147-656: The SS1 (short for Senapan Serbu 1 , lit. ' Assault Rifle 1 ' ) is the standard assault rifle of the Indonesian armed forces and Indonesian National Police . It is based on the FN FNC rifle but modified in order to meet ergonomic and tropical environment needs. The assault rifles are gas-operated automatic carbines with a foldable butt and are designed to meet the NATO standard. SS1 weapons are high performance light individual weapons that have been used by
294-562: A 20-round magazine. The 5.56 mm round had to penetrate a standard U.S. helmet at 460 metres (500 yd) and retain a velocity in excess of the speed of sound, while matching or exceeding the wounding ability of the .30 Carbine cartridge. This request ultimately resulted in the development of a scaled-down version of the ArmaLite AR-10 , called the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle. However, despite overwhelming evidence that
441-470: A 3× magnified telescopic sight and an unmagnified reflex sight mounted on top of the telescopic sight. Widely distributed, it has been adopted by over 40 countries and prompted other nations to develop similar composite designs, such as the FX-05 Xiuhcoatl . Colt%27s Manufacturing Company Colt's Manufacturing Company, LLC ( CMC , formerly Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company )
588-652: A Sturmgewehr was demonstrated before the People's Commissariat of Arms of the USSR . The Soviets were so impressed with the Sturmgewehr that they immediately set about developing an intermediate caliber automatic rifle of their own to replace the badly outdated Mosin–Nagant bolt-action rifles and PPSh-41 submachine guns that armed most of the Red Army. The Soviets soon developed the 7.62×39mm M43 cartridge, which
735-623: A co-production facility for M16A1 rifles. Both Colt Industries and Lockheed Aircraft Corporation submitted proposals. By 13 December 1977, the Defense Security Assistance Agency (DSAA) was processing Colt’s request for an export license. At year’s end, the DSAA awaited contract details to draft a Memorandum of Understanding for approval by the Secretary of State and Congress . On 23 August 1978, Indonesia invited
882-466: A concept favored politically, but that had little interest or support among handgun owners or police departments. This research never produced any meaningful results due to the limited technology at the time. Colt announced the termination of its production of double-action revolvers in October 1999. The boycott of Colt gradually faded out after William M. Keys , a retired U.S. Marine Lt. General, took
1029-575: A design for a semiautomatic pistol , which debuted as the Colt M1900 pistol and eventually evolved into the M1911 . Prior to America's entry into the war, orders from Canada and the United Kingdom swelled the backlog of orders to three years. Colt hired 4,000 more workers, making a total of 10,000 employees—and its stock's price increased by 400%. By 1918, Colt had produced and sold 425,500 of
1176-722: A few years. Colt historian RL Wilson has described this as the major blunder of Sam Colt's professional life. Rollin White left Colt's in December 1854 and registered a patent on April 3, 1855, in Hartford, Connecticut, as patent number 12,648: Improvement in Repeating Fire-arms . On November 17, 1856, White signed an agreement with Smith & Wesson for the exclusive use of his patent. The contract stipulated that White would be paid 25 cents for every revolver, but that it
1323-518: A fire destroyed most of the factory, including arms, machinery, plans, and factory records. On September 1, 1865, Root died, leaving the company in the hands of Samuel Colt's brother-in-law, Richard Jarvis . The company's vice-president was William B. Franklin , who had recently left the Army at the end of the Civil War. With the Civil War over and having no new military contracts, Colt's Manufacturing
1470-578: A firearm must have at least the following characteristics to be considered an assault rifle: Rifles that meet most of these criteria, but not all, are not assault rifles according to the U.S. Army's definition. For example: In the United States, selective-fire rifles are legally defined as " machine guns ", and civilian ownership of those has been tightly regulated since 1934 under the National Firearms Act and since 1986 under
1617-592: A large flash suppressor had to be fitted". "Nevertheless, as a short-range weapon it is quite adequate and thus, [despite] its caliber, [the Colt Commando ] is classed as a submachine gun." Other compact assault rifles, such as the HK53 , AKS-74U and the Daewoo K1 , have been made and they have also been called submachine guns. In 1977, Austria introduced the 5.56×45mm Steyr AUG bullpup rifle, often cited as
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#17327725752361764-592: A large number of M1917 water-cooled machineguns . The company had a workforce of 15,000 men and women in three factories and production ran on three shifts, 24 hours a day, and won the Army-Navy rating of "E" for excellence. Colt ranked 99th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts. However, the company was losing money every year due to mismanagement, an embittered workforce that had been stretched to its limits, and manufacturing methods which were becoming obsolete. As
1911-485: A lighter 125-grain bullet, which limited range but allowed for more controllable automatic fire. A smaller, lighter cartridge also allowed soldiers to carry more ammunition "to support the higher consumption rate of automatic fire". The Sturmgewehr 44 features an inexpensive, easy-to-make, stamped steel design and a 30-round detachable box magazine. This weapon was the prototype of all successful automatic rifles. Characteristically (and unlike previous rifles) it had
2058-465: A magazine capacity of 30 rounds chambered in 5.56x45 mm caliber with Safe-Semi-Auto firing modes. The SS-77 assault rifle design includes both a standard long-barreled version and a carbine (short-barreled) variant with a folding stock. In 1978, 150 prototypes with foldable stock were produced, 30 were sent to the Army Research and Development Service (Dislitbangad) for testing purposes. In 1979,
2205-512: A modular design with a wide range of accessories (telescoping butt-stocks, optics, bi-pods, etc.) that could be easily removed and arranged in a variety of configurations. The adoption of the M16, the H&;K33, and the 5.56×45mm cartridge inspired an international trend towards relatively small-sized, lightweight, high-velocity military service cartridges that allow a soldier to carry more ammunition for
2352-416: A name other than Colt. Samuel Stone acquired a firm that manufactured plastics and renamed it "Colt rock" as well as a company that manufactured electrical products. Colt weathered the financial crises of the time by cutting the work week, reducing salaries, and keeping more employees on the payroll than they needed. These measures kept the company in business but ate up the cash surplus they had acquired during
2499-507: A polymer-framed, rotating-barrel, 9×19mm handgun with a magazine capacity of 15 rounds. It was designed by Reed Knight, with parts manufactured by outside vendors and assembled by Colt; its execution was disastrous. Early models were plagued with inaccuracy and unreliability and suffered from the poor publicity of a product recall. The product launch failed and production of the All American 2000 ended in 1994. This series of events led to
2646-636: A rear-loader) but also started, as of 1858, to convert cap & ball percussion guns into rear-loaders, even with formerly Colt manufactured revolvers. But the Colt's company itself was prevented by American laws from infringing the Rollin White patent and all along the 1850s and 1860s continued manufacturing percussion guns. In 1860 it produced a new revolver model for the United States Army . This Colt Army Model 1860 appeared just in time for
2793-450: A renewed focus on product development. This resulted in the M4 carbine and Colt 22 pistol, two of the most successful new product offerings in the late 1990s, capturing 50% market shares in the first year of production. The 1990s brought the end of Cold War , which resulted in a large downturn for the entire defense industry. Colt was hit by this downturn, though it would be made worse later in
2940-557: A serial-number range 5800 to 7900. In November 1865, Franklin had attempted to purchase a license to the Rollin White patent from competitor Smith & Wesson. White and Smith & Wesson would take no less than $ 1.1 million, but Franklin and Colt's directors decided it was too large an investment on a patent that would expire in 1868. In the meantime, Colt turned its attention to manufacturing goods other than firearms, such as watches, sewing machines, typewriters and bicycles. In 1868 Rollin White requested an extension to his patent, but
3087-478: A significant advantage over enemies armed primarily with bolt-action rifles. Although U.S. Army studies of World War II combat accounts had very similar results to that of the Germans and Soviets, the U.S. Army failed to recognize the importance of the assault rifle concept, and instead maintained its traditional views and preference for high-powered semi-automatic rifles. At the time, the U.S. Army believed that
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#17327725752363234-470: A small-caliber, high-velocity cartridge. Senior American commanders had faced fanatical enemies and experienced major logistical problems during World War II and the Korean War, and insisted that a single powerful .30 caliber cartridge be developed, that could be used by the new automatic rifle, and also by the new general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) in concurrent development. This culminated in
3381-478: A solution. The Richards conversion was performed on the Colt 1860 Army revolver. The caliber was .44 Colt and the loading lever was replaced by an ejector rod. This conversion added a breech plate with a firing pin and a rear sight mounted on the breechplate. Cartridges were loaded into the cylinder one at a time via a loading gate. Colt manufactured 9000 of these revolvers between 1873 and 1878. In 1873, Colt performed
3528-439: A straight stock with the barrel under the gas cylinder to reduce the turning moment of recoil of the rifle in the shoulder and thus help reduce the tendency of shots to climb in automatic fire. The barrel and overall length were shorter than a traditional rifle and it had a pistol grip to hold the weapon more securely in automatic fire. "The principle of this weapon—the reduction of muzzle impulse to get usable automatic fire within
3675-404: A subsidiary of New Colt Holding Corp, LLC. In 2013 Colt Defense acquired New Colt Holding Corp., in part to protect a licensing agreement set to expire in 2014, where Colt's Manufacturing sold sporting rifles marketed to consumers that were manufactured by Colt Defense. This formed a single company to develop, manufacture and sell firearms under the Colt name for all markets for the first time since
3822-422: A village near the factory away from the tenements which he named Coltsville and modeled the homes after a village near Potsdam . In an effort to stem the flooding from the river he planted German osiers , a type of willow tree in a 2-mile long dike. He subsequently built a factory to manufacture wicker furniture made from these trees. The 1850s were a decade of phenomenal success for the new Colt corporation. Colt
3969-597: Is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the heavier G3. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3. The G36 is gas-operated and feeds from a 30-round detachable box magazine or 100-round C-Mag drum magazine . The G36 was made with the extensive use of lightweight, corrosion-resistant synthetic materials in its design;
4116-594: Is a 7.62×51mm, selective fire, automatic rifle produced by the Belgian armaments manufacturer Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN). During the Cold War it was adopted by many North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, most notably with the British Commonwealth as the semi-automatic L1A1 . It is one of the most widely used rifles in history, having been used by more than 90 countries. The FAL
4263-413: Is an American firearms manufacturer , founded in 1855 by Samuel Colt that has become a subsidiary of Czech holding company Colt CZ Group . It is the successor corporation to Colt's earlier firearms-making efforts, which started in 1836. Colt is known for the engineering, production, and marketing of firearms, especially during the century from 1850 through World War I , when it dominated its industry and
4410-679: Is as follows: Then the possibility of further production in Pindad was evaluated. From the test results, three strong candidates emerged: HK33 , M16A1 , and the FNC . While the HK33 was the top choice, its use of a delayed blowback system instead of a gas-operated mechanism (a must requirement by Indonesia), complex and expensive technology, and certain components (especially the barrel) made local production unfeasible, certain components also have to be supplied from Germany especially rollers. Consequently,
4557-474: Is generally considered the first selective fire military rifle to popularize the assault rifle concept. Today, the term assault rifle is used to define firearms sharing the same basic characteristics as the StG 44. The U.S. Army defines assault rifles as "short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between submachine gun and rifle cartridges." In this strict definition,
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4704-618: The AK-47 and the M16 designs and their derivatives. The term assault rifle is generally attributed to Adolf Hitler , who used the German word Sturmgewehr (which translates to "assault rifle") as the new name for the MP 43 ( Maschinenpistole ) , subsequently known as the Sturmgewehr 44 . Allied propaganda suggested that the name was chosen for propaganda purposes, but the main purpose
4851-575: The American Civil War . The New York Daily Tribune denounced Colt and his company by asserting, “the traitors have found sympathizers among us, men base enough to sell arms when they knew they would be... in the hands of the deadly enemies of the Union... Col. Colt’s manufactory can turn probably 1,000 a week and has been doing so for the past four months for the South.” This article even chided
4998-595: The British Army placed an order for 5,000 of these revolvers for army issue. Despite a following order later in the year for an additional 9,000 revolvers, Colt failed to convince the British to adopt his revolver as the issue sidearm for the army. Colt began to realize that British sales were failing to meet his expectations. Unable to justify the London factory's expenses, Colt closed the London factory in 1856. Over
5145-681: The Colt Armory in 1855, a manor that he called Armsmear in 1856, and employee tenement housing. He established a ten-hour day for employees, installed washing stations in the factory, mandated a one-hour lunch break, and built the Charter Oak Hall, a club where employees could enjoy games, newspapers, and discussion rooms. Colt ran his plant with a military-like discipline, he would fire workers for tardiness, sub-par work or even suggesting improvements to his designs. In an attempt to attract skilled German workers to his plant, Colt built
5292-476: The Colt Commando family, and the M4 carbine . In 2002, Colt Defense was split off from Colt's Manufacturing Company. Colt's Manufacturing Company served the civilian market, while Colt Defense served the law enforcement, military, and private security markets worldwide. The two companies remained in the same West Hartford, Connecticut location cross-licensing certain merchandise before reuniting in 2013. Following
5439-601: The Colt M1877 . Following this, he once again teamed up with Richards to produce a larger-framed version, the Colt M1878 Frontier. It was Colt's first large-frame, double-action revolver. It combined the front end of the Single Action Army revolver with a double-action, 6-shot frame mechanism. It was available commercially in numerous calibers. The 1870s and 1880s provided sales opportunity to
5586-630: The Colt Single Action Army , the Colt Python , and the Colt M1911 pistol, which is the longest-standing military and law enforcement service handgun in the world and is still used. Though they did not develop it, for a long time Colt was also primarily responsible for all AR-15 and M16 rifle production, as well as many derivatives of those firearms. The most successful and famous of these are numerous M16 carbines, including
5733-545: The Colt Walker , ensuring Colt's continuance in manufacturing revolvers. In 1848, Colt was able to start again with a new business of his own, and 1855, he converted it into a corporation under the name of Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company in Hartford, Connecticut. Colt purchased a large tract of land beside the Connecticut River , where he built his first factory in 1848, a larger factory called
5880-493: The Firearm Owners Protection Act . However, the term "assault rifle" is often conflated with " assault weapon ", a U.S. legal category with varying definitions which includes many semi-automatic weapons. This use has been described as incorrect and a misapplication of the term. The 1890s Cei-Rigotti prototype was built to fire the fully powered 7.65×53mm Mauser and the weaker 6.5×52mm Carcano , it
6027-518: The Gatling Gun , capable of firing 800–900 .30 Army rounds per minute and used with great effect at the Battle of San Juan Hill . The M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun or "Potato Digger" was built by Colt. The Colt–Browning was one of the first gas-operated machine guns, originally invented by John Browning. It became the first automatic machine gun adopted by the United States and saw limited use by
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6174-530: The Great Exhibition of 1851 at Hyde Park, London and ingratiated himself by presenting cased engraved Colt revolvers to such appropriate officials as Britain's Master General of the Ordnance. At one exhibit Colt disassembled ten guns and reassembled ten guns using different parts from different guns. As the world's leading proponent of mass production techniques, Colt went on to deliver a lecture on
6321-635: The M9 Pistol . The Colt OHWS handgun was beaten by H&K for what became the MK23 SOCOM , it was lighter than the H&K entry but lost in performance. Colt did not get to compete for the XM8 since it was not an open competition. Current M16 rifles have been made primarily by FN USA since 1988. However, Colt remained the sole source for M4 carbines for the US military. Under their license agreement with Colt,
6468-639: The Patent Arms Manufacturing Company of Paterson, New Jersey, Colt's Patent . The first firearm manufactured at the new Paterson plant, however, was the Colt First Model Ring Lever rifle beginning in 1837. This was followed shortly thereafter in late 1837 by the introduction of the Colt Paterson . This corporation suffered quality problems in production. Making firearms with interchangeable parts
6615-603: The Rollin White patent by utilizing a unique cartridge. Colt continued to produce the .41 Short derringer after the acquisition, as an effort to help break into the metallic-cartridge gun market, but also introduced its own three Colt Derringer Models, all of them also chambered in a .41 rimfire unique cartridge. The last model to be in production, the third Colt Derringer, was not dropped until 1912. The first metallic cartridge breech-loading weapons sold by Colt's were those Derringers, in 1870, that were formerly conceived by
6762-772: The Russian Empire and later in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic . A total of 3,200 Fedorov rifles were manufactured between 1915 and 1924 in the city of Kovrov ; the vast majority of them were made after 1920. The weapon saw limited combat in World War I , but was used more substantially in the Russian Civil War and in the Winter War . Some consider it to be an "early predecessor" or "ancestor" of
6909-572: The Type 56 ). As a result, more AK-type weapons have been produced than all other assault rifles combined. As of 2004, "of the estimated 500 million firearms worldwide, approximately 100 million belong to the Kalashnikov family, three-quarters of which are AK-47s." The U.S. Army was influenced by combat experience with semi-automatic weapons such as the M1 Garand and M1 Carbine , which enjoyed
7056-482: The 15,000 units between April 1921 and March 1922. The stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression resulted in a slowing down of production for Colt. In anticipation of this, company presidents William C. Skinner and Samuel M. Stone implemented a diversification program similar to that done at the close of the American Civil War . Colt acquired contracts for business machines, calculators, dishwashers, motorcycles, and automobiles; all marketed under
7203-520: The 1960s other countries would follow the Americans' lead and begin to develop 5.56×45mm assault rifles, most notably Germany with the Heckler & Koch HK33 . The HK33 was essentially a smaller 5.56mm version of the 7.62×51mm Heckler & Koch G3 rifle. As one of the first 5.56mm assault rifles on the market, it would go on to become one of the most widely distributed assault rifles. The HK33 featured
7350-508: The 1970s, Finland, Israel, and South Africa introduced AK type assault rifles in 5.56×45mm. Sweden began the transition with trails in 1981 and full adaptation in 1986. During the 1990s, Russia developed the AK-101 in 5.56×45mm NATO for the world export market. In addition, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Yugoslavia (i.e., Serbia) have also rechambered their locally produced assault rifles to 5.56mm NATO. The AK-74 assault rifle
7497-480: The 1990s by a boycott by the shooting public in America. In 1994, the assets of Colt were purchased by Zilkha & Co, a financial group owned by Donald Zilkha . It was speculated that Zilkha's financial backing of the company enabled Colt to begin winning back military contracts. In fact, during the time period it won only one contract, the M4 carbine . However, the U.S. military had been purchasing Colt carbines for
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#17327725752367644-488: The 5.56×45mm FAMAS bullpup rifle. In 1985, the British introduced the 5.56×45mm L85 bullpup rifle. In the late 1990s, Israel introduced the 5.56mm NATO Tavor TAR-21 . In 1997, China adopted the QBZ-95 in the new 5.8×42mm cartridge, which they claim is superior to both the 5.56×45mm and the 5.45×39mm. By the turn of the century, the bullpup assault rifle design had achieved worldwide acceptance. The Heckler & Koch G36
7791-467: The 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge has become not only the NATO standard but "the standard assault-rifle cartridge in much of the world". It also led to the development of small-caliber high-velocity service rifles by every major army in the world, including the USSR and People's Republic of China. Today, many small arms experts consider the M16 the standard by which all other assault rifles are judged. During
7938-416: The 5.56×45mm cartridge. This shift represented a change in the philosophy of the military's long-held position about caliber size. By the middle of the 1970s, other armies were looking at assault rifle-type weapons. A NATO standardization effort soon started and tests of various rounds were carried out starting in 1977. The U.S. offered the 5.56×45mm M193 round, but there were concerns about its penetration in
8085-627: The AK-47 and the M14 ("assault rifle" vs "battle rifle") came in the early part of the Vietnam War . Battlefield reports indicated that the M14 was uncontrollable in full-auto and that soldiers could not carry enough ammunition to maintain fire superiority over the AK-47. And, while the M2 Carbine offered a high rate of fire, it was under-powered and ultimately outclassed by the AK-47. A replacement
8232-444: The AR-15 could bring more firepower to bear than the M14, the Army opposed the adoption of the new rifle. In January 1963, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara concluded that the AR-15 was the superior weapon system and ordered a halt to M14 production. At the time, the AR-15 was the only rifle available that could fulfill the requirement of a universal infantry weapon for issue to all services. After modifications (most notably,
8379-402: The Astros. The 1980s were fairly good years for Colt, but the coming end of the Cold War would change all that. Colt had long left innovation in civilian firearms to their competitors, feeling that the handgun business could survive on their traditional revolver and M1911 designs. Instead, Colt focused on the military market, where they held the primary contracts for the production of rifles for
8526-420: The Belgian FNC , the Swiss SIG SG 540 , the Austrian Steyr , and the Pietro Beretta AR70 . Chief of Staff of the Army 's order in May 1978 to the Commanding General (Danjen) of the Education and Training Development Command (Kobangdiklat) to form a trial team, consisting of related elements, namely: the trials included: The trial results are based on the assessment criteria and the assessment sequence
8673-420: The Colt company via the spread of European-American society ever further westward across the continent, and the demand for firearms that it engendered in various ways. As white Americans displaced Indians from the Indian Territory , both sides were eager for firearms. On the white side, both the U.S. Army and civilians were customers of Colt. The Army carried Colt revolvers through the last of its Indian Wars . On
8820-456: The Federal Government for not taking action against Colt: “Every man who makes arms should be watched, and if he will not work for a fair equivalent for the Government, his manufactory should be taken away from him.” Despite secession and growing tensions between the North and the South, “Colt’s sales to Alabama, Virginia, Georgia, and Mississippi in 1860 alone were at least $ 61,000 (today’s equivalent of about 3.35 million).” Until just days before
8967-417: The Indian side, Colt weapons were captured when possible, or bought from whoever was selling. Even among whites in towns where Indians had been vanquished, a thriving demand for guns existed, from the criminals to the police to self-defending civilians. Memoirs of Americans including Walter Chrysler and Jack Black speak of what it was like growing up in Western towns where most people had guns and open carry
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#17327725752369114-470: The Indonesian armed forces, including the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as police. It was adopted into Indonesian service in 1991. It is currently being phased out and replaced by the Pindad SS2 . The SS1 would possibly be used by reserve or paramilitary forces when the SS2 is fully adopted into service. The SS1 is manufactured by PT Pindad , Bandung , Indonesia under the license from Fabrique Nationale , Belgium. In 1976 from experiences gained in
9261-512: The Indonesian military, Pindad secured a license in 1984 from FN to manufacture the FNC. Indonesia adopted the SS1s into official service by 1991. A 2009 seizure of Pindad SS1 rifles alongside P2 pistols in the Philippines has led to a special investigation on Pindad on whether weapon smuggling did take place. The Indonesian government, in response, made preparations to form a special agency to handle all overseas trade. The Ministry of State Enterprises conducted an investigation against Pindad over
9408-407: The M1 Garand proved disappointing. During the Korean War , the select-fire M2 Carbine largely replaced the submachine gun in U.S. service and became the most widely used Carbine variant. Combat experience suggested that the .30 Carbine round was under-powered. American weapons designers reached the same conclusion as the German and Soviet ones: an intermediate round was necessary, and recommended
9555-425: The Mulhouse facility between 1946 and 1949. Vorgrimler later went to work at CETME in Spain and developed the line of CETME automatic rifles based on his improved StG 45 design. Germany eventually purchased the license for the CETME design and manufactured the Heckler & Koch G3 as well as an entire line of weapons built on the same system, one of the most famous being the MP5 SMG . The first confrontations between
9702-457: The National Arms Company, but Colt's also started developing its own rear-loading guns and cartridges. In 1871, Colt's introduced its first revolver models using rear-loaded metallic cartridges: the .41 caliber Colt House Revolver (also known as the Cloverleaf for its four-round cylinder configuration) and the .22 cal Colt Open Top Pocket Model Revolver . However, Colt's wanted a more powerful practical handgun loaded with metallic cartridges so
9849-406: The New Jersey corporation by 1842. Colt made another attempt at revolver production in 1846 and submitted a prototype to the US government. During the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), this prototype was seen by Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker who made some suggestions to Colt about making it in a larger caliber. Having no factory or machinery to produce the pistols, Samuel Colt collaborated with
9996-420: The Open Top started in 1872 and stopped in 1873 when the Single Action Army model started to be delivered to the US Army. However, the Open Top was already a completely new design. The parts, for example, would not interchange with the older percussion pistols. Mason moved the rear sight to the rear of the barrel as opposed to the hammer or the breechblock of the earlier efforts. The caliber was .44 rimfire and it
10143-464: The Red Army's new mobile warfare doctrines. In the 1960s, the Soviets introduced the RPK light machine gun , itself an AK-47 type weapon with a bipod , a stronger receiver, and a longer, heavier barrel that would eventually replace the RPD light machine gun. The AK-47 was widely supplied or sold to nations allied with the USSR, and the blueprints were shared with several friendly nations (the People's Republic of China standing out among these with
10290-403: The Rollin White patent neared expiration, Colt moved to develop its own metallic cartridge revolver. It was 1868 when Colt's first effort toward a metallic cartridge revolver was by conversion of existing percussion revolvers. The first of these conversions was patented on September 15, 1868, by Colt engineer, F. Alexander Thuer as patent number 82258. The Thuer conversion was made by milling off
10437-414: The SS-77 was further developed using 7.62x51mm ammunition, resulting in the SS-79 ( Senapan Serbu 1979 ). The Indonesian Army (TNI AD) and the Department of Defense and Security ( Dephankam ) intended to adopt it as the standard infantry rifle, replacing the SP-1 as previously planned. However, due to considerations issued by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) in 1982,
10584-541: The Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ( Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales Especiales ). The rifle proved successful in the export market, being adopted by the armed forces of over 60 countries. After World War II, German technicians involved in developing the Sturmgewehr 45 , continued their research in France at CEAM. The StG 45 mechanism was modified by Ludwig Vorgrimler and Theodor Löffler at
10731-552: The Sturmgewehr 44 was "intended in a general way to serve the same purpose as the U.S. carbine" and was in many ways inferior to the M1 carbine, and was of "little importance". After World War II, the United States military started looking for a single automatic rifle to replace the M1 Garand, M1/M2 Carbines, M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle , M3 "Grease Gun" and Thompson submachine gun . Early experiments with select-fire versions of
10878-577: The U.S. Marine Corps at the invasion of Guantánamo Bay and by the 1st Volunteer Infantry in the Santiago campaign during the Spanish–American War . In 1901, Elizabeth Jarvis Colt sold the company to a group of outside investors based in New York and Boston. During World War I , Colt surpassed all previous production achievements. John Browning worked for Colt for a time and came up with
11025-481: The U.S. military awarded the contract for future M16 production to Fabrique Nationale . The strike finally ended when an agreement was reached on 22 March 1990. Some criticized Colt's range of handgun products in the late 1980s as out of touch with the demands of the market, and their once-vaunted reputation for quality had suffered during the UAW strike. Colt's stable of double-action revolvers and single-action pistols
11172-598: The U.S. military designation system, whose terms are in the public domain . Colt has entered in several US contracts with mixed results. For example, Colt had an entry in the Advanced Combat Rifle (ACR) program of the 1980s, but along with other contestants failed to replace the M16A2. Colt and many other makers entered the US trials for a new pistol in the 1980s, though the Beretta entry would win and become
11319-586: The UAW itself. The new Colt first attempted to address some of the demands of the market with the production in 1989 of the Double Eagle , a double-action pistol heavily based on the M1911 design, which was seen as an attempt to "modernize" the classic Browning design. Colt followed this up in 1992 with the Colt All American 2000 , which was unlike any other handgun Colt had produced before—being
11466-474: The US military could not legally award second-source production contracts for the M4 until July 1, 2009. In 2007 Colt won a contract to produce M4 carbines for the US military worth $ 71 million. In 2008 this was followed by a $ 151 million order for 89,000 M4 carbine rifles. In a 2002 restructuring, Colt's Manufacturing Company, Inc, spun off Colt Defense , LLC, to supply military, law enforcement and security markets. Colt's Manufacturing Company itself become
11613-478: The US military. This strategy dramatically failed for Colt through a series of events in the 1980s. In 1984, the U.S. military standardized on the Beretta 92F . This was not much of a loss for Colt's current business, as M1911A1 production had stopped in 1945. Meanwhile, the military rifle business was growing because the U.S. military had a major demand for more upgraded M16s; the M16A2 model had just been adopted and
11760-598: The US to negotiate regarding the use of the weapon. As a result, the US said that Indonesia could only produce 150,000 M16A1s, and not all components could be made in Indonesia, such as the trigger housing, munitions, upper and lower mechanical housings, and barrel. Consequently, the adoption of the M16A1 was canceled. Ultimately, the FNC (the third candidate) was chosen and officially became the modern infantry assault rifle used by
11907-655: The Whitney armory of Whitneyville, Connecticut. This armory was run by the family of Eli Whitney . Eli Whitney Jr (born 1820), the son of the cotton-gin-developer patriarch, was the head of the family armory and a successful arms maker and innovator of the era. Colt used a combination of renting the Whitney firm's facilities and subcontracting parts to the firm to continue his pursuit of revolver manufacture. Colt's new revolvers found favor with Texan volunteers (the progenitors of later Texas Rangers cavalry groups), and they placed an order for 1,000 revolvers that became known as
12054-580: The World War I years. In 1935, after employees voted to disband a labor union , 1,000 workers went on strike for 13 weeks. Strikers became violent, attacking workers and detonating a bomb in front of company president Samuel M. Stone 's house. The company set up a barracks, dining room, and recreation room for workers within the Colt Armory during the strike. On June 3, 1935, the National Recovery Administration ruled that
12201-487: The actual ranges of combat—was probably the most important advance in small arms since the invention of smokeless powder ." Like the Germans, the Soviets were influenced by experience showing that most combat engagements occur within 400 metres (1,300 ft) and that their soldiers were consistently outgunned by heavily armed German troops, especially those armed with Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifles. On July 15, 1943,
12348-625: The adoption of HK33 was canceled. The M16A1, which was favored by the troops for its light weight was the second candidate, faced stringent requirements. These included importing ammunition, main mechanical system components, and barrels directly from the United States. In 1977, the Government of Indonesia (GOI) aimed to transform the Indonesian Army Military Industries (Pindad) Small Arms Factory in Bandung into
12495-549: The barrel. Most SS1 rifle models, with the exception of the SBC-1, are made with selective fire modes that consist of single, three round burst and full auto firing modes. Non-state users: Assault rifle An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate-rifle cartridge and a detachable magazine . Assault rifles were first put into mass production and accepted into widespread service during World War II. The first assault rifle to see major usage
12642-502: The charging handle was re-located from under the carrying handle like it was on AR-10 to the rear of the receiver), the newly redesigned rifle was subsequently adopted as the M16 Rifle. "(The M16) was much lighter compared to the M14 it replaced, ultimately allowing soldiers to carry more ammunition. The air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed assault rifle was made of steel, aluminum alloy and composite plastics, truly cutting-edge for
12789-533: The company put forward William Mason, who in 1871 began work on Colt's first .44 caliber metallic-cartridge revolver: the Colt Model 1871-72 Open Top . The company registered two patents for the Open Top, one in 1871, the other in 1872, the same patents mentioned in the markings of Colt Single Action Army revolvers , a nowadays legendary and long produced model, improved and based on the Open Top. Production of
12936-695: The company sold 107,000 of the Colt Army Model 1860 alone, with production reaching 200,500 by the end of the war in 1865. During the war, Colt's was still prevented by the American laws from infringing Rollin White's patent. Nevertheless, the war made a huge fortune for the company, allowing Sam Colt to become America's first manufacturing tycoon, though he did not live to see the end of the war; he died of rheumatic fever on January 10, 1862. His close friend and firearms engineer, Elisha K. Root , took over as Colt's company president. On February 4, 1864,
13083-424: The company thrived during the conflict. Sam Colt had carefully developed contacts within the ordnance department, signing the very first government contract for 25,000 rifles. Colt's Factory was described as "an industrial palace topped by a blue dome", powered by a 250-horsepower steam engine . During the American Civil War , Colt had 1,500 employees who produced 150,000 muskets and pistols a year. In 1861 and 1863,
13230-461: The company was within its rights not to deal with the union and the strike ended. In the year following the strike, the factory was hit by a hurricane and flood. Many company shipping records and historical documents were lost as a result. At the beginning of World War II , Colt ceased production of the Single Action Army revolver to devote more time to filling orders for the war. During the war Colt manufactured over 629,000 M1911A1 pistols as well as
13377-445: The company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992. In 1992, the creditors, state and shareholders enlisted the aid of turnaround specialist RC (Ron) Whitaker to overcome the bankruptcy challenge. He developed a new team to address the company's situation. In addition to creating a positive working relationship with the UAW to introduce new techniques like cellular manufacturing, operator quality assurance and single-piece flow, they developed
13524-526: The decision was not to produce it from scratch due to the lengthy time frame and high research and development costs. As a cost-saving and time-efficient approach, BPPT proposed licensing existing assault rifles that had already proven their durability and reliability in the field. During the initial evaluation, six types of assault rifles were considered: the German HK33 , the American M16A1 ,
13671-674: The development of the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge and the M14 rifle which was basically an improved select-fire M1 Garand with a 20-round magazine. The U.S. also adopted the M60 GPMG , which replaced the M1919 Browning machine gun in major combat roles. Its NATO partners adopted the FN FAL and Heckler & Koch G3 rifles, as well as the FN MAG and Rheinmetall MG3 GPMGs. The FN FAL
13818-421: The entire Indonesian National Armed Forces. The decision to select the FNC was influenced by the ease of technology transfer offered by the principal manufacturer, FN Herstal SA from Belgium, which agreed to provide up to 100% technology transfer. With FNC, all technology is given, starting from the smallest down to the production machines, so that true technology transfer can be achieved. Another key consideration
13965-617: The escalation of the Vietnam War , Robert McNamara shutting down the Springfield Armory , and the U.S. Army 's subsequent adoption of the M16 , for which Colt held the production rights and would sell over 5 million units worldwide. Colt would capitalize on this with a range of AR-15 derivative carbines. They developed AR-15-based Squad Automatic Weapons, and the Colt SCAMP , an early PDW design. The Colt XM148 grenade launcher
14112-425: The face of the wider introduction of body armor . In the end the Belgian 5.56×45mm SS109 round was chosen ( STANAG 4172) in October 1980. The SS109 round was based on the U.S. cartridge but included a new stronger, heavier, 62-grain bullet design, with better long-range performance and improved penetration (specifically, to consistently penetrate the side of a steel helmet at 600 metres or 2,000 feet). Also during
14259-516: The facilities that he recorded his favorable comments of Colt's revolvers in an 1854 edition of Household Words . Most significant, the Colt factory's machines mass-produced interchangeable parts that could be easily and cheaply put together on assembly lines using standardized patterns and gauges by unskilled labor as opposed to England's top gunmakers. In 1854 the British Admiralty ordered 4,000 Navy Model Colt revolvers . In 1855
14406-550: The famous Browning -designed M1911 . Because the factory could not keep up with demand for this pistol, the US Military decided to accept Colt New Service revolvers in caliber .45 ACP, called the M1917 revolver , as a substitute weapon. Competing manufacturer Smith & Wesson made double-action revolvers in .45 ACP, which were accepted and issued by the U.S. military under the same name. Colt produced 151,700 revolvers during
14553-462: The field, an idea to create a new assault rifle to replace the existing standard issue Senapan Panjang lit. ' Long Rifle ' or SP series battle rifle surfaced. In 1977 a prototype dubbed SS-77 ( Senapan Serbu 1977 ) was born. The SS-77 assault rifle design and operating system were based on the ArmaLite AR-18 , utilizing a gas-operated, rotating bolt mechanism. It has
14700-613: The first model was in the newest caliber known as the .45 Colt . The revolver was chosen by the Army in 1872, with the first order, for 8000 revolvers, shipping in the summer of 1873: The Colt Single Action Army or "Peacemaker", also known as the Colt Model 1873, was born. This revolver was one of the most prevalent firearms in the American West during the end of the 19th century and Colt still produces it, in six different calibers, two finishes and three barrel lengths. In
14847-411: The first shot at Fort Sumter, Colt received orders from various states, some participating in secession. In his memoir on Colt, written in 1866, Henry Barnard reported, “before the rebellion broke out, Col. Colt, foreseeing that his weapons must ere long be in double demand, had made all preparations to extend his factory.” The American Civil War was a boon to firearms manufacturers such as Colt's, and
14994-475: The first successful bullpup rifle , finding service with the armed forces of over twenty countries. It was highly advanced for the 1970s, combining in the same weapon the bullpup configuration, a polymer housing, dual vertical grips, an optical sight as standard, and a modular design. Highly reliable, light, and accurate, the Steyr AUG showed clearly the potential of the bullpup layout. In 1978, France introduced
15141-523: The helm of the company in 2002. Keys salvaged Colt's reputation and brought Colt from the brink of bankruptcy to an international leader in Defense production. In 2010 Gerald R. Dinkel replaced Keys as CEO of Colt Defense LLC, while Keys remained on the board of directors for Colt Defense. Colt has to compete with other companies that make M1911-style pistols such as Kimber and AR-15 rifles such as Bushmaster . Bushmaster has subsequently overtaken Colt in
15288-701: The loss of its M4 contract in 2013, the reunited Colt was briefly in Chapter 11 bankruptcy , starting in 2015 and emerging in January 2016. The company was bought by Česká zbrojovka Group in 2021. In April 2022, Česká zbrojovka Group announced it had changed its name to Colt CZ Group. Samuel Colt received a British patent on his improved design for a revolver in 1835, and two U.S. patents in 1836, one on February 25 (later numbered U.S. Patent 9430X ) and another on August 29 ( U.S. patent 1,304 ). That same year, he founded his first corporation for its manufacture,
15435-478: The military needed hundreds of thousands of them. In 1985, Colt's workers, members of the United Auto Workers went on strike for higher wages. This strike would ultimately last for five years and was one of the longest-running labor strikes in American history. With replacement workers running production, the quality of Colt's firearms began to decline. Dissatisfied with Colt's production, in 1988
15582-404: The modern assault rifle. The Germans were the first to pioneer the assault rifle concept during World War II, based upon research that showed that most firefights happen within 400 metres (1,300 ft) and that contemporary rifles were overpowered for most small arms combat. They would soon develop a select-fire intermediate powered rifle combining the firepower of a submachine gun with
15729-726: The new market of metallic cartridge rear-loading pocket revolvers, Colt's not only introduced its three Derringer Models (as of 1870) or the Colt House and the Open Top Pocket (the last two as of 1871) but also introduced in 1873 a subsequent design called its " New Line " revolver models, based on William Mason's patents. After the success of the Colt Single Action Army and Colt's conversion of existing percussion revolvers to Richards-Mason conversions, Mason went on to design Colt's first Double-action revolver ,
15876-524: The next few months his workmen crated and shipped the machinery and disassembled firearms back to America. Though the U.S. was not directly involved in the Crimean War (1854–1856), Colt's weapons were used by both sides. In 1855 Colt unveiled new state-of-the-art armories in the Hartford and London factories stocked with the latest machine tools (some of which were of Colt's devising), many built by Francis A. Pratt and Amos Whitney , who would found
16023-597: The next half century. Prominent examples included F. Pratt and A. Whitney (as mentioned above); Henry Leland (who would end up at Cadillac and Lincoln); Edward Bullard Sr of the Bullard firm; and, through Pratt & Whitney, Worcester R. Warner and Ambrose Swasey (of Warner & Swasey ). In 1852 an employee of Colt's, Rollin White , came up with the idea of having the revolver cylinder bored through to accept metallic cartridges. He took this idea to Colt who flatly rejected it and ended up firing White within
16170-418: The number of AR-15s sold on the civilian market. Colt suffered a legal defeat in court when it sued Bushmaster for trademark infringement claiming that "M4" was a trademark that it owned. The judge ruled that since the term M4 is a generic designation that Colt does not specifically own, Colt had to pay monetary reimbursement to Bushmaster to recoup Bushmaster's legal fees. The M4 designation itself comes from
16317-475: The original Pratt & Whitney tool building firm a few years later. For example, the Lincoln miller debuted to industry at these armories. Colt had set up libraries and educational programs within the plants for his employees. Colt's armories in Hartford were seminal training grounds for several generations of toolmakers and other machinists , who had great influence in other manufacturing efforts of
16464-425: The past 30 years (See Colt Commando ). During a 1998 The Washington Post interview, CEO Ron Stewart stated that he would favor a federal permit system with training and testing for gun ownership. This led to massive grassroots boycotts of Colt's products by gun stores and US gun owners. Zilkha replaced Stewart with Steven Sliwa and focused the remainder of Colt's handgun design efforts into " smart guns ,"
16611-468: The point became universally accepted that such manufacture was possible and economical. Colt opened his London plant on the River Thames at Pimlico and began production on January 1, 1853. Many English people saw Colt's advanced steam-powered machinery as proof of America's growing position as a leader in modern industrial production. On a tour of the factory, Charles Dickens was so impressed with
16758-713: The principal. Initially, the TNI imported these assault rifles directly from Belgium. It wasn’t until 1984 that production began at the PT Pindad factory in Kiara Condong, Bandung, Indonesia, after completing all necessary preparations. The officially designated name for this assault rifle became SS-1 ( Senapan Serbu 1 ). According to the agreement, FN Herstal agreed to finance the repair and retrofit program of existing 20,000 FNCs that had issues which were already purchased by Dephankam. After 10,000 FN FNC rifles were bought for
16905-409: The range and accuracy of a rifle. The result was the Sturmgewehr 44, an improvement of the earlier Maschinenkarabiner 42(H) , and approximately half a million Sturmgewehrs were produced by the war's end. It fired a new and revolutionary intermediate powered cartridge, the 7.92×33mm Kurz. This new cartridge was developed by shortening the standard 7.92×57mm Mauser round and giving it
17052-399: The rear of the receiver and replacing it with a breechplate containing six internal firing pins. The cartridges were loaded through the mouths of the chambers. Colt made 5000 of these but they were not well accepted. Colt found the mechanism so complex it included a spare percussion cylinder with each revolver. Colt tasked its superintendent of engineering, Charles Richards , to come up with
17199-495: The receiver housing, stock, trigger group (including the fire control selector and firing mechanism parts), magazine well, handguard and carrying handle are all made of a carbon fiber -reinforced polyamide . The receiver has an integrated steel barrel trunnion (with locking recesses) and a nylon 66 steel reinforced receiver. The standard Bundeswehr versions of the G36 are equipped with a unique ZF 3×4° dual optical sight that combines
17346-663: The request was rejected. He then turned to the Congress , but the request was again rejected, this time by the Senate and on the initiative of President Ulysses Grant , in January 1870. This led the patent to expire, allowing competitors to develop their own breech-loading guns and metallic cartridges. Following this, on that same year of 1870, Colt's bought the National Arms Company , a Brooklyn, New York company known for manufacturing derringers and for circumventing
17493-613: The same conversion on the M1851 and M1861 revolvers for the US Navy in .38 rimfire. Another of Colt's engineers, William Mason , improved this conversion by placing the rear sight on the hammer and, along with Richards, he was granted patents in 1871 to convert percussion revolvers into rear-loading metallic-cartridge revolvers. Those converted revolvers are identified as the "Richards-Mason conversion". There were approximately 2100 Richards-Mason M1860 Army conversions made from 1877 to 1878 in
17640-423: The same weight compared to the larger and heavier 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The 5.56mm cartridge is also much easier to shoot. In 1961 marksmanship testing, the U.S. Army found that 43% of AR-15 shooters achieved Expert, while only 22% of M-14 rifle shooters did so. Also, a lower recoil impulse, allows for more controllable automatic weapons fire. In March 1970, the U.S. recommended that all NATO forces adopt
17787-526: The same year. Also in 1955, Colt released one of the most famous revolvers in history, the Colt Python . In 1958 Penn-Texas merged with Fairbanks-Morse to form the Fairbanks-Whitney Corporation and in 1964 the conglomerate reorganized as Colt Industries. In 1956 Colt resumed production of the Single Action Army revolver and in 1961 began making commemorative versions of their classic models. The 1960s were boom years for Colt with
17934-573: The seizure of its firearms. The external looks of the SS1s are strongly similar to the FN FNC, ranging from the pistol grip to the stock, receiver and barrel. Optics can be mounted onto the SS1 rifles, but a special optic mount must be installed first before any optic can be used. The SS1s are designed by Pindad to allow for the use of their own indigenous SPG-1A underbarrel grenade launcher, inserted underneath
18081-605: The subject to the Institution of Civil Engineers in London. The membership rewarded his efforts by awarding him the Telford Gold Medal . Colt's presence in the British market caused years of acrimony and lawsuits among British arms makers, who doubted the validity of Colt's British patent and the desirability of the American system of manufacturing . It took many more years and a UK government commission before
18228-471: The time. Designed with full and semi-automatic capabilities, the weapon initially did not respond well to wet and dirty conditions, sometimes even jamming in combat. After a few minor modifications, the weapon gained in popularity among troops on the battlefield." Despite its early failures, the M16 proved to be a revolutionary design and stands as the longest continuously serving rifle in American military history. It has been adopted by many U.S. allies and
18375-502: The war as well as 13,000 Maxim-Vickers machine guns and 10,000 Browning machine guns with an additional 100,000 under subcontract to other companies. Since Auto-Ordnance had no tooling for production of the newly developed Thompson submachine gun, John T. Thompson , in August 1920, entered into contract with Colt's to manufacture 15,000 Thompson 1921 submachine guns . The contract was signed on August 18, 1920. Colt's tooled up and produced
18522-463: The war ended and demand for military arms came to a halt, production literally ceased. Many long-time workers and engineers retired from the company and nothing was built from 1945 to 1947. Mismanagement of funds during the war had a serious impact as the 105-year-old firm faced possible bankruptcy. In September 1955 the board of directors voted to merge Colt with an upstart conglomerate called Penn-Texas, which had acquired Pratt & Whitney Machine Tool
18669-532: The worldwide trend toward small caliber, high-velocity cartridges. Following the adoption of the M16, carbine variants were also adopted for close quarters operations. The AR-15 family of weapons served through the Vietnam War. However, these compact assault rifles had design issues, as "the barrel length was halved" to 10 inches (250 mm) which "upset the ballistics", reducing its range and accuracy and leading "to considerable muzzle flash and blast, so that
18816-521: Was a Soviet answer to the U.S. M16. The Soviet military realized that the M16 had better range and accuracy over the AKM, and that its lighter cartridge allowed soldiers to carry more ammunition. Therefore, in 1967, the USSR issued an official requirement to replace the AKM and the 7.62×39mm cartridge. They soon began to develop the AK-74 and the 5.45×39mm cartridge. AK-74 production began in 1974, and it
18963-585: Was a program run by the Air Force to replace the M1911A1. The Beretta 92S won, but this was contested by the Army. The Army ran their own trials, leading eventually to the Beretta 92F being selected as the M9. In the early 1960s, Colt threatened legal action against Major League Baseball 's new Houston franchise, the Colt .45s , citing trademark infringement. In December 1964 the team backed down, renaming itself
19110-402: Was a seminal influence on manufacturing technology. Colt's earliest designs played a major role in the popularization of the revolver and the shift away from single-shot pistols. Although Samuel Colt did not invent the revolver, his designs resulted in the first very successful model. The most famous Colt products include the Colt Walker , made in 1847 in the facilities of Eli Whitney Jr. ,
19257-742: Was common (such as in Kansas and Missouri, which were considered "out West" at the time—now considered the Old West ). Colt finally left the "loading gate concept" for a swing-out cylinder on its revolvers with the Colt M1889 Navy revolver, which resembled the Colt M1878 and was based on another design by Mason. The model was produced for three years between 1889 and 1892 and eclipsed by the Colt M1892 chambered in .38 Long Colt . The M1892
19404-413: Was created by Colt's design project engineer, gun designer Karl R. Lewis. The May 1967 "Colt's Ink" newsletter announced that he had won a national competition for his selection and treatment of materials in the design. The newsletter stated in part "In only 47 days, he wrote the specifications, designed the launcher, drew all the original prints, and had a working model built". At the end of the 1970s, there
19551-638: Was first used in the semi-automatic SKS carbine and the RPD light machine gun . Hugo Schmeisser , the designer of the Sturmgewehr, was captured after World War II, and, likely, helped develop the AK-47 assault rifle, which would quickly replace the SKS and Mosin in Soviet service. The AK-47 was finalized, adopted and entered widespread service in the Soviet army in the early 1950s. Its firepower, ease of use, low production costs, and reliability were perfectly suited for
19698-513: Was forced to lay off over 800 employees. The company found itself in a precarious situation. The original revolver patents had expired, allowing other companies to produce copies of his designs. Additionally, metallic cartridge revolvers were gaining in popularity, but Colt could not produce any because of the Rollin White patent held by rival Smith & Wesson . Likewise, Colt had been so protective of its own patents that other companies had been unable to make revolvers similar to their design. As
19845-403: Was needed: A medium between the traditional preference for high-powered rifles such as the M14, and the lightweight firepower of the M2 Carbine. As a result, the Army was forced to reconsider a 1957 request by General Willard G. Wyman, commander of the U.S. Continental Army Command (CONARC) to develop a .223 caliber (5.56 mm) select-fire rifle weighing 2.7 kg (6 lb) when loaded with
19992-519: Was predominantly chambered for the 7.62mm NATO round, and because of its prevalence and widespread use among the armed forces of many western nations during the Cold War, it was nicknamed "The right arm of the Free World ". The Heckler & Koch G3 is a 7.62×51mm, selective fire, automatic rifle produced by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) in collaboration with
20139-611: Was replaced by the New Service Double Action revolver in 1899. In caliber .45 Colt, the New Service was accepted by the U.S. Military as the Model 1909 .45 revolver. The New Service revolver was available in other calibers such as .38 Special and, later in the 20th century, .45 ACP (as the M1917 revolver ) and .357 Magnum. Under a contract with the U.S. Army, Colt Arms built the Model 1895 ten-barrel variant of
20286-513: Was seen as old-fashioned by a marketplace that was captivated by the new generation of " wondernines " – higher capacity handguns chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum , as typified by the Glock 17 . Realizing that the future of the company was at stake, labor and management agreed to end the strike in an arrangement that resulted in Colt being sold to a group of private investors, the State of Connecticut, and
20433-444: Was somewhat of a predecessor. However, it had its magazine fixed. The Fedorov Avtomat (also anglicized as Federov, Russian: Автома́т Фёдорова , romanized : Avtomát Fyódorova , IPA: [ɐftɐˈmat ˈfʲɵdərəvə] , lit. 'Fyodorov's automatic rifle') is a select-fire infantry rifle and also one of the world's first operational automatic rifles, designed by Vladimir Grigoryevich Fyodorov in 1915 and produced in
20580-598: Was still rather new (it had reached commercial viability only about a decade before), and it was not yet easy to replicate across different factories. Interchangeability was not complete in the Paterson works, and traditional gunsmithing techniques did not fill the gap entirely there. The Colt Paterson revolver found patchy success and failure; some worked well, while others had problems. The United States Marine Corps and United States Army reported quality problems with these earliest Colt revolvers. Production had ended at
20727-524: Was submitted to the US Army for testing in 1872. The Army rejected the pistol and asked for a more powerful caliber with a stronger frame. Mason redesigned the frame to incorporate a topstrap, similar to the Remington revolvers, and placed the rear sight on the rear of the frame; he consulted with Richards on some other improvements. The first prototype of the new gun was still chambered in .44 rimfire, but
20874-430: Was that the FNC assault rifle had already adopted a 7-inch barrel and used SS-109 ammunition ( full metal jacket ) as per NATO standards. Subsequently, in February 1983, BPPT, representing the Indonesian government, reached an agreement with FN Herstal SA of Belgium. As part of the deal, PT Pindad was required to produce a minimum of 200,000 FNC rifles. After meeting this requirement, no further royalties needed to be paid to
21021-511: Was the German StG 44 , a development of the earlier Mkb 42 . While immediately after World War II, NATO countries were equipped with battle rifles , the development of the M16 rifle during the Vietnam War prompted the adoption of assault rifles by the rest of NATO. By the end of the 20th century, assault rifles had become the standard weapon in most of the world's armies, replacing full-powered rifles and submachine guns in most roles. The two most successful modern assault rifles are
21168-421: Was the first to widely commercialize the total use of interchangeable parts throughout a product. It was a leader in assembly line practice. It was a major innovator and training ground in manufacturing technology in this decade (and several after). Soon after establishing his Hartford factory, Colt set out to establish a factory in Europe and chose London, England. He organized a large display of his firearms at
21315-513: Was to differentiate the Sturmgewehr from German submachine guns such as the MP 40 . It has been suggested, however, that the Heereswaffenamt was responsible for the name Sturmgewehr , and Hitler had no input besides signing the production order . Furthermore, Hitler was initially opposed to the idea of a new infantry rifle, as Germany lacked the industrial capacity to replace the 12,000,000 Karabiner 98k rifles already in service, only changing his mind once he saw it first-hand. The StG 44
21462-431: Was unveiled in 1977, when it was carried by Soviet parachute troops during the annual Red Square parade . It would soon replace the AKM and become the standard Soviet infantry rifle. In 1979, the AK-74 saw combat for the first time in Afghanistan , where the lethality of the 5.45mm rounds led to the Mujahadeen dubbing them "poison bullets". The adoption of the 5.56mm NATO and the Russian 5.45×39mm cartridges cemented
21609-465: Was up to him to defend his patent against infringement as opposed to Smith & Wesson. During the 1850s and 1860s, Rollin White had been permanently trying to keep control on his breech-loading system patent, bringing a lawsuit to any breech-loaded manufactured gun. He nevertheless obtained an advance against royalties for using his patent from Smith & Wesson, a company that not only introduced its first revolver in 1857 ( Smith & Wesson Model 1 ,
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