Protección de la cara y de los ojos

On General Wyman's recommendation, the Infantry Board submitted a formal request for the development of a new SCHV rifle. The Board themselves had been sold on 300 yards as a practical combat range, but felt that C O N A R C , politically, would look more favorably on a 400-yard requirement. The decision at Fort Monroe was that 500 yards sounded like a rounder, easier number to pass muster at the Pentagon. Accord- ingly, the requirement was finally "cast in concrete" for a six-

pound, selective fire .22 caliber weapon, conventionally stocked, holding 20 rounds or better. Significantly, the cartridge itself was not specified, for the simple reason that there wasn't a totally satisfactory one yet in existence, but it had to be powerful enough to penetrate a steel helmet, body armor or 10-gauge (.135") steel with trajectory and accuracy equal to or better than the Ml rifle, and wounding power equal to or better than the .30 Carbine, all out to 500 yards.

The First ArmaLite SCHV Weapon - the .222 "Stopette"

The first design ArmaLite presented, apparently in response to the original 300-yard range criteria, was a short-lived creation by the designer of the AR-5 called the "Stopette". It had the required conventional stock, and was chambered for the standard commercial .222 Remington cartridge. A few preliminary tests revealed that a lightweight arm of this

type combining a drop-heel, foam-filled fiberglass stock with a rather high cyclic rate, resulted in unacceptable climb. Important lessons had been learned about climb and con- trollability in the AR-10 program: so much so that the decision was taken at Fairchild to produce an AR-10 "lookalike" to fire the .222 Remington round.

73. Fig. 105 from US Rifle M14, showing the old Ml, right, and the new 7.62mm NATO M14, officially adopted on May 1, 1957. US Army photo

ArmaLite's "Scaled-Down" AR-10

In private conversation Gene Stoner has always admitted that his prime interest has been in developing rifles in 7.62mm NATO caliber. Indeed, at Fairchild's behest he had by this time designed the AR-16, expressly with a view to licensed production in less developed countries where the technology to produce screw-machine parts and weld them to plain carbon steel stampings made much more sense than did expensive alumi- num alloy forgings. In addition, it appears that Stoner saw little military potential in the .222 Remington round. Accord- ingly, the complex job of developing the "scaled-down" AR-10 went to two engineers in ArmaLite's employ at that time, Robert Fremont, Stoner's chief design assistant, and the mentioned L. James Sullivan, who had first prepared the toleranced production drawings for the AR-10 wherein the gas system had been repositioned to the top of the barrel.

Actually, the term "scaled down" is far too simplistic a description for the process which produced the AR-15 from the

AR-10. For one thing, all the parameters did not fit the same "scale". A scale based solely on comparative weights and sizes of the two cartridges, for example, would indicate a rifle dramatically lighter and smaller than its NATO forebear. Other factors were comparatively much nearer being equal, with the chamber pressure of the finalized M193 5.56mm cartridge actually 2,000 psi higher than the (50,000 psi) average for M80 ball.

When the new rifle was tested with commercial .222 Reming- ton ammunition, the in-line stock and heavier recoiling parts of the new rifle, plus a somewhat lower rate of fire, kept it so impressively "on target" that Stoner's subsequent short demonstration before General Wyman led to a business arrangement being made virtually on the spot. C O N A R C ' s request to the Army Adjutant General for ten of these new ArmaLite rifles for Infantry Board trial was dated May 6th, five days after the announcement of the adoption of the M14.

The Genesis of the AR-15 15

74. A very early appearance of one of the first 17 ArmaLite AR-15s. The caption reads: "On the rifle range, Maj. Eugene M. Lynch instructs Lt. Col. Robert Vallendorf on how to fire the new ArmaLite AR-10 [!] rifle now being developed by the Combat Developments Experimentation

Thus, with the AR-10 itself officially out of the running as the next US rifle, but locked into what Fairchild hoped would be a proud new worldwide manufacturing arrangement with Artillerie-Inrichtingen, the focus of ArmaLite's attentions turned to the .222 caliber rifle, soon dubbed the AR-15. The fateful genesis of this project, with its cavalier setting of require- ments and freedom of ammunition choice, was a model of informality in sharp contrast to the ponderous rigidity of the Ordnance Corps' own .30 caliber Light Rifle program. There were advantages and disadvantages inherent in each of these methods of development, as time was to make amply evident. General Wyman's request was approved, and the Chief of Ordnance was directed to procure ten .222 caliber ArmaLite rifles and 100,000 rounds of ammunition. It appears that ArmaLite actually made up a total of seventeen such rifles.

Center". Note the plain muzzle and absence of a bayonet lug; the one-piece, cylindrical fiberglass handguard; the AR-10-style cocking handle and 25-round magazine.

US Army photo dated March 31, 1958, courtesy Daniel D. Musgrave

Engineers Fremont and Sullivan made some further modifi- cations before ArmaLite produced these first AR-15s. Taking advantage of the flat-shooting .222 cartridge, a less expensive two-position " L " peep sight was fitted into the rear of the carrying handle portion of the aluminum upper receiver, still adjustable for windage but without the click-adjust elevation wheel of the AR-10. Elevation adjustment on the AR-15 was to be accomplished by means of a threaded front post. The rifle itself was 37 1/2" overall, with a 2 0 " steel barrel fluted under the handguard, weighing exactly 6 lbs. with 20 rounds of ammunition (6.12 lbs. with a full load of 25 rounds). Abandon- ing once and for all the original Sullivan/Michault trademark of filling the furniture with plastic foam, the straight stock and one-piece, cylindrical handguard were simply hollow, fiberglass- reinforced plastic shells, the latter lined with a thin aluminum heat reflector.

T h e Genesis of the AR-15 59 75. Left and right side views of ArmaLite AR-15 serial no. 000012, one of the few of the first series of 17 rifles to remain unmodified.

As above, note the plain

muzzle, one-piece cylindrical handguard, and AR-10-style cocking handle. SAFE is

again straight up,

as on the early US and Dutch AR-10s.

The AR-15 in Caliber ".222 Special"

The ArmaLite AR-15 in Caliber ".222 Special"

76. Box and sample cartridge of Remington's ".222 Special", loaded under contract for Armalite. Note the Remington 55-grain bullet (fig. 141, no. 2). Bob Miller collection, photo by Roy Arnold

The last change made was of much more import. Due to the surprise increase in the Infantry Board's specified penetration and trajectory requirements from 300 to 500 yards, ArmaLite

The cartridge development for the .223 was started by myself in 1957 after a trip to Fort Benning to get the desired military characteristics. I calculated the needed bullet weight and muzzle velocity. I then designed the bullet and had it manufactured by the Sierra Bullet Co. in Whittier, Cali- fornia. This bullet was a 55-grain boattail design with a jacket thickness of .018 inches. The powder finally selected

was a standard commercial type.

was forced to modify the .222 Remington cartridge. In Gene Stoner's personal, handwritten historical summary of these early events, he described this process as follows:

The chamber pressures for this round in the standard .222 case were a little excessive. The obvious conclusion was to increase the case capacity and to use a different powder. I contacted Winchester and Remington about loading the necessary rounds for the test program... The ArmaLite rounds [were] loaded by Remington, with the bullets furnished.. [and] were designated the ".222 Special".

Gene Stoner is, in the opinion of many, the most gifted fire- arms designer since J o h n M. Browning. However, in 1958 he was not, nor indeed has he ever claimed to be, an expert in ammunition design or ballistics. In designing his bullet, there- fore, he quite rightly took full advantage of the work already done at Aberdeen. On the original ArmaLite drawing of the "Stoner" bullet, the 7-caliber ogive and 9-degree boattail are identical to the earlier D&PS 68-grain M1 "homologue". The only changes made by Stoner were a shortening of the boattail and the cylindrical bearing length of the bullet to reduce its weight in conformance with the 55-grain specification; itself the last legacy of the informal Aberdeen S C H V program which Dr. Carten had scotched.

Stoner personally delivered the first 10 completed AR-15s, and 100 magazines, to Fort Benning in March of 1958. Four were reserved for an extensive Infantry Board field trial, where they were pitted against shiny new T44E4s from Springfield's recently completed "simulated mass production" run of 500 rifles. Three of the remaining AR-15s were apportioned out as demonstrators to other stations, while the final three were earmarked for Fort Greely, Alaska, where they were to be further examined and shot under Arctic conditions.

Stoner remained in attendance throughout the Infantry Board trial. In his words,

The AR-15 in Caliber ".222 Special"

77. Unmachined examples of the earliest production run of AR-15 receiver forg-

ings. The note underneath, from AR-15 designer L. James Sullivan to collector Bob Miller, reads as follows: "..The enclosed upper and lower receiver forgings

are the first type from a run of 40 sets, ordered in 1959from the Harvey Alumi- num Company of Torrance, Ca." Note the die mark and serial number "HA 7075" on the lower receiver tang. Bob Miller collection, photo by Roy Arnold

..This policy was agreed upon beforehand because there were no instruction manuals or any material for guidance on these new weapons. I also conducted instruction classes until everyone concerned with the tests was thoroughly

Stoner recalls the actual trials with considerable pride, as these first AR-15s did very well indeed against the T44E4s, which in his words had been made at the Armory "with tender loving care. .they were excellent control weapons. " H e found the combat firing phase "as rugged a test condition as I had ever seen..barbed wire strung within 6 inches of the

familiar with the weapon. I was also consulted [regarding any] repairs or parts to be replaced. This procedure proved to be of great value to both the Board and myself, and a great deal of valuable information was gained first hand.

ground, good and tight, where a rifleman has to go through these obstacles and he can't baby the rifle if he wants to keep any skin on himself...The troopers that were firing, at the end of the day, didn't have any clothes left on them to amount to anything, and their boots were all torn up in a matter of a few days."