mannlicher Carcano cartridge appeared in the last decade of the 19th century. It was first fired from the Model 1891 Mannlicher-Carcano bolt-action rifle, and it continued to be used by Italian armed forces in both world wars, although an effort was made to replace it in the middle 1930’s. Its utilization was primarily confined to weapons made by or for Italy. It is only included here because it was used in several prototype selective-fire shoulder rifles developed in Italy prior to and during World War II. The complete metric designation of this obsolete cartridge is 6.5×52.5mm. Typically it fired a 162-grain (10.4-gram) bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2,296 feet per second (758 m/s). The relatively heavy round-nosed bullet was never replaced with a more modern type throughout its service life.

7×57mm Mauser

This cartridge was developed in the early 1890’s for the Mauser turning bolt action rifle. It is frequently called the 7mm Spanish because Spain adopted it for use with their 1893 Mauser rifles. Americans first encountered this round during the Spanish-American War of 1898. At least a dozen countries used it at one time or another. Many of them employed it in a 7mm version of the single-shot Remington rolling block rifle.

Costa Rica purchased 7×57mm caliber self-loading rifles from the Italian firm Breda about 1935. Also, Johnson semi-automatic rifles in this caliber were later purchased for Chilean armed forces. By 1935, it fired a 143-grain (9.3-gram) bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2,461 feet per second (750 mls).

7.5×54mm French

The 7.5×54mm cartridge was developed following World War I in the early 1920’s to replace the 8mm Lebel model 1886 cartridge, the first small bore cartridge using smokeless propellant adopted by any nation. The 8mm Lebel, however, has a large diameter, rimmed case, derived from the 11mm Gras, a black powder, single-shot rifle cartridge, and had too much body taper making it unsuitable for a box magazine. The rimless case 7.5mm cartridge was adopted in its final form in 1929. It had a steel-jacketed lead core, flat-based bullet, weighing 139 grains, loaded to a velocity of 2,690 feet per second.

Originally the 7.5mm cartridge was intended for the Chatellerault M 1924/29 light machine gun. However, it was also eventually intended for universal use in bolt-action and experimental semi-automatic rifles under development. After testing several rifles ranging from older Lebel and Berthier rifles converted to 7.5mm, the French standardized a new MAS M1936 rifle. The MAS 36 was in use before World War II until the introduction of the MAS 1949 semi-automatic used in Indochina, and the MAS 49/56 used in Algeria.

A series of semi-automatic rifles were designed from the early 1900’s until in 1938 when a design was found satisfactory and readied for production in 1940 — too late to see action in World War II. After liberation in 1944, work on this design continued, primarily to adopt the 1940 variant to use a copy of the German 10-shot G-43 magazine, which went into limited production at that time. Larger production was instituted after modifying the M1944 with an integral grenade launcher to become the MAS 49.

This model was used to some extent in French Indochina and later widely used in Algeria. The final variant, the MAS 49/56 was also used in Algeria and for several years after. Early French experimental select-fire assault rifles were made in 7.5×54mm including the FAMME in 1951 and the FMAME in 1952, both bullpup designs. The FAMAS, introduced in 1951, of conventional assault rifle configuration, and the FAMAS 1951B, a bull-pup design, also were 7.5×54mm assault rifles. Subsequent variants of these assault rifles, as well as other designs, were made in 7.62×51mm NATO, but France decided not to adopt assault rifles in either caliber.

7.5×55mm Swiss

From 1911 to 1990, Swiss Army rifle ammunition was the full powered 1911 vintage GP-11 7.5×55.5mm cartridge. It was standard for their Sturmgewehr 57 and Maschinengewehr 51. In basic design it dates back more than a century to 1889 when Switzerland became one of the first nations to adopt a reduced bore, smokeless powder cartridge. Although there have been relatively minor changes to the shape of the cartridge case, many alterations were made over the years to projectiles and loads in efforts to improve the accuracy of this round. By 1931, it fired a 174-grain (11.3-gram) bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2,559 feet per second (780 m/s).

7.62×54mm Russian Rimmed

In its original form this cartridge was adopted by the Imperial Russian Army in 1891 as the ammunition for the Model 1891 Mosin Nagant bolt action rifle. By 1908, it fired a 148-grain (9.6-gram) bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2,514 feet per second (766 m/s). This rimmed pattern cartridge had been the major source of performance design problems for both S. G. Simonov and F. V. Tokarev while they were developing their self-loading rifles. Difficulties they encountered can be divided into two basic and familiar categories. First, the 7.62×54mmR cartridge was too powerful, a fact that led to extraction and problems with dispersion. Second, the cartridge’s large head diameter and its wide flanged rim made it difficult for use in double-row box magazines of the type that Simonov and Tokarev created for their rifles. There were three common malfunctions with the 7.62×54mmR cartridge:

Failure to extract when the cartridge stuck to the cartridge chamber of the rifle (steel cases by 1935)

Rim shears from the cartridge case body resulting from those failures

Failure of the cartridge to feed due to jamming of the cartridges in the magazine

All of the problems associated with the Model 1908 7.62×54mmR cartridge indicated that successful development of new rifles should be preceded by the selection or creation of a new cartridge. V. G. Fedorov had made this point before World War I when he selected the Japanese 6.5×50.5mmSR cartridge for use in his Avtomat. He once wrote that the future evolution of individual infantry weapons can be directed towards bringing the two types, i.e., machine carbine and submachine gun, closer together on the basis of planning the new cartridge. Rifle equipment of the near future faces the creation of a light caliber automatic carbine, approximating the submachine gun, but developed, needless to say, for use with a more powerful cartridge.

7.62×63mm (.30-06) United States

Standardized in 1906 to replace the short-lived .30-03 with round-nosed bullet, this was a first class full power cartridge with a Spitzer-type projectile. Although the .30-06 evolved from the Model 1903 round, dimensional changes (i.e. a shorter neck) precluded use of the old cartridge in new chambered weapons. It was possible to shoot the .30-06 in rifles chambered for the .30-03. The World War II variant launched a 150-grain (9.7-gram) bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2,800 feet per second (853 m/s).

In two World Wars millions of rifles and machine guns were manufactured to shoot this cartridge. Much favored by military and civilian shooters, this cartridge was in effect shortened and reworked after 1945, becoming in the end the 7.62×51 mm NATO cartridge. Before World War Two ended the T20 and T22 series of selective fire rifles were built to fire the .30-06. Experimentation with these rifles raised concern over excessive recoil from such full power cartridges.

7.92×57mm Mauser

The first cartridge in this family was adopted by Imperial Germany’s Army for the Model 1888 Commission rifle. Early bolt-action Gewehr Modell 98 Mausers fired the Patrone 88 having a heavy round-nosed bullet. France’s introduction of a pointed, boat-tailed bullet for the Mle 86/93 Lebel rifle (the Balle D named for its designer Desaleux) in 1898 caused considerable excitement and activity in Germany. Experiments with pointed bullets (Spitzgeschosse) were carried out at the Spandau Arsenal. In 1905 a slightly larger diameter bullet of Spitzer type, weighing 154-grains (10-grams), was standardized.

From the Gewehr 98’s 29-inch (740mm) barrel it had an initial velocity of 2,854 feet per second (870 m/s). The pointed projectile was given the designation of s for identification purposes. This was to prevent its use in older Modell 88 rifles, which had a smaller diameter bore (unless marked s, denoting an enlarged bullet seat).

The s-bullet became obsolete by the 1920’s and was replaced by a heavier, pointed bullet having a boat-tailed base, designated ss for Scheres Spitz — Geschoss. This design was originally issued for use with heavy machine guns near the end of World War II to counter the French Balle D rounds, which had not only a pointed nose, but a boat-tailed base. Before World War II the Germans had issued the 98K rifle having a shorter barrel of 23.6 inches (600mm), which produced a muzzle velocity of 2,476 feet per second (755 m/s), with the 198-grain (12.8-gram) ss bullet.

Between 1940 and 1943, because of material shortages, ss ball ammunition was supplimented by a steel core ball bullet of 178 grains (11.5 grams, designated S.m.E.. Fired in the 98K rifle, it produced a muzzle velocity of 2,510 feet per second (765 m/s). By 1945 S.m.E. ammunition had nearly replaced ss as the general service ball ammuntion.

This internationally used full power cartridge is of interest to this discussion because it was the employed in the World War II Fallschirmjager Gewehr 1942 (FG42) assault rifle. This cartridge is also called the 7.9×57mm, the 8×57mm, and the 8mm Mauser.

7.62×51 mm NATO

Although this cartridge was originally developed for use by the member armies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, it has become one of the most popular military cartridges of the second half of the 20th century, and is in mass use in many light and medium machine guns throughout the world, as well as assault rifles. Initial design of this cartridge was directed by John C. Gray and Earle M. Harvey at the Ordnance Department’s Pentagon-based Small Arms Development Branch. The starting point for this work was the .300 Savage hunting cartridge. Final development was carried out jointly by Frankford Arsenal, then the Army small arms ammunition development center at Philadelphia, and Western Cartridge Division of the Olin Corporation.

The .30 caliber Light Rifle Cartridge that emerged as the final product of the joint Ordnance-Industry team was not an intermediate power round. Instead it was a full power infantry cartridge in a shortened case. As such it differs from the German Sturmgewehr ammunition. Most American infantry officers (Col. G. B. Jarret was an exception) had argued that the 7.92mm Kurz cartridge was too limited in effective combat range, that its bullet was too light, and that its muzzle velocity was too low. Originally the light rifle cartridge, of which the ball load was designated T65, had a case length of 1.871 inches (47.5mm). The final variant, which became the 7.62×51mm NATO, has a case length of 2.015 inches (51.18mm). Although sometimes referred to as T65, this is a generic term incorrectly applied to the ammunition. As introduced, the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge fired bullets ranging from 145 to 150 grains (9.3 to 9.7 gram) with a book muzzle velocity between 2,750 and 2,800 feet per second (838 to 850 m/s).

Development of ball type propellant made it possible to create such a full power cartridge in a shorter case. Development of this propellant, whose name derives from its spherical shape, was guided by Fred Olsen, Research Director of Olin’s Western Cartridge Division. That firm had held exclusive commercial rights to ball propellant production since 1933, a powder which had many advantages. First, it was made in a fraction of the time required for other nitro-cellulose based propellants. It was safer to manufacture in large batches since the production process is carried out underwater. Its rate of combustion, more readily controlled, produces more uniform velocities from one lot to the next.

Finally, ball powder produced propelling energy equivalent to older smokeless powders while requiring less space in cartridge cases. This latter quality enabled engineers to develop shorter cases with smaller volume, while still obtaining full power. That latter element made the shorter and smaller volume light rifle cartridge possible.

After much heated political and technical debate, the American cartridge case .30 FAT1 E3 was standardized in 1954 as the basis for the 7.62×51 mm NATO cartridge. Over the years a variety of projectiles have been developed and manufactured for this round of ammunition, but the cartridge case has remained essentially unchanged.

In Spain and Japan special intermediate power ammunition, employing the 51mm NATO cartridge case, has been developed. These projects involved the use of either lighter projectiles or less propellant. Sometimes it involved both. Such cartridges were intended to reduce dispersion by making the rifle easier to control in the automatic fire mode.

A short-lived variant of the 7.62mm NATO was the 7×49.15mm variant loaded by Fabrique Nationale for shooting in FN FALs of this caliber that were sold to Venezuela. This caliber reflected the continuing popularity of the 7×57mm Mauser cartridge in South America. Once the 7.62mm NATO gained popularity, Venezuela had its rifles converted to the larger 7.62mm caliber.

Intermediate Power Rifle Cartridges

.276 Pedersen (7×51.4mm)

While it pre-dates the true assault rifle, and although it was intended for use in a semi-automatic, self-loading rifle, the .276 Pedersen round was a true intermediate power cartridge. Its development extended for nearly a decade (from 1923 to 1932), when numerous evolutionary changes in case dimensions, shape, and performance were tested. Bullet weights ranged from 120 to 140 grains (7.78 to 9.1 grams), in both boat-tail and flat-base variants, with muzzle velocities between 2,500 and 2,700 feet per second (762 m/s to 823 m/s). Case lengths varied between 1.9 and 2.073 inch (48.26 to 52.65mm), the standard length being 2.032 inches (51.4mm). Test quantities were manufactured in the United States at Frankford Arsenal and in England by Kynoch.

.280 British

The British Army continued to rely on their .303 (7.7×56mmR) Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE) rifle, because development of self-loaders in Great Britain was slow due to the lack of urgency as the primary potential enemy, Germany, had not adopted a new self-loading rifle before World War II either. Economic constraints and successful development of the No.4 Rifle (an update of the SMLE) further set back efforts to obtain a self-loading rifle. Some experimentation to find a replacement for SMLE bolt action rifles was undertaken during World War II, but no changeover was seriously contemplated during that conflict.

Intermediate military cartridges relating to assault rifle development.

Before 1945, the British had examined Fabrique Nationale’s semi-automatic rifle (SAFN) in 7.92×57 Mauser, which first appeared in 1940, with interest. Personnel from FN in Belgium escaped to England during the war with technical data to continue development. However, experiments with SAFNs (the S.L.E.M.1 in England) were discontinued at the end of World War II.

In 1945, the Ministry of Supply created a Small Arms Ideal Calibre Panel, assigning it the task of exploring the parameters of and then developing a new infantry rifle cartridge. They sought the lightest possible rifle/ammunition combination consistent with shooter comfort. The British set 600 yards (549 meters) as their maximum range for using of a new rifle cartridge. It was recognized that the .303 over-killed at rifle ranges. They sought an intermediate range assault rifle cartridge.

Dr. Richard Beeching, Deputy Chief Engineer, Armaments Design Establishment, carried out basic ballistic studies for the Ideal Calibre Panel. His investigations included experimental determination of ideal caliber, muzzle velocity, and bullet weight. Beeching and his team concluded from their study that the ideal caliber was .270 (6.8mm). After initial talks with American Ordnance representatives, the British increased projectile diameter to .276 (7mm) to make it more competitive with the American ideal of .30 (7.62mm) caliber. This British cartridge was later renamed .280, although the diameter was not changed. One member of the panel stated: we [later] made the base end of the cartridge case identical with that of the (U.S.) 1906.30 cartridge so that it would have been easy for existing US weapons to be converted. This later variant was designated .280/30.

In the summer of 1947, Beeching’s staff submitted its formal findings. The British Army dispatched a team of ordnance experts to the United States with this document, where they encountered for the first time American plans for a .30 caliber (7.62mm) lightweight rifle firing the experimental T65 cartridge.

The U.K. .280 and .280/30mm cartridges were loaded with many different bullets but development concentrated on 140-grain types, with a muzzle velocity of 2,415 feet per second (736 m/s). Three other 7mm cartridges with longer cases were tested later: 1.935 inches (49.15mm); 1.95 inches (49.5mm); and 2 inches (51mm). An attractive cartridge in many ways, favorable consideration of this round was never forthcoming from the Americans who insisted, for a variety of reasons genuine and specious, on their own T65 cartridge.

7.62×39mm M43

The Soviet Model 1943 cartridge (patrona obrazetsa 1943g, kalibr 7.62mm) has retained its place as one of the all time important military cartridges. Manufactured world-wide it was the leading post-World War II assault rifle cartridge until the appearance of the U.S. 5.56×45mm and the Russian 5.45×39mm cartridges. The standard ball projectile weighs 122 grains (7.9 grams). From the Kalashnikov assault rifles (16.64-inch 415mm barrel) it has a muzzle velocity of about 2,330 feet per second (710 m/s). From the RPK light machine gun (23.2-inch 590mm barrel) it has a muzzle velocity of about 2,590 feet per second (732 m/s).

The basic projectiles used by the Soviets in the M43 cartridge include: the PS ball; the US reduced velocity ball; the BZ armor-piercing-incendiary with black/red tip; the T-45 tracer with green tip; the Z incendiary-tracer (ranging) with red tip; and several blanks for training and grenade launching. China simply changed the color code for API from black/red to black around 1969. Other nations, such as Yugoslavia, developed other specialty bullets. The 38.9mm long cartridge case has a head diameter of 11.3mm, which makes it very similar to the 7.62×45mm Czechoslovakian cartridge.

7.62×45mm Czechoslovakian

This Czechoslovakian cartridge was created after World War II for what became their vz.52 Samonabijeci puska or Model 1952 self-loading rifle and for the vz.52 Lehky kulomet or Model 1952 light machine gun. Earlier, the Czechoslovakian arms development community experimented with a 7.5mm cartridge with a case length of 44.8mm and head diameter of 10.74mm. This round was demonstrated in several countries, including Great Britain, as the Z.47. Even earlier types included a 7.62×45mm from 1946 with a very slender case that had a head diameter of 10.36mm.

Ultimately the Czechs decided to adopt a 7.62mm projectile, and a 44.8mm case with an 11.2mm base diameter. The vz.52 cartridge was manufactured with both brass and lacquered steel cases, all of which were Berdan primed. Known variants include ball (131 grains/8.5 gram), tracer (131 grains/8.5 gram), short range practice ball (41 grains/2.7 gram), blank (44.2mm case), and a drill round with five longitudinal flutes. By 1957, in an effort to standardize their equipment with their Warsaw Pact allies, the Czechs abandoned this round and reworked their weapons to shoot the M43 7.62×39mm cartridge. The 7.62×45mm ball round had a muzzle velocity of about 2,450 feet per second (745 m/s).

7.92×33mm Kurz

Following World War I, German ammunition experts and some more thoughtful younger military officers gave serious consideration to intermediate power cartridges. Their revolutionary ideas were resisted by older officers and bureaucrats, called the machine gun worshippers, who had their thinking clouded by the outstanding effectiveness of the machine gun in the static trench warfare of 1914-1918.

Officially the German Army, which had been much reduced in size as the Reichsheer by the Versailles Peace Treaty (from 13 million to 100,000), rejected all proposals for intermediate cartridges prior to 1938. Nonetheless, four ammunition companies pursued this subject with zeal: Waffen- und Munitionsfabrik Gustav Genschow AG, Durlach (GECO)2; Rheinisch Wesphalische Sprengstoff AG (RWS), Cologne; Deutsche Waffenund Munitonfabriken (DWM); and Polte-Werke AG, Magdeburg. At that time the Heereswaffenamt (Ordnance Office) joined the search for an intermediate cartridge despite General Staff opposition. This change of heart came as a result of the post-1934 Nazi rearmament program, which had been openly acknowledged by Hitler’s government with the creation of the Berlin based Zentralburo fur deutsche Aufrustung (Central Office for German Rearmament).

Polte Company drawing of the 7.92mmx33mm kurz Sturmgewehr cartridge (all dimensions in millimeters).

Polte Company drawing of the 7.92mm kurz ball projectile (all dimensions in millimeters).

The Army’s 1938 development contract was awarded to Polte, which by 1941 had produced a prototype 7.92mm cartridge called the 7.9mm Infanterie Kurz Patrone. It had a 33mm-long case, 125-grain (8.1-gram) lead cored projectile with 24.6 grains (1.59 grams) of propellant. Subsequent issue cartridges had 125-grain (8.1-gram) boat-tailed, steel core bullets with a muzzle velocity of 2,300 feet per second (700 m/s).

Polte had taken a conservative, low risk approach to this project by shortening the standard 7.92×57mm cartridge. This was a clever course of action, since such a cartridge could be quickly placed into production. Some existing inspection gages, and production equipment, were easily modified to make this short round.

Unconventional intermediate cartridge developed by CETME of Spain.

Apparently all production cartridges were made from steel and were given a lacquered finish. This was one of a series of steps taken by the Germans to eliminate use of critical materials such as brass. The 7.92mm Kurz was produced in the German Democratic Republic until the early 1960s.

The 7.92×33mm case has a shoulder angle within one-quarter degree of that of the 7.92×57mm, nearly identical. Problems encountered with obtaining successful function of a bottle-necked case of steel or brass are overcome primarily by either lubrication or longitudinal chamber flutes. However, brass cases of insufficient hardness tend to negate the floating effect of flutes by filling them. (Thus preventing the entry of gas.) Therefore, steel cases generally work best with this system, regardless of body taper or shoulder angle. The normal Geman protective lacquer does not allow case slippage under the conditions of high chamber pressure inherent with delayed blowback systems. In any case, the degree of slippage permitted must be controlled so that sufficient energy is transferred to the bolt assembly to complete its rearward cycle without the case being torn in two.

As with other cartridges, the 7.92mm Kurz had many names in the course of its manufacture and service. These included: 7.9mm Infanterie Kurz Patrone, 7.9mm Pistolen Patrone, and the 7.9mm Maschinenkarabiner Patrone.

Spanish Assault Rifle Cartridges

The German 7.92mm Kurz was the starting point for intermediate cartridge development in Spain after 1945. Design details for this ammunition were brought to Spain by German technicians who emigrated following their nation’s defeat in World War II. Experimental investigations were initiated at the Centro des Estudios Tecnicos y Materiales Especiales (CETME). Small quantities of the 7.92×33mm ball and grenade launching blank rounds were produced in Spain for CETME to test fire the German Sturmgewehr. New developments were then undertaken.

7.9×40mm CETME

Around 1950, Spanish Army officials placed a requirement with CETME calling for development of a lightweight individual weapon with an effective range of 1,000 meters. Weight was to be less that 4 kilograms (just under 9 pounds). It was readily apparent that this specification could not be filled with any existing cartridges.

First prototypes of CETME assault rifles shot a 7.92×40mm cartridge that fired a lightweight (105-grain; 6.8-gram) elongated projectile at about 2,625 feet per second (800 m/s). This unique projectile was designed by Dr. Guenther Voss, a bal-listician (Flieger-Stabsingenieurj) formerly assigned to the Luftwaffe. The unusually long length-to-diameter ratio is called the Haack principle, after its originator Wolfgang Haack.

Combining long range with limited recoil required some new thinking. This proposal pushed the limits of the existing state-of-the-art in ballistics and aerodynamics. As a result of their investigations, CETME presented their first candidate assault rifle cartridge in 1953. The new cartridge, called cartucho 7.92×40, CETME, CA-001, introduced a new type of ball projectile, 108-grain (7.0 grams) bullet that was 46mm long. This 6-caliber bullet (i.e., its length was 6 times its diameter) was probably the longest length-by-diameter projectile ever seriously considered for mass production. It was propelled at 2,650 feet per second (800 m/s).

A long projectile with the proper weight balance for stable flight was a difficult challenge. Proper weight distribution was accomplished by using an aluminum core with a copper jacket. Unlike most projectiles, the copper alloy jacket was essentially a tube surrounding the aluminum core, which was exposed at the tip and at the base.

Another step in this development was the car-tucho 7.92×40, CETME, CAP-001,