1.
FN Herstal
–
It is currently the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe. FN is a subsidiary of the Belgian Herstal Group, which also owns U. S, Repeating Arms Company and Browning Arms Company. FN Herstal is the parent company of two United States entities, FN Manufacturing and FNH USA, FNH USA, located in McLean, Virginia, is the sales and marketing branch of FN Herstal in the United States. FN Herstals firearms are used by the forces of over 100 nations. FN originated in the city of Herstal, near Liège. The Fabrique Nationale dArmes de Guerre was established in 1889 to manufacture 150,000 Mauser Model 89 rifles ordered by the Belgian Government. FN was co-founded by the major makers of the Liège region, with Henri Pieper of Anciens Etablissements Pieper being the driving force. In 1897 the company entered into a relationship with John Moses Browning. FN was an important manufacturer of vehicles in Belgium, a development championed by Alexandre Galopin as managing director. Cars were produced in Herstal in the early 1900s until 1935, production of FN motorcycles continued until 1965, and production of trucks until 1970. In 1973, FN changed its name to reflect a product line diversified far beyond just weapons of war, John Moses Browning began development of the Browning GP35 High Power pistol, the GP standing for Grande Puissance or high power in French. However, the weapon was finalized by Dieudonné Saive and did not appear until nearly a decade after Brownings death, the FN Manufacturing LLC plant in Columbia, South Carolina is part of the military division of FN. It is primarily responsible for the production of U. S. military weapons, such as M16 rifles, M249 light machine guns, M240 machine guns, barracuda, Double-action multi-caliber revolver that can be switched between three calibers by changing parts of the cylinder. Five-seveN, Lightweight polymer-framed pistol with a 20-round magazine capacity, in service with military and police forces in over 40 nations throughout the world. FNP series, Series of polymer-framed pistols offered in 9×19mm Parabellum.357 SIG.40 S&W, FNX series, Updated and reengineered version of the FNP series pistol in 9×19mm Parabellum.40 S&W and.45 ACP. One of the most widely used military pistols of all time, hP-DA, 9×19mm Parabellum pistol, double-action variant of the Browning Hi-Power. M1903, Blowback semi-automatic pistol chambered for.32 ACP and 9×20mm Long Browning, m1905.25 ACP vest pocket blowback semi-automatic pistol. M1910, Single-action pistol chambered for.32 ACP and.380 ACP, P90, Ambidextrous bullpup personal defense weapon with a top-mounted 50-round magazine and chambered for FNs 5. 7×28mm cartridge
2.
IMBEL
–
IMBEL is an acronym for Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil a Brazilian state company, founded in 1975 as a quango of the Ministry of Defence. IMBEL was founded on July 16,1934, in the city of Itajubá, Minas Gerais, the original factory was designated Fábrica de Canos e Sabres para Armas Portáteis and later as Fabrica de Itajubá which directly involved the Brazilian Army in the production of military material. On July 14,1975 the Law no, later the concept and policies were expanded to promote the military material industry in Brazil. The military material industry has expanded and specialized to the point of receiving recognition, with research work, design. It was initially involved in manufacturing Mauser rifles, iA2, a new rifle designed to be the replacement for their FALs. It uses many parts and a redesigned bolt. It has a low recoil and passed the rigid test imposed by Brazilian Army, the Rifle is still being evaluated by the Brazilian Navy and the Brazilian Air Force. MD-2 and MD-3 Rifles - A licensed copy of the FN FAL called the Fuzil Automático Leve manufactured by FI, Brazil took a delivery of a small number of FN-made FAL rifles for evaluation as early as 1954. Troop field testing was performed and FN-made FALs between 1958 and 1962, in 1964, Brazil officially adopted the rifle, designating the rifle M964 for the year. Licensed production started shortly afterwards at IMBEL in the Itajubá plant, the folding-stock version was designated M969A1. By the late 1980s to early 1990s IMBEL had manufactured some 200,000 M964 rifles, most Brazilian-made FALs are characterized by their slab-sided late-type receivers with external lightening cuts omitted, a feature which simplifies production and lowers cost. A heavy-barrel version, known as the FAP was also produced for the armed forces, FAL Variants - Brazil also makes its own FAL variants, known as the MD-2 and MD-3 assault rifles, manufactured by IMBEL. The first prototype, the MD-1, appeared around 1983, in 1985, the MD-2 was presented and adopted by the Brazilian Armed Forces. The MD-2/MD-3 is very similar to the FAL, the design differences being the locking system, which was replaced by an M16-type rotating bolt. The MD-2 and MD-3 use M16-compatible magazines, the MD-2 features a stock. SAR48 - IMBEL produced a version of the FAL for Springfield Armory, Inc. which was marketed in the US as the SAR-48 and SAR-4800. IMBEL MD2A1, a 9mm submachine gun adaptation of the MD-2 rifle, Itajubá Model 954 Mosquetão, a derivative of the Gewehr 43. Itajubá Model 968 Mosquefal, a derivative of the Mauser 98, the IMBEL MD97 assault rifle family was developed to replace IMBEL MD-2 and MD-3 rifles that were in use with the Brazilian military
3.
Gun barrel
–
A gun barrel is a part of firearms and artillery pieces. The hollow interior of the barrel is called the bore, a gun barrel must be able to hold in the expanding gas produced by the propellants to ensure that optimum muzzle velocity is attained by the projectile as it is being pushed out by the expanding gas. Modern small arms barrels are made of known and tested to withstand the pressures involved. Artillery pieces are made by various techniques providing reliably sufficient strength, early firearms were muzzle-loading, with powder, and then shot loaded from the muzzle, capable of only a low rate of fire. During the 19th century effective mechanical locks were invented that sealed a breech-loading weapon against the escape of propellant gases, the early Chinese, the inventors of gunpowder, used bamboo, a naturally tubular stalk, as the first barrels in gunpowder projectile weapons. Early European guns were made of iron, usually with several strengthening bands of the metal wrapped around circular wrought iron rings. The Chinese were the first to master cast-iron cannon barrels, early cannon barrels were very thick for their caliber. Bore evacuator Bore snake Cannon Muzzle Polygonal rifling Rifling Slug barrel Smoothbore
4.
Cartridge (firearms)
–
Military and commercial producers continue to pursue the goal of caseless ammunition. A cartridge without a bullet is called a blank, One that is completely inert is called a dummy. Some artillery ammunition uses the same concept as found in small arms. In other cases, the shell is separate from the propellant charge. In popular use, the bullet is often misused to refer to a complete cartridge. The cartridge case seals a firing chamber in all directions excepting the bore, a firing pin strikes the primer and ignites it. The primer compound deflagrates, it does not detonate, a jet of burning gas from the primer ignites the propellant. Gases from the burning powder pressurize and expand the case to seal it against the chamber wall and these propellant gases push on the bullet base. In response to pressure, the bullet will move in the path of least resistance which is down the bore of the barrel. After the bullet leaves the barrel, the pressure drops to atmospheric pressure. The case, which had been expanded by chamber pressure. This eases removal of the case from the chamber, brass is a commonly used case material because it is resistant to corrosion. A brass case head can be work-hardened to withstand the pressures of cartridges. The neck and body portion of a case is easily annealed to make the case ductile enough to allow reforming so that it can be reloaded many times. Steel is used in some plinking ammunition, as well as in military ammunition. Steel is less expensive than brass, but it is not feasible to reload, Military forces typically consider small arms cartridge cases to be disposable, one-time-use devices. However, case weight affects how much ammunition a soldier can carry, conversely, steel is more susceptible to contamination and damage so all such cases are varnished or otherwise sealed against the elements. One downside caused by the strength of steel in the neck of these cases is that propellant gas can blow back past the neck
5.
.280 British
–
The.280 British was an experimental rimless bottlenecked intermediate rifle cartridge. It was later designated 7 mm MK1Z, and has also known as 7 mm NATO. 280/30.280 Enfield.280 NATO,7 mm FN Short. It was designed by the British Army in the late 1940s, with subsequent help from Fabrique Nationale in Belgium, the.280 British was tested in a variety of rifles and machine guns including the EM-2, Lee–Enfield, FN FAL, Bren, M1 Garand and Taden gun. However, the U. S. Army continued to reject these variants, during World War II the standard British rifle and machine gun round was the venerable.303 British. Efforts to replace the.303 with a modern round predated even World War I. During the war the Allies encountered the new 7.92 Kurz cartridge on the battlefield, the Kurz was an intermediate power round, less than a conventional rifle round like the.303, but more than pistol rounds like the 9mm Parabellum. This gave the Kurz rifle-like performance in close-range encounters, while still having a small enough recoil that it could be fired in automatic fire. This led British small arms designers to begin development of their own intermediate round, thus the cartridge had to demonstrate ballistic performance equal to that of a full powered rifle round, yet exhibit as little recoil and blast as possible. This appeared possible through improved bullet shaping, a shorter cartridge producing lower recoil also enabled the weapon to be shorter and lighter, and hence easier to use. After extensive tests by the Ideal Cartridge Panel in 1945, the British decided upon two 7 mm cartridges – the.270 and the.276. Both designations reflected the measurement of the distance between the lands in the cartridges respective barrels, the.276 bullets actual diameter was.284 inches. In order to focus their efforts, the British ceased research on the.270, the.276 was later renamed the.280 British even though no dimensions were changed. Recoil of the.280 British cartridge was calculated to be a little under half of the.303, long range performance actually surpassed that of the.303, and shooters reported that it was much more comfortable to fire with the reduced recoil and reduced blast. It seemed that the British designers had accomplished their goals, counterparts in Belgium and Canada proved very interested, and the Belgian company FN would introduce their own gun designs based on the.280 as well as produce the rounds in quantity. However, the Americans refused to adopt a calibre under.30 inch, the British then attempted to appease the Americans though a series of changes to the round. When the. 280/30 was rejected by the Americans as being too weak with too great a drop in trajectory, the British and Belgians made larger changes to the cartridge design. These resulted in different variations, one was just a. 280/30 with the bullet seated less deeply so more powder could be put in the case. Unsatisfied with the U. S. Armys response on the issue, the British adopted the EM-2 and these were the T25 at Springfield Armory under the direction of Earle Harvey, and the T65 at Frankford Arsenal
6.
Action (firearms)
–
In firearms terminology, an action is the mechanism that handles the ammunition or the method by which that mechanism works. Breech-loading weapons have actions, actions are not present on muzzleloaders. The mechanism that fires a muzzle-loader is called the lock, actions can be categorized in several ways, including single action versus double action, break action versus bolt action, and others. The term action can also short, long, and magnum if it is in reference to the length of the rifle’s receiver. The short action rifle usually can accommodate a cartridge length of 2.8 in or smaller, the long action rifle can accommodate a cartridge of 3.34 in, and the magnum action rifle can accommodate cartridges of 3.6 in, or longer in length. Manual operation is a term describing any type of firearm action that is loaded one shot at a time by the user rather than automatically. For example, break action is a form of operation using a simple hinge mechanism that is manually unlatched by the operator. These are actions wherein the breechblock lowers or drops into the receiver to open the breech, there are two principal types of dropping block, the tilting block and the falling block. In a tilting or pivoting block action, the breechblock is hinged on a pin mounted at the rear, when the lever is operated, the block tilts down and forward, exposing the chamber. The best-known pivoting block designs are the Peabody, the Peabody–Martini, the original Peabody rifles, manufactured by the Providence Tool Company, used a manually cocked side-hammer. The 1871 Martini–Henry which replaced the trapdoor Snider–Enfield was the standard British Army rifle of the later Victorian era, charles H. Ballards self-cocking tilting-block action was produced by the Marlin Firearms Company from 1875, and earned a superlative reputation among long-range Creedmoor target shooters. Surviving Marlin Ballards are today highly prized by collectors, especially those mounted in the elaborate Swiss-style Schützen stocks of the day. A falling-block action is a firearm action in which a solid metal breechblock slides vertically in grooves cut into the breech of the weapon. Examples of firearms using the falling block action are the Sharps rifle, in a rolling block action the breechblock takes the form of a part-cylinder, with a pivot pin through its axis. The operator rotates or rolls the block to open and close the breech, it is a simple, rugged, a break action is a type of firearm where the barrel are hinged and can be broken open to expose the breech. The earliest metallic-cartridge breechloaders designed for military issue began as conversions of muzzle-loading rifle-muskets. The upper rear portion of the barrel was filed or milled away, an internal angled firing pin allowed the re-use of the rifles existing side-hammer. The Allin action made by Springfield Arsenal in the US hinged forward, france countered in 1866 with its superior Chassepot rifle, also a paper-cartridge bolt action
7.
Gas-operated reloading
–
Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate autoloading firearms. In gas operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to extract the spent case, energy from the gas is harnessed through either a port in the barrel or a trap at the muzzle. Most current gas systems employ some type of piston, the face of the piston is acted upon by combustion gas from a port in the barrel or a trap at the muzzle. Early guns such as Brownings flapper prototype, the Bang rifle and this, combined with more massive operating parts, reduced the strain on the mechanism. To simplify and lighten the firearm, gas from nearer the chamber needed to be used and this high pressure and has sufficient force to destroy a firearm unless it is regulated somehow. Most gas-operated firearms rely on tuning the gas port size, mass of operating parts, several other methods are employed to regulate the energy. The M1 carbine incorporates a short piston, or tappet. This movement is restricted by a shoulder recess. Excess gas is then vented back into the bore, the M14 rifle and M60 GPMG use the White expansion and cutoff system to stop gas from entering the cylinder once the piston has traveled a short distance. Most systems, however, vent excess gas into the atmosphere through slots, holes, a gas trap system involves trapping combustion gas as it leaves the muzzle. This gas impinges on a surface that converts the energy to motion that, hiram Maxim patented a muzzle-cup system in 1884 described in U. S. Patent 319,596 though it is if this firearm was ever prototyped. John Browning used gas trapped at the muzzle to operate a flapper in the earliest prototype gas-operated firearm described in U. S, the Danish Bang rifle used a muzzle cup blown forward by muzzle gas to operate the action through transfer bars and leverage. Other gas-trap rifles were early production US gas-trap M1 Garands, German Gewehr 41 and these systems are longer, heavier, dirtier and more complex than later gas-operated firearms. Despite these disadvantages, they used relatively low gas and did not require a hole in the barrel. The American and German governments both had requirements that their guns operated without a hole being drilled in the barrel, both governments would first adopt weapons and later abandon the concept. All US M1 Garand rifles were retrofitted with long-stroke gas pistons, with a long-stroke system, the piston is mechanically fixed to the bolt group and moves through the entire operating cycle. This system is used in such as the Bren light machine gun, AK-47, Tavor, FN Minimi, M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, FN MAG, FN FNC
8.
Magazine (firearms)
–
A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating firearm. Magazines can be removable or integral to the firearm, the magazine functions by moving the cartridges stored in the magazine into a position where they may be loaded into the chamber by the action of the firearm. The detachable magazine is often referred to as a clip, although this is technically inaccurate, magazines come in many shapes and sizes, from those of bolt-action express rifles that hold only a few rounds to drum magazines for self-loading rifles that can hold one hundred rounds or more. Various jurisdictions ban what they define as high-capacity magazines, with the increased use of semi-automatic and automatic firearms, the detachable box magazine became increasingly common. Soon after the adoption of the M1911 pistol, the magazine was settled on by the military and firearms experts. The defining difference between clips and magazines is the presence of a mechanism in a magazine, typically a spring-loaded follower. Use of the clip to refer to detachable magazines is a point of strong disagreement. The first mass-produced repeater was the Volcanic Rifle which used a bullet with the base filled with powder and primer fed into the chamber from a spring-loaded tube called a magazine. It was named after a building or room used to store ammunition, the anemic power of the Rocket Ball ammunition used in the Volcanic doomed it to limited popularity. The Henry repeating rifle is a lever-action, breech-loading, tubular magazine fed rifle, designed by Benjamin Tyler Henry in 1860, it was one of the first firearms to use self-contained metallic cartridges. The Henry was introduced in the early 1860s and produced through 1866 in the United States by the New Haven Arms Company and it was adopted in small quantities by the Union in the Civil War and favored for its greater firepower than the standard issue carbine. Many later found their way West and was famed both for its use at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and being the basis for the iconic Winchester rifle which are made to this day. The Henry and Winchester rifles would go on to see service with a number of militaries including Turkey, switzerland and Italy adopted similar designs. The first magazine-fed firearm to achieve success was the Spencer repeating rifle. The Spencer used a magazine located in the butt of the gun instead of under the barrel. The Spencer was successful, but the rimfire ammunition did occasionally ignite in the magazine tube and it could also injure the user. The new bolt-action rifles began to favor with militaries in the 1880s and were often equipped with tubular magazines. The Mauser Model 1871 was originally a single-shot action that added a magazine in its 1884 update
9.
Drum magazine
–
A drum magazine is a type of firearm magazine that is cylindrical in shape, similar to a drum. Instead of rounds being stored flat, as in a common box magazine, rounds in a drum magazine are stored in a spiral around the center of the magazine. Probably the first drum magazine to be patented was the one by Salloum Dahdah in 1862, a precursor to the drum magazine was the Accles drum, used for Gatling guns. The first true drum magazine was invented between 1908 and 1915 for the Farquhar-Hill Rifle, the patent for which can be found here, there are several primary designs for a drum magazine. Another common design is the double-stack dual-horn drum, which operates like a standard stick magazine, rimmed ammunition including shotgun ammunition operated drums primarily run off a cogged design which feeds each individual round of the ammo from the outermost edge of the drum. Recently a single-stack compact design has been released, which uses most of the capacity of the drum. It is driven by a hub and telescopic shaft. Rear-loading drum magazines, such as the 75-round AK-pattern drums manufactured by Norinco, the spring is then wound up when the weapon is ready to fire. The downside to drum magazines is that they increase the weight of the weapon in which they are being used. They are also prone to jamming due to the complex spring mechanisms they contain. Some drums also have a tendency to rattle when they are loaded with ammunition, the Thompson also has 20 and 30 round box magazines available, demonstrating the difference in carrying capacity between a box and a drum. More recently double-drum designs have come into greater use, where normal magazines put rounds in two rows, in a double drum two drums resting on either side of the weapon each hold one row, the two of which combine into one row before entering the receiver. Examples are the World War II era MG15, and the modern Beta C-Mag and these systems have the advantage of storing even more rounds than a regular drum, while improving the distribution of weight. The drums of aircraft such as the M61 Vulcan and GAU-8 Avenger resemble drum magazines for small arms. That is, the rounds are stored nose-facing-in, and are kept under control by partitions running the length of the drum. This makes their operation very reliable, even when operated at rates of fire of several rounds per minute
10.
French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
11.
Small arms
–
In international arms control, small arms include revolvers and pistols, rifles and carbines, assault rifles, submachine guns and light machine guns. Together with light weapons, they comprise the Small Arms and Light Weapons protocol, in the U. S. military, small arms are man portable, individual, and crew-served weapon systems used mainly against personnel and lightly armored or unarmored equipment. However, in regard to management, the U. S. Army says small arms/light weapons are, Handguns, shoulder-fired weapons, light automatic weapons up to. Much of the work to address the illegal arms trade is raised in the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms. In 2013, the Small Arms Survey said that of the 875 million small arms distributed globally,650 million — almost 75 percent — are in civilian hands, about 200 million are controlled by armed forces and about 26 million by law enforcement agencies. Gang members hold between 2 and 10 million small arms and armed, non-state actors hold about 1.4 million, together, the small-arms arsenals of non-state actors and gangs account for 0.4 to 1.3 percent of the global total. Arms trafficking Firearms Gun control Small arms trade SALW Dikshif, P. Proliferation of Small Arms and Minor Weapons, Strategic Analysis, Vol.17 May 1994. Gould, C. and Lamb, G. Hide & Seek, Taking Account of Small Arms in Southern Africa, Institute for Security Studies, federation of American Scientists Small Arms Monitoring page Small Arms Survey How Small Arms Work - Training Film on YouTube
12.
Cold War
–
The Cold War was a state of geopolitical tension after World War II between powers in the Eastern Bloc and powers in the Western Bloc. Historians do not fully agree on the dates, but a common timeframe is the period between 1947, the year the Truman Doctrine was announced, and 1991, the year the Soviet Union collapsed. The term cold is used there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides, although there were major regional wars, known as proxy wars, supported by the two sides. The Cold War split the temporary alliance against Nazi Germany, leaving the Soviet Union. The USSR was a Marxist–Leninist state ruled by its Communist Party and secret police, the Party controlled the press, the military, the economy and all organizations. In opposition stood the West, dominantly democratic and capitalist with a free press, a small neutral bloc arose with the Non-Aligned Movement, it sought good relations with both sides. The two superpowers never engaged directly in full-scale armed combat, but they were armed in preparation for a possible all-out nuclear world war. The first phase of the Cold War began in the first two years after the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Berlin Blockade was the first major crisis of the Cold War. With the victory of the communist side in the Chinese Civil War and the outbreak of the Korean War, the USSR and USA competed for influence in Latin America, and the decolonizing states of Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was stopped by the Soviets, the expansion and escalation sparked more crises, such as the Suez Crisis, the Berlin Crisis of 1961, and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The USSR crushed the 1968 Prague Spring liberalization program in Czechoslovakia, détente collapsed at the end of the decade with the beginning of the Soviet–Afghan War in 1979. The early 1980s were another period of elevated tension, with the Soviet downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, the United States increased diplomatic, military, and economic pressures on the Soviet Union, at a time when the communist state was already suffering from economic stagnation. In the mid-1980s, the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the reforms of perestroika and glasnost. Pressures for national independence grew stronger in Eastern Europe, especially Poland, Gorbachev meanwhile refused to use Soviet troops to bolster the faltering Warsaw Pact regimes as had occurred in the past. The result in 1989 was a wave of revolutions that peacefully overthrew all of the communist regimes of Central, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union itself lost control and was banned following an abortive coup attempt in August 1991. This in turn led to the dissolution of the USSR in December 1991. The United States remained as the only superpower. The Cold War and its events have left a significant legacy and it is often referred to in popular culture, especially in media featuring themes of espionage and the threat of nuclear warfare
13.
NATO
–
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party, three NATO members are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states. NATOs headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 28 independent member countries across North America and Europe, an additional 22 countries participate in NATOs Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total, Members defence spending is supposed to amount to 2% of GDP. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. N. The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the treaty and the Soviet Berlin Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Unions Defence Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United States was thought necessary both to counter the power of the USSR and to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism. He got a hearing, especially considering American anxiety over Italy. In 1948 European leaders met with U. S. defense, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, marshalls orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty and it included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the goal was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in. Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, the creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought called Atlanticism which stressed the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation. The members agreed that an attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor, although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. This differs from Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels, which states that the response will be military in nature. It is nonetheless assumed that NATO members will aid the attacked member militarily, the treaty was later clarified to include both the members territory and their vessels, forces or aircraft above the Tropic of Cancer, including some Overseas departments of France. The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology, the roughly 1300 Standardization Agreements codified many of the common practices that NATO has achieved
14.
Military
–
The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their body and to defend that body. Armed force is the use of armed forces to achieve political objectives, the study of the use of armed forces is called military science. Broadly speaking, this involves considering offense and defense at three levels, strategy, operational art, and tactics, all three levels study the application of the use of force in order to achieve a desired objective. In most countries the basis of the forces is the military. However, armed forces can include other paramilitary structures, the obvious benefit to a country in maintaining armed forces is in providing protection from foreign threats and from internal conflict. In recent decades armed forces personnel have also used as emergency civil support roles in post-disaster situations. On the other hand, they may harm a society by engaging in counter-productive warfare. Expenditure on science and technology to develop weapons and systems sometimes produces side benefits, although some claim that greater benefits could come from targeting the money directly
15.
First World
–
The concept of First World originated during the Cold War and included countries that were generally aligned with the West and opposed to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Various ways in which modern First World countries are often determined include GDP, GNP, literacy rates, in common usage, First World refers to the rich nations of the world. After World War II, the split into two large geopolitical blocs, separating into spheres of communism and capitalism. This led to the Cold War, during which the term First World was often used because of its political, social, the term itself was first introduced in the late 1940s by the United Nations. Today, the First World is slightly outdated and has no definition, however, it was generally thought of as the capitalist, industrial, wealthy. This definition included Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, in contemporary society, the First World is viewed as countries that have the most advanced economies, the greatest influence, the highest standards of living, and the greatest technology. It can be defined succinctly as Europe, plus the richer countries of the former British Empire, Japan, Israel, Taiwan, there are varying definitions of the First World, however, they follow the same idea. John D. Daniels, past president of the Academy of International Business, scholar and Professor George J. Bryjak defines the First World to be the modern, industrial, capitalist countries of North America and Europe. L. Robert Kohls, former director of training for the U. S, information Agency and the Meridian International Center in Washington, D. C. uses First World and fully developed as synonyms. Varying definitions of the term First World and the uncertainty of the term in todays world leads to different indicators of First World status, in 1945, the United Nations used the terms first, second, third, and fourth worlds to define the relative wealth of nations. There are some references towards culture in the definition and they were defined in terms of Gross National Product, measured in U. S. dollars, along with other socio-political factors. The first world included the large industrialized, democratic nations, the second world included modern, wealthy, industrialized nations, but they were all under communist control. Most of the rest of the world was deemed part of the third world, if we use the term to mean high-income industrialized economies, then the World Bank classifies countries according to their GNI or gross national income per capita. The World Bank separates countries into four categories, high-income, upper-middle-income, lower-middle-income, the First World is considered to be countries with high-income economies. The high-income economies are equated to mean developed and industrialized countries, the terms First World, Second World, and Third World were originally used to divide the worlds nations into three categories. The model did not emerge to its end state all at once, the complete overthrow of the pre–World War II status quo, known as the Cold War, left two superpowers vying for ultimate global supremacy. They created two camps, known as blocs and these blocs formed the basis of the concepts of the First and Second Worlds. Early in the Cold War era, NATO and the Warsaw Pact were created by the United States and The Soviet Union and they were also referred to as the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc
16.
Intermediate cartridge
–
As their recoil is significantly reduced compared to high power rifle cartridges, fully automatic rifles firing intermediate cartridges are relatively easy to control. This allowed for the development of the rifle, a selective fire weapon that is more compact. The first intermediate cartridge to see service was the German 7. 92×33mm Kurz used in the StG44. Other notable examples include the Soviet 7. 62×39mm used in the AK-47 and AKM series, and these rifles weighed over 8 lb, and they were longer than 40 in and as such inappropriate for close combat. They fired cartridges capable of killing out to 1,000 m, in close quarter combat, all the major armies began employing submachine guns such as the PPSh-41, Thompson M1928A1, and the MP-40, all of which fired pistol cartridges. Compared with the rifles, these submachine guns could provide high rates of controllable fire. Bolt-action rifles in use at the time were long and heavy, the bolt-action rifles were effective up to 800–1,000 metres in the hands of a trained marksman, but typical combat ranges were much shorter, around 150–300 metres, rarely exceeding 500 metres. Therefore, the potential of the ammunition at longer ranges was seldom needed. The resulting cartridge would have the accuracy of the former for typical combat ranges, the first cartridge fulfilling this requirement may have been the Japanese 6. 5×50mm Arisaka used by the Russian Fedorov Avtomat rifle since 1915. The Fedorov was arguably the first assault rifle, later came the US.30 Carbine, developed as a weapon for officers and rear area soldiers unlikely to be involved in infantry assault, but needing a weapon more effective than a pistol
17.
Commonwealth of Nations
–
The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as simply the Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of 52 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire. The Commonwealth dates back to the century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which established the states as free. The symbol of free association is Queen Elizabeth II who is the Head of the Commonwealth. The Queen is also the monarch of 16 members of the Commonwealth, the other Commonwealth members have different heads of state,31 members are republics and five are monarchies with a different monarch. Member states have no obligation to one another. Instead, they are united by language, history, culture and their values of democracy, free speech, human rights. These values are enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter and promoted by the quadrennial Commonwealth Games, the Commonwealth covers more than 29,958,050 km2, 20% of the worlds land area, and spans all six inhabited continents. She declared, So, it marks the beginning of that free association of independent states which is now known as the Commonwealth of Nations. As long ago as 1884, however, Lord Rosebery, while visiting Australia, had described the changing British Empire—as some of its colonies became more independent—as a Commonwealth of Nations. Conferences of British and colonial prime ministers occurred periodically from the first one in 1887, the Commonwealth developed from the imperial conferences. Newfoundland never did, as on 16 February 1934, with the consent of its parliament, Newfoundland later joined Canada as its 10th province in 1949. Australia and New Zealand ratified the Statute in 1942 and 1947 respectively, after World War II ended, the British Empire was gradually dismantled. Most of its components have become independent countries, whether Commonwealth realms or republics, there remain the 14 British overseas territories still held by the United Kingdom. In April 1949, following the London Declaration, the word British was dropped from the title of the Commonwealth to reflect its changing nature, burma and Aden are the only states that were British colonies at the time of the war not to have joined the Commonwealth upon independence. Hoped for success was reinforced by such achievements as climbing Mount Everest in 1953, breaking the four minute mile in 1954, however, the humiliation of the Suez Crisis of 1956 badly hurt morale of Britain and the Commonwealth as a whole. More broadly, there was the loss of a role of the British Empire. That role was no longer militarily or financially feasible, as Britains withdrawal from Greece in 1947 painfully demonstrated, Britain itself was now just one part of the NATO military alliance in which the Commonwealth had no role apart from Canada
18.
International System of Units
–
The International System of Units is the modern form of the metric system, and is the most widely used system of measurement. It comprises a coherent system of units of measurement built on seven base units, the system also establishes a set of twenty prefixes to the unit names and unit symbols that may be used when specifying multiples and fractions of the units. The system was published in 1960 as the result of an initiative began in 1948. It is based on the system of units rather than any variant of the centimetre-gram-second system. The motivation for the development of the SI was the diversity of units that had sprung up within the CGS systems, the International System of Units has been adopted by most developed countries, however, the adoption has not been universal in all English-speaking countries. The metric system was first implemented during the French Revolution with just the metre and kilogram as standards of length, in the 1830s Carl Friedrich Gauss laid the foundations for a coherent system based on length, mass, and time. In the 1860s a group working under the auspices of the British Association for the Advancement of Science formulated the requirement for a coherent system of units with base units and derived units. Meanwhile, in 1875, the Treaty of the Metre passed responsibility for verification of the kilogram, in 1921, the Treaty was extended to include all physical quantities including electrical units originally defined in 1893. The units associated with these quantities were the metre, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, in 1971, a seventh base quantity, amount of substance represented by the mole, was added to the definition of SI. On 11 July 1792, the proposed the names metre, are, litre and grave for the units of length, area, capacity. The committee also proposed that multiples and submultiples of these units were to be denoted by decimal-based prefixes such as centi for a hundredth, on 10 December 1799, the law by which the metric system was to be definitively adopted in France was passed. Prior to this, the strength of the magnetic field had only been described in relative terms. The technique used by Gauss was to equate the torque induced on a magnet of known mass by the earth’s magnetic field with the torque induced on an equivalent system under gravity. The resultant calculations enabled him to assign dimensions based on mass, length, a French-inspired initiative for international cooperation in metrology led to the signing in 1875 of the Metre Convention. Initially the convention only covered standards for the metre and the kilogram, one of each was selected at random to become the International prototype metre and International prototype kilogram that replaced the mètre des Archives and kilogramme des Archives respectively. Each member state was entitled to one of each of the prototypes to serve as the national prototype for that country. Initially its prime purpose was a periodic recalibration of national prototype metres. The official language of the Metre Convention is French and the version of all official documents published by or on behalf of the CGPM is the French-language version
19.
Imperial units
–
The system of imperial units or the imperial system is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824, which was later refined and reduced. The Imperial units replaced the Winchester Standards, which were in effect from 1588 to 1825, the system came into official use across the British Empire. The imperial system developed from what were first known as English units, the Weights and Measures Act of 1824 was initially scheduled to go into effect on 1 May 1825. However, the Weights and Measures Act of 1825 pushed back the date to 1 January 1826, the 1824 Act allowed the continued use of pre-imperial units provided that they were customary, widely known, and clearly marked with imperial equivalents. Apothecaries units are mentioned neither in the act of 1824 nor 1825, at the time, apothecaries weights and measures were regulated in England, Wales, and Berwick-upon-Tweed by the London College of Physicians, and in Ireland by the Dublin College of Physicians. In Scotland, apothecaries units were unofficially regulated by the Edinburgh College of Physicians, the three colleges published, at infrequent intervals, pharmacopoeiae, the London and Dublin editions having the force of law. The Medical Act of 1858 transferred to The Crown the right to publish the official pharmacopoeia and to regulate apothecaries weights, Metric equivalents in this article usually assume the latest official definition. Before this date, the most precise measurement of the imperial Standard Yard was 0.914398416 metres, in 1824, the various different gallons in use in the British Empire were replaced by the imperial gallon, a unit close in volume to the ale gallon. It was originally defined as the volume of 10 pounds of distilled water weighed in air with brass weights with the standing at 30 inches of mercury at a temperature of 62 °F. The Weights and Measures Act of 1985 switched to a gallon of exactly 4.54609 l and these measurements were in use from 1826, when the new imperial gallon was defined, but were officially abolished in the United Kingdom on 1 January 1971. In the USA, though no longer recommended, the system is still used occasionally in medicine. The troy pound was made the unit of mass by the 1824 Act, however, its use was abolished in the UK on 1 January 1879, with only the troy ounce. The Weights and Measures Act 1855 made the pound the primary unit of mass. In all the systems, the unit is the pound. For the yard, the length of a pendulum beating seconds at the latitude of Greenwich at Mean Sea Level in vacuo was defined as 39.01393 inches, the imperial system is one of many systems of English units. Although most of the units are defined in more than one system, some units were used to a much greater extent, or for different purposes. The distinctions between these systems are not drawn precisely. One such distinction is that between these systems and older British/English units/systems or newer additions, the US customary system is historically derived from the English units that were in use at the time of settlement
20.
L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle
–
The L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle is also known as the SLR, by the Canadian Army designation C1A1 or in the USA as the inch pattern FAL. It is a British Commonwealth derivative of the Belgian FN FAL battle rifle, the original FAL was designed in Belgium using metric dimensions, while the components of the inch-pattern FALs are manufactured to a slightly modified design using British imperial units. Many sub-assemblies are interchangeable between the two types, while components of those sub-assemblies may not be compatible, notable incompatibilities include the magazines and the butt-stock, which attach in different ways. Most Commonwealth pattern FALs are semi-automatic only, a variant named L2A1/C2A1, meant to serve as a light machine gun in a support role, is also capable of automatic fire. Only Australia and Canada used this variant, as the UK, Canadian C1s issued to naval and army personnel were also capable of automatic fire. The US, however, did not adopt any variant of the FAL, the L1A1 subsequently served as the UKs first-line battle rifle up to the 1980s before being replaced by the 5. 56mm L85A1. The L1A1 and variants have seen use in conflicts, including as part of the Cold War. Starting in the mid-1980s, the UK started replacing its 30-year-old L1A1 rifle with the 5.56 NATO bullpup L85A1 assault rifle, Australia chose the Steyr AUG as a replacement in the form of the F88 Austeyr, with New Zealand following suit shortly after. Canada replaced its C1 rifle with the AR-15 variants, the C7 service rifle, both Australia and Canada replaced their L2A1/C2 heavy barrel support weapons with FN Minimi variants, the F89 and C9, respectively. The Australian L1A1 is also known as the rifle, and in full-automatic form. The lightening cuts of the Australian L1A1 most closely resembles the later Canadian C1 pattern, rather than the simplified and markedly unique British L1A1 cuts. Some Australian Army units deployed overseas on UN peacekeeping operations in Namibia, the Western Sahara and Cambodia still used the L1A1 SLR, the British and Australian L1A1s, and Canadian C1A1 SLRs were semi-automatic only, unless battlefield conditions mandated that modifications be made. Australia, in co-ordination with Canada, developed a version of the L1A1 as an automatic rifle variant. The Australian heavy-barrel L2A1 was also known as the automatic rifle, the L2A1 was similar to the FN FAL50. 41/42, but with a unique combined bipod-handguard and a receiver dust-cover mounted tangent rear sight from Canada. The L2A1 was intended to serve a role as an automatic rifle or quasi-squad automatic weapon. For this reason the British used the 7. 62mm-converted L4 series Bren, most countries that adopted the FAL rejected the heavy barrel FAL, presumably because it did not perform well in the machine gun role. Countries that did embrace the heavy barrel FAL included Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, unique 30-round magazines were developed for the L2A1 rifles. These 30-round magazines were essentially lengthened versions of the standard 20-round L1A1 magazines, curved 30-round magazines from the L4A17
21.
Nazi Germany
–
Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Under Hitlers rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi Party took totalitarian control over all aspects of life. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich from 1933 to 1943, the period is also known under the names the Third Reich and the National Socialist Period. The Nazi regime came to an end after the Allied Powers defeated Germany in May 1945, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. The Nazi Party then began to eliminate all opposition and consolidate its power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator of Germany by merging the powers and offices of the Chancellery, a national referendum held 19 August 1934 confirmed Hitler as sole Führer of Germany. All power was centralised in Hitlers person, and his word became above all laws, the government was not a coordinated, co-operating body, but a collection of factions struggling for power and Hitlers favour. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending, extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of Autobahnen. The return to economic stability boosted the regimes popularity, racism, especially antisemitism, was a central feature of the regime. The Germanic peoples were considered by the Nazis to be the purest branch of the Aryan race, millions of Jews and other peoples deemed undesirable by the state were murdered in the Holocaust. Opposition to Hitlers rule was ruthlessly suppressed, members of the liberal, socialist, and communist opposition were killed, imprisoned, or exiled. The Christian churches were also oppressed, with many leaders imprisoned, education focused on racial biology, population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed, recreation and tourism were organised via the Strength Through Joy program, and the 1936 Summer Olympics showcased the Third Reich on the international stage. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels made effective use of film, mass rallies, the government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others. Beginning in the late 1930s, Nazi Germany made increasingly aggressive territorial demands and it seized Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939. Hitler made a pact with Joseph Stalin and invaded Poland in September 1939. In alliance with Italy and smaller Axis powers, Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940, reichskommissariats took control of conquered areas, and a German administration was established in what was left of Poland. Jews and others deemed undesirable were imprisoned, murdered in Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the tide gradually turned against the Nazis, who suffered major military defeats in 1943
22.
World War II
–
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
23.
StG 44
–
The StG44 is a German selective-fire rifle developed during World War II. It is also known under the designations MP43 and MP44, by all accounts, the StG44 fulfilled its role effectively, particularly on the Eastern Front, offering a greatly increased volume of fire compared to standard infantry rifles. However, it too late to have a significant effect on the outcome of the war. Its lasting effect was its impact on modern infantry small arms development. MP43, MP44, and StG44 were different designations for what was essentially the same rifle with minor updates in production, the variety in nomenclatures resulted from the complicated bureaucracy in Nazi Germany. Developed from the Mkb 42 machine carbine, the StG44 combined the characteristics of a carbine, submachine gun, StG is an abbreviation of Sturmgewehr. After the adoption of the StG44, the English translation assault rifle became the designation for this type of infantry small arm. Over the course of its production, there were changes to the butt end, muzzle nut, shape of the front sight base. The rifle was chambered for the 7. 92×33mm Kurz cartridge, full-power rifle cartridges were excessive for the vast majority of uses for the average soldier. The British were critical of the weapon, saying that the receiver could be bent, a late-war U. S. assessment derided the weapon as bulky and unhandy, prone to jamming, and meant to be thrown away if the soldier could not maintain it. In the late 19th century, small-arms cartridges had become able to fire accurately at long distances, jacketed bullets propelled by smokeless powder were lethal out to 2,000 metres. This was beyond the range a shooter could engage a target with open sights, only units of riflemen firing in salvos could hit grouped soft targets at those ranges. That fighting style was taken over by the introduction of machine guns. Weapons for short range were semi-automatic pistols, and later submachine guns. The gap in cartridge ranges caused research into creating an intermediate round and this type of ammunition was being considered as early as 1892, but militaries at the time were still fixated on increasing the maximum range and velocity of bullets from their rifles. He pointed out that firefights rarely took place beyond 800 metres, a smaller, shorter, and less powerful round would save materials, allow soldiers to carry more ammunition, and increase firepower. Less recoil would allow semi-automatic or even fully automatic select-fire rifles, the German Army showed no interest, as it already had the MP18 submachine gun firing 9 mm pistol rounds and did not want to create a new cartridge. In 1923, the German Army set out requirements for a Mauser 98 replacement and it had to be smaller and lighter than the Mauser, have similar performance out to 400 metres, and have a magazine with a 20 or 30 round capacity
24.
Assault rifle
–
An assault rifle is a selective-fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles were first used during World War II, examples include the StG44, AK-47 and the M16 rifle. However, other sources dispute that Hitler had much to do with coining the new name besides signing the production order, the StG44 is generally considered the first selective fire military rifle to popularize the assault rifle concept. Today, the assault rifle is used to define firearms sharing the same basic characteristics as the StG44. The U. S. Army defines assault rifles as short, compact, in a strict definition, a firearm must have at least the following characteristics to be considered an assault rifle, It must be capable of selective fire. It must have a cartridge, more power than a pistol. Its ammunition must be supplied from a box magazine. It must have a range of at least 300 metres. Rifles that meet most of these criteria, but not all, are not assault rifles. For example, Select-fire M2 Carbines are not assault rifles, their range is only 200 yards. Select-fire rifles such as the FN FAL battle rifle are not assault rifles, semi-automatic-only rifles like variants of the Colt AR-15 are not assault rifles, they do not have select-fire capabilities. Semi-auto rifles with fixed magazines like the SKS are not assault rifles, selective fire rifles like the Fedorov Avtomat which in hindsight could be classified as prototypical assault rifles. However,6. 5x50mm Arisaka is still very much a full-powered rifle cartridge and they would soon develop a select-fire intermediate powered rifle combining the firepower of a submachine gun with the range and accuracy of a rifle. The result was the Sturmgewehr 44, which the Germans produced in large numbers and 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 a lighter 125-grain bullet, 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 this weapon was the prototype of all successful automatic rifles. The barrel and overall length were shorter than a traditional rifle, on July 15,1943, a Sturmgewehr was demonstrated before the Peoples Commissariat of Arms of the USSR. The Soviets soon developed the 7. 62×39mm M43 cartridge, the semi-automatic SKS carbine, shortly after World War II, the Soviets developed the AK-47 assault rifle, which would quickly replace the SKS in Soviet service
25.
British Army
–
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
26.
Bullpup
–
A bullpup is a firearm with its action behind its trigger group. This configuration permits a shorter overall weapon for a barrel length. This maintains the advantages of a barrel in muzzle velocity and accuracy, while improving maneuverability. The origin of the term bullpup for this configuration is unclear, in 1957, the word was reported to denote a target pistol, particularly one with a fancy stock. The bullpup design places the action behind the trigger, usually in front of a short buttstock. The configuration decreases the overall length while retaining the same barrel length which allows for better maneuverability in confined spaces. An often cited shortcoming of the configuration is spent casings being ejected into the face of a left-handed shooter. This is solved on some designs with ejection downward or forward, being held closer to the body, a bullpup causes less arm fatigue and allows faster reaction time from a lowered position. However, its rear-weighted design lacks balance, inducing muzzle rise, in addition, shorter weapon length results in a shorter sight radius, further impairing accuracy at distance, as well as reducing bayonet effectiveness in close combat. Also, due to the assembly and the necessary trigger linkage. It is known to have applied to semi-automatic firearms in 1918. After World War II, Western engineers drew inspiration from the German Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle, among them, Kazimierz Januszewski, a Polish engineer who had worked at the Polish national arsenal during the 1930s. After being mobilized during World War II he escaped German and Russian forces and made his way to England, the factory was run by lieutenant colonel Edward Kent-Lemon. As Januszewski was developing a new rifle, the Ideal Calibre Board was searching for a replacement for the.303 cartridge, the Board decided on an optimal 7 mm cartridge on which Januszewski and the two teams working at Enfield had to base their designs. One design team led by Stanley Thorpe produced a rifle with a locking system based on the Sturmgewehr. The design used steel pressings which were difficult to obtain, the result of the Polish design teams efforts was the EM-2, which broke significant new ground. The EM-2 contained some similarities to the Soviet AK-47, although Januszewski had never seen the Soviet rifle, the first significant bullpup assault rifle came from the British program to replace the service pistols, sub-machine guns, and rifles. In the two forms of the EM-1 and the EM-2, the new concept was born as a result of the experience with small arms that was gained during the Second World War
27.
EM-2 rifle
–
The EM-2, also known as Rifle No.9 Mk1 or Janson rifle, was an experimental British assault rifle. The United States claimed the.280 British round was too weak for use in rifles and machine guns, as the EM-2 could not be easily adapted to the longer and more powerful round, it faded from use. However, the layout for a British service rifle was finally adopted some years later in form of the SA80 assault rifle, the EM-2s spiritual successor. In the immediate post–World War II era, the British Army, like many other forces, started research into their own assault rifle. The British Army had originally planned to replace their.303 inch rimmed cartridge before World War I, at the same time Fabrique Nationale expressed considerable interest in the round, and started development of their own rifles based upon it. The Canadian Army also expressed interest in the new round, both to maintain commonality with the British and to modernize their forces. The Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield started working on four designs, the EM-3 and EM-4 did not proceed beyond the drawing board. The nomenclature was made official on January 6,1948, both were unofficially named after the lead designers in each team and were known as the Thorpe rifle and the Janson rifle respectively.280 round was accurate to about 800 yards. The two designs were similar but were internally very different in design and construction, with no parts in common other than sights. The EM-1 used steel plate pressings for simpler manufacture, and was slightly heavier, a fifth design was commissioned from the BSA company, who built prototypes of a more conventional rifle using the same 7mm round, the BSA 28P. In common with other 20th century British designs such as the P14 and SA80, though not adopted, the British toy soldier company Herald Miniatures, later acquired by Britains, designed its modern British Infantry figures using the weapon. It was at point that the US put forth its own designs for NATO standardisation, using the 7. 62×51mm NATO round in their prototype T25. At the same trials the Belgian.280 FN FAL was also tested, a series of lengthy debates followed, which were finally settled in an unlikely fashion when Canada stated they would use the British.280 round, but only if the US did as well. It was clear this would never happen.280 and the EM-2, during this time, prototype EM-2s were built in several different calibres, Chambons built two for the 7×49mm Second Optimum cartridge and another two for the 7. 62×51mm NATO. One of the Chambon prototypes was rebuilt for the US. 30-06 cartridge. RSAF-Enfield and BSA built 15 and 10 prototypes for the 7. 62×51mm, Canadian Arsenals Limited also built 10 rifles for the 7×51mm Compromise cartridge. It was clear the EM-2 could not be adapted to the powerful 7. 62×51mm NATO round. Created by Dieudonné Saive, the FAL was itself a version of FNs own design for an intermediate cartridge rifle using the.280 round
28.
United States Army
–
The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
29.
Labour Party (UK)
–
The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Labour later served in the coalition from 1940 to 1945. Labour was also in government from 1964 to 1970 under Harold Wilson and from 1974 to 1979, first under Wilson and then James Callaghan. The Labour Party was last in government from 1997 to 2010 under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, beginning with a majority of 179. Having won 232 seats in the 2015 general election, the party is the Official Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the party also organises in Northern Ireland, but does not contest elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Labour Party is a member of the Party of European Socialists and Progressive Alliance. In September 2015, Jeremy Corbyn was elected Leader of the Labour Party, the first Lib–Lab candidate to stand was George Odger in the Southwark by-election of 1870. In addition, several small socialist groups had formed around this time, among these were the Independent Labour Party, the intellectual and largely middle-class Fabian Society, the Marxist Social Democratic Federation and the Scottish Labour Party. In the 1895 general election, the Independent Labour Party put up 28 candidates, Keir Hardie, the leader of the party, believed that to obtain success in parliamentary elections, it would be necessary to join with other left-wing groups. Hardies roots as a lay preacher contributed to an ethos in the party led to the comment by 1950s General Secretary Morgan Phillips that Socialism in Britain owed more to Methodism than Marx. The motion was passed at all stages by the TUC, the meeting was attended by a broad spectrum of working-class and left-wing organisations—trades unions represented about one third of the membership of the TUC delegates. This created an association called the Labour Representation Committee, meant to coordinate attempts to support MPs sponsored by trade unions and it had no single leader, and in the absence of one, the Independent Labour Party nominee Ramsay MacDonald was elected as Secretary. He had the task of keeping the various strands of opinions in the LRC united. The October 1900 Khaki election came too soon for the new party to campaign effectively, only 15 candidatures were sponsored, but two were successful, Keir Hardie in Merthyr Tydfil and Richard Bell in Derby. Support for the LRC was boosted by the 1901 Taff Vale Case, the judgement effectively made strikes illegal since employers could recoup the cost of lost business from the unions. In their first meeting after the election the groups Members of Parliament decided to adopt the name The Labour Party formally, the Fabian Society provided much of the intellectual stimulus for the party. One of the first acts of the new Liberal Government was to reverse the Taff Vale judgement, the Peoples History Museum in Manchester holds the minutes of the first Labour Party meeting in 1906 and has them on display in the Main Galleries. Also within the museum is the Labour History Archive and Study Centre, the governing Liberals were unwilling to repeal this judicial decision with primary legislation
30.
Winston Churchill
–
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill KG OM CH TD PC DL FRS RA was a British statesman who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his overall, in 1963, he was the first of only eight people to be made an honorary citizen of the United States. Churchill was born into the family of the Dukes of Marlborough and his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a charismatic politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, his mother, Jennie Jerome, was an American socialite. As a young officer, he saw action in British India, the Anglo–Sudan War. He gained fame as a war correspondent and wrote books about his campaigns, at the forefront of politics for fifty years, he held many political and cabinet positions. Before the First World War, he served as President of the Board of Trade, Home Secretary, during the war, he continued as First Lord of the Admiralty until the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign caused his departure from government. He then briefly resumed active service on the Western Front as commander of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. He returned to government under Lloyd George as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for Air, at the outbreak of the Second World War, he was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. Following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain on 10 May 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister and he led Britain as Prime Minister until victory over Nazi Germany had been secured. After the Conservative Party suffered a defeat in the 1945 general election. He publicly warned of an Iron Curtain of Soviet influence in Europe, after winning the 1951 election, Churchill again became Prime Minister. His second term was preoccupied by foreign affairs, including the Malayan Emergency, Mau Mau Uprising, Korean War, domestically his government laid great emphasis on house-building. Churchill suffered a stroke in 1953 and retired as Prime Minister in 1955. Upon his death aged ninety in 1965, Elizabeth II granted him the honour of a state funeral and his highly complex legacy continues to stimulate intense debate amongst writers and historians. Born into the family of the Dukes of Marlborough, a branch of the noble Spencer family, Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, like his father. His ancestor George Spencer had changed his surname to Spencer-Churchill in 1817 when he became Duke of Marlborough, to highlight his descent from John Churchill, Churchill was born on 30 November 1874, two months prematurely, in a bedroom in Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire. From age two to six, he lived in Dublin, where his grandfather had been appointed Viceroy, Churchills brother, John Strange Spencer-Churchill, was born during this time in Ireland
31.
Harry S. Truman
–
Harry S. Truman was an American politician who served as the 33rd President of the United States, assuming the office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt during the waning months of World War II. In domestic affairs, he was a moderate Democrat whose liberal proposals were a continuation of Franklin Roosevelts New Deal, but the conservative-dominated Congress blocked most of them. He also used weapons to end World War II, desegregated the U. S. armed forces, supported a newly independent Israel. Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri, and spent most of his youth on his familys 600-acre farm near Independence, in the last months of World War I, he served in combat in France as an artillery officer with his National Guard unit. After the war, he owned a haberdashery in Kansas City, Missouri, and joined the Democratic Party. Truman was first elected to office as a county official in 1922. After serving as a United States Senator from Missouri and briefly as Vice President, he succeeded to the presidency on April 12,1945, upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Germany surrendered on Trumans 61st birthday, just a few weeks after he assumed the presidency, but the war with Imperial Japan raged on and was expected to last at least another year. Although this decision and the issues that arose as a result of it remain the subject of debate to this day. Truman presided over a surge in economic prosperity as America sought readjustment after long years of depression. His presidency was a point in foreign affairs, as the United States engaged in an internationalist foreign policy. Truman helped found the United Nations in 1945, issued the Truman Doctrine in 1947 to contain Communism and his political coalition was based on the white South, labor unions, farmers, ethnic groups, and traditional Democrats across the North. Truman was able to rally groups of supporters during the 1948 presidential election. The Soviet Union became an enemy in the Cold War, Truman oversaw the Berlin Airlift of 1948 and the creation of NATO in 1949, but was unable to stop Communists from taking over China. When communist North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, he sent U. S. troops, after initial successes in Korea, however, the UN forces were thrown back by Chinese intervention, and the conflict was stalemated throughout the final years of Trumans presidency. Scholars, starting in 1962, ranked Trumans presidency as near great, Harry S. Truman was born on May 8,1884, in Lamar, Missouri, the oldest child of John Anderson Truman and Martha Ellen Young Truman. His parents chose the name Harry after his mothers brother, Harrison Harry Young, while the S did not stand for any one name, it was chosen as his middle initial to honor both of his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young. The initial has been written and printed followed by a period
32.
M14 rifle
–
The M14 rifle, officially the United States Rifle,7.62 mm, M14, is an American selective fire automatic rifle that fires 7. 62×51mm NATO ammunition. It gradually replaced the M1 Garand rifle in U. S. Army service by 1961 and in U. S. Marine Corps service by 1965. It was the standard infantry rifle for U. S. military personnel in the contiguous United States, Europe. The M14 was used for U. S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps basic, the M14 was the last American battle rifle issued in quantity to U. S. military personnel. The M14 is the basis for the M21 and M25 sniper rifles which were replaced by the M24 Sniper Weapon System. A new version of the M14, the M14 Enhanced Battle Rifle has been in service since 2002, the M14 was developed from a long line of experimental weapons based upon the M1 rifle. Although the M1 was among the most advanced infantry rifles of the late 1930s, modifications were already beginning to be made to the basic M1 rifles design during the last months of World War II. Changes included adding fully automatic firing capability and replacing the eight-round en bloc clips with a box magazine holding 20 rounds. Winchester, Remington, and Springfield Armorys own John Garand offered different conversions, garands design, the T20, was the most popular, and T20 prototypes served as the basis for a number of Springfield test rifles from 1945 through the early 1950s. The two men were transferred to Springfield Armory in late 1945, where work on the T25 continued. The T25 was designed to use the T65 service cartridge, a Frankford Arsenal design based upon. 30-06 cartridge case used in the M1 service rifle, after experimenting with several bullet designs, the T65 was finalized for adoption as the 7. 62×51mm NATO cartridge. Olin Industries later introduced the cartridge on the market as the.308 Winchester. After a series of revisions by Earle Harvey and other members of the.30 light rifle design group following the 1950 Fort Benning tests, the T25 was renamed the T47. Lloyd Corbett, an engineer in Harveys rifle design group, added various refinements to the T44 design, including an operating rod. The T47, which did not have a roller and performed worse in dust. A Newsweek article in July 1953 hinted that the T48/FAL might be selected over the T44, during the winter of 1953–54, both rifles competed in the winter rifle trials at U. S. Army facilities in the Arctic. FN engineers opened the gas ports in an attempt to improve functioning, as a result, the T44 was ranked superior in cold weather operation to the T48. In June 1954, funding was made available to manufacture newly fabricated T44 receivers specially designed for the shorter T65 cartridge
33.
Warsaw Pact
–
The Warsaw Pact was the military complement to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, the regional economic organization for the communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. While the Warsaw Pact was established as a balance of power or counterweight to NATO, instead, the conflict was fought on an ideological basis and in proxy wars. Both NATO and the Warsaw Pact led to the expansion of military forces and its largest military engagement was the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968, which, in part, resulted in Albania withdrawing from the pact less than a month later. The Pact began to unravel in its entirety with the spread of the Revolutions of 1989 through the Eastern Bloc, beginning with the Solidarity movement in Poland, East Germany and Poland withdrew from the Pact in 1990. On 25 February 1991, the Pact was declared at an end at a meeting of defence, the USSR itself was dissolved in December 1991, although most of the former Soviet republics formed the Collective Security Treaty Organization shortly thereafter. Throughout the following 20 years, the seven Warsaw Pact countries outside the USSR each joined NATO, in the Western Bloc, the Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance is often called the Warsaw Pact military alliance—abbreviated WAPA, Warpac, and WP. Therefore, although ostensibly an international collective security alliance, the USSR dominated the Warsaw Treaty armed forces, the strategy behind the formation of the Warsaw Pact was driven by the desire of the Soviet Union to dominate Central and Eastern Europe. The Soviets wanted to keep their part of Europe theirs and not let the Americans take it from them and this policy was driven by ideological and geostrategic reasons. Ideologically, the Soviet Union arrogated the right to define socialism and communism, geostrategic principles also drove the Soviet Union to prevent invasion of its territory by Western European powers. Before the creation of the Warsaw Pact, Czechoslovak leadership, fearful of a rearmed Germany, sought to create a security pact with East Germany and these states protested strongly against the re-militarization of West Germany. The Warsaw Pact was primarily put in place as a consequence of the rearming of West Germany inside NATO, Soviet leaders, like many European countries on both sides of the Iron Curtain, feared Germany being once again a military power and a direct threat. The terrible consequences of German militarism remained a fresh memory among the Soviets, previously, in March 1954, the USSR, fearing the restoration of German militarism in West Germany, requested admission to NATO. The Soviet request to join NATO arose in the aftermath of the Berlin Conference of January–February 1954. James Dunn, who met in Paris with Eden, Adenauer and Robert Schuman, affirmed that the object should be to avoid discussion with the Russians, according to John Gaddis there was little inclination in Western capitals to explore this offer from USSR. But Eden, Dulles and Bidault opposed the proposal, the Soviets then decided to make a new proposal to the governments of the USA, UK and France to accept the participation of the USA in the proposed General European Agreement. Again all proposals, including the request to join NATO, were rejected by the UK, US, emblematic was the position of British General Hastings Ismay, supporter of NATO expansion, who said that NATO must grow until the whole free world gets under one umbrella. He opposed the request to join NATO made by the USSR in 1954 saying that the Soviet request to join NATO is like an unrepentant burglar requesting to join the police force, in April 1954 Adenauer made his first visit to the USA meeting Nixon, Eisenhower and Dulles. Ratification of EDC was delaying but the US representatives made it clear to Adenauer that EDC would have to become a part of NATO, memories of the Nazi occupation were still strong, and the rearmament of Germany was feared by France too
34.
AKM
–
The AKM is a 7. 62mm assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is a modernized variant of the AK-47 rifle developed in the 1940s. The production of these Soviet rifles was carried out at both the Tula Arms Plant and Izhmash and it was officially replaced in Soviet frontline service by the AK-74 in the late 1970s, but remains in use worldwide. The AKM is a rifle using the 7. 62×39mm Soviet intermediate cartridge. It is gas operated with a rotating bolt, the AKM is capable of selective fire, firing either single shots or automatic at a cyclic rate of 600 rounds/min. Despite being replaced in the late 1970s by the AK-74 the AKM is still in service in some Russian Army reserve and second-line units, notably, the AK-47s milled steel receiver was replaced by a U-shaped steel stamping. As a result of modifications, the AKM’s weight was reduced by ≈1 kg. The AKM’s receiver, compared to the AK-47, is stamped from a smooth 1.0 mm sheet of steel, to the U-shaped stamped sheet metal receiver housing a rear stock trunnion and forward barrel trunnion are fastened using rivets. The receiver housing also features a rigid tubular cross-section support that adds structural strength, guide rails that assist the bolt carrier’s movement which also incorporates the ejector are installed inside the receiver through spot welding. As a weight-saving measure, the receiver cover is of thinner gauge metal than that of the AK-47. In order to strength and durability it employs both longitudinal and latitudinal reinforcing ribs. The forward barrel trunnion has a socket for the barrel. The AKM’s barrel is installed in the forward trunnion and pinned, additionally the barrel has horizontal guide slots that help align and secure the handguards in place. The muzzle brake is threaded on to the end of the barrel with a left-hand thread, not all AKMs had slant muzzle brakes, some were also fitted with the older muzzle nut which came from the AK-47. Most AKMs with muzzle nuts were older production weapons, the AKMs slant brake can also be used on the AK-47, which had a simple nut to cover the threads. The gas block in the AKM does not have a cleaning rod capture or sling loop but is fitted with an integrated bayonet support collar that has a cleaning rod guide hole. The forward sling loop was relocated to the front handguard retainer cap, the handguard retainer also has notches that determine the position of the handguards on the barrel. The AKM’s laminated wood handguards have lateral grooves that help grip the rifle
35.
Rifle
–
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called lands, which contact with the projectile. When the projectile leaves the barrel, this spin lends gyroscopic stability to the projectile and prevents tumbling and this allows the use of aerodynamically-efficient bullets and thus improves range and accuracy. The word rifle originally referred to the grooving, and a rifle was called a rifled gun, the word rifle is now used for any long hand-held aimed device activated by a trigger, such as Air rifles and the Personnel halting and stimulation response rifle. Rifles are used in warfare, hunting and shooting sports, formerly, rifles only fired a single projectile with each squeeze of the trigger. Modern rifles are capable of firing more than one round per trigger squeeze, some fire in an automatic mode. Thus, modern automatic rifles overlap to some extent in design, in fact, many light machine guns are adaptations of existing automatic rifle designs. A militarys light machine guns are chambered for the same caliber ammunition as its service rifles. Generally, the difference between a rifle and a machine gun comes down to weight, cooling system. Modern military rifles are fed by magazines, while machine guns are generally belt-fed, many machine guns allow the operator to quickly exchange barrels in order to prevent overheating, whereas rifles generally do not. Most machine guns fire from a bolt in order to reduce the danger of cook-off. Machine guns are often crewed by more than one soldier, the rifle is an individual weapon, the term rifle is sometimes used to describe larger crew-served rifled weapons firing explosive shells, for example, recoilless rifles. In many works of fiction a rifle refers to any weapon that has a stock and is shouldered before firing, the origins of rifling are difficult to trace, but some of the earliest practical experiments seem to have occurred in Europe during the 15th century. Archers had long realized that a twist added to the feathers of their arrows gave them greater accuracy. This might also have led to a increase in accuracy. Rifles were created as an improvement in the accuracy of smooth bore muskets, the black powder used in early muzzle-loading rifles quickly fouled the barrel, making loading slower and more difficult. Since musketeers could not afford to take the time to stop and clean their barrels in the middle of a battle, rifles were limited to use by sharpshooters, muskets were smoothbore, large caliber weapons using ball-shaped ammunition fired at relatively low velocity. Due to the high cost and great difficulty of manufacturing, and the need to load readily from the muzzle
36.
Cartridge (weaponry)
–
Military and commercial producers continue to pursue the goal of caseless ammunition. A cartridge without a bullet is called a blank, One that is completely inert is called a dummy. Some artillery ammunition uses the same concept as found in small arms. In other cases, the shell is separate from the propellant charge. In popular use, the bullet is often misused to refer to a complete cartridge. The cartridge case seals a firing chamber in all directions excepting the bore, a firing pin strikes the primer and ignites it. The primer compound deflagrates, it does not detonate, a jet of burning gas from the primer ignites the propellant. Gases from the burning powder pressurize and expand the case to seal it against the chamber wall and these propellant gases push on the bullet base. In response to pressure, the bullet will move in the path of least resistance which is down the bore of the barrel. After the bullet leaves the barrel, the pressure drops to atmospheric pressure. The case, which had been expanded by chamber pressure. This eases removal of the case from the chamber, brass is a commonly used case material because it is resistant to corrosion. A brass case head can be work-hardened to withstand the pressures of cartridges. The neck and body portion of a case is easily annealed to make the case ductile enough to allow reforming so that it can be reloaded many times. Steel is used in some plinking ammunition, as well as in military ammunition. Steel is less expensive than brass, but it is not feasible to reload, Military forces typically consider small arms cartridge cases to be disposable, one-time-use devices. However, case weight affects how much ammunition a soldier can carry, conversely, steel is more susceptible to contamination and damage so all such cases are varnished or otherwise sealed against the elements. One downside caused by the strength of steel in the neck of these cases is that propellant gas can blow back past the neck
37.
SVT-40
–
The SVT-40 is a Soviet semi-automatic battle rifle. The SVT-40 saw widespread service during and after World War II, after the war new rifles were adopted by the Soviet Union, such as the SKS and the AK-47. Fedor Tokarev created the design for the SVT rifle in the early 1930s. Tokarev gave up his previous experiments with a recoil-operated self-loading rifle, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin had a great interest in semi-automatic infantry rifles, and the Army held trials of automatic rifle designs in 1935. The winning rifle was designed by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov, and was accepted into service the year as the AVS-36. However, problems with the AVS quickly became apparent, and further trials were held to which both Tokarev and Simonov submitted their improved designs. This time, Tokarevs rifle was chosen and was accepted for production under the designation SVT-38, ambitious production plans were made, production was anticipated to be two million rifles per year by 1942. Production began at Tula Arsenal in July 1939, the SVT-38 is a gas-operated rifle with a short-stroke, spring-loaded piston above the barrel and a tilting bolt. This configuration gained wider acceptance later, Soviet small arms were usually of simple and robust construction, designed for use by poorly educated and sometimes poorly equipped soldiers. The SVT-38, in contrast, had designed with weight savings in mind, including its wood stock, receiver. It is gas-operated action with a cup that was not readily accessible. It was complex by Soviet standards, and was not suited to handle corrosively-primed ammunition without frequent cleaning, the SVT-38 was equipped with a bayonet and a 10-round detachable magazine. The receiver was open-top, which enabled reloading of the magazine using five round Mosin–Nagant stripper clips, fairly advanced features for the time were the adjustable gas system, muzzle brake, and telescopic sight rails milled into the receiver. The sniper variant had an additional locking notch for a scope mount and was equipped with a 3. 5× PU telescopic sight. This instrument was slightly shorter than the otherwise similar PU scope used on the Mosin–Nagant M1891/30 sniper rifle, the SVT-38 saw its combat debut in the 1939–1940 Winter War with Finland. The initial reaction of the troops to this new rifle was negative, among the issues were that the rifle was too long and cumbersome, difficult to maintain, and the magazine had a tendency to fall out of the rifle. Production of the SVT-38 was terminated in April 1940 after some 150,000 examples were manufactured, subsequently, an improved design, designated the SVT-40, entered production. It was a refined, lighter design incorporating a modified, folding
38.
Receiver (firearms)
–
For the purposes of United States law, the receiver or frame is legally the firearm, and as such it is the controlled part. The definition of assembly is the legal receiver varies from firearm to firearm. For an AR-15 rifle, the assembly is considered the legal receiver. In a rifle such as the FN-FAL, it is the receiver that is serialized. For a FAL rifle, the assembly is considered the legal receiver. Generally, the law requires licensed manufacturers and importers to mark the designated receiver with a number, the manufacturer or importer. In addition, makers of receivers are restricted by International Traffic in Arms Regulations, thus, in the case of a firearm that has multiple receivers, the legally controlled part is the one that is serialized. Unfinished receivers, also called 80 percent receivers or blanks, are partially completed receivers with no serial numbers, purchasers must perform their own finishing work in order to make the receiver usable. The finishing of receivers for sale or distribution by unlicensed persons is against US law, because an unfinished 80% receiver is not a firearm, purchasers do not need to pass a background check. The resulting firearm is called a ghost gun. An AR-15 variant made from an 80% receiver was used in the 2013 Santa Monica shooting, two 3D printed polymer lower receivers for the AR-15 have been released, the AR Lower V5 and the Charon
39.
Bolt (firearms)
–
A bolt is a mechanical part of a firearm that blocks the rear of the chamber while the propellant burns, but moves out of the way to allow another cartridge or shell to be inserted in the chamber. In an automatic or semi-automatic firearm, the bolt cycles back, when it moves back, the extractor pulls the spent casing from the chamber. When it moves forward, it strips a cartridge from the magazine, once the case is clear of the chamber, the ejector kicks the case out of the firearm. The extractor and firing pin are often parts of the bolt. The slide of a pistol is a form of bolt. Breechblock Open bolt Closed bolt Firearm action Slamfire Rotating bolt Telescoping bolt Full Auto describes the function of the bolt in detail
40.
SKS
–
The SKS is a Soviet semi-automatic carbine chambered for the 7. 62×39mm round, designed in 1943 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. Its complete designation, SKS-45, is an initialism for Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova,1945, the SKS-45 was manufactured at Tula Arsenal from 1949-1958 and at Izhevsk Arsenal in just 1953 and 1954, resulting in a total Soviet production of about 2.7 million carbines. In the early 1950s, the Soviets took the SKS carbine out of service and replaced it with the AK-47, however. It is still used as a ceremonial firearm today, the SKS was widely exported, and was also licensed for production by then Eastern Bloc nations, Romania and East Germany, as well as China, where it was designated the Type 56 Carbine. The East German version was known as the Karabiner S, the Albanian as the Model 561, the SKS is popular on the civilian surplus market as a hunting and marksmanship semi-automatic rifle in many countries, including the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. Its age and numbers make it inexpensive to purchase. The SKS was the second firearm to be chambered for the 7. 62×39mm M43 round, the SKS has a conventional layout, with a wooden stock and rifle grip. It is a rifle that has a spring-loaded bolt carrier. The bolt is locked to contain the pressure of ignition at the moment of firing by tilting downwards at its rear and being held by a lug pressed into the receiver. At the moment of firing, the carrier is pushed rearwards, which causes it to lift the bolt, unlocking it. This allows the case to be ejected and a new round from the magazine to be carried into the chamber. As a result, it has a higher muzzle velocity than those arms that replaced it. The SKSs ten-round internal box magazine can be loaded either by hand or from a stripper clip, cartridges stored in the magazine can be removed by pulling back on a latch located forward of the trigger guard. In typical military use the clips are disposable. If necessary they can be reloaded multiple times and reused, because of this design, care must be taken during cleaning to ensure that the firing pin can freely move and does not stick in the forward position within the bolt. SKS firing pins that are stuck in the position have been known to cause accidental slamfires. This behavior is likely with the hard primer military-spec ammo for which the SKS was designed. For collectors, slamfires are more likely when the still has remnants of Cosmoline embedded in it that retard firing pin movement
41.
Carbine
–
A carbine, from French carabine, is a long arm firearm but with a shorter barrel than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full-length rifles, shooting the same ammunition, while others fire lower-powered ammunition, the smaller size and lighter weight of carbines make them easier to handle. An example of this is the US Armys M4 carbine, which is standard-issue, the carbine was originally a lighter, shortened weapon developed for the cavalry. After the Napoleonic Wars, cavalry began fighting dismounted, using the only for greater mobility. By the American Civil War, dismounted cavalry were mostly the rule, the principal advantage of the carbine was that its length made it very portable. A carbine was typically no longer than a sheathed sabre, and like a sabre was carried arranged to hang clear of the riders elbows. Carbines were usually less accurate and less powerful than the muskets of the infantry, due to a shorter sight plane. With the advent of fast-burning smokeless powder, the velocity disadvantages of a shorter barrel became less of an issue, eventually, the use of horse-mounted cavalry would decline. During the early 19th century, carbines were often developed separately from the rifles and, in many cases, did not even use the same ammunition. A notable weapon developed towards the end of the American Civil War by the Union was the Spencer carbine, one of the very first breechloading, repeating weapons. It had a spring-powered, removable tube magazine in the buttstock which held seven rounds and it was intended to give the cavalry a replacement weapon which could be fired from horseback without the need for awkward reloading after each shot. In the late 19th century, it common for a number of nations to make bolt-action rifles in both full-length and carbine versions. One of the most popular and recognizable carbines were the lever-action Winchester carbines and this made it an ideal choice for cowboys and explorers, as well as other inhabitants of the American West, who could carry a revolver and a carbine, both using the same ammunition. Other nations followed suit after World War I, when they learned that their traditional long-barreled rifles provided little benefit in the trenches, the US M1 carbine was more of a traditional carbine in that it was significantly shorter and lighter, with a 457. A shorter weapon was more convenient when riding in a truck, armored personnel carrier, helicopter, or aircraft, based on the combat experience of World War II, the criteria used for selecting infantry weapons began to change. In addition, improvements in artillery made moving infantry in areas even less practical than it had been. The majority of enemy contacts were at ranges of less than 300 metres, most rounds fired were not aimed at an enemy combatant, but instead fired in the enemys direction to keep them from moving and firing back. These situations did not require a heavy rifle, firing full-power rifle bullets with long-range accuracy, the lower-powered round would also weigh less, allowing a soldier to carry more ammunition
42.
MAS-49 rifle
–
The MAS-49 is a French semi-automatic rifle that replaced various bolt action rifles as the French service rifle that was produced from 1949. It was designed and manufactured by the government-owned MAS arms factory, the French Army formal designation of the MAS-49 is Fusil Semi-automatique de 7, 5mm Modele 1949. The MAS-49 semi-automatic rifle was produced in limited quantities, whereas the shorter and lighter variant, overall, the MAS-49 and 49/56 rifles gained the reputation of being accurate, reliable and easy to maintain in adverse environments. All the MAS-49 and 49/56 rifles feature a rail on the side of their receivers to accommodate a designated rifle scope. The MAS-49 and MAS-49/56 were replaced as French service rifles by the FAMAS assault rifle in 1979, the MAS-49 arrived after a series of small, distinct design improvements. Today, this might be termed spiral development, where elements are changed with successive models. Although 50,000 MAS-44 rifles were ordered in January 1945, the MAS-49 was formally adopted by the French Army in July 1949. As a service rifle, it replaced the collection of aging bolt-action rifles that were in French service after the end of World War II. It saw significant service with French troops in the stages of the First Indochina War, as well as during the Algerian War. An improved version called the MAS-49/56 was introduced in 1957 and incorporated lessons learned from service in Algeria, Indochina, the rifle was shortened and lightened to improve mobility for mechanized and airborne troops, and a knife bayonet was added. The MAS-49 built-in rifle grenade launcher was replaced by a combination compensator/rifle grenade launcher that fired NATO-standard 22mm rifle grenades. Attempts were made to replace the MAS-49, in the form of the MAS-54, the MAS-49/56 ended production in 1978 and was replaced with the 5. 56×45mm NATO caliber FAMAS bullpup assault rifle. The MAS-49/56 was withdrawn from service in 1990, whereas only 20,600 MAS-49 were manufactured, the MAS-49/56 was mass-produced, attaining a total of 275,240 rifles issued between 1957 and 1978. The direct impingement gas system was first applied in 1901 to a 6mm semi-automatic experimental rifle designed by Rossignol for the French military and it was successfully tested in March 1939, just before World War II, and followed in May 1940 by the nearly identical MAS1940. Similar direct impingement designs include the Swedish AG-42 Ljungman semi-automatic rifle adopted in 1942, in the MAS-49 system gas is vented from a port on top of the barrel and piped directly into an open cylindrical hollow located in front and on top of the bolt carrier. The system has the advantage of not depositing gas fouling on the bolt itself, the same 10-round detachable magazine fits the MAS-44, MAS-49 and MAS-49/56 rifles. The earlier MAS-40 rifle had a 5-round magazine within the receiver, lastly, the MAS-49 and MAS-49/56 are equipped with a rail on the left side of the receiver. It allows for the installation of a Modele 1953 APX L806 telescopic sight by sliding it into place
.jpg){kind=spacer}
.jpg)
_ACMAT_VLRA_2.jpg)
Angola[45]
Argentina: Produced under license. It's the regular rifle of the Argentine Armed Forces, It's used by the Army, Air Force and a secondary rifle in the Navy. The FAL M5 variant in use.[46][not in citation given]
Bahrain[31]
Bangladesh: Withdrawn from service in reserve.[31]
Barbados[31]
Belize[31]
Bhutan[45]
Bolivia[31]
Bosnia & Herzegovina[47]
Brazil: Produced under license.[46]
Burundi[31]
Cambodia[31]
Cameroon[31]
Central African Republic[citation needed]
Chad[31]
Colombia[31]
Comoros[45]
Congo-Kinshasa[31]
Costa Rica[31]
Cyprus[31]
Djibouti[31]
Dominican Republic[31]
Ecuador[31]
Fiji[31]
Gambia[31]
Ghana[31]
Greece[20][21]
Guyana[31]
Haiti[31]
Honduras[31]
Ireland:[31] Used as the service rifle of the Irish Defence Forces from 1961 until 1989 when it was replaced by the Steyr AUG. In 2011, the Irish Army re-introduced an upgraded and modified version of the FN FAL as a sniper support weapon.[48] The Irish Naval Service still use the FN FAL for line throwing.
Kenya[31]
Kuwait[31]
Liberia[31]
Libya: Anti-Gaddafi forces[41]
Malawi[31]
Mexico: Produced under license.[46]
Morocco[31]
Mozambique[31]
Myanmar[31]
Nepal[31]
Nigeria:[31] Licensed by DICON (Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria) in Nigeria as the NR-1.[49][50][51]
Niger[44]
Oman[31]
Pakistan: Used by the Pakistan Army in service with small numbers used during cold war.[52]
Panama[31]
Paraguay[31]
Peru[31]
Philippines: A few units of FALs were used by the AFP and Police during the 1970s, went into the hands of the MNLF rebels as seen during the 2013 siege of Zamboanga City.[53]
Qatar[54]
Rwanda[31]
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines[31]
Saudi Arabia[52]
South Africa: Produced under license[46] by ARMSCOR. After a competition between the German G3 rifle, the Armalite AR-10, and the FN FAL, the South African Defence Force adopted three main variants of the FAL: a rifle with the designation R1, a "lightweight" variant of the FN FAL 50.64 with folding butt, fabricated locally under the designation R2, and a model designed for police use not capable of automatic fire under the designation R3.[55] (200,000 were destroyed in UN-sponsored "Operation Mouflon" in 2001). A number of other variants of the R1 were built, the R1 HB, which had a heavy barrel and bipod, the R1 Sniper, which could be fitted with a scope and the R1 Para Carbine, which used a Single Point IR sight and had a shorter barrel.[56] R1 was standard issue in the SADF until the introduction of the R4 in the early 1980s. Still used by the SANDF as a designated marksman rifle.
South Sudan: Used in Armed Forces of South Sudan.[citation needed]
Sri Lanka: used by Sri Lanka Civil Security Force
Syria: Used in low quantities by Syrian Arab Army and loyalist paramilitary forces,mostly as designated marksman rifle. [31]
Suriname[31]
Swaziland[31]
Tanzania[31]
Thailand: Used by Royal Thai Police since the 1960s, designated "Rifle Type 05" (1962).[52]
Togo[31]
Tunisia[31]
Turkey: Used by Turkish Land Forces as G1 between 1960s - 1980s.[57] Saw action in Turkish invasion of Cyprus.[citation needed]
Uganda[31]
United Arab Emirates[31]
Uruguay[31]
Venezuela: Produced under license.[46]
Yemen[31]
Zambia[31]
Zimbabwe[31]
Free Syrian Army[citation needed]
ISIS
Hamas[citation needed]
Moro Islamic Liberation Front[31]
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic: Used by the Polisario Front.[citation needed]
Somaliland[citation needed]
Austria: Produced under license. StG 58 variants used by the Austrian Army from 1958 until 1977. Replaced by Steyr AUG.[46]
Belgium: Used by the Belgian Army from 1956 until 1995. Replaced by FN FNC.[31]
Botswana[31] Being replaced as of 2017 with the SAR 21.[58]
Canada: Replaced by the C7 in the 1980s.
Chile[31] Former user
Croatia: Used during the Croatian War of Independence, often called "Falovka".[59]
Cuba: Used during the Bay of Pigs Invasion.[60]
Israel: Produced under license as the 'lightened' ROMAT M1953. Used by the Israeli Army from 1955 until 1972. Officially replaced by IMI Galil and M16.[46]
Katanga[61]
Lebanon
Luxembourg:[31] Used Belgian FALs from 1957 to 1996, replaced by Steyr AUG.
Netherlands: The Royal Netherlands Army adopted the rifle with a bipod and in semi-automatic form, in 1961. In service it was called Het licht automatisch geweer, but usually known as the 'FAL'. The rifles had unique sights (hooded at the front) and the German style sheet metal front handguard. A sniper version, Geweer Lange Afstand, was also used standard with a scope of Dutch origin produced by the Artillerie Inrichtingen, and without the bipod. The scope was designated Kijker Richt Recht AI 62. The heavy-barrel FAL 50.42 version was also adopted later as a squad automatic weapon as the Het zwaar automatisch geweer.[62]
New Zealand: The RNZAF used the 7.62 "SLR" until 1993 when they were replaced by the Steyr AUG.
Portugal: In 1960, the Army issued quantities of light-barrel FN and West German G1 FAL rifles to several of its elite commando forces, including the Companhias de Caçadores Especiais (Special Hunter [Ranger] companies).[63] The latter often expressed a preference for the lighter FAL over the Portuguese-manufactured version of the H&K G3 rifle when on ambush or patrol.[64] In Portuguese service, the FN FAL was designated Espingarda Automática 7,62 mm FN m/962.
Rhodesia: Bought as surplus from Germany and South Africa, because of trade embargo in the country in the 1960s and 1970s.[65]
South Kasai[citation needed]
West Germany: Used by the German Army from 1956 until 1959. Replaced by the Heckler & Koch G3.[66]
