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5.56 X 45mm NATO

5.56 x 45mm NATO

5.56 mm NATO, designated STANAG 4172, is the standard rifle ammunition for NATO forces. It is derived from, but not entirely interchangable with, the .223 Remington cartridge.

History

The previous standard NATO round was the 7.62 mm (based on the .30 rifle cartridge). At the time of selection, there had been criticism that the 7.62 x 51 mm round was overpowered for modern assault rifles, and smaller alternatives had been tendered. These doubts would later be shown to be well-founded. During the late 1950s, Armalite and other U.S. firearm designers started their individual Small Caliber/High Velocity (SCHV) assault rifle experiments using the commercial .222 Remington cartridge. When it became clear that there was not enough powder capacity to meet U.S. Continental Army Command's (CONARC) velocity and penetration requirements, Armalite contacted Remington to create a similar cartridge with a longer case body and shorter neck. This became the .222 Remington Special. At the same time, Springfield Armory's Earle Harvey had Remington create an even longer cartridge case then known as the .224 Springfield. Springfield was forced to drop out of the CONARC competition, and thus the .224 Springfield was later released as a commercial sporting cartridge known as the .222 Remington Magnum. To prevent confusion with all of the competing .222 cartridge designations, the .222 Remington Special was renamed the .223 Remington. After playing with their own proprietary cartridge case design, the .224E1 Winchester, Winchester eventually standardized their case dimensions, but not overall loaded length, with the .222 Remington Special to create a cartridge known as the .224E2 Winchester. With the U.S. military adoption of the Armalite AR-15 as the M16 rifle in 1963, the .223 Remington was standardized as the 5.56 x 45 mm. However, the .223 Remington was not introduced as a commercial sporting cartridge until 1964. During the 1970s, NATO members signed an agreement to select a second, smaller caliber cartridge to complement the 7.62 mm NATO. Of the cartridges tendered, the 5.56 mm was successful, but not the 5.56 mm loading as used by the U.S. at that time. Instead, the Belgian FN SS109 loading was chosen for standardization. The SS109 used a heavier bullet at a lower muzzle velocity for better long-range performance. The cartridge is 57 mm (approximately 2.25 inches) long and 9.7 mm (0.38 inches) in diameter. The bullet itself is 0.75 inches (20 mm) long and 0.224 inches (5.7 mm) in diameter. The .223 Remington cartridge has the same dimensions as the 5.56 x 45 mm, but (generally) has a lower propelling charge, the NATO loading being the more powerful. Chambering and firing a 5.56 x 45 mm round in a .223 rifle is possible, but not always wise. However, it is safe, if not always effective, to fire a .223 Remington round from firearms designed for the 5.56 mm.

Performance

The 5.56 NATO cartridge with the standard military ball bullet (NATO: SS109; U.S.: M855) will penetrate approximately 15 to 20 inches (380 to 500 mm) into soft tissue in ideal circumstances. As with all spitzer shaped projectiles it is prone to yaw in soft tissue. However, at impact velocities above roughly 2,700 ft/s (820 m/s), it will yaw and then fragment at the cannelure. The fragments disperse through the flesh causing much more internal injury. The effectiveness of fragmentation seems to impart much greater damage to tissue than bullet dimensions and velocities would suggest. It should be noted that this fragmentation effect is highly dependent on velocity, and therefore barrel length: short-barreled rifles generate less muzzle velocity and therefore rounds lose effectiveness at much shorter ranges than longer-barreled rifles. Separately, hydrostatic shock is often cited as a primary wounding or incapacitation mechanism in high velocity projectiles like 5.56 NATO. The actual wounding effects of hydrostatic shock are, however, the subject of speculation. There has been much criticism of the poor performance of the round, especially the first-round kill rate when using firearms that don't achieve the velocity to cause fragmention. Typically, this only becomes an issue at longer ranges (over 100 meters) or as already stated wth shorter barreled weapons. The 14.5-inch barrel of the U.S. military's M4 carbine can be particularly prone to this problem. At short ranges, the round is extremely effective, and its tendency to fragment reduces the risk to bystanders when used inside a building or in an urban environment — the bullet fragments, remaining in the target. By comparison, larger pistol-caliber bullets pose a far greater threat of passing through the target and causing additional casualities. However the small round simply does not do enough damage when unfragmented, assuming a critical area is not hit, to incapacitate a human reliably with a single shot. Barrier performance (i.e. shooting through materials) is also relatively poor (although even the 7.62 mm NATO round is not particularly effective through vehicles) partly because the light and fast round is easily deflected.

5.56 NATO vs .223 Remington

NATO specification ammunition is generally not safe to fire in .223 Remington-chambered rifles (which are mainly civilian sporting rifles). The chambers of weapons intended to take the NATO round are oversize relative to the civilian weapons to allow for greater variation in production (and hence reliability), and hotter loads containing more propellent. By contrast, SAAMI-specification chambers are manufactured tighter (for accuracy), and 5.56 x 45 NATO ammunition, at the larger end of the manufacturers' tolerances, will be too tight and result in overpressure. This can cause excessive wear, or even theorically cause parts of the rifle to rupture. Conversely, civilian .223 ammunition is perfectly safe to use in military rifles.

Comparison of 5.56 vs. 7.62 NATO

The NATO Ball round (U.S.: M855) can penetrate up to 3 mm of steel while the Armor-Piercing variant (U.S.: M995) can penetrate up to 6 mm.

Use

Many nations besides those that are members of NATO use the 5.56 mm NATO cartridge, and equally a number of manufacturers produce weapons in this calibre. Outside of the NATO members there are the following weapons:
- Indian INSAS assault rifle
- Israeli IMI Negev SAW, Galil assault rifle and Tavor TAR-21 bullpup assault rifle
- Russian AK-101
- Singaporean SAR-21
- South African Vektor R4 and R5
- South Korean K-2 (rifle)
- Swiss SIG 550 with lesser performances than the round for which it was built: the Gw Pat.90 cartridge As examples of rifles marketed for non-military applications that can take the 5.56 cartridge there are:
- Remington Model 7615 Police Patrol Rifle
- Remington Model 700 series bolt-action rifle.
- Winchester Model 70 series bolt-action rifle.
- Steyr Scout series bolt-action rifle.

Sources & External links

- [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/556.htm FAS: 5.56 mm Ammunition]
- [http://www.thegunzone.com/556faq.html The Gun Zone: 5.56 mm FAQ]
- [http://www.thegunzone.com/556dw.html The Gun Zone: A 5.56mm Timeline]
- [http://www.imisammo.co.il/10162b.htm I.M.I Small Arms Ammunition Division]
- [http://www.ammo-oracle.com/body.htm The AR-15.COM Ammo-Oracle]
- [http://www.nazarian.no/wep.asp?id=259&group_id=6&country_id=136&lang=0 Nazarian`s Gun`s Recognition Guide]

STANAG

STANAG is the NATO abbreviation for Standardization Agreement, which set up processes, procedures, terms, and conditions for common military or technical procedures or equipment between the member countries of the alliance. Each NATO state ratifies a STANAG and implements it within their own military. The purpose is to provide common operational and administrative procedures and logistics, so one member nation's military may use the stores and support of another member's military. STANAGs are published in English and French, the two official languages of NATO, by the NATO Standardization Agency in Brussels. Among the hundreds of standardization agreements are those for calibres of small arms ammunition, map markings, communications procedures, and classification of bridges.

External link

- [http://otan.w3sites.net//Serveur2.html NATO STANAG search engine (in French)] Category:Military acronyms Category:NATO Standardisation Agreements

Rifle

A rifle is a firearm that uses a spiral groove cut into the barrel to spin a projectile (usually a bullet), thus improving accuracy and range of the projectile. It is the same principle that causes an American football to be more accurate when thrown correctly. Examples of non-rifled firearms are shotguns and muskets. muskets]

Overview

Originally, rifles were sharpshooter weapons, while the regular infantry made use of the greater firepower of massed muskets, which fired round balls of calibers up to 0.75 inch (19 mm). Benjamin Robins, an English mathematician, realized that an extruded bullet would retain the mass and kinetic force of a musket ball, but would slice through the air with much greater ease. The innovative work of Robins and others would take until the end of the 1700s to gain acceptance. By the mid-19th century, however, manufacturing had advanced sufficiently that the Brown Bess was replaced by a range of—generally single-shot, breech-loading—rifles, designed for aimed, discretionary fire by individual soldiers. Then as now, rifles have a stock, either fixed or folding, which is braced against the shoulder. Until the early 20th century rifles tended to be very long—a Martini-Henry of 1890 was almost six feet (1.8 m) in length, with a fixed bayonet—and the demand for more compact weapons for cavalrymen led to the carbine, or shortened rifle. A rifle is a type of firearm. Typicaly, the bullet is propelled by the contained detonation of an explosive compound (usually cordite), although other means are used, such as compressed air. Such rifles are called Air rifles, and remain popular for vermin control, hunting small game and casual shooting ("plinking") Some manufacturers make rifled shotguns.

History

History of design

Muskets were smooth-bore, large caliber weapons using ball-shaped ammunition fired at relatively low velocity. Due to the high cost and great difficulty of precision manufacturing, and the need to load readily from the muzzle, the musket ball was a loose fit in the barrel. Consequently on firing the ball bounced off the sides of the barrel when fired and the final direction on leaving the muzzle was unpredictable. The origins of rifling are difficult to trace, but some of the earliest practical experiments seem to have originated in Europe during the fifteenth century. Archers had long realized that a twist added to the tail feathers of their arrows gave them greater accuracy. Early muskets produced large quantities of smoke and soot, which had to be cleaned from the action and bore of the musket frequently; either the action of repeated bore scrubbing, or a deliberate attempt to create 'soot grooves' might also have led to a perceived increase in accuracy, although no-one knows for sure. True rifling dates from the mid-1400s, although the precision required for its effective manufacture kept it out of the hands of infantrymen for another three and a half centuries. Some early rifled guns were created with special barrels that had a twisted polygonal shape. Specially-made bullets were designed to match the shape so the bullet would grip the rifle bore and take a spin that way. These were generally limited to large caliber weapons and the ammunition still did not fit tightly in the barrel. Many experimental designs used different shapes and degrees of spiraling. Although uncommon, polygonal rifling is still used in some weapons today with one example being the GLOCK line of pistols. These designs were gradually replaced with cylindrical barrels cut with helical grooves, the surfaces between the grooves being called "lands". This innovation shortly preceded the mass adoption of breech-loading weapons, as it was not practical to push an overbore bullet down through a rifled barrel, only to then (try to) fire it back out. The dirt and grime from prior shots was pushed down ahead of a tight bullet or ball (which may have been a loose fit in the clean barrel before the first shot), and, of course, loading was far more difficult, as the lead had to be deformed to go down in the first place, reducing the accuracy due to nose deformation. Several systems were tried to deal with the problem, usually by resorting to an under-bore bullet that expanded upon firing. One of the most famous was the Minié system, which relied on a conical bullet (known as a Minié ball) with a hollow at the base of the bullet that caused the base of the round to expand from the pressure of the exploding charge and grip the rifling as the round was fired. Minié system rifles, notably the U.S. Springfield and the British Enfield of the early 1860s, featured prominently in the U.S. Civil War, due to the enhanced power and accuracy. The better seal gave more power, as less gas escaped past the bullet, which combined with the fact that for the same bore (caliber) diameter a long bullet was heavier than a round ball. Enhanced accuracy came from the expansion to grip the rifling, which spun the bullet more consistently. Another important area of development was the way rounds were stored and used in the weapon. The Spencer repeating rifle was a breech-loading manually operated lever action rifle, that was adopted by the United States and over 20,000 were used during the Civil War. It marked the first adoption of a removable magazine-fed infantry rifle by any country. The design was completed by Christopher Spencer in 1860. It used copper rim-fire cartridges stored in a removable seven round tube magazine, enabling the rounds to be fired one after another, and which, when emptied could be exchanged for another. As the bullet enters the barrel it screws itself into the rifling, a process which gradually wears down the barrel, and more rapidly causes the barrel to heat up. For this reason machine-guns are equipped with quick-change barrels which can be swapped every few thousand rounds, or, in earlier designs, were water-cooled. Modern stainless steel barrels for target rifles are much harder, and so wear far less, allowing tens of thousands of rounds to be fired before accuracy drops, unlike older carbon steel barrels, which were more limited, to around 1,000 shots, before the extreme accuracy faded. (Many shotguns and small arms have chrome-lined barrels to reduce wear and enhance corrosion resistance. This is rare on rifles designed for extreme accuracy as the plating process is difficult and liable to reduce the effect of the rifling.) Hardened armor-piercing bullets produce wear rapidly, which necessitates that they are encased in softer metal or Teflon. Over the 19th century, bullet design also evolved, the slugs becoming gradually smaller and lighter. By 1910 the standard blunt-nosed bullet had been replaced with the pointed, 'spitzer' slug, an innovation which increased range and penetration. Cartridge design evolved from simple paper tubes containing black powder and shot to sealed brass cases with integral primers for ignition, whilst black powder itself was replaced with cordite, and then other smokeless mixtures, propelling bullets to higher velocities than before. The increased velocity meant that new problems arrived, and so bullets went from being soft lead to harder lead, then to copper jacketed, in order to better engage the spiraled grooves without being "stripped" in the same way as a thread would be if subjected to extreme forces. Rifles were initially single-shot, muzzle-loading weapons. During the 18th century, breech-loading weapons were designed, which allowed the rifleman to reload whilst under cover, but defects in manufacturing and the difficulty in forming a reliable gas-tight seal prevented widespread adoption. During the 19th century, multi-shot repeating rifles using lever, pump or linear bolt actions became standard, further increasing the rate of fire and minimizing the fuss involved in loading a firearm. The problem of proper seal creation had been solved with the use of brass cartridge cases, which expanded at the point of firing and effectively sealed the breech while the pressure remained high, then shrinking back slightly to allow for easy removal. By the end of the 19th century, the leading bolt-action design was that of Paul Mauser, whose action—wedded to a reliable design possessing a five-shot magazine—became a world standard through two world wars and beyond. The Mauser rifle was paralleled by Britain's ten-shot Lee-Enfield and America's 1903 Springfield Rifle models (the latter pictured above), both of which were copied from Mauser's origninal design. The advent of mass, rapid firepower and of the machine-gun and the rifled artillery piece was so rapid as to outstrip the development of any way to attack a trench filled with rifle and machine-gun equipped soldiers. The nightmare hell of the Great War was to be the greatest vindication and vilification of the rifle as a military weapon. By the Second World War military thought was turning elsewhere, towards more compact weapons. Experience in World War One led German military researchers to conclude long-range aimed fire was less significant at typical battle ranges of 500m. As mechanisms became smaller, lighter and more reliable, semi-automatic rifles rifles, including the M1 Garand, appeared. WW2 saw the first mass-fielding of such rifles, which culminated in the Walther MKb-42, the first assault rifle, one of the most significant developments of the 20th century army. By contrast, civilian rifle design has not significantly advanced since the early part of the 20th century. Modern hunting rifles have fiberglass stocks and more advanced recoil pads, but are fundamentally the same as infantry rifles from 1910. Many modern sniper rifles can trace their ancestry back for over a century; the Russian 7.62 x 54 mm cartridge, used in the front-line SVD Dragunov, dates from 1891.

History of use

Muskets were used for rapid, unaimed volley fire. The average conscripted soldier could be easily trained to use them. The (muzzle-loaded) rifle was originally a sharpshooter's weapon used for targets of opportunity and sniper fire. The adoption of cartridges and breech-loading in the 19th century was concurrent with general adoption of rifles. In the early part of the 20th century, soldiers were trained to shoot accurately over long ranges with high-powered cartridges. World War 1 Lee-Enfields rifles (among others) were equipped with long-range 'volley sights' for massed fire at ranges of up to a mile (1600 m) - individual shots were unlikely to hit, but a platoon firing repeatedly could produce an effect similar to light artillery or a machine gun - but experience in WW1 showed that long-range fire was best left to artillery and machine guns. Up to, during, and after WW2 it has become accepted that most infantry engagements took place at ranges of less than 500 meters; the range and power of the large rifles was 'overkill'; and the weapons were heavier than the ideal. This led to Germany's development of the 7.92x39mm Kurz (short) round, the MKb-42, and ultimately, the assault rifle. Today, an infantryman's rifle is optimised for ranges of 300 meters or less, and soldiers are trained to deliver individual rounds or bursts of fire at these ranges. Accurate, long-range fire is the domain of the sniper and of enthusiastic target shooters. The modern sniper rifle is generally capable of accuracy better than one arcminute (300 μrad). In recent decades large-caliber anti-material sniper rifles, typically around .50 (12.7 mm) caliber cartridges, have been developed. The US Barrett M82A1 is probably the best known such rifle. These weapons are typically used to strike critical, vulnerable targets such as radar antennae or the jet engines of enemy aircraft. Anti-materiel rifles can certainly be used against human targets, but the much higher weight of rifle and ammunition, and the massive recoil and muzzle blast, make them impractical for such use. The Barrett M82 is credited with a maximum effective range of 1800 meters (1.1 mile).

External links

- [http://www.nazarian.no/wepc.asp?lang=0&group_id=3 Nazarian`s Gun`s Recognition Guide on Bolt Action Rifles]
- [http://www.nazarian.no/wepc.asp?lang=0&group_id=5 Nazarian`s Gun`s Recognition Guide on Automatic Rifles]
- [http://www.self-defender.net/weapons/rifles.htm Modern Civilian And Military Rifles] Category:Rifles ja:小銃 ko:소총

NATO

:NATO is also an acronym for the National Association of Theatre Owners. National Association of Theatre Owners National Association of Theatre Owners The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D.C., on April 4, 1949. Its headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium. Its other official name is the French equivalent, l'Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique du Nord (OTAN).
Purpose
The core of NATO is Article V of the NATO Treaty, which states: :The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all. Consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area. This provision was intended so that if the USSR and its allies launched an attack against any of the NATO members, it would be treated as if it was an attack on all member states. This marked a significant change for the United States, which had traditionally favoured isolationist policies. However, the feared invasion of Western Europe never came. Instead, the provision was invoked for the first time in the treaty's history on September 12, 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks on the United States the day before. NATO Summit 2006 will take place in Latvia.
History

Chronology of events
Latvia
- March 17, 1948: The Benelux countries, France, and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the NATO Agreement.
- April 4, 1949: North Atlantic Treaty is signed in Washington, DC.
- May 14, 1955: Warsaw Pact treaty is signed in Warsaw by the Soviet Union and its satellite states as a formal response to NATO. Both organisations are opposing sides in the Cold War. After the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, the Warsaw Pact disintegrates.
- 1966: Charles de Gaulle removes French armed forces from NATO's integrated military command to pursue its own nuclear defence programme. All non-French NATO troops are forced to leave France. This precipitates the relocation of the NATO Headquarters from Paris, France to Brussels, Belgium by October 16, 1967. While the political headquarters are located in Brussels the military headquarters, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), are located just south of Brussels, in the town of Mons.
- July 1, 1968: The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty opened for signature. NATO argued its nuclear weapons sharing arrangements did not breach the treaty as U.S. forces controlled the weapons until a decision is made to go to war, at which point the treaty would no longer be controlling. Few states knew of the NATO nuclear sharing arrangements at that time, and they were not challenged.
- May 30, 1978 NATO countries define two complementary aims of the Alliance, to maintain security and pursue détente. This is supposed to mean matching defences at the level rendered necessary by the Warsaw Pact's offensive capabilities without spurring a further arms race.
- December 12, 1979 In light of a build-up of Warsaw Pact nuclear capabilities in Europe, ministers approved the deployment of US Cruise and Pershing II theatre nuclear weapons in Europe. The new warheads are also meant to strengthen the western negotiating position in regard to nuclear disarmament.
- May 30, 1982: Spain joins the alliance.
- 1983-84: Responding to the stationing of Warsaw Pact SS-20 medium-range missiles in Europe, NATO deploys modern Pershing II missiles able to reach Moscow within minutes. This action leads to bitter peace movement protests throughout Western Europe.
- May 1984: A NATO manoeuvre codenamed Able Archer, which simulates a NATO response to a Soviet nuclear attack, causes panic in the Kremlin. Soviet leader Yuri Andropov becomes concerned that U.S. President Ronald Reagan intends to launch a real first strike, and places Soviet nuclear forces at full readiness. Only after the collapse of the Soviet Union does it become clear that US intelligence had mistaken real Soviet nervousness for propaganda efforts.
- October 3, 1990: With the reunification of Germany, the former East Germany becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany and the alliance. This had been agreed in the Two Plus Four Treaty earlier in the year. To secure Soviet approval of united Germany remaining in NATO, it is agreed that there will be no new foreign military bases in the east, and that nuclear weapons will not be permanently stationed there.
- March 31, 1991: The Warsaw Pact comes to an end. It is officially dissolved on July 1, 1991. The Soviet Union collapses in December of the same year.
- February 8, 1994: NATO takes its first military action, shooting down two Bosnian Serb aircraft violating a UN no-fly zone over central Bosnia and Herzegovina. NATO airstrikes the following year help bring the war in Bosnia to an end, resulting in the Dayton Agreement.
- July 8, 1997: Three former communist countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland, are invited to join NATO. They join in 1999.
- March 24, 1999: NATO sees its first broad-scale military engagement in the Kosovo War, where it wages an 11-week bombing campaign against what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, aimed at preventing the alleged ethnic cleansing of Albanians. It ends on June 11, 1999, when Yugoslavian leader Slobodan Milošević agrees to NATO's demands.
- April 1999: At the Washington summit, Germany proposes that NATO adopt a no-first-use nuclear strategy; the proposal is rejected.
- September 12, 2001: NATO provisionally invokes, for the first time in its history, the collective security clause of its charter. Article 5 states that any attack on a member state is considered an attack against the entire alliance. This comes in response to the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack against the United States.
- October 5, 2001: NATO confirms the invocation of Article 5, having determined that the attacks of 11 September were eligible under the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty. [http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2001/1001/e1002a.htm]
- November 21, 2002: During the Prague summit, seven countries are invited to start talks in order to join the Alliance: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania. The invited countries join NATO on March 29, 2004. Further countries express the wish to join the alliance, including Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, and Croatia. The summit also launches the NATO Response Force (NRF).
- February 10, 2003: NATO faces a crisis when France and Belgium veto the procedure of silent approval concerning the timing of protective measures for Turkey in case of a possible war with Iraq. Germany does not use its right to break the procedure but says it supports the veto. Germany
- April 16, 2003: NATO agrees to take command in August of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. The decision comes at the request of Germany and the Netherlands, the two nations leading ISAF at the time of the agreement. All 19 NATO ambassadors approve it unanimously. The handover of control to NATO takes place on August 11, and marked the first time in NATO's history that it takes charge of a mission outside the north Atlantic area. Canada had originally been slated to take over ISAF by itself on that date.
- June 19, 2003: A major restructuring of the NATO military commands begins as the Headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic was abolished and a new command, Allied Command Transformation (ACT), was established in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. and the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) became Allied Command Operations (ACO). ACT is responsible for driving transformation (future capabilities) in NATO, whilst ACO is responsible for current operations.
- March 29, 2004: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia join NATO.
Member states
2004 Greece and Turkey joined the initial 12 members of the organisation in February 1952. Germany joined as West Germany in 1955 and German reunification on October 3, 1990 extended the membership to the areas of the former German Democratic Republic which became part of the Federal Republic of Germany. Spain was admitted on May 30 1982, and the former Warsaw Pact countries of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic made history by becoming members on March 12 1999. France is a member of NATO, but it withdrew from the integrated military command in 1966. Following this decision, the NATO headquarters was moved from Paris to Brussels. Iceland, the sole member of NATO which does not have its own military force (the Icelandic Defense Force being the United States Military contingent permanently stationed in Iceland), joined on the condition that they would not be expected to establish one. Greece withdrew its forces from NATO’s military command structure from 1974 to 1980 as a result of Greco-Turkish tensions following the 1974 Cyprus dispute. The former Warsaw Pact countries of Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania officially acceded to NATO on March 29 2004. They attended their first NATO meeting in April 2004. Albania, Croatia, and the F.Y.R. of Macedonia are the three countries currently in the NATO MAP (Membership Action Programme); they are likely to join NATO in the future.
Founding members (April 4, 1949)
2004
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States that joined during the Cold War

- (February 18, 1952)
- (February 18, 1952)
- (May 9, 1955 as West Germany)
- (May 30,1982)
Former Eastern Bloc states that joined after the Cold War
1999:
- (May 27, 1999)
- (May 27, 1999)
- (May 27, 1999) 2004:
- (March 29, 2004)
- (March 29, 2004)
- (March 29, 2004)
- (March 29, 2004)
- (March 29, 2004)
- (March 29, 2004)
- (March 29, 2004)
Non-member states

Partner countries
Main article: Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council consists of 46 member countries: the 26 NATO members and 20 partner countries:
- 4 non-NATO EU members: :
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- 12 CIS members: :
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- 2 non-NATO ex-Yugoslavia members: :
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- 2 other: :
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NATO-Russia Council

Main article: NATO-Russia Council NATO and Russia made a reciprocal commitment in 1997 "to work together to build a stable, secure and undivided continent on the basis of partnership and common interest." In May 2002, this commitment was strengthened with the establishment of the NATO-Russia Council, which brings together the NATO members and Russia. The purpose of this council is to identify and pursue opportunities for joint action with the 27 (26+1) participants as equal partners.

Structures

Political structure

Organisational structure

Like any alliance, NATO is ultimately governed by its 26 member states. However, the North Atlantic Treaty, and other agreements, outline how decisions are to be made within NATO. Each of the 26 members sends a delegation or mission to NATO's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The senior permanent member of each delegation is known as the Permanent Representative and is generally a senior civil servant or an experienced ambassador (and holding that diplomatic rank). Together the Permanent Members form the North Atlantic Council (NAC), a body which meets together at least once a week and has effective political authority and powers of decision in NATO. From time to time the Council also meets at higher levels involving Foreign Ministers, Defence Ministers or Heads of Government and it is at these meetings that major decisions regarding NATO's policies are generally taken. However, it is worth noting that the Council has the same authority and powers of decision-making, and its decisions have the same status and validity, at whatever level it meets. The meetings of the North Atlantic Council are chaired by the Secretary General of NATO and, when decisions have to be made, action is agreed upon on the basis of unanimity and common accord. There is no voting or decision by majority. Each nation represented at the Council table or on any of its subordinate committees retains complete sovereignty and responsibility for its own decisions.
- The second pivotal member of each country's delegation is the Military Representative, a senior officer from each country's armed forces. Together the Military Representatives form the Military Committee, a body responsible for recommending to NATO's political authorities those measures considered necessary for the common defence of the NATO area. Its principal role is to provide direction and advice on military policy and strategy. It provides guidance on military matters to the NATO Strategic Commanders, whose representatives attend its meetings, and is responsible for the overall conduct of the military affairs of the Alliance under the authority of the Council. Like the council, from time to time the Military Committee also meets at a higher level, namely at the level of Chiefs of Defence, the most senior military officer in each nations armed forces.
- In addition to this strictly internal structure, there is a number of institutionalised cooperations and consultations in a spirit of partnership.
- Since 1994, the Mediterranean Dialogue is a forum with pro-western Arab countries (Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia) and Israel.
- Partnership for Peace The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is made up of legislators from the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance as well as 13 associate members[http://www.nato-pa.int/Default.asp?SHORTCUT=1].

Secretaries General

# Lord Ismay (United Kingdom): April 4, 1952, to May 16, 1957 # Paul-Henri Spaak (Belgium): May 16, 1957, to April 21, 1961 # Dirk Stikker (Netherlands): April 21, 1961, to August 1, 1964 # Manlio Brosio (Italy): August 1, 1964, to October 1, 1971 # Joseph Luns (Netherlands): October 1, 1971, to June 25, 1984 # Lord Carrington (United Kingdom): June 25, 1984, to July 1, 1988 # Manfred Wörner (Germany): July 1, 1988, to August 13, 1994 # Sergio Balanzino (Italy, acting): August 13, 1994, to October 17, 1994 # Willy Claes (Belgium): October 17, 1994, to October 20, 1995 # Sergio Balanzino (Italy, acting): October 20, 1995, to December 5, 1995 # Javier Solana (Spain): December 5, 1995, to October 6, 1999 # Lord Robertson of Port Ellen (United Kingdom): October 14, 1999, to January 1, 2004 # Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (Netherlands): January 1, 2004, to present

Military structure

NATO's military operations are directed by two Strategic Commanders, both senior American Officers assisted by a staff drawn from across NATO. The Strategic Commanders are responsible to the Military Committee for the overall direction and conduct of all Alliance military matters within their areas of command. Before 2003 the Strategic Commanders were the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) but the current arrangement is to separate command responsibility between Allied Command Transformation (ACT), responsible for transformation and training of NATO forces, and Allied Command Operations, responsible for NATO operations world wide. The commander of Allied Command Operations retained the title "Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR)", and is based in the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe located at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons. This is about 80 km (50 miles) south of NATO's political headquarters in Brussels. Allied Command Transformation (ACT) is based in the former Allied Command Atlantic headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. NATO operates a fleet of E-3 Sentry AWACS airborne radar aircraft based out of Geilenkirchen Air Base in Germany.

Debate about its future

The future of NATO is currently under debate. The main issues are:
- The necessity. The crumbling of the main "enemy of the west" in Eastern Europe removed for many observers the necessity of a collective defence organisation. The debate about the necessity of NATO has increased due to dissension between members about the American led invasion of Iraq, makes some wonder (largely in North America) whether NATO has not become obsolete. The presumed threat of terrorism could give the institution a new life, but some think also that fighting terrorists needs a completely different political and military organisation, as well as completely different weapon systems to those on which NATO was built.
- The benefits for the US. In the US, some voices emphasis the discrepancy in military spending between the USA and European members. While the USA has the highest military spending in the world, European nations have decreased their budgets significantly after the end of the Cold War. The gap in military capabilities is thus increasing, which raises questions about what the USA gains from membership. The lack of European capabilities was highlighted during the Kosovo crisis. Former NATO-secretary Lord Robertson criticized the European members in 1999, pointing out European nations must commit substantially more funds to defence just to meet their existing commitments to NATO. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/546307.stm] However, this commitment has not been fulfilled in the following years, and it is expected that this will remain to be the case for the forseeable future. That the US wants to continue to benefit from military ties with Europe (though not necessarily through NATO) can be seen by the fact that the US has had talks with Poland and other European countries over the possibility of setting up a European base to intercept long-range missiles, as part of the American NMD program. This program is designed to shoot down long-range missiles fired at North America. A European base would also protect some European nations (as well as the US). [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4445284.stm]
- An obstacle to European integration. Many argue that NATO is in conflict with the prospects of deeper European integration in the fields of foreign policy and security within the framework of the EU institutions. Some advocates for a strong EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) would like to see NATO dismantled and a common defence and foreign policy created within the existing EU institutions. In November 2004, after the re-election of United States President George W. Bush, the Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik publicly discussed whether Norway would benefit from strengthening her defence relations with the EU. Many Norwegian political analysts consider NATO to be a "politically dead organisation". So do several pundits and political leaders in other member nations. These attitudes will of necessity be reflected in future discussions of NATO expansion.

7.62 mm

There are many cartridges which use 7.62 mm caliber bullets. The measurement equals 0.3 inches or 3 decimal lines, written .3″ and read as Three-Line. The two most commonly referred to, due to their military use, are the Soviet 7.62 x 39 mm ("7.62 Soviet" or "7.62 short") and the 7.62 × 51 mm NATO, aka the .308 Winchester. The 7.62 x 54 mm R was first used in the Mosin-Nagant rifle in 1891. 7.62 mm refers to the diameter of the lands in the barrel (see article on rifling for description of lands). The actual bullet is normally .308 in (7.82 mm), although Soviet weapons commonly use a .310 in (7.87 mm) bullet, as do older British and Japanese cartridges.

Soviet

- 7.62 x 39 mm M43
- 7.62 x 25 mm TT
- 7.62 x 54 mm R

NATO

- 7.62 x 51 mm NATO

Assault rifle

). This version was adopted in 1982]] An assault rifle is a type of automatic rifle. They have been defined various ways, but they are generally understood to be selective fire rifles or carbines (depending on the particular firearm's size), using intermediate-powered ammunition. They can be considered a compromise between the more powerful light machineguns and the weaker submachine gun. Assault rifles are the standard small arm in most modern armies. The name is a literal translation of the German term Sturmgewehr, first applied to the Sturmgewehr 44 developed during WW2, and gradually became a popular term for this type of firearm. The term has since been retro-actively applied to earlier weapons with similar traits.

History

1900s to the 1930s: light automatic rifles using rifle cartridges

WW2 These automatic firearms used pre-existing rifle cartridges, kinetic energy ranged between 3000-5000 J, velocites of 750 to 900 m/s and bullets of 9 to 13 g. The first true assault rifle was probably the Italian-made Cei-Rigotti, which was developed around the beginning of the 20th century but never entered military service. The first service assault rifle was the Russian Federov Avtomat of 1916 chambered for the Japanese Arisaka 6.5×50 mm rifle cartridge, which due to supply problems was only used in small numbers. The Browning Automatic Rifle was a World War I era weapon that used a full power round. It was an automatic rifle by today's definition, and designed for single accurate shots and suppressive automatic fire. The weight of roughly 15 pounds (7 kg) meant that it was rather cumbersome for closer quarters. Later developments added heavier barrels and bipods that lent it to being used as more like today's light machine gun or squad automatic weapon though it did help establish the doctrine of use for light select fire rifles. The BAR was produced in large numbers, widely adopted, and served into the 1960s with the US military and other nations. While it did not use an intermediate cartridge, it was an intermediate weapon between the newly adopted submachine guns and heavier machine guns like the Lewis Gun.

1930s:automatic intermediate weapons

These automatic and semi-automatic firearms used new intermediate cartridges based on enhancing pistol ammunition or greatly reducing standard rifle ammunition Lewis Gun An attempt to provide soldiers with a rifle with an intermediate-power ammunition and heavier than submachine guns (too weak and with too short a range due to the pistol ammunition), but lighter than long rifles (uncomfortable to shoot, and difficult to control on full-automatic because of the powerful ammunition and more expensive to design and manufacture), by the Italian arms company Beretta resulted with its MAB 38 (Moschetto Automatico Beretta 1938). The MAB 38 used a Fiocchi 9M38 cartridge, a higher-powered 9 mm Parabellum, which could provide a longer range. The useful range was about 200 m, although it was declared at 500 m. The MAB 38 was a multipurpose weapon. In 1938, prior to World War 2, the U.S. introduced the M1 Carbine which was an intermediate power weapon. It was originally going to have automatic fire but this was dropped for the first version, though later in the war select fire variants were made (M2 and M3 Carbines). The M1 Carbine series had higher hitting power than submachine guns, but less than full size automatic rifles such as the BAR. The .30 Carbine ammunition has since been used with other weapons including submachine guns and pistols. The 18 inch barrel of the M1 gave the bullet a higher muzzle velocity than shorter barreled weapons that use it. The M1 Carbine series was designed for close-in engagements, a concept that would be re-applied again and again, but the M1 marked the first time that such an intermediate weapon would be mass produced in such large numbers. The M1 carbine series became the most produced US weapon of the war, with millions made. The M1 Carbine series would serve until replaced in the 1960s by the M16 rifle in the US military, but it continued to serve in some others.

1940s and 1950s: Maschinenkarabiner, Sturmgewehr, & the AK-47

These automatic firearms used new higher power intermediate cartridges with pointed bullets, using standard rifle calibers with reduced propellent loads and slightly lighter bullets. Kinetic energy ranged between 1400-2100J, velocities of 600-800m/s and bullets of 7-9g .30 Carbine Germany, like other countries, had studied the problem since World War I, and their factories made a variety of non-standard cartridges, so they had less incentive to remain with their existing calibers. At first they were still using the 8×57JS and 8mm Mauser. The 7.92×30 mm cartridge was the best of that production, and in 1941 it was improved to 7.92×33 mm Infanterie Kurz Patrone. In 1942 it was improved again as Maschinenkarabiner Patrone S and in 1943 Pistolen Patrone 43mE, then finally Infanterie Kurz Patrone 43. All these names follow the troubled creation of the Sturmgewehr 44. In 1942 Walther presented the Maschinenkarabiner (automatic carbine, abbr. MK), named MKb42(W). In the same year, Haenel presented the MKb42(H), designed by Hugo Schmeisser as a result of this program. Rheinmetall-Borsig (some said Krieghoff) presented its FG-42 (Fallschirmjaeger Gewehr 42) though this was in a different role, and using a heavy 8 x 57 mm cartridge (This weapon did not use an intermediate cartridge). The FG-42 was sponsored by Hermann Göring. War-time tests in Russia indicated the MKb42(H) was the best of the three. Schmeisser developed it first as the MP43, then MP43/1 and finally as the Stg 44. It immediately entered large scale production. More than 5,000 pieces had been produced by February 1944, 55,000 by the following November. The Soviet Union developed the AK-47, which was mechanically different but had a roughly similar paradigm. The round it fired was a 7.62×39 mm which had been developed during WW2 for a different weapon, but it was used in the AK as well. The round was similar to the Stg's bullet in that the bullet was of the same caliber as rifle ammunition, but with a slightly lighter bullet, less propellant and also with a pointed rather than rounded tip as in pistol ammunition. Pointed tips were a common feature on full power rifle rounds, since they were first adopted by the French in the late 1800s for their rifle. At the time of the standardization of NATO on the full size 7.62 mm cartridge, there had been dissenting voices calling for an intermediate size cartridge and the British had developed and put into limited service the EM2 bullpup design with a .280 inch round. The larger round carried the day and the EM2 was retired.

1960s and 1970s: lighter automatic weapons and lighter smaller bullets

These automatic firearms used intermediate cartridges with much lighter bullets and smaller calibers, but fired at very high velocity, kinetic energy ranged between 1300-1800J, velocities of 900-1050m/s, and bullets of 3-4g bullpup).The SIG fires Gw Pat.90, which has the same caliber as 5.56 mm NATO.]] Many nations continued the development of traditional high-powered rifles with ranges of 500 meters and beyond. Most designs of this period used low-caliber but high-velocity ammunition, with some experiments in flechettes and other exotic ammunition. Statistical studies of World War II battles performed by the U.S. Army revealed that infantry combat beyond 300 meters (325 yards) was rare. The Russians saw no reason to make a rifle that shot beyond a rifleman's ability to aim. Therefore a lighter, less-powerful cartridge could be effective. This permitted a lighter rifle and enabled troops to carry more ammunition, making them more autonomous. A greater amount of the lighter ammunition could be transported in the same amount of space. In addition, the smaller size and handiness of an assault rifle would benefit tank crews, support troops, and units with missions other than front-line combat. The 5.56 mm NATO cartridge was developed in the 1960s, and was adopted for use in the M16 assault rifle. The M16A1 version soon followed, then was replaced in 1982 by the M16A2. The Soviet Union also developed its own similar round, the 5.45×39mm, which was used in the AK-74, the successor of the AK-47. These rounds are usually considered less lethal then the previous generation of assault rifle rounds that fired larger rifle caliber ammunition with reduced propellant, but the smaller caliber and lighter bullets achieve higher velocities then even a hunting rifle bullet. These high speeds induce additional lethality through bullet shattering or expanding (the bullet is designed to expand or shatter when it hits the target), although these high speed rounds generally do not exceed the momentum of the heavier (but slower) bullets of the less sophisticated AK-47. Additionally, these newer rounds have the ability to tumble into the body much more quickly than heavy rounds causing serious wounds from a much smaller projectile.

1970s, 1980s, 1990s: new form factors and features

These automatic firearms usually used the same rounds, but used new form factors, materials, and added things like standard scopes AK-47). It was adopted in 1978]] The biggest change since adoption of high velocity rounds of 5 mm caliber and higher, has been designs that have new form factors, sights, electronics, and materials. A number of bullpup rifles, entered service in the late 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Although bullpup rifles had existed since the 1930s, Britain's EM2 was one of the few bullpup assault rifles prior to this time. Examples of the new trend include the FAMAS, Steyr AUG, and SA80. They were all bullpup rifles that made heavy use of composites and plastics with ambidextrous controls, and the latter both added a low power optical scope to the standard service version. The SAR-21, the Tavor TAR-21, and QBZ-95 follow a similar trend as well, with a bullpup configuration and heavy use of composites. The G36, adopted in the late 1990s by Spain and Germany was of the traditional configuration but also had integral scope and composite exterior. The XM8, developed from the G36 had similar features, but also added more electronics such as laser sight, round counter, and integral infrared laser and pointers. The trend in the new designs, and very likely future ones, is towards more integrated features and lighter weight with new materials and configurations. Introduction of a new ammunition would require retooling factories, phasing out conventional ammunition and in general infrastructure change that is considered by many military planners too expensive to undertake. Some have called for a reintroduction of larger caliber rounds to improve conventional lethality, or an increase in caliber in the 6-7 mm range, with rifle round velocities and lower mass bullets: a kind of intermediate philosophy between the smaller caliber-faster modern rounds and the standard caliber-slower rounds of the previous generation. China in the late 1980's introduced a 5.8×42mm round, with a initial velocity of 930m/s, 4.26g bullet and 1842j of energy, China claims the new round provides superior performace and lethality to the NATO and modern Soviet intermediate rounds. Development of a 4.73mm caseless ammunition and advanced assault rifle in the 1970-1980's by Germany was effectively halted by the German reunification in 1990, and that rifle never entered full production.

"Assault weapons"

Primarily in the United States, the term assault weapon is an arbitrary phrase used to describe a collection of semi-automatic firearms that have certain features, such as a folding stock or the ability to accept a detachable magazine of a capacity larger than ten rounds. It has been used primarily in relation to a specific expired gun law that was commonly known as the 'Assault Weapons Ban', 'Clinton gun ban', or '1994 crime bill'. It is a common misconception that this law restricted or banned weapons capable of fully automatic fire, such as assault rifles and machine guns. However, assault weapons are by legal definition not fully automatic weapons, and vice versa, and thus fully automatic weapons were unaffected by the ban, although they have been heavily restricted since the National Firearms Act of 1934. The term 'assault weapon' was previously (before the bill), and still is sometimes used to refer to fully automatic weapon; but no longer in any legal sense after the bill at the national level. Many states and localities still use the term assault weapon with a variety of variations following the California model loosely. See separate article on assault weapons for further information.

External links

- [http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/Assault.htm Assault Rifles and their Ammunition: History and Prospects] Category:Rifles
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Firearm

A firearm is a kinetic energy mechanical device that fires either single or multiple projectiles propelled at high velocity by the gases produced through rapid, confined burning of a propellant. This process of rapid burning is technically known as deflagration. In older firearms, this propellant was typically black powder, but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other propellants. The term gun is often used as a synonym for firearm, but in specialist use has a restricted sense—referring only to an artillery piece with a relatively high muzzle velocity and a relatively flat trajectory, such as a field gun, a tank gun, an anti-tank gun, or a naval gun. Guns are distinct from howitzers and mortars, which have lower muzzle velocities and higher trajectories. Hand-held firearms, like rifles, carbines, pistols and other small firearms are never called "guns" in the restricted sense. In recent centuries, firearms have become the predominant weapons used by mankind. Modern warfare since the late Renaissance has relied upon firearms, with wide-ranging effects on military history and history in general. For handguns and long guns, the projectile is a bullet or, in historical cannons, a cannonball. The projectile is fired by the burning of the propellant, but in small arms rarely contains explosives itself. For modern artillery the projectile is a shell, which nearly always contains explosives. A distinction is sometimes made between the projectile itself as the weapon and the firearm as a weapons platform. In some cases, the firearm can be used directly as a weapon without firing a projectile, although this is generally a secondary method of attack. For example, arms such as rifles, muskets, and occasionally submachine guns can have bayonets affixed to them, becoming in effect a spear or pike. With some notable exceptions, the stock of a long gun can be used as a club. It is also possible to strike someone with the barrel of a handgun or grasp it by the barrel and strike someone with the butt. This is called "pistol-whipping". A problem for firearms is the accumulation of waste products from the partial combustion of propellants, metallic residue from the bullet itself, and small flecks of the cartridge case. These waste products can interfere with the internal functions of the firearm. As a result, regularly used firearms must be periodically partially disassembled, cleaned and lubricated to ensure the weapon's reliability. There are two basic categories of firearms: artillery pieces and small arms. Small arms are generally small, very portable firearms with a barrel bore of up to approximately 0.50 inch (12.7 mm)and are aimed visually at their targets using sights. The range of accuracy for small arms is limited to about one mile (1600 m), usually considerably less. Artillery pieces are much larger, mounted on a movable carriage, having bores of up to 18 inches (46 cm) and possibly weighing many tons. Artillery can be accurate at ranges of up to about 26 miles (42 km) and, with some notable exceptions (e.g., tank guns), is aimed using altitude/azimuth settings. Strictly speaking, not all small arms are firearms, but it is the most convenient category under which to group them.

Small arms

Handguns

The smallest of all small arms is the handgun (or "sidearm"). Handguns with a single, fixed firing chamber are pistols; most pistols have a removable magazine so they can be used to fire several shots. The other most common handgun design is the revolver, which has a number of firing chambers in a revolving cylinder; each chamber in the cylinder is loaded with a single cartridge. Prior to the 19th century, all handguns were single-shot muzzleloaders. With the invention of the revolver in 1818, handguns capable of holding multiple rounds became popular. At the end of the 20th century, most handguns are semiautomatic, although revolvers are still widely used. Handguns come in many shapes and sizes. For example, the "derringer" (a generic term based on the mid-19th-century "Deringer" brand name) is a very small, short-barreled handgun, usually with one or two barrels but sometimes more (some 19th-century derringers had four barrels) that have to be manually reloaded after being fired. Carefully matched single-shot duelling pistols were used primarily in the 18th and 19th centuries to settle serious differences among "gentlemen": Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr are probably the most prominent Americans who used duelling pistols to settle their differences. Fully automatic, relatively easily concealed machine pistols, such as the MAC-10 and the Beretta 93R, were a late 20th-century development. Handguns are small and usually made to be easily concealed, thus making them a very common choice for personal protection. In the military, handguns are usually issued to those who are not expected to need more potent (and more expensive) weapons, such as general and staff officers, and to those for whom there is no room for a full-sized rifle, such as armored vehicle and air crews. In this last role, they often compete with the carbine, which is also usually issued to airborne infantry because of its small size. Outside the military, handguns are the usual armament for police (in those jurisdictions where police are armed) and, where legal, for private citizens. Private citizens in most jurisdictions usually carry only concealed handguns in public except when hunting, since an unconcealed weapon would attract undue attention, and would therefore be less secure, athough there are significant numbers of states in the US that continue to permit open carry of handguns. In the United States, the number of states which permit concealed carry has recently grown to over 35, and several states have well over 200,000 permit holders. Despite Second Amendment constitutional roots in the United States, the concept of citizens carrying a concealed weapon for self-defense is often a contentious political issue; see gun politics for more information. Handguns are also used for many sporting purposes and hunting, although hunting usage is usually viewed as somewhat atypical due to the limited range and accuracy of handguns. Some hunters however relish the increased challenge involved in handgun hunting due to the necessity of approaching the game animal more closely. Small-bore (e.g., .22 caliber) handguns have long been very popular for competitive target shooting, partially due to the low cost of both the weapons and the ammunition, and there is also a rapidly growing number of sporting competitions for larger calibers.

Long guns

Most modern long guns are either rifles or shotguns. Historically, a long smoothbore firearm was known as a musket. A rifle has a rifled barrel that fires single bullets, while a shotgun fires packets of shot, a single slug, a sabot, or a specialty round (tear gas, Bolo Shell, lead powder, etc.). Rifles are often built for accuracy and long range and are aimed, while shotguns are usually designed to quickly hit a moving target and are instead "pointed". Rifles have a very small impact area but a long range and high accuracy. Shotguns have a large impact area with considerably less range and accuracy. However, the larger impact area can compensate for reduced accuracy, since shot spreads during flight; consequently, in hunting, shotguns are used for flying game. Rifles and shotguns are commonly used for hunting and often to defend a home or place of business. Usually, large game are hunted with rifles (although shotguns can be used—deer hunting with a shotgun is possible with the use of buckshot, sabots or slugs) while birds are hunted with shotguns. Shotguns are sometimes preferred for defending a home or business due to their wide impact area, shorter range, and reduced penetration of walls, which significantly reduces the likelihood of unintended harm, although the handgun is also commonly preferred. Rifles have been in nationally featured marksmanship events in Europe and the United States since at least the 18th century, when rifles were first becoming widely available—one of the earliest purely "American" rifle-shooting competitions took place in 1775, when Daniel Morgan was recruiting sharpshooters in Virginia for the impending war with England. In some countries, rifle marksmanship is still a matter of national pride. Some specialized rifles in the larger calibers are claimed to have an accurate range of up to about one mile, although most have considerably less range. In the second half of the 20th century, competitive shotgun sports became perhaps even more popular than riflery, largely due to the motion and immediate feedback in activities such as skeet, trap and sporting clays.

Machine guns

A machine gun is a fully automatic firearm used almost exclusively by the military. Although not widely fielded until World War I, early machine guns were being used by the military in the late 19th century (e.g., the Gatling gun). They are primarily defensive weapons, mainly because of the difficulties involved in moving and placing them, and their inherent lack of accuracy. In contrast, light machine guns (such as the U.S. military's M249 Squad Automatic Weapon and the M60, both of which are small-caliber weapons) are often wielded by a single infantryman; they provide a high rate of fire typically used as either suppressing fire or covering fire during infantry movement. Machine guns are also often mounted on vehicles or helicopters, and have often been used since World War II as offensive weapons in fighter aircraft and tanks (e.g., for air combat or suppressing fire for ground troop support). A submachine gun is a machine gun that fires cartridges that would otherwise be used in a handgun. Probably the most well-known example of a submachine gun is the Thompson gun (the "Tommy Gun" of gangster movies), which fires .45 ACP cartridges. In United States law, a Machine Gun is defined (in part) by The National Firearms Act of 1934, United States code Title 26, Subtitle E, Chapter 53, Subchapter B, Part 1, § 5845 as: "... any weapon which shoots ... automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger." In the United States, purchases of machine guns manufactured after 1986 by civilians were banned by the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA), passed in that year. Importation of machine guns for civilian sale in the U.S. was banned by the Gun Control Act of 1968. Machine guns manufactured prior to 1986 or imported prior to 1968 can still be legally transferred to civilians who pay a substantial tax to the BATFE and pass a background investigation. In addition, "transferable" machine guns must have been registered with the BATFE prior to 1986. Machine Gun parts kits (which do not include a functional receiver) can be transferred without restriction. Permission must be received from BATFE to move a machine gun between states. One of the most popular, most produced and most used machine guns in the world is the Soviet AK-47. It served in the Soviet army as standard infantry weapon issue, as well as in many other east-block states. It is still used as standard military equipment in some former Warsaw Pact countries, as well as being used by many criminal or terrorist organisations worldwide.

Loading and firing mechanisms

Cannon

The cannon is loaded with gunpowder and the cannonball through the muzzle, while a fuse is placed at the rear. This fuse is lighted, causing the gunpowder to ignite and propel the cannonball. Most cannons were land- or ship-based guns, although hand cannons also existed. In military use, the standard cannon was tremendously powerful, while hand cannon was somewhat useless. In the 19th century, the muzzle-loaded cannon was made obsolete by the breech-loaded artillery piece with a rifled barrel.

Muzzleloader

Muzzle-loading muskets (smooth-bored long guns) were among the first small arms developed. The firearm was loaded through the muzzle with gunpowder, optionally some wadding and then a bullet (usually a solid lead ball, but musketeers could shoot stones when they ran out of bullets). Greatly improved muzzleloaders (usually rifled instead of smooth-bored) are manufactured today and have many enthusiasts, many of whom hunt large and small game with their guns. Muzzleloaders have to be manually reloaded after each shot; a skilled archer could fire multiple arrows faster than most early muskets could be reloaded and fired, although by the mid-18th century, when muzzleloaders became the standard small armament of the military, a well-drilled soldier could fire six rounds in a minute using prepared cartridges in his musket. Before then, effectiveness of muzzleloaders was hindered by both the low reloading speed and, before the firing mechanism was perfected, the very high risk posed by the weapon to the person attempting to fire it. One interesting solution to the reloading problem was the "Roman Candle Gun". This was a muzzleloader in which multiple charges and balls were loaded one on top of the other, with a small hole in each ball to allow the subsequent charge to be ignited after the one ahead of it was ignited. It was neither a very reliable nor popular firearm, but it enabled a form of "automatic" fire long before the advent of the machine gun. http://www.scotwars.com/html/equip_firearms2.htm#3

Matchlock

Matchlocks were the first and simplest small arms firing mechanisms developed. Using the matchlock mechanism, the powder in the gun barrel was ignited by a piece of burning cord called a "match". The match was wedged into one end of an S-shaped piece of steel. As the trigger (often actually a lever) was pulled, the match was brought into the open end of a "touch hole" at the base of the gun barrel, which contained a very small quantity of gunpowder, igniting the main charge of gunpowder in the gun barrel. The match usually had to be relit after each firing.

Wheellock

The wheellock action, a successor to the matchlock, predated the flintlock. Despite its many faults, the wheellock was a significant improvement over the matchlock in terms of both convenience and safety, since it eliminated the need to keep a smoldering match in close proximity to loose gunpowder. It operated using a small wheel much like that on cigarette lighters which was wound up with a key before use and which, when the trigger was pulled, spun against a flint, creating the shower of sparks that ignited the powder in the touch hole. Supposedly invented by Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian Renaissance man, the wheel lock action was an innovation that was not widely adopted.

Flintlock

The flintlock action was a major innovation in small arms design. The spark used to ignite the gunpowder in the touch hole was supplied by a sharpened piece of flint clamped in the jaws of a "cock" which, when released by the trigger, struck a piece of steel called the "frizzen" to create the necessary sparks. (The spring loaded arm that holds a piece of flint or pyrite is refered to as a cock because of its resemblance to a rooster.) The cock had to be manually reset after each firing, and the flint had to be replaced periodically due to wear from striking the frizzen. (See also flintlock mechanism, snaphance, miquelet) The flintlock was widely used during the 18th and 19th centuries in both muskets and rifles.

Percussion cap

Percussion caps (caplock mechanisms), coming into wide service in the 19th century, were a dramatic improvement over flintlocks. With the percussion cap mechanism, the small primer charge of gunpowder used in all preceding small arms was replaced by a completely self-contained explosive charge contained in a small brass "cap". The cap was fastened to the touch hole of the gun (extended to form a "nipple") and ignited by the impact of the gun's "hammer". (The hammer is roughly the same as the cock found on flintlocks except that it doesn't clamp onto anything.) In the case of percussion caps the hammer was hollow on the end to fit around the cap in order to keep the cap from fragmenting and injuring the shooter. Once struck, the flame from the cap in turn ignited the main charge of gunpowder, as with the flintlock, but there was no longer any need to charge the touch hole with gunpowder, and even better, the touch hole was no longer exposed to the elements. As a result, the percussion cap mechanism was considerably safer, far more weatherproof, and vastly more reliable (cloth-bound cartridges containing a premeasured charge of gunpowder and a ball had been in regular military service for many years, but the exposed gunpowder in the entry to the touch hole had long been a source of misfires). All muzzleloaders manufactured since the second half of the 19th century use percussion caps except those built as replicas of the flintlock or earlier small arms.

Cartridges

A major innovation in small arms (and light artillery) came in the second half of the 19th century when ammunition, previously delivered as separate bullets and powder, was combined in a single metallic (almost always brass) cartridge containing a percussion cap, powder, and a bullet in one weatherproof package. Before this, a "cartridge" was simply a premeasured quantity of gunpowder together with a ball in a small cloth bag, which also acted as wadding for the charge and ball. This early form of cartridge had to be rammed into the muzzleloader's barrel, and either a small charge of gunpowder in the touch hole or an external percussion cap mounted on the touch hole ignited the gunpowder in the cartridge. Cartridges with built-in percussion caps (called "primers") continue to this day to be the standard in firearms. In cartridge-firing firearms, a hammer (or a firing pin struck by the hammer) strikes the cartridge primer, which then ignites the gunpowder within. The primer charge is at the base of the cartridge, either within the rim (a "rimfire" cartridge) or in a small percussion cap embedded in the center of the base (a "centerfire" cartridge). As a rule, centerfire cartridges are more powerful than rimfire cartridges, containing more gunpowder and (usually) larger diameter bullets. Caseless cartridges are now being explored: instead of using brass as the cartridge case, these would hold the cartridge together with paper or some other substance that is destroyed when the gun is fired, eliminating the problem of brass casings ejecting and littering the ground. Caseless cartridges and the guns that would use them are still prototypes, although the idea of caseless cartridges can be traced to the musket "cartridges" widely used by the 18th-century military. Nearly all contemporary firearms load cartridges directly into their breech. Some additionally or exclusively load from a magazine that holds multiple cartridges. A magazine is a box or cylinder that is designed to be reusable and is detachable from the gun. Some magazines, such as those of the Garand are loaded by using a clip, which is a device that looks like a rail holding the ammunition by the case base. In most cases, a magazine and a clip are different in that the former's function is to feed ammunition into the firearm's breech, while the latter's is only to "charge" a magazine with fresh ammunition.

Repeating, semiautomatic, and automatic weapons

Many small arms are "single shot" firearms: i.e., each time a cartridge is fired, the operator must manually recock the firearm and load another cartridge. A firearm that can load multiple cartridges as the weapon is recocked is considered a repeating weapon or simply a "repeater". A firearm that automatically recocks and reloads the next round with each trigger pull is considered a semiautomatic weapon. An automatic (or "fully automatic") weapon is one that automatically recocks, reloads, and refires as long as the trigger is depressed. Many modern military firearms have a "selective-fire" option, which is a mechanical switch that allows the weapon be fired either in the semiautomatic or fully automatic mode. In the current M16A2 and M16A4 variants of the U.S.-made M16, continuous full-automatic fire is not possible, having been replaced by an automatic burst of three cartridges that makes full-automatic fire considerably more accurate. It is sometimes debated which is the "best" military small arm, the former Soviet Union's 7.62x39mm- Kalashnikov AK-47 or the U.S.-manufactured .223-caliber M16: the highly reliable and inexpensive but heavy and bulky AK-47 has been widely adopted by many small countries, including many current and former Communist nations. The much lighter and far more accurate M16 (and its .223 cartridge in particular) has found wide adoption among NATO members and military allies of the United States (see also AK-47 vs. M16). The first "rapid firing" weapons were usually similar to the 19th-century Gatling gun, which would fire cartridges from a magazine as fast as and as long as the operator turned a crank. Eventually, the "rapid" firing mechanism was perfected and miniaturized to the extent that either the recoil of the firearm or the gas pressure from firing could be used to operate it (which made the firing mechanisms truly "automatic"). Automatic rifles such as the Browning Automatic Rifle (the "BAR") were in common use by the military during the early part of the 20th century, and automatic rifles that fired handgun rounds, known as submachine guns, also appeared in this time. Submachine guns (such as the well-known Thompson gun) were originally about the size of carbines. In the latter half of the 20th century, submachine guns were being miniaturized to the point of being only slightly larger than some large handguns. The most widely used submachine gun at the end of the 20th century was the Heckler & Koch MP5. The MP5 is actually designated as a "machine pistol" by Heckler & Koch (MP5 stands for Machine Pistol 5), although some reserve this designation for even smaller submachine guns such as the MAC-10, which are about the size and shape of pistols. Nazi Germany brought the world's attention to what eventually became the class of weapon most widely adopted by the military: the so-called assault rifle. An assault rifle is usually slightly smaller than a military rifle such as the M1 Garand but has selective fire (civilian assault rifle look-alikes are strictly semiautomatic). Soviet engineer Mikhail Kalashnikov quickly adapted the concept to the AK-47, which has become the world's most widely used assault rifle. In United States, John Garand, the inventor of the M1 Garand rifle used by the U.S. military during World War II, adapted the assault rifle design to produce the M14, which was used by the U.S. military until the 1960s. The significant recoil (hence inaccuracy) of the M14 when fired in full automatic mode was seen as a problem, however, and in the 1960s it was replaced by Eugene Stoner's AR-15, which also marked a switch from the high-powered but heavy .30-caliber rifle used by the U.S. military since World War I to the much smaller but far lighter and light recoiling (more accurate) .223-caliber rifle. The military later redesignated the AR-15 as the "M16". The civilian version of the M16 continues to be known as the AR-15 and looks exactly like the military version, although it is strictly a semiautomatic firearm.

5.56 x 45mm NATO

History

Performance

5.56 NATO vs .223 Remington

Comparison of 5.56 vs. 7.62 NATO

Use

Sources & External links

See also

STANAG

External link

Rifle

Overview

History

History of design

History of use

See also

Kinds of rifles

External links

NATO

Purpose

History

Chronology of events

Member states

Founding members (April 4, 1949)

States that joined during the Cold War

Former Eastern Bloc states that joined after the Cold War

Non-member states

Partner countries

NATO-Russia Council

Structures

Political structure

Organisational structure

Secretaries General

Military structure

Debate about its future

See also

Notes

See also

External links

Cartridge

7.62 mm

Soviet

NATO

See also

Assault rifle

History

1900s to the 1930s: light automatic rifles using rifle cartridges

1930s:automatic intermediate weapons

1940s and 1950s: Maschinenkarabiner, Sturmgewehr, & the AK-47

1960s and 1970s: lighter automatic weapons and lighter smaller bullets

1970s, 1980s, 1990s: new form factors and features

"Assault weapons"

See also

External links

Firearm

Small arms

Handguns

Long guns

Machine guns

Loading and firing mechanisms

Cannon

Muzzleloader

Matchlock

Wheellock

Flintlock

Percussion cap

Cartridges

Repeating, semiautomatic, and automatic weapons

See also

See also

Gun technology and science

Guns and society

Gun-related terminology

Lists of weapons

Types

WW II Era

Other