Some
specifications may not be completed:
SA 80
Most soldiers on SAS selection will be
familiar with the SA80, the standard personal weapon in use with the British
Army. However, the Regiment dislikes the SA80 and has tended to use the American
M16.
The British army began looking for an automatic rifle in 1910, but the research
program was interrupted several times and it was not until 1950 the final design
was approved. Just as it was to go into production, politicians got in on the
act and the design was dropped in favour of the FN-FAL and the 7.62mm cartridge.
When this rifle became outdated, Enfield began designing once more, this time
with a new cartridge of 4.85mm calibre, ready for the 1978 NATO small arms
trials. Their 1950 model, the EM1, had been dropped because it could not be
reworked into 7.62mm. When the NATO trial decided on 5.56mm the Enfield design
was rejigged to 5.56mm. The SA80 was evaluated in the Falklands conflict in
1982.
It is gradually being replace in service by the SA80 A2 which is said to be a
major improvement on the SA80 design.
Calibre 5.56mm
Weight 4.98kg complete with loaded magazine and optical sight.
Length 750mm.
Muzzle Velocity 940mls.
Feed 30 round magazine.
Effective range 500m.
Cyclic Rate of Fire 610/770 rounds/min.
M16/203
M16-A2
M4 (carbine)
M16 W/ M203
The M16, with a 203 grenade launcher clipped underneath is the preferred weapon
of any SAS soldier operating in combat mode. Despite challenges from newer types
of weapon, the M16 has remained a firm favourite within the Regiment. There are
many reasons for this: it is reliable, able to operte in all conditions; it is
accurate and suitable for both for close work in the jungle as well as in wider
open spaces of the desert. It is light as is the ammunition and with a 30 round
magazine, it keeps up a good fire pattern. It lso can be fitted with a simple
bipod under the barrel.
Designed by Colt gun manufacturers, the M16
is one of the world's most widely used assault rifles. Originaly used in the
early part of the Vietnam conflict to issue to soldiers guarding airfields. The
M16 entered service in 1959. The original design was said to be 'self-cleaning'
by manufacturers but action in Southeast Asia soon convinced the US Army it
wasn't, as daily maintanance of the gas passage was required. The M16 was
upgraded and the product was the M16A1. The current version is he M16A2.
Identifiable from the M16A1 due to the reworked furniture over the barrel and
barrel brake. The SAS found the M16 perfect for their use and used it in Borneo
(1963-66). Since then it has been used in all operation theaters such as Aden,
Oman, and later in the Falklands and Gulf wars. The M16A2 used by the SAS can
fire three-round bursts as well as semi automatic fire. However it lacks the
fully automatic mode some export versions in the M16 series have. The AR 15 is
the civilian version of the M16.
Calibre 5.56mm
Weight (with 30 round magazine) 8.79 pounds (3.99 kilograms)
Length.39.63 inches (100.66 centimeters)
Muzzle Velocity 2,800 feet (853 meters) per second
Feed 30 round magazine.
effective range 400 meters (1305ft)
Cyclic Rate of Fire 800 rounds per minute
Heckler & Koch
MP 5
MP5 A3 & MP 5K
This is the weapon of choice for most Anti-terrorist units
around the world. It was used during the famous Iranian Embassy seige in 1981 by
the SAS. What is unusaual about the MP5 is it fires from a closed bolt making it
the most accurate sub-machine gun on the market. The MP5 is not a cheap weapon
because of its intricate workings. Used by military and law enforcement units in
more than fifty nations, the MP5 is firmly established as the worlds preeminent
submachine gun. Over 120 variants of the HK MP5 submachine gun are available to
address the widest range of tactical requirements. The weapons unique modular
design and a variety of optional buttstocks, forearms, sight mounts, and other
accessories gives the MP5 extraordinary flexibility to meet most any mission
requirement. Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns employ the same delayed blowback
operated roller-locked bolt system found in the famous HK G3 Automatic Rifle.
All the elements of HK excellence; reliability, ease of handling, simple
maintenance, and safety are highlighted on the MP5. Firing from the closed-bolt
position during all modes of fire makes MP5 submachine guns extremely accurate
and controllable.
MP5 SD
----------
Terrorists throughout the world fear Heckler & Koch's
MP5SD. Its integral silencer is so effective that the report of the bullet is
miniscule compared to the click of the bolt operating.
MP5 K
----------
Heckler & Koch's 9mm MP5K-PDW is a compact version of the
classic MP5. Its folding stock and light weight make it an ideal choice when a
full rifle or submachine gun is unmanageable and a handgun is a poor compromise.
It is equipped with the single and full auto trigger group.
Calibre 9mm
Weight 2.55kg (5.62lb)
Length.68cm (2ft 2.75in)
Muzzle Velocity 400meters (1312ft) per second
Feed 15 or 30 round magazine.
effective range 200 meters (660ft)
Cyclic Rate of Fire 800 rounds per minute (other sources say 650)
Heckler & Koch
G3
The G3 Automatic Rifle, standard
bearer of the Deutsche Bundeswehr since Germany was again allowed to arm. It is
truly the firearm that put the fledgling arms maker on the map. Just up the hill
from famed gun maker, Mauser, the former Mauser engineers worked as a team to
come up with a design that would supercede the G1, essentially an FN FAL rifle,
since Fabrique Nationale in Belgium would not license Germany to produce it. The
wounds of World War II were still deep and open at the time, only five years
after the end of the war.
In 1950, the Spanish Army formulated a requirement for a modern select fire
shoulder rifle. Development began at the Centro de Estudios Tecnicos de
Materiales Especiales, an agency of the Spanish government more commonly known
as CETME. CETME assembled a team of Spanish and German weapon designers. The
team included Ludwig Vorgrimmler, generally recognized as the inventor of the
delayed roller locking system.
Prototypes of the new rifle were available for firing by 1952. By 1954, the
7.62mm x 51 cartridge had been standardized by the then new NATO alliance. The
Spanish government approached Heckler & Koch for adaptation of the CETME rifle
in this new caliber in 1954. After about another five years of development, the
West German Army adopted the new rifle in 1959, and gave it its new name, G3 or
Gewehr 3. As many as 50 nations have adopted the G3 as their standard infantry
arm. Though now superceded in Germany by the new G36, the G3 will continue to
see service worldwide for some time to come.
The modern G3 comes in two main size variants, the full size G3, with a 17.71
inch barrel, and the G3K or 'Kurz' with a 12.40 inch barrel. All G3s suffer from
heaviness and excessive recoil of the 7.62 x 51 cartridge in automatic fire.
Remember though that this gun comes from the same genre as the FAL and M14, when
the new NATO round was standard, and rifles were being developed for it. They
together helped with the realization that in order to have an individually
issued automatic rifle, that the cartridge had to be smaller to provide any hope
of decent hit probability, not to mention that .308 rounds are simply much
heavier in their magazines than that which succeeded
Calibre
7.62mm
Weight 4.4kg (9.7lbs) empty
Length. 1025cm (3ft 4.35in)
Muzzle Velocity 400meters (1312ft) per second
Feed 20 round magazine.
effective range 400 meters (1305ft)
Cyclic Rate of Fire 500-600 rounds per minute
Heckler & Koch
53
Rifle power in a submachine gun package, the
HK53. It is truly neither rifle, nor submachine gun, but a strange mixture of
both. A submachine gun is defined as a select fire weapon, fired from the
shoulder using a pistol cartridge. However, with only an 8.3 inch barrel, the
HK53 hardly qualifies as a rifle. The HK53 fills the void where pistol cartridge
submachine guns like the MP5 or MP5/10 and MP5/40 may not be suitable against
armored suspects.
Many parts of the HK53 are interchangeable with the MP5, they are so similar in
size. The example above shows us the newer style concave buttplate that until
recently was only reserved for the MP5 series. It is now available for the 33
and 53 series. The forks are slightly longer on this model than for the MP5
series. The four prong flash hider seen here is now standard. It does much more
to suppress the flash from this short barreled weapon than did the more standard
flash hider seen on the 33 and G3.
There is also a frangible ammunition adapter offered as an option that provides
the necessary back pressure to cycle the HK53 reliably with very light .223
caliber frangible ammunition that is now available for entry situations where
deep penetration is more undesirable. This may prove somewhat unnecessary, since
the national trend of adopting .223 caliber firearms for tactical entry is
proving that there is generally less ancillary penetration of conventional .223
caliber projectiles than even pistol caliber submachine guns.
Preferred by Denmark's Jaegerkorptset and Italy's COMSUBIN units.
Calibre 5.56mm
Weight 3.9 kg
Length. 919 mm 740 mm with retracted stock in A3 variant
Muzzle Velocity
Feed 25 round magazine.
effective range
Cyclic Rate of Fire
750 rds/min
Heckler & Koch
G41
This is essentially the G3 revised to fire
5.56mm ammunition. Other changes include retractable butt, a 30 round magazine
and a three round burst facility. The type is made more attractive to special
forces, including the SAS by it's low noise signature and its dustproof ejector
port.
Calibre 5.56mm
Weight 4.1kg (9.04lb) empty with fixed butt or 4.35kg (9.59lb) empty with
retractable butt
Length 997cm (3ft 3.25in) w/ fixed butt 806cm
Muzzle Velocity 800m (2625ft) per second
Feed 25 round magazine.
effective range 400 meters
Cyclic Rate of Fire 850 rpm
Heckler & Koch
G36k
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G36k |
G36C |
'The Heckler&Koch G-36 assault rifle had been born as
HK-50 project in early 1990s. It was adopted in 1999 by Bundeswehr (German Army)
as its standard service rifle, and in 1999 it was also adopted by Spain. G-36 is
used by British police and sold to USA police as well.
The G-36 is a departure from all previous assault rifles
designed by HK. While all early HK rifles were delayed blowback designs, the
G-36 is gas operated weapon, with rotating bolt locking into the barrel
extension. The receiver is made from plastic with steel reinforcements, the
trigger unit is contained inside the plastic pistol grip with triggerguard and
is available in different versions, with or without 3-burst mode. The polymer
handguard, trigger unit and magazine port are connected to the receiver by
pushpins, so gun is easily field-stripped without any tools other than single
cartridge or other mean to push pins away. The action somewhat resembles
Armalite AR-18 or Enfield L-85 rifles, being gas operated, short piston stroke,
rotating bolt locked. The charging handle is attached to the top surface of the
bolt carrier and can be hinged to the left or right, to charge the gun from
either side. Bolt carrier rides on single guide rod with recoil spring around
it.
G-36 is fed from STANAG-compatible 30 rounds polymer
magazines with translucent walls. The standard G-36 magazines had built-in clips
to connect magazines one to another for faster reload.
The plastic buttstock is side-folding. On the top of the
receiver there is a large carrying handle with built-in sights: the standard
G-36 has dual sights system - 3.5X compact scope is coupled to 1X "red-dot"
sight for faster target acquisition on closer distances. Export version of G-36,
called G-36E, and carbine version, G-36K, has only one sight, 1.5X scope. G-36
has NATO-standard diameter muzzle brake for launching rifle grenades, and can be
equipped with bayonet or 40mm grenade launcher, also made by HK. The
"submachine-gun" sized G-36C "Commando" version also available.
In general, the G-36 is a first class modern assault
rifle, very reliable and comfortable.'
from - http://world.guns.ru/assault/as14-e.htm
Calibre
5.56mm
Weight 3.3 kg
Length 860 / 615 mm
Muzzle Velocity ?
Feed 30 round magazine.
effective range ?
Cyclic Rate of Fire 750 rpm
