|
The two most common assault rifles in the world are the Russian AK-47 and the American M16. These Cold War era rifles have faced each other in conflicts both large and small since the early 1960s. They are used by military, police, security forces, revolutionaries, terrorists, criminals and civilians alike and will most likely continue to be used for decades to come.〔http://books.google.com/books?id=ANOPptjRGl4C&pg=PT156&dq=m16+ak-47+decades+to+come+page&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wMzLUO7ZLavfigL65YHAAw&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA | Beyond Shock and Awe: Warfare in the 21st Century, By Eric L. Haney, Brian M. Thomsen, Penguin, 2007〕〔http://www.ausa.org/publications/armymagazine/archive/2008/7/Documents/SA_0708.pdf "As for the future of the M16A4, I’m sure we are going to be building those for quite a while. Everybody has been saying since the 1970s that the M16 is a legacy weapon. But it’s currently the best thing out there." Soldier Armed. M16A4 Rifle. By Scott R. Gourley. Army Magazine. July 2008 page 76.〕 As a result, they have been the subject of countless comparisons and endless debate.〔〔http://www.thenewatlantis.com/docLib/20111115_TNA32Hanson.pdf The World's Most Popular Gun. The Long Road to the AK-47. "The debate between exponents of the AK-47 and the M16 has never been resolved, in part because both guns continued to evolve with subsequent improved models and have now both been superseded by more recent designs; in part because ideology and national chauvinism were inseparable from dispassionate analysis." by Victor Davis Hanson a senior fellow in classics and military history at the Hoover Institution. The New Atlantis. Copyright Summer 2011. pages 140–147〕〔The AK-47: Kalashnikov-series assault rifles. "Endless comparisons have been made between the world's two most widely use assault rifles. Such comparisons, especially if meant to demonstrate that one is better than the other, must be made with caution. While both are intended for close to moderate-range combat, these are two different weapons with different design philosophies, which use different materials and manufacturing techniques and very different tactical employment concepts. Their ammunition is also very different and this too has a major influence on their effectiveness." By Gordon Rottman. Osprey Publishing. Copyright 2011. page 64〕 The AK-47 was finalized, adopted and entered widespread service in the Soviet army in the early 1950s. Its firepower, ease of use, low production costs, and reliability were perfectly suited for the Red Army's new mobile warfare doctrines. Today, more AK-type weapons have been produced than all other assault rifles combined. The M16 entered U.S. service in the mid 1960s. Despite its early failures, the M16 proved to be a revolutionary design and stands as the longest continuously serving rifle in American military history. Today, many small arms experts consider the M16 the standard by which all other assault rifles are judged.〔 ==History== The Germans were the first to pioneer the assault rifle concept, during World War II, based upon research that showed that most firefights happen within 400 meters and that contemporary rifles were over-powered for most small arms combat.〔http://pogoarchives.org/labyrinth/09/02.pdf M16 Rifle Case Study. Prepared for the Presidents Blue Ribbon Defense Panel. March 16, 1970. By Richard R. Hallock, Colonel U.S. Army (Retired)〕〔Jane's Guns Recognition Guide, Ian Hogg & Terry Gander, HarperCollins Publisher, 2005, p.287〕〔Military Small Arms Of The 20th Century, 7th Edition, 2000 by Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks, p.243〕〔Major Thomas P. Ehrhart (Increasing Small Arms Lethality in Afghanistan: Taking Back the Infantry Half-Kilometer ). US Army. 2009〕 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; approximately half a million were made.〔〔〔〔 It fired a new and revolutionary intermediate powered cartridge, the 7.92×33mm Kurz.〔〔〔〔〔http://pogoarchives.org/labyrinth/09/02.pdf M16 Rifle Case Study. Prepared for the President's Blue Ribbon Defense Panel. March 16, 1970. By Richard R. Hallock, Colonel U.S. Army (Retired)〕 This new cartridge was developed by shortening the standard 7.92 x 57mm Mauser round and giving it a lighter 125-grain bullet, that limited range but allowed for more controllable automatic fire〔〔〔〔〔http://pogoarchives.org/labyrinth/09/02.pdf M16 Rifle Case Study. Prepared for the President's Blue Ribbon Defense Panel. March 16, 1970. By Richard R. Hallock, Colonel U.S. Army (Retired)〕 A smaller lighter cartridge also allowed soldiers to carry more ammunition "to support the higher consumption rate of automatic fire."〔 The Sturmgewehr 44 features an inexpensive, easy-to-make, stamped steel design and a 30-round detachable box magazine.〔''Military Small Arms of the 20th Century''. 7th Edition. Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. page 242–243〕 Unlike previous rifle designs, it introduced an over-the-barrel gas system, straight stock and pistol grip to reduce recoil and improve handling characteristics.〔http://pogoarchives.org/labyrinth/09/02.pdf M16 Rifle Case Study. Prepared for the President's Blue Ribbon Defense Panel. March 16, 1970. By Richard R. Hallock, Colonel U.S. Army (Retired)〕 "The principle of this weapon — the reduction of muzzle impulse to get usable automatic fire within the actual ranges of combat — was probably the most important advance in small arms since the invention of smokeless powder."〔http://pogoarchives.org/labyrinth/09/02.pdf M16 Rifle Case Study. Prepared for the President's Blue Ribbon Defense Panel. March 16, 1970. By Richard R. Hallock, Colonel U.S. Army (Retired)〕 Like the Germans, the Soviets were influenced by experience showing most combat happens within 400 meters and that their soldiers were consistently outgunned by heavily armed German troops, especially those armed with the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifles.〔http://www.worldpress.org/cover5.htm "Born in November 1919—one of 18 children, of whom only six survived—Mikhail Kalashnikov was a Soviet T-38 tank commander in 1941, wounded in the shoulder and back when a German shell smashed part of the tank’s armor into his body. "I was in the hospital, and a soldier in the bed beside me asked: ‘Why do our soldiers have only one rifle for two or three of our men, when the Germans have automatics?’ So I designed one. I was a soldier, and I created a machine gun for a soldier. It was called an Avtomat Kalashnikova, the automatic weapon of Kalashnikov—AK—and it carried the date of its first manufacture, 1947." An interview with Mikhail Kalashnikov, Robert Fisk, The Independent (centrist), London, England. April 22, 2001.〕〔http://armedforcesmuseum.com/ak-47-assault-rifle/ | Armed Forces History Museum, AK-47 assault rifle〕〔(Chapter 1. Symbol of violence, war and culture ). oneworld-publications.com〕〔(Weapon Of Mass Destruction ). Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-19.〕〔http://pogoarchives.org/labyrinth/09/02.pdf M16 Rifle Case Study. Prepared for the President's Blue Ribbon Defense Panel. March 16, 1970. By Richard R. Hallock, Colonel U.S. Army (Retired) "Used in quantity against the Soviets at Stalingrad, the German Sturmgewehr made a deep impression on the Russians. They copied the ballistics of the cartridge while improving the configuration and improving the weapon. They standardized the weapon in 1947 as the AK-47 rifle."〕 On July 15, 1943, a Sturmgewehr was demonstrated before the People's Commissariat of Arms of the USSR.〔http://english.pravda.ru/history/02-08-2003/3461-kalashnikov-0/ "The history of the world-known gun started on July 15th, 1943, when a captured complex—an MP-43 gun and a cartridge—were demonstrated at a meeting of the arms committee. Chief designer Nikolay Elizarov and chief engineer Pavel Ryazanov created the Soviet "interim cartridge " within a very short period of time. The technological support was provided by Boris Syomin. After that, scientists started working on a new fire arms system for that cartridge." The History of Kalashnikov Gun. Pravda. 02.08.2003〕 The Soviets were so impressed with the Sturmgewehr, that they immediately set about developing an intermediate caliber automatic rifle of their own, to replace the badly outdated Mosin–Nagant bolt-action rifles and PPSh-41 submachine guns that armed most of the Soviet Army.〔〔〔http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/guns/2006/02/father-100-million-rifles "Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. Kalashnikov, by then a sergeant, was injured within months when a shell stopped his T-34 tank and sent shrapnel through his shoulder. As Soviet history tells it, while Sgt. Kalashnikov recuperated, he began tinkering with infantry weapons, eventually setting his mind on designing a lightweight automatic assault rifle that would expel the better-armed Nazis from Russian soil. Soviet infantry fought World War II with two basic small arms: one was the badly outdated Mosin–Nagant Model 1891 bolt-action rifle. The other was the PPSh series of submachine guns, reliable arms that were effective but only at short range. Something better was needed, and that something was in the hands of the Nazi Wehrmacht. It was called the MP44 Sturmgewehr (assault rifle), and it could fire in full or semiautomatic mode. Chambered for a revolutionary new cartridge, a short 7.92mm round that was less powerful than a full-size rifle cartridge, yet far more powerful than the pistol cartridges for which submachine guns were chambered, the Sturmgewehr made a deep impression on the Soviets who faced it." The Father of 100 Million Rifles Mikhail Kalashnikov was a poor russian farm boy who happened to be a mechanical genius, and for better or for worse, the rifle he designed has changed history. Article by C.J. Chivers. Uploaded on February 28, 2006〕〔(History of AK-47 Gun – The Gun Book Review ). Popular Mechanics (2010-10-12). Retrieved on 2012-02-09.〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Scribd )〕〔http://pogoarchives.org/labyrinth/09/02.pdf M16 Rifle Case Study. Prepared for the President's Blue Ribbon Defense Panel. March 16, 1970. By Richard R. Hallock, Colonel U.S. Army (Retired) "Used in quantity against the Soviets at Stalingrad, the German Sturmgewehr made a deep impression on the Russians. They copied the ballistics of the cartridge while improving the configuration and improving the weapon. They standardized the weapon in 1947 as the AK-47 rifle."〕 The Soviets soon developed the 7.62×39mm M43 cartridge, the semi-automatic SKS carbine and the RPD light machine gun.〔http://www.virginia1774.org/DIA-ST-HB-07-03-74.pdf Small Arms Identification and Operations Guide-Eurasain Communist Countries. by Harold E. Johnson. September 1973. U.S. Army Foreign Science and Technology Center of the U.S. Army Materiel Command.〕 Shortly after World War II, the Soviets developed the AK-47 assault rifle, which would quickly replace the SKS in Soviet service.〔http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/oct/10/russia.nickpatonwalsh Interview with AK-47 rifle inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov. 'I sleep soundly' Shamed by his parents' exile, he was determined to do his bit for the Soviet cause. And so Mikhail Kalashnikov invented what was to become the world's most prolific killing machine. Nick Paton Walsh tracks down the 83-year-old at his tranquil lakeside. by Nick Paton Walsh. ''The Guardian'', Thursday 9 October 2003〕〔http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/rbth/6453703/Russia-celebrates-Mikhail-Kalashnikovs-90th-birthday-the-designer-who-armed-the-world.html Interview with AK-47 rifle inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov. Russia celebrates Mikhail Kalashnikov's 90th birthday - the designer who armed the world. This online supplement is produced and published by ''Rossiyskaya Gazeta'' (Russia), which takes sole responsibility for the content.〕 The AK-47 was finalized, adopted and entered widespread service in the Soviet army in the early 1950s.〔 Its firepower, ease of use, low production costs, and reliability were perfectly suited for the Red Army's new mobile warfare doctrines.〔 In the 1960s, the Soviets introduced the RPK light machine gun, itself an AK-47 type weapon with a bi-pod, a stronger receiver, and a longer, heavier barrel that would eventually replace the RPD light machine gun.〔 The AK-47 was widely supplied or sold to nations allied with the USSR, and the blueprints were shared with several friendly nations (the People's Republic of China standing out among these with the Type 56).〔 As a result, more AK-type weapons have been produced than all other assault rifles combined.〔 "Of the estimated 500 million firearms worldwide, approximately 100 million belong to the Kalashnikov family, three-quarters of which are AK-47s."〔 On the other hand, the U.S. Army was influenced by combat experience with semi-automatic weapons such as the M1 Garand and M1 Carbine, which enjoyed a significant advantage over enemies armed primarily with bolt-action rifles.〔Richard R. Hallock, Colonel (retired) of US Army (M16 Case Study ) March 16, 1970〕 Although U.S. Army studies of World War II combat accounts had very similar results to that of the Germans and Soviets, the U.S. Army failed to recognize the importance of the assault rifle concept,〔 and instead maintained its traditional views and preference for high-powered semi-automatic rifles.〔〔〔 At the time, the U.S. Army believed that the Sturmgewehr 44 was "intended in a general way to serve the same purpose as the U.S. carbine" and was in many ways inferior to the M1 carbine.〔http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/ttt07/stg44-assault-rifle.html Machine Carbine Promoted, M.P. 43 Is Now "Assault Rifle 44", ''Tactical and Technical Trends'', No. 57, April 1945, U.S. Military Intelligence Service, U.S. War Department publication〕 After World War II, the United States military started looking for a single automatic rifle to replace the M1 Garand, M1/M2 Carbines, M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, M3 "Grease Gun" and Thompson submachine gun.〔〔The M16. By Gordon Rottman. Osprey Publishing, 2011. page 6〕 However, early experiments with select-fire versions of the M1 Garand proved disappointing.〔http://www.nramuseum.com/media/940585/m14.pdf |CUT DOWN in its Youth, Arguably Americas Best Service Rifle, the M14 Never Had the Chance to Prove Itself. By Philip Schreier, SSUSA, September 2001, p 24-29 & 46〕 During the Korean War, the select-fire M2 Carbine largely replaced the submachine gun in US service and became the most widely used Carbine variant.〔Leroy Thompson (2011). The M1 Carbine. Osprey Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-84908-907-4.〕 However, combat experience suggested that the .30 Carbine round was under-powered.〔(Arms of the Chosin Few ). Americanrifleman.org. Retrieved on 2011-11-23.〕 American weapons designers reached the same conclusion as the Germans and Soviets: an intermediate round was necessary, and recommended a small-caliber, high-velocity cartridge.〔Donald L. Hall (An effectiveness study of the infantry rifle ) (PDF). Report No. 593. Ballistic Research Laboratories. Maryland. March 1952 (released March 29, 1973)〕 However, senior American commanders having faced fanatical enemies and experienced major logistical problems during WWII and the Korean War,〔''Fanaticism And Conflict In The Modern Age'', by Matthew Hughes & Gaynor Johnson, Frank Cass & Co, 2005〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=An Attempt To Explain Japanese War Crimes )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=South to the Naktong - North to the Yalu )〕〔(HyperWar: The Big 'L'-American Logistics in World War II ). Ibiblio.org. Retrieved on 2011-12-24.〕〔(The Logistics of Invasion ). Almc.army.mil. Retrieved on 2011-11-23.〕 insisted that a single powerful .30 caliber cartridge be developed, that could not only be used by the new automatic rifle, but by the new general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) in concurrent development.〔Col. E. H. Harrison (NRA Technical Staff) (New Service Rifle ) (PDF). June 1957〕〔Anthony G Williams (Assault Rifles And Their Ammunition: History and Prospects ). Quarry.nildram.co.uk (revised 3 February 2012). Retrieved on 2011-11-23.〕 This culminated in the development of the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge and the M14 rifle〔 which was basically an improved select-fire M1 Garand with a 20-round magazine.〔Jane's International Defense Review. Volume 36. Jane's Information Group, 2003. Page 43. "The M14 is basically an improved M1 with a modified gas system and detachable 20-round magazine."〕〔(M14 7.62mm Rifle ). Globalsecurity.org (1945-09-20). Retrieved on 2011-11-23.〕 The U.S. also adopted the M60 GPMG.〔 Its NATO partners adopted the FN FAL and HK G3 rifles, as well as the FN MAG and Rheinmetall MG3 GPMGs. The first confrontations between the AK-47 and the M14 came in the early part of the Vietnam War. Battlefield reports indicated that the M14 was uncontrollable in full-auto and that soldiers could not carry enough ammo to maintain fire superiority over the AK-47.〔Lee Emerson (M14 Rifle History and Development ). October 10, 2006〕 And, while the M2 Carbine offered a high rate of fire, it was under-powered and ultimately outclassed by the AK-47.〔Green Beret in Vietnam: 1957-73. Gordon Rottman. Osprey Publishing, 2002. p. 41〕 A replacement was needed: A medium between the traditional preference for high-powered rifles such as the M14, and the lightweight firepower of the M2 Carbine. As a result, the Army was forced to reconsider a 1957 request by General Willard G. Wyman, commander of the U.S. Continental Army Command (CONARC) to develop a .223 caliber (5.56 mm) select-fire rifle weighing 6 lbs (2.7 kg) when loaded with a 20-round magazine.〔 The 5.56mm round had to penetrate a standard U.S. helmet at 500 yards (460 meters) and retain a velocity in excess of the speed of sound, while matching or exceeding the wounding ability of the .30 Carbine cartridge.〔Hutton, Robert (ed.), ''The .223'', Guns & Ammo Annual Edition, 1971.〕 This request ultimately resulted in the development of a scaled-down version of the Armalite AR-10, called AR-15 rifle.〔Danford Allan Kern (The influence of organizational culture on the acquisition of the m16 rifle ). m-14parts.com. A thesis presented to the Faculty of the US Army Command and General Staff College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCE, Military History. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 2006〕〔Peter G. Kokalis (Retro AR-15 ). nodakspud.com〕 However, despite overwhelming evidence that the AR-15 could bring more firepower to bear than the M14, the Army opposed the adoption of the new rifle.〔 In January 1963, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara concluded that the AR-15 was the superior weapon system and ordered a halt to M14 production.〔 At the time, the AR-15 was the only rifle available that could fulfill the requirement of a universal infantry weapon for issue to all services. After modifications (most notably, the charging handle was re-located from under the carrying handle like AR-10 to the rear of the receiver),〔 the new redesigned rifle was subsequently adopted as the M16 Rifle.〔〔(Report of the M16 rifle review panel ). Department of the Army. dtic.mil. 1 June 1968〕 In 2013, Major Darrin Haas reported, "(The M16) was much lighter compared to the M14 it replaced, ultimately allowing Soldiers to carry more ammunition. The air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed assault rifle was made of steel, aluminum alloy and composite plastics, truly cutting-edge for the time. Designed with full and semi-automatic capabilities, the weapon initially did not respond well to wet and dirty conditions, sometimes even jamming in combat. After a few minor modifications, the weapon gained in popularity among troops on the battlefield."〔GX. The Guard Experience. The Pride of the Guard. by Major Darrin Haas. Volume 10. Issue 3. 2013. Page 67. "Nicknamed a 'Mattel toy' because of its small caliber and lightweight design, the M16 became the standard service rifle for U.S. forces in vietnam in 1967. The weapon was much lighter compared to the M14 it replaced, ultimately allowing Soldiers to carry more ammunition. The air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed assault rifle was made of steel, aluminum alloy and composite plastics, truly cutting-edge for the time. Designed with full and semi-automatic capabilities, the weapon initially did not respond well to wet and dirty conditions, sometimes even jamming in combat. After a few minor modifications, the weapon gained in popularity among troops on the battlefield. Still in service today, the M16 is being phased out by the M4 carbine.〕〔 Despite its early failures the M16 proved to be a revolutionary design and stands as the longest continuously serving rifle in American military history.〔〔 It has been adopted by many U.S. allies and the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge has become not only the NATO standard, but "the standard assault-rifle cartridge in much of the world."〔〔''Small Arms''. By Martin J. Dougherty. The Rosen Publishing Group, Dec 15, 2012. page 26〕〔Per G. Arvidsson (Weapons & Sensors ). NATO Army Armaments Group〕 It also led to the development of small-caliber high-velocity service rifles by every major army in the world, including the USSR and People's Republic of China.〔 Today, many small arms experts consider the M16 the standard by which all other assault rifles are judged.〔〔http://www.vsms.org/Forum/Seite_69_tactical_stuff/120500_Sights_Accessories_Compendium.pdf Compendium Special Operations by Armada. Assault Rifles. by Paolo Valpolini 2/2012 "Among western armies the M4 with its 356-mm-long barrel remains the benchmark type, although reports from the field have shown some criticism regarding its reliability in sand and dusty environments due to the direct impingement or 'gas-tube' system that tends to bring carbon blow-back into the chamber, while hot gases used to cycle the weapon generate heat problems."〕〔http://www.ausa.org/publications/armymagazine/archive/2008/7/Documents/SA_0708.pdf "Colt literature notes that the fourth generation of the M16 “still represents the world standard by which all other weapons of this class are judged. Its combat-proven performance is verified by the fact that over eight million M16 weapon systems have been produced and placed in military service throughout the world." Soldier Armed. M16A4 Rifle. By Scott R. Gourley. Army Magazine. July 2008 page 75.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Comparison of the AK-47 and M16」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|