The Assault Rifle 1918-1967

Vincent J. Curtis

28 Mar 23

1918-1942

Since the “assault rifle” ban in the United States (1994 to 2004), a lot of public debate in Canada has gone into what an assault “style” rifle is.  Rifles and assaulting being of professional interest to soldiers, below is an account of some elements of the evolution of assault style military rifles.

We start with the Browning Automatic Rifle (M1918).  Designed by the legendary John Moses Browning, it was to be used by American troops in the assault of German trenches in World War I.  Many of the assaulting troops would carry these things.  Upon leaving the trench, the BAR-man would fire a round from the hip every time his left foot hit the ground to keep enemy heads down - so-called walking fire - and in the final assault, the rifle would be switched into automatic mode.  The BAR fired the full powered .30-06 Springfield cartridge, and was, of necessity, long and heavy to be controllable when employed in full auto mode from the hip.  It was fed by a 20 round detachable box magazine, which gave it a lot of firepower for the day.  The BAR was not designed for clearing trenches, just getting there.

Despite its original purpose, the BAR is not considered an assault rifle.  It’s too heavy and unwieldy for close-in work - as it had to be because it fires a full-powered rifle cartridge.  The BAR was never tactically deployed in WWI, and was used as a squad support weapon in WWII and Korea.

Also developed in WWI was the Bergmann MP-18 (Maschinenpistole 18), the first submachine gun. It was issued to German sturmtruppen in 1918.  It fired the 9 mm Parabellum pistol cartridge.  Shorter and handier than a rifle, it was effective in trench fighting.  Submachine guns are not considered to be assault rifles because the cartridges they fire lack power and range.  Since submachine guns typically fire from an open bolt, they lack useful accuracy beyond 50 yards, whereas rifles are accurate beyond 300 yards.

Between the wars, the British developed the famous Bren light machine gun.  It was purpose built as a squad support weapon, and features a quick detachable, replaceable barrel; meaning it isn’t a rifle. The Bren could be used in walking-fire mode.  Because it has a replaceable barrel, the Bren is a step up from the BAR.

The German MP-38/40 submachine guns, designed by Hugo Schmeisser, are not considered assault rifles: the 9 mm cartridge lacks power and range, and the weapons simply lack the accuracy of a rifle.  The Machine Pistol idea will be important later in the war.

The M1 Carbine was developed befor the United States entered WWII.  It fires the .30 Carbine cartridge, which is like a hot .357 Magnum – powerful but still pistol-ish.  The M1 Carbine was developed to replace the Colt M1911 handgun.  The M2 Carbine is the fully automatic version of the M1.  The M2 is on the verge of being considered an assault rifle because it’s select fire, but the cartridge is a little light for serious rifle work, and the M2 Carbine is not considered an assault rifle by the experts.

In WWII, the Germans developed the FG-42, a rifle for their parachute troops.  This rifle is short, light, and handy for a rifle.  The 20 round detachable box magazine enters the left side of the receiver above the trigger group.  It fires the full powered 7.92x57mm Mauser cartridge, and is select fire.  It was designed to fill the gap when the squad LMG, the Maschinengewehr (MG)-34, wasn’t available.  (The disastrous assault on Crete was behind its development.)  Though modern even by today’s standards, the FG-42 is not considered an assault rifle because that full-powered cartridge makes the rifle hard to control in full-auto fire unless the bipod is deployed and the rifleman is prone behind it.  It was not designed for clearing trenches or rooms; it was a paratrooper’s rifle (Fallschirmjagergewehr).

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1943-1960

The first “assault rifle” was designed by Hugo Schmeisser (of MP-38/40 fame) between 1938 and 1943; it represented his vision of the next generation of military firearm, combining the attributes of a submachine gun with a rifle.  It was designated the StG-43, succeeded later by the StG-44/MP-44.    StG stands for “Sturmgewehr”, literally storm rifle, following sturmtruppen. Storming was something the Nazis thought was grand - the party published a weekly newspaper called “Der Sturmer.”  From sturm we get storming or “assault.”

Giving it the sexy name “sturmgewehr” (vice the technical designation maschinenkarabiner machine, or automatic, carbine) was a way of selling the concept to Hitler, who didn’t buy it anyway because he wanted semi-automatic sniper rifles developed for mass production.  The program was renamed MP-44, for Hitler would accept new development in submachine guns.  The StG-43/MP-44 was select fire, chambered the 8 mm Kurz intermediate power cartridge, was short, reasonably light, and handy.  It was fed by a 30 round detachable box magazine.  The 7.92X33 mm Kurz was created by shortening the parent Mauser case, and using a bullet of the same diameter but of shorter length, reducing bullet weight from 198 to 125 grains.  Recoil from the 8 mm Kurz was significantly lessened.  The MP-44 put a lot of easy, controllable firepower into the hands of the infantry soldier, and the rifle could still reach out effectively beyond 300 m.  The troops loved it.  It was automatic like a submachine gun, and not as punishing as the Mauser K98k.

During WWII, the Soviets were famous for their submachine guns and their tank riders.  After the war, the AK-47 was developed based on the example of the MP-44, and was to replace the submachine gun in Soviet service carried by the tank riders.  The AK-47 was select fire, and was supplied by a 30 round detachable box magazine.  It fired the 7.62x39 mm cartridge, first developed for the SKS.  The AK-47 is considered an assault rifle even though originally deployed as a submachine gun replacement; it was, however, carried by assault troops.

The SKS, fielded in 1945, was designed to be the replacement for the Mosin-Nagant 91/30 in Soviet service.  It was semi-automatic only, was fed by a 10 round internal magazine, and chambered the 7.62x39 mm cartridge.  The SKS is not considered an assault rifle.

After WWII, the U.S. developed the M-14 to replace the M1 Garand.  The M-14 was designed to be select fire, but the cartridge it chambered was the full power 7.62x51 mm NATO cartridge, making this light-ish rifle uncontrollable in full auto mode.  Neither the M1 Garand nor the M-14 are considered assault rifles.

Now we come to another American firearms genius, Eugene Stoner.  His first major offering was the Armalite AR-10.  It chambered the 7.62X51 mm NATO cartridge and was fed from a 20 round detachable box magazine.  Employing aluminum and plastic, it was remarkably light and handy; its straight line design made it more controllable than the M-14 in full auto fire, but you still couldn’t clear a room with one on full auto like you can with a submachine gun.  The AR-10 came too late in trials to be accepted by the U.S. military, but it was manufactured under license overseas and sold to a number of militaries of minor countries during the 1960s.

The AR-15 was a miniaturization of the AR-10.  Stoner developed a bullet for the notably accurate .222 Remington cartridge, so that it would pass a military test for lethality; and with some tinkering, the .223 Remington was born.  The AR-15 chambered it.  The USAF was interested in replacing their M1 and M2 Carbines with which their guard troops were equipped, and the AR-15 attracted favourable attention.  Colt also attracted interest in the AR-15 from East Asian countries, whose soldiers were often 5’2” and 120 lbs.  The M1 Garand, which the U.S. offered in military aid, were beasts for soldiers of that size, and the AR-15 sold itself.

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1960-1967

Armalite sold its patents on the AR-10 and -15 to Colt in 1960.  Because of problems manufacturing the M-14 and of the pressing needs of the war in Vietnam, the U.S. DoD began, in 1963, ordering AR-15s, designated the XM-16E1, in hundreds of thousands to fill the gap until something better was developed and in production.

Well, it turned out that nothing better came along, and the M-16 and its lineal descendants remain the standard issue service rifle in the U.S. today.

The AR-15 today now refers to a semi-automatic only version of the original Stoner rifle and its subsequent modifications.  Colt started selling semi-automatic rifles branded “Colt AR-15” on the civilian market in 1964, the same time Colt began filling large US military contracts.  These rifles were made semi-automatic by deleting the auto sear from the trigger group.  Hence, our question is, “is the M-16 an assault rifle?”

The M-16 fires an intermediate power cartridge and is select fire.  It’s controllable in full auto mode, can fill the role of a submachine gun but not that of a light machine gun.  By these criteria, the M-16 is an “assault” rifle, though it was never developed with the “assault” intention in mind.  It was intended to be the next generation service rifle, superior to the M2 Carbine; and not to fill a niche role, as the AK-47 was.  Assaulting positions in a human-wave charge like in WWI, while firing something in full auto mode, simply isn’t in the U.S. infantry manual - anymore.  Technically, the M-16 meets all the criteria of an assault rifle; so, yes, an expert would say that the M-16 qualifies as an assault rifle, but I put an asterisk next to it because “sturm” nowhere enters this picture.  The non-intentional and technically accurate “automatic carbine” (maschinenkarabiner) is its proper classification, in my view.

After the AR-15, Eugene Stone came up with the AR-18 concept.  Where the AR-15 uses a direct impingement gas system, the AR-18 uses a short-stroke piston to cycle the action.  The AR-18 is much like the AR-15 in design purpose - an automatic carbine - but was intended to be manufactured in third world countries, required little sophisticated machining to build, and it got around the direct-gas impingement patent owned then by Colt.  Also chambering the .223 Remington, the AR-18 was made in a few thousands; it’s most famous descendent is the British SA-80.    The SA-80 is a bullpup arrangement, and meets all the criteria of an assault rifle; but like the M-16, it was developed as the next-generation, general-issue service rifle and not for a specific niche role.  The AR-180 is the semi-automatic version of the AR-18, and was sold on the civilian market.

The last Stoner design we’ll consider is the Stoner 63.  This interesting firearm could be configured in six different ways, including: as a rifle, a carbine, a Bren style automatic rifle, and a belt-fed light machine gun.  It was adopted by the U.S. Navy SEALs in 1967, and used in Vietnam primarily in the belt-fed LMG configuration.  With a 15” barrel, a 100 or 150 round belt in a box underneath the receiver, the Stoner could be rested on the ground using the box housing in place of a bipod, and a squad of four SEALs could put out the firepower of a platoon.  It was remarkably light and controllable, which is why it was so popular in Vietnam.  The Stoner, as configured by the SEALs, is a world-beater for clearing trenches, rooms, and jungle clearings as required, and for any other assault purpose; but only in its rifle and carbine configurations would it be classed as an “assault rifle.”  Technically, the preferred SEAL configuration is an LMG.

The Canadian FN C1 and C2 are not assault rifles.  They are long, and fire the full power 7.62 NATO cartridge.  The C1 was not intended to fire in full auto, though the sear can be slipped to make it do so.  It is uncontrollable in full automatic fire, as is the C2 when fired standing.  The C2 fills the same role as the BAR: a second-rate squad support weapon.

The purpose-built “assault rifles” covered here are the BAR and the AK-47.  All the automatic carbines are, by intention, improved, general issue, next-generation service rifles, whose principle improvement is the ability to fill the role of a submachine gun.  The expression “assault rifle” was originally coined to sell the new rifle concept to Adolph Hitler, the term “sturm” having a cachet among Nazis.  Hitler wasn’t seduced, and so the concept was continued in development, in spite of him, as a new submachine gun, the MP-44.  After the war, the sturmgewehr concept was translated and accepted as “assault rifle” which was a rifle (a carbine, really) with certain characteristics: select fire, intermediate powered cartridge, magazine fed, controllable in full auto, and capable of filling the role of a submachine gun.  The experts typically don’t consider the intended role of the weapon in the classification of a rifle being an “assault rifle” or not, and perhaps they ought to adopt the non- intentional, and technically accurate, expression “automatic carbine.”  Fully automatic rifles weren’t designed to “kill as many cabinet members as possible in the shortest time;” they were designed to win the fire-fight by putting more rounds downrange than the enemy was.

The public debate over what constitutes an assault rifle in style amounts to a discussion of undeclared, unexamined prejudices in disguise, with the opportunity to employ illicit substitutions in argument.  “Style” in this case, means that the things in question don’t actually possess the offending automatic characteristic: they only resemble the offending thing stylistically; and “assault” sounds so terrifying, menacing, and insensitive.

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