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| ArmaLite AR-18 | |
|---|---|
 The ArmaLite AR-18 | |
| Type | Assault rifle (AR-18) Semi-automatic rifle (AR-180) |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | Communist insurgency in Malaysia Lebanese Civil War The Troubles |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Arthur Miller Eugene Stoner (AR-16) |
| Designed | 1963 |
| Manufacturer | ArmaLite (U.S.) HOWA Machinery Co. (Japan) Sterling Armaments Company. (UK) |
| Produced | 1969–1985 |
| No. built | 1,171 (AR-18)[citation needed] 21,478 (AR-180)[citation needed] |
| Variants | AR-18K AR-18S AR-180 AR-180B Foreign derivatives based upon the AR-18 include the Singaporean SAR-80, Singaporean/British SAR-87 and the Japanese Howa Type 89 Bullpup adaptations include Australian Bushmaster M17S |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 6.7 lb (3.0 kg) (empty) 7.18 lb (3.3 kg) (loaded w/20 rd. magazine) |
| Length | 38 in (970 mm) |
| Barrel length | 18.25 in (464 mm) (6-groove rifling) |
| Cartridge | 5.56×45mm NATO |
| Action | Short-stroke piston, rotating bolt |
| Rate of fire | 750 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 3,250 ft/s (991 m/s) |
| Feed system | 20, 30, or 40-round detachable box magazine, STANAG magazines (AR-18B) |
| Sights | Iron sights or removable 3× scope |
The ArmaLite AR-18 is a gas-operated assault rifle chambered for 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition. The AR-18 was designed at ArmaLite in California by Arthur Miller, Eugene Stoner, George Sullivan, and Charles Dorchester in 1963 as an alternative to the Colt AR-15 design, a variant of which had just been selected by the U.S. military as the M16. A semi-automatic version known as the AR-180 was later produced for the civilian market. While the AR-18 was never adopted as the standard service rifle of any nation, its production license was sold to companies in Japan and the United Kingdom, and it is said to have influenced many later weapons such as the British SA80,[1][2][3] the Singaporean SAR-80 and SR-88,[3] the Belgian FN F2000,[4] the Japanese Howa Type 89[5] and the German Heckler and Koch G36.[6][7][8]
- ^ "A Historical Review of Armalite, page 5" (PDF). ArmaLite, Inc. 4 January 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011."It's especially interesting to note that the RSAF's later 5.56mm rifle, the SA-80, (later adopted as the L85) was nothing more than a bullpup version of the AR-180"
- ^ "Armalite / Sterling AR-18 5.56mm Rifle". Gunmart.net. 14 December 2016. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023.
If you ever take an SA80 apart, or see a picture of one fully disassembled, then look very closely at the bolt and gas system, as it's almost a direct copy of the old AR-18 system.
- ^ a b Eger, Chris (17 March 2016). "Happy St. Paddy's: Those "Red-Headed" AR18 Rifles". Guns.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023.
When the ArmaLite Model 18 was in its last days of production, weapons engineers at Enfield borrowed heavily from its design for 'inspiration' on their new 5.56mm rifle. Known then as the Enfield Weapons System and now as the L85, the bullpup rifle of the British military is at its heart a modified AR18 thrown into a radically different stock.
- ^ McCollum, Ian (24 December 2012). "FS2000 at the Range". Forgotten Weapons. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023.
- ^ "89式5.56m小銃" [Howa Type 89 5.56m rifle]. www15.tok2.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
- ^ Bartocci, Christopher R. (June 2015). "The ArmaLite AR-18/AR-180 Rifles: The Rifle that Never Could". Small Arms Review. Vol. 19, no. 5. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023.
But the true legacy of the AR-18 is all the 'modern' firearms that have adopted the bolt carrier group and operating system such as the H&K XM8 & G36, Bushmaster/Remington ACR, FN SCAR 16/17, South Korea Daewoo K1/k2, British L85A1/SA80 as well as the Singaporean SAR-80/SAR-88.
- ^ "A non-restricted AR in Canada AR180B". Silvercore Firearms Training. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
- ^ Wharton, Kenneth (2011). Bloody Belfast: An Oral History of the British Army's War Against the IRA. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-75247-598-1.
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