Machines for War

Beretta AR-70 Series Assault Rifle

2012-01-25T10:58:00.000+08:00

Famous Italian arms company Pietro Beretta Spa began to develop a new assault rifle, chambered for American 5.56mm cartridge in 1968. The resulting design appeared circa 1972 and after trials was adopted by the Italian Special forces,as well as by some foreign armies, like those of Jordan, Malaysia and others. The rifle was designated AR-70/223, and was available in three basic versions (standard assault rifle AR-70/223, carbine SC-70/223 with same barrel and folding butt, and a special carbine SCS-70/223 with shortened barrel and folding butt). The Squad Automatic (light machine gun) variation of the basic 70/223 design, with the heavy, quick detachable barrel also was developed but never produced in quantity.

Beretta AR-70/223 assault rifle

The basic design showed some minor flaws, and when Italian army decided to replace its ageing 7.62mm Beretta BM59 automatic rifles with the new 5.56mm NATO assault rifle, Beretta entered the contest with the upgraded version of the 70/223. This upgraded version appeared in 1985, and eventually won the following trials. In 1990 it was adopted as the basic AR-70/90 assault rifle, with the available modifications of SC-70/90 (same rifle but with the folding buttstock for Special Forces) and SCP-70/90 (Airborne troops carbine with shortened barrel and folding butt). A squad automatic version with heavy, non-detachable barrel and detachable bipod is available as AS-70/90. The Beretta AR-70/90 is a general issue shoulder arm with the Italian Army, and also is offered for export. Both 70/223 and 70/90 rifles are available in semi-automatic only versions, for police or civilian markets.

Beretta SCS-70/223 carbine - partially cut out view

Technical description.

The AR-70/223 and AR-70/90 rifles are very similar in basic design, but with some differences. The description below is for AR-70/90, with differences to 70/223 noted, where appropriate.

Beretta AR 70/90 assault rifle.Installation of the folding stock, shown below the rifle, will convert it into SC-70/90 carbine configuration

The AR-70/90 is a gas operated, magazine fed, selective fire weapon. The receiver is made from stamped sheet steel, and consist of two halves, upper and lover, connected by two cross-pins, at the rear and at the front. For maintenance and field stripping the rear pin is pushed out and the receiver is hinged around the front pin. If required, the front pin can be removed too, so the receiver halves will be separated completely. On the AR-70/223 the upper receiver is of square cross-section, with stamped bolt guides. This design proved to be not strong enough, so the AR-70/90 features a trapezoid-shaped upper receiver cross-section, with separate bolt guides welded in place.

Beretta SCP 70/90 assault carbine.The detachable barrel adaptor is used to launch rifle grenades.

The gas operated action of the AR-70/90 is fairy conventional, with the longstroke gas piston, located above the barrel. The gas piston rod is linked to the bolt carrier by using a cocking handle as a lock, and the return spring is located around the gas piston, above the barrel. The gas block featured a two positions gas regulator (for normal and adverse conditions), and the gas cutoff,integral with raising grenade sight. When grenade sight is raised into the firing position, it automatically closes the gas port. The rotating bolt is somewhat similar to one, found in the Kalashnikov AK-47 rifles, and has two massive lugs, which are locked into the barrel sleeve, which is welded into the receiver. The charging handle is attached to the bolt carrier.

The barrel is fixed to the receiver using the threaded barrel nut, allowing for quick barrel replacement (for repair purposes only, not in the field), without the extensive headspace adjustments. The barrel bore is chrome-plated.

The conventional trigger / hammer mechanism allows for single shots and fullauto on the AR-70/223 rifles and for single shots, 3 rounds bursts (optional) and full auto on AR-70/90 series rifles. The safety /selector switch is ambidextrous on AR-70/90 series rifles, and is located on the right side of the receiver on the AR-70/223 series rifles.

The feeding of AR-70/90 series weapons is achieved by using STANAG (M16-type)compliant magazines, with the ambidextrous magazine release button located at the both sides of the magazine housing in the lower receiver. On the AR-70/223 rifles, feeding was from the proprietary 30 rounds magazines, with the magazine release lever located between the magazine and the trigger guard. Both AR-70/90 and AR-70/223 series rifles featured a bolt stop device, which holds the bolt open when the last round from the magazine is fired. The bolt release button is located at the left side of the receiver, above the magazine housing.

The sights of the AR-70/90 rifles consists of the hooded front blade, mounted on the top of the gas block, and the flip-up aperture rear, marked for 250 and 400 meters range. The top surface of the receiver is fitted with the NATO-standard scope / accessory rail. A detachable carrying handle with the see-through base is available for all AR-70/90 series rifles. The AR-70/90 also can be equipped with Zeiss "Orion" night-vision sight or the Aimpoint 4X telescope sight (any other sights with compatible mountings also can be easily installed, if required).

The furniture on all rifles is made from plastic, with the standard rifle having the fixed plastic buttstocks. The SC-70/223 and SC-70/90 Special Forces carbines are different from AR rifles only by having the side-folding, skeleton type metallic buttstocks, covered with plastic. The SCP-70/90 carbine is similar to the SC-70/90 except that it has a shortened barrel which cannot be used to launch rifle grenades directly. However, a special detachable rifle grenade launcher is available for short barreled carbines, which could be easily clamped onto the muzzle of the gun. The hollow pistol grips of all AR-70/90 series rifles is used to store a cleaning kit.

A wide variety of accessories is available for AR-70/90 rifles, including knife-type bayonets, lightweight, foldable and detachable bipods, blank firing adaptors etc.

	AR-70/223	AR-70/90, SC-70/90	SCP-70/90
Caliber	5.56x45mm M193	5.56x45mm NATO (SS109/M855)
Length	995 mm	998 mm 756mm SC-70/90 with folded butt	908 mm 663 mm with folded butt
Barrel length	450 mm	450 mm	360 mm
Weight, empty	3.8 kg	4.07 kg	3.80 kg
Magazine capacity	30 rounds
Rate of fire	650 rounds per minute	670 rounds per minute
Effective range	400 meters	500 meters	350 meters

The Gotha Go 242 transport glider used by the Luftwaffe during World War II

2012-01-18T09:46:00.000+08:00

The Go 242 was designed by Albert Kalkert in response to a Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) requirement for a heavy transport glider to replace the DFS 230 then in service. The requirement was for a glider capable of carrying 20 fully laden troops or the equivalent cargo.

The aircraft was a high-wing monoplane with a simple square-section fuselage ending in clamshell doors used to load cargo. The empennage was mounted on twin booms linked by a tailplane. The fuselage was formed of steel tubing covered with doped fabric. The flight characteristics of the design were better than those of the DFS 230.

Cargo versions of the glider featured a hinged rear fuselage loading ramp that could accommodate a small vehicle such as a Kübelwagen or loads of similar size and weight.

The glider was tested with rockets for overloaded take offs, a rack of four 48 kg (106 lb) Rheinmetall 109-502 rockets mounted on the rear of the cargo compartment. A second rocket called the "R Device" was also used with the glider - it was a liquid-fuel Heinkel rocket engine R I-203 (HWK 109-500A) which was mounted beneath the wing on either side of the body and was ejected after takeoff, parachuting down to be recycled.

Two prototypes flew in 1941 and the type quickly entered production. A total of 1,528 were built, 133 of which were converted to the Go 244, with two 500 kW (700 hp) Gnome-Rhone engines fitted to forward extensions of the tail booms.

HK33 and HK53

2012-01-10T13:23:00.000+08:00

HK33A2

HK33 had been developed by the German company Heckler und Koch in mid-to late 1960s as a scaled-down version of their G3 battle rifle, and entered production in 1968. HK33 was developed for then-new cartridge, 5.56x45mm (.223 Remington), and while it had not been adopted by German military, it saw significant use by some West Germany police and security units, and also widely exported, and used by Malaysia, Chile and Thailand armed forces. Since 1999, HK33 also manufactured under license in Turkey. HK33 is still in production in Germany by HK, and also served as a platform for further developments, such as G-41 assault rifle and HK53 compact assault rifle (known by HK as a submachine gun).

HK53A2

HK53 is a ultra-compact version of HK33, which advertised by HK as a "submachine gun" and, by common sense, falls in the same category as soviet AKS-74U or Colt "Commando". All these guns can be classified as "compact (or short) assault rifles" by the fact that they used the intermediate rifle round. HK53 was developed in mid-1970s and is still in production and offered for export.

HK33 is a delayed blowback operated, selective fire rifle, that utilized two pieces bolt with two rollers that used to delay bolt blowback. The receiver is made from stamped steel, and HK33 is available with either a polymer fixed buttstock (HK33A2) or retractable metallic buttstock (HK33A3). Carbine version of the HK33 also available and featured shorter barrels and similar fixed or retractable stocks (HK33KA2 and HK33KA3, respectively).

All HK33 variants available with different trigger units, with or without 3-rounds burst mode. HK's proprietary claw-type mounts allow telescopic sights to be mounted on any version of HK33. Full-length HK33s can be equipped with bayonet or underbarrel 40mm grenade launchers, HK79A1, also made by Heckler & Koch. Full-length HK33 rifles also can launch rifle grenades from combined muzzle compensator/flash hider. All HK33 and HK53 guns are equipped with drum-type rear sights.

HK53A3 with retractable buttstock

HK53 is internally similar to the HK33 but cannot fire rifle grenades nor mount underbarrel 40mm grenade launcher. HK53 also cannot be equipped with bayonet, and featured long, four-prong flash hider.

Both HK33 and HK53 can use 25, 30 and 40 round box magazines, but latter are out of production by HK for some time.

	HK33	HK33K	HK53
Caliber	5.56x45mm (.223 Rem)	5.56x45mm (.223 Rem)	5.56x45mm (.223 Rem)
Length	919 mm 740 mm with retracted stock in A3 variant	865 mm 670 mm with retracted stock in A3 variant	780 mm 590 mm with retracted stock in A3 variant
Barrel length	390 mm	322 mm	211 mm
Weight empty	3.9 kg	3.65 kg	3.0 kg
Magazine capacity	25, 30, 40 rounds	25, 30, 40 rounds	25, 30, 40 rounds
Rate of fire	750 rds/min	750 rds/min	750 rds/min

Various anti-tank rocket launcher systems

2012-01-06T09:45:00.000+08:00

Panzerfaust 3

The Panzerfaust 3 has been modernized to defeat the latest in tank armor.

The Panzerfaust 3 is a single-shot disposable anti-tank rocket launcher (only the sight and firing systems are reusable). It is designed to be a close range system to defeat heavy armor and to be used primarily in an urban warfare setting (where close range fighting is expected). No doubt the system itself stemmed from experience in fighting Soviet armored forces in the streets of Berlin during World War Two, with German and civilian forces being armed with the original Panzerfaust series of tank-busters.

Early design drawbacks included excessive weight for a single-man portable battlefield system (leading to the weapon being uncomfortably cumbersome) and jamming issues within the launcher's firing mechanism. In fact, one of the greatest design flaws was that the rocket itself was found not to penetrate the heaviest of armors as advertised, leading to a redesign of the entire system. The redesign also minimized the 'back blast' that occurred when the system was fired, making the system somewhat safer to be fired out from within close quarters.

A later model designated as the PzF 3-T was put into service with a few notable improvements on the original system including a dual hollow-charge warhead. This specialized warhead was developed exclusively to compete with the newer explosive reactive armor that made its appearance as optional add-ons to many tank systems.

The latest Panzerfaust 3 variant in service is designated the PzF 3-IT-600.

Specifications for the Dynamit-Nobel Panzerfaust 3
Operation:
Action: Spring Coil Mechanism Ignition
Cartridge: 90mm launcher
Feed System: 1 x 110mm rocket
Maximum / Effective Range: 1,640ft (500m; 547yds)

Dimensions:
Overall Length: 1200mm (47.24in)

AT4

The AT4 is the primary anti-armor weapon of the United States Army.

The M136 AT4 is billed as the United States Army's primary light anti-tank weapon system available to infantry squads and is based on the original AT4 anti-tank shoulder-launched munition system. The system can be used by a single operator against armored targets posing a threat to the lively hood of the infantry squads. Essentially, the M136 AT4 operates as a recoilless rifle (as opposed to a guided missile launcher), allowing for high penetration of armored targets and fires a cartridge round measuring over half the length of the launching tube. When fired, the projectile sports spring loaded fins during flight.

The M136's cartridge round is an 84mm High-Explosive Anti-Tank munition with a rocket-type cartridge, fin stabilization and can achieve free flight once it leaves the launcher (not a wire-guided munition). The launcher itself is a single-piece tube system wrapped in fiberglass and is disposable after one shot.

The United States Army has since stopped purchases of the base AT4 anti-tank system in favor of the newer AT4-CS (Confined Space) implement. The AT4-CS is designated as the M136E1 and holds the advantage of being able to fire from confined areas such as inside of buildings, improving its reach in urban settings. The weapon has a listed effective range of 300 meters and weighs in at only 7.5 kilograms. The recoilless qualities of the M136 family allow for just about any trained operator to fire one and its rugged capabilities mean that the system can receive a great deal of in-the-field abuse and not reflect that in its performance.

Specifications for the FFV / Alliant TechSystems M136 AT4 Light Anti-Armor Weapon
Operation:
Action: Single-Shot, Self-Contained Recoilless Rifle
Cartridge: 84mm
Feed System: 1
Muzzle Velocity: 950ft/sec (290m/sec)
Maximum / Effective Range: 985ft (300m; 328yds)
Sights: Range Indicator Rear Sight

Dimensions:
Overall Length: 1020mm (40.16in)
Barrel Length: 1,020.00 (40.16in)
Empty Weight: 1.80kg (3.97lbs)

B-300

The B-300 maintains an advantage of needing only a single user to operate the weapon.

The B-300 is an Israeli Military Industries product and is a man-portable anti-tank weapon system. It is designed to engage enemy tanks or fortified structures depending on the chosen warhead type (HEAT - High Explosive Anti-Tank round or HEFT - High Explosive Follow-Through). The Follow-Through round deals with fortifications in two stages, the first being the penetration phase. The second (i.e. the follow-through) phase, launches a secondary anti-personnel shaped charge into the structure. Design of the B-300 began in the 1970's with production running from 1980 through today.

The B-300 itself had origins in the French-produced STRIM anti-tank rocket launching system. This weapon replaced the American-made 3.5" Super Bazookas in service with the IDF. Review of Israeli Army experience in their 1973 conflict gave notice to the effectiveness of Soviet-produced RPG-7 systems in enemy hands. As such, a competing design by Israel was eventually ushered in, this becoming the B-300.

Physically, the B-300 follows conventional wisdom in design. A pistol grip is positioned slightly forward with the firing mechanism on a pistol grip and trigger assembly positioned near center of the firing tube. A folding bipod is positioned just aft of the pistol grip as is a retractable shoulder rest. Sights include integrated standard front and rear battle sights and a variable scope mounting. Scope types include the Starlight scope (via adapter) for night operations and Stadia Sighting Telescope with integrated Beta light for improved dawn/dusk efficiency.

The B-300 weighs in at 3.65 kilograms empty and at 8 kilograms loaded. The system is 1,440 millimeters in length and can fire 3 rounds per minute. Sights include the standard iron sights but this can be augmented with the use of telescopic sights and night vision scopes. Its ease of use allows various military components to utilize the weapon as needed - this includes airborne and mechanized infantrymen alike.

The B-300 won the US Marines competition trials to become the SMAW bunker buster weapon.

The B-300 has seen active combat use in the 1st and 2nd Intifadas as well as the 2006 Lebanon War.

Specifications for the IMI B-300
Operation:
Action: Not Applicable
Cartridge: 82mm
Feed System: 1
Cyclic Rate-of-Fire: 3rds/min
Maximum / Effective Range: 1,312ft (400m; 437yds)
Sights: Iron; Night Vision; Telescopic; Starlight; Sighting

Dimensions:
Overall Length: 1440mm (56.69in)
Barrel Length: 0.00 (0.00in)
Empty Weight: 3.65kg (8.05lbs)

M141

The M141 is commonly known as the SMAW-D and fills the role of bunker buster for the United States Army.

The M141 (SMAW-D) was developed for the United States Army to fill the role of "bunker buster", though the system itself has proven to be most multi-purpose in nature, particularly in urban the urban warfare setting. The system is used for the destruction of masonry, wood and earthen structures as well as a general light-armored vehicle-stopper. The system has proven useful in the demolition of network caves throughout the mountainous terrains of Afghanistan.

The launcher is of an extending tube type with built-in optics. The rocket features folding spring-loaded fins for in-flight stabilization. Target ranges are within a 15-to-500 meter range. The projectile warhead is high-explosive.

The US Army designates the system as M141 or SMAW-D while the US Marine Corps use the SMAW (Shoulder-launched Multi-purpose Assault Weapon). Warheads featured in the projectiles of the two weapon systems are the same.

Specifications for the IMI M141 Bunker Defeat Munition (BDM) / SMAW-D
Operation:
Action: Disposable Shoulder-Launched Assault Weapon
Cartridge: 83mm
Feed System: 1
Cyclic Rate-of-Fire: 1rds/min
Maximum / Effective Range: 1,640ft (500m; 547yds)
Sights: Iron; Telescopic; Night Vision

Dimensions:
Overall Length: 826mm (32.52in)
Barrel Length: 826.00 (32.52in)
Empty Weight: 7.12kg (15.70lbs)

LRAC 89-F1

The LRAC system was a reusable shoulder-fired rocket launcher developed for the French Army.

The LRAC 89-F1 was developed for the French Army to replace the aging M20A1 Super Bazooka rocket launcher. The M20A1 was an improved form of the World War 2-era American M1 Bazooka launcher and entered production in 1952. The LRAC 89-F1 was constructed out of plastic and fiberglass to promote a lighter carrying weight for those soldiers assigned to operate the system. A typical crew included two personnel, one to handle the launcher itself and the other to facilitate initial loading and subsequent reloading of the launch tube. The LRAC derived its designation from the name of "Lance-Roquettes AntiChar de 89mm modele F1" and was also known as the STRIM 89mm (based on the abbreviation of the name Societe Techique de Recherches Industrielles et Mechanique).

In the mid-1960s, the Societe Techique de Recherches Industrielles et Mechanique was contracted to find a suitable replacement for the outgoing M20A1 series and, in the early 1970s, delivered two viable candidates. The first was a recoilless rifle design known under the designation of ACL-APX with an 80mm projectile assisted in flight by rocket propulsion. The second became the LRAC 89-F1 of 89mm. After evaluation by the French Army, the more promising and cheaper-to-produce LRAC system came out ahead and was selected for procurement and serial production.

As its designation implies, the LRAC 89-F1 fired a rocket of 89mm caliber. Muzzle velocity was rated at 967 feet per second with an effective range within 500 meters and a maximum range out to 2,300 meters. Sighting was accomplished through use of an APX M290 scope and a passive night telescope sight were also available. The base penetration rocket was fin-stabilized (spring-loaded) while in flight and can pierce up to 400mm at a 0-degree angle and up to 110mm at 65-degrees. Broken down, the projectile featured an electric generator at its head followed by the cap and head with the fuse at the midway point. The projectile was then largely made up of the propulsion charge and finally ended with the exhaust nozzle. The launch tube contained the integrated sighting device, trigger mechanism and bipod. The rocket was not made active until the rear tube container was affixed to the launcher. Only then the rocket's propellant was not activated until after the rocket was fired. The rocket was then armed some 32 feet from the launch point.

Design of the base LRAC launcher was essentially a detailed tube. The tube was larger at the rear and tapered off to a consistent forward end. The main control components were held at the center of the tube and included a pistol grip type handle, a retractable forward hand grip and an adjustable ergonomically curved shoulder rest with twin feet (bipod). The sighting system was mounted near the pistol grip unit (or firing generator handle). A carrying handle was set to the right side of the tube body. The rear of the tube was capped by a removable plug and the front by a removable muzzle cover. A back sight notch was mounted atop the business end of the muzzle.

Beyond the base issue rocket, LRAC ammunition included an anti-personnel/anti-vehicle projectile (spraying out up to 1,600 high-speed, molded steel pellets), a pair of smoke projectile (35 second disbursement time in either liquid smoke/phosphorous head forms) and an illumination projectile that burned in air for up to 30 seconds at 300,000 candela power, settling to the ground by a small parachute.

The LRAC 89-F1 in French Army service has since been replaced by the AT4-CS (of Sweden) single-shot and the ERYX portable wire-guided anti-tank weapons. The LRAC does, however, continue service with other militaries around the world, thee being primarily former French colonies residing in Africa.

Specifications for the LRAC 89-F1 (Lance-Roquettes AntiChar de 89mm modele F1)
Operation:
Action: Propellant-Based, Shoulder-Fired
Cartridge: 89mm
Feed System: 1
Cyclic Rate-of-Fire: 3rds/min
Maximum / Effective Range: 1,969ft (600m; 656yds)
Sights: APX M290 / Passive Night Optics

Dimensions:
Overall Length: 1170mm (46.06in)
Barrel Length: 0.00 (0.00in)
Empty Weight: 5.50kg (12.13lbs)

M1

The American Bazooka was a successful - albeit simplistic - anti-armor developed as early as 1933, though not fielded until 1942. The system consisted of a basic tube, wiring and a pistol grip, fore grip and shoulder rest (all three usually of wood) with the rocket loaded from the open rear. While the primary weapons handler aimed and fired the system, a secondary member was charged with connecting the ignition wiring at rear.

The Bazooka series was first used in the desert campaign of North Africa against Axis tanks. The initial Bazooka system, the M1 and the equally similar M1A1, were designed to fire the penetrating M6A3 rocket round or the practice M7A3 rocket round for training. The M1A1 took over the M1's role shortly after the M1 entered service. Later improved Bazooka models would also fire incendiary and smoke rounds (the Bazooka M9). In some cases, a wire mesh was fitted to the firing end of the launch tube as often times not all of the propellant would be consumed during ignition, spraying the remaining propellant into the face of the firer.

Though often thought of for its anti-tank capabilities, the Bazooka was equally adept at taking out dug in enemy and their surrounding installations not to mention obstacles. Though the effective range of the system was listed at about 300 yards, usage of the Bazooka was usually kept around or under 100 yards to increase accuracy.

The lethality and effectiveness of such a cheap system to produce enlightened the Germans to use the M1 as the basis for their own Bazooka-type system, becoming the large caliber Raketenpanzerbusche. Despite this, the American Bazooka enjoyed more acclaim than any other shoulder-fired rocket system of the war, accounting for over 15 million rockets produced with some 475,000 Bazooka launcher systems in circulation.

The success of the M1 and the improved M1A1 led to the M9, basically a Bazooka launcher that could break down into a more portable two-piece system for easier carrying. The ultimate Bazooka evolution became the M18, seeing introduction at war's end. These later Bazooka systems saw almost exclusive use in the Pacific Theater.

Specifications for the M1 (Bazooka)
Operation:
Action: Electrically-Fired Single-Shot Launcher
Cartridge: 60mm
Feed System: 1
Muzzle Velocity: 270ft/sec (82m/sec)
Dimensions:
Overall Length: 1390mm (54.72in)
Barrel Length: 0.00 (0.00in)
Empty Weight: 6.01kg (13.25lbs)

G41

2011-12-22T09:02:00.000+08:00

Heckler und Koch G41

The G-41 assault rifle had been developed in early 1980s from HK-33E assault rifle as a companion to the G-11. While the caseless G11 had to be issued to the front line troops, the G-41 had to be issued to second line troops. When G-11 programme collapsed due to financial and political reasons in early 1990s, the G-41 had been offered for many customers but found no sales, being of high quality, but too expensive.

Basically, the G-41 is a further development of the early G-3 rifle, having the same roller delayed blowback action, but chambered for 5.56mm NATO ammunition. The G-41 also featured the 0-1-3-30 trigger group, STANAG compatible magazines and scope mountings, silent bolt closure device (similar to the "forward assist device" on the M16A1 and M16A2), integral dust cover on the ejection port, and integral side-folding carrying handle. The G-41 could be issued with fixed plastic butt or with telesopic (folding) butt.

Close-up view to the G41 receiver with dust cover, forward assist button and STANAG magazine veil

Caliber: 5.56x45 mm NATO
Action: Delayed blowback
Overall length: 997 mm (fixed butt) or 996/806 mm (folding butt)
Barrel length: 450 mm
Weigth: 4.1 kg
Magazine capacity: 20, 30 or 40 rds

De Havilland Daylight Bomber in WW1

2011-12-20T17:18:00.001+08:00

The Airco DH.4 was a highly-produced day bomber for Allied forces in the First World War.

With production numbering over 6,000 total units, the Airco / de Havilland DH.4 was another one of Geoffrey de Havilland's successful aircraft designs of the First World War (his legacy would later be solidified with the development of the World War Two DH.98 Mosquito series). The system was fielded en masse and proved to be a very capable system, so much so in fact, that the DH.9 - the planned successor to the DH.4 - could not even unseat the original DH.4 system. As such, the Dh.4 would enjoy a lasting legacy, achieving success in war time as the principle daytime bomber and in peacetime, serving the roles of aerial surveyor and crop duster well into the 1920's.

The DH.4 was designed to meet a specialized War Office specification and classified as a light daytime bomber. Though listed in this entry with "Airco" as the manufacturer, the aircraft was in fact produced by a variety of sub-contractors in England and the United States - with the United States accounting for nearly 5,000 units of the overall production total. British-produced units were often fielded with the Rolls-Royce brand engine generating 250hp whilst American models would feature the more powerful Liberty 12 400hp engine for use by the United States Army Air Service.

Crew accommodations for the DH.4 amounted to seating for two - the pilot and an observer/rear gunner. Seating, it should be noted, placed the pilot and rear gunner in distanced cockpits and as such, communications would have suffered somewhat in the midst of a firefight. The DH.9 series would remedy this by placing the pilot and rear gunner back to back, cockpits placed closer together. The pilot had access to twin Lewis-type 7.62mm machine guns in a forward fixed firing position. Additionally, the rear cockpit was fitted with twin 7.62mm Lewis machine guns as well, though these were trainable. External bomb provisions were limited to 460 lbs of ordnance.

Specifications for the Airco DH.4

Dimensions:

Length: 30.68ft (9.35m)
Width: 42.39ft (12.92m)
Height: 10.99ft (3.35m)

Performance:

Max Speed: 143mph (230kmh; 124kts)
Max Range: 478miles (770km)
Rate-of-Climb: 1,000ft/min (305m/min)
Service Ceiling: 21,998ft (6,705m; 4.2miles)

Structure:
Accommodation: 2
Hardpoints: 2
Empty Weight: 2,392lbs (1,085kg)
Max. Weight: 3,479lbs (1,578kg)

Powerplant: Engine(s): 1 x Rolls-Royce Eagle VI inline engine generating 250hp.

Armament Suite:
STANDARD: 2 x 7.62mm Vickers machine guns (fixed, forward-firing); 2 x 7.62mm Vickers machine guns on trainable mount in rear cockpit.
OPTIONAL: Maximum External Bomb Loadout of 460 lbs.

Anti-tank rifles by Finnish and British designers in WW2

2011-12-16T10:01:00.000+08:00

Lahti L-39 Anti-Tank Rifle

The Lahti L-39 was a large Finnish anti-tank rifle used in the World War 2 engagements against the Soviet Union, earning itself the nickname of Elephant Gun.

The Lahti L-39 was an indigenous Finnish 20mm anti-tank rifle design used during the "Winter War" of World War 2. The system was designed in 1939 and produced in some 1,900 examples by the end of her run, expanding to include the fully-automatic L-39/44 anti-aircraft variant. For a time, the weapon proved effective in combating Soviet armor head-on but as armor protection on new Soviet tanks soon increased, the Lahti L-39 was relegated to other - though still useful - battlefield roles as necessary.

Two schools of anti-tank thought had ultimately developed in Finland. On one side there were those believing in the effectiveness of the smaller 13mm cartridge tied to a fast-firing machine gun-type action, providing better penetration value via higher muzzle-velocity. On the other side there stood those believing in a larger-caliber 20mm rifle. Though slower-firing, the 20mm shell inherently held sufficient benefits in being able to penetrate the then known armor thicknesses of enemy tanks. Finnish patriot Aimo Johannes Lahti (1896-1970), the self-educated weapons designer, attempted to settle the debate - he himself favoring the larger 20mm projectile weapon. Lahti set forth to design both a 13.2mm anti-tank machine gun and a 20mm anti-tank rifle. Evaluation would soon enough reveal the 20mm cartridge to be the way of things.

By the time of the Winter War - the Soviet invasion of Finland - anti-tank weaponry for the Finns was in desperately short supply with only a few 20mm and some 13.2mm weapons in circulation. The 13.2mm breed was quickly found to be useless against even the base Soviet armor. Though these 13.2mm systems offered up their high rate-of-fire, the projectiles did little in the way of penetrating armor. Those 20mm systems that were in use, however, delivered much better results. As such, a priority on 20mm anti-tank weapons was put in motion and Amios Lahti ultimately produced his memorable L-39.

The L-39 maintained a most unique external appearance. The operator was braced by a curved padded shoulder piece. The pistol grip and trigger group were set aft of the receiver. The massive curved box magazine was fitted to the top of the receiver. To the forward portion of the weapon was supported by a decidedly Finnish bipod sporting ski-type implements - suitable for winter weather conflict. The barrel extruded out at length and sported noticeable cooling vents akin to a pepper shaker. The 20mm cartridge of choice became the 20x138mm "Solothum Long" to be fired from a 10-round detachable box magazine. Muzzle velocity was listed at 2,600 feet per second and the firing action was semi-automatic. The weapon weighed in at an astonishing 109lbs with an overall length of 88 inches, 51.2 inches of this made up by the barrel. The L-39 carried the appropriate nickname of "Norsupyssy" (meaning "Elephant Gun").

In practice, the Lahti L-39 proved quite effective at the outset. Perhaps moreso adding to its legacy was the fact that the L-39 was equally adept at engaging just about any type of Soviet target under the Finland sun - be they armored or unarmored. The L-39 was used against bunker emplacements, low-flying enemy aircraft and enemy troops including other enemy sniper teams. A fully-automatic variant - the L-39/44 - was introduced in 1944 in limited quantity to serve as a dedicated anti-aircraft weapon system - seeing service even after World War 2. At any rate, the long-range hitting power and penetration values were a godsend for the defense of the Finnish frontier.

L-39 gun teams also took to targeting certain vulnerable parts of tanks if their cartridge was not able to penetrate the armor directly. This proved the case with the arrival of the heavier T-34 and KV-1 tanks to come. Thick armor proved the Soviet modus operandi until the end of the war and such armor essentially dwindled the L-39's reach to an extent. Additionally, the large weapon system was cumbersome to deploy and relocate with any sense of efficiency and were often left to the enemy when positions were overrun.

Though never receiving much in the way of support from the Allies, the outnumbered Finns (3-to-1) utilized what they had - a special combination of weapons and winter tactics - against the ill-trained Soviet soldier. The result became several notable early victories against the mighty Red Army, sometimes resulting in the decimation of entire army groups and the capturing of Soviet armor, weapons and ammunition. Though Finland eventually capitulated on March 12th, 1940, with the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty the damage was ultimately done - some 126,875 Soviet personnel were killed or went missing while a further 264,908 were wounded. In contrast, the Finns suffered 25,904 dead or missing and a further 43,557 wounded. Finland lost out on 11% of its pre-war territory and over a quarter of her economic power. Her resistance, however, kept the Soviet Union from claiming complete control over all of Finland - delivering an international black eye to the Communist powerhouse. In the "Continuation War" still to come, Finland would once again take up arms against the Soviet Union - this time with material support from Germany and Italy at a time when Germany and the Soviet Union were now fully at war with one another.

Specifications for the Lahti L-39
Operation:
Action: Semi-Automatic
Cartridge: 20x138B Long Solothum
Feed System: 10-round detachable box
Muzzle Velocity: 2,600ft/sec (792m/sec)
Cyclic Rate-of-Fire: 30rds/min
Sights: Iron Sights

Dimensions:
Overall Length: 2200mm (86.61in)
Barrel Length: 1,300.00 (51.18in)
Empty Weight: 49.50kg (109.13lbs)

Boys Anti-Tank Rifle (Stanchion) Anti-Tank Rifle

The Boys Anti-Tank rifle proved to be of some value, particularly against the early tank designs of the World War 2.

In 1934 the British Army issued a requirement for a light anti tank weapon. The designer of the heavy rifle was Captain Boys, a designer at the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield. For security reasons it was initially given a code-name 'Stanchion' but was later renamed after its designer.

Good progress was made and tests were encouraging with penetration of 1" (25mm) in armor plate. The Boys rifle was an oversized scale version of a service rifle that would be able to shoot a large round that an average soldier could be expected to hold and fire. This was made easier with a spring absorber using a muzzle brake and a front support monopod - later a bipod was added. Both models were bolt-action and used a detachable top-loading 5-round magazine. The first model had a double sight for 300 yards and 500 yards while the later models only had a fixed sight.

The weapon was introduced to the British infantry in 1937, however tank design had improved and with the outbreak of war it was clear the Boys was going to be limited in its use. In the early stages of World War 2, the Boys did prove effective against light armored German tanks and combat vehicles. The weapon was especially popular with Finnish Army troops in Finland in 1940 during the Winter War against the Soviet Union, as the rifle proved capable of knocking out the Soviet T-26 tanks encountered.

A shortened version was issued in 1942 for airborne forces and saw action in Tunisia, where it was proven ineffective due to the reduced velocity inherent with the shortened barrel. When used in roles against bunkers, machine gun nests, and light-skinned vehicles the Boys rifle truly found its success. In the Pacific Theater, the Boys was used effectively against light Japanese tanks and remained in the British inventory for use throughout that theater.

Most troops disliked the weapon due to the massive recoil along with the noise and a heavy muzzle blast causing bruised necks and shoulders. The weapon was not one of choice with numerous small screws in soft steel that made maintenance difficult in the field. Nevertheless, the weapon system saw continued use throughout the British Commonwealth along with a few samples falling into the hands of German and Japanese troops to be used against their owners.

Specifications for the Boys Anti-Tank Rifle (Stanchion)
Operation:
Action: Bolt-Action
Cartridge: 0.55 in
Feed System: 5-round detachable box magazine
Cyclic Rate-of-Fire: 10rds/min

Dimensions:
Overall Length: 1613mm (63.50in)
Barrel Length: 0.00 (0.00in)
Empty Weight: 16.00kg (35.27lbs)

Drones: A deeply unsettling future

2011-12-13T16:15:00.001+08:00

SEE ALJAZEERA: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/12/201112774824829807.html

San Francisco, California - On Sunday, Iran claimed to have taken down a US drone in Iranian airspace - not by shooting it out the sky, but with its cyber warfare team.

Reports confirm that the US believes Iran is now in possession of "one of the more sensitive surveillance platforms in the CIA's fleet", but deny Iran's involvement. Of course, Iran’s claim of overtaking the drone with its cyber warfare team should be tempered with a serious dose of scepticism, as cyber security experts say the facts may not add up. But this is just the latest story in a series of incidents that raises worrying questions about security problems caused by drones. And given the coming proliferation of drone technology both domestically and abroad, this should be a concern to citizens all over the world.

Two years ago the Wall Street Journal reported Iran-funded militants in Iraq were able to hack into drones' live-video feeds with "$26 off-the-shelf software". In another unnerving incident, Wired reported in October that a fleet of the Air Force's drones was infected with a computer virus that captured all of drones' key strokes. Technicians continually deleted the virus to no avail. How did the drones get infected? The military is "not quite sure". Worse, the Air Force's cyber security team didn't even know about the virus until they read about it in Wired.

Wired reported in a separate story that an upcoming Congressional report will detail how hackers broke into the US satellite system. With one satellite, hackers "achieved all steps required to command" it, "but never actually exercised control".

Last summer, a drone caused a scene in the nation's capital, when, as New York Times wrote, "fighter jets were almost scrambled after a rogue Fire Scout drone, the size of a small helicopter, wandered into Washington's restricted airspace". A similar incident took place in Afghanistan where military planes had to shoot down a "runaway drone" when pilots lost control.

The US, of course, leads the world in drone use for both surveillance and combat missions. Attacks are carried out in Pakistan every four days on average. Many times, the US isn't even sure exactly who they are killing. Despite the fact that the location of vast majority of drone bases are classified, journalist Nick Turse pieced together a startling picture of the massive US fleet. He determined that the US has at least 60 drone bases operated by either the US military or the CIA around the world, and "most of these facilities have remained unnoted, uncounted, and remarkably anonymous - until now".

But drone use is not just relegated to US military. Drone manufacturers already command a $94bn market, according to some estimates, and the drone arms race is in full swing. As the Washington Post reported, the constant buzz of drones and threats of attack now dominates the lives of civilians in Gaza. And Turkey plans to have Predator drones in operation by June 2012.

Meanwhile, Chinese contractors unveiled 25 types of unmanned aircraft last year. In all, at least 50 countries now have some sort of unmanned aerial vehicles, and the New York Times reports that "the number is rising every month". That number also includes Iran, which is seeking to upgrade its fleet. Even the Libyan rebels had their own surveillance drone - provided to them by Canadian defence contractors - before they were in full control of their own country.

The technology itself is also developing at an alarmingly rapid pace. The New York Times reports that researchers in the US are working on "shrinking unmanned drones, the kind that fire missiles into Pakistan and spy on insurgents in Afghanistan, to the size of insects", along with oversized drones that can capture video of an entire city. There are birdlike drones, underwater drones, drones within drones, facial recognition drones, and perhaps most terrifying, completely autonomous drones - currently being tested in Georgia - which will require no human control at all.

As Micah Zenko, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told me last month, "It's a very impressive and responsive tool that should be used sparingly. Even if we’re responsible now, we might not be forever."

But in the US, drones will become yet another way authorities can compromise the privacy of ordinary citizens, as the FAA plans to propose new rules for their domestic flight. As Newsweek reported, police forces and border patrols in the US are buying the technology from defence contractors, and one has already been spotted flying over Houston. Police departments are already using GPS and cell phone tracking without warrants, this will another powerful surveillance weapon in their arsenal. As privacy advocates warn, "drones can easily be equipped with facial recognition cameras, infrared cameras, or open Wi-Fi sniffers". And while these drones will be used for many surveillance purposes (a scary thought in and of itself), contractors admit they are equipped to carry weapons, such as Tasers.

Whether they are being used for surveillance or all-out combat, drones will soon pose serious risks for all of the world's citizens. They can offer governments, police departments, or private citizens unprecedented capabilities for spying, and given their security vulnerabilities, the potential consequences could be endless.

Schmeisser MP 43

2011-12-08T13:48:00.000+08:00

Hitler’s Germany was the leading country in the development of the assault rifle. Even the term "assault rifle", is no more than a translation of the German term Sturmgewehr,devised for propaganda reasons by no less than Hitler himself (or at least so the legend goes).

Germany began to develop intermediate cartridges during the mid-1930s. There were some developments in 7 mm and 7.75 mm calibre, but Heereswaffenamt (HWaA, or Department of Armaments), decided to retain the existing rifle calibre of 7.92 mm, to save money on new machinery that would otherwise be required to produce bullets and barrels of a non-standard calibre. The new 7.92 mm "short infantry cartridge" (Infanterie patrone Kurz), developed by the Polte Werke in 1938, was officially designated the 7.92 mm PP Kurz. It had metric dimensions of 7.92 x 33, considerably shorter and less powerful than the standard 7.92 x 57 rifle / MG cartridge, and propelled a 8.1 g (125 grain) bullet to roughly 680 meters per second.

MP 43 assault rifle, the first production variant of the Sturmgewehr, left side

In 1939 HWaA issued a contract for the development of a "Maschinenkarabiner", or machine carbine (MKb for short), chambered for the new Kurz cartridge, to the company C.G.Haenel Waffen und Fahrradfabrik. Initial development took place under the designation of MKb.42 - Maschinenkarabiner, 1942. The new weapon was intended as a replacement for submachine guns, bolt action rifles and, partly, light machineguns for front troops and was intended to have an effective range of 600 meters or so.

The famous designer Hugo Schmeisser led the Haenel development team, which produced the first working prototypes of new weapon by 1942, known as MKb.42(H). After extensive combat tests of the MKb.42(H), HWaA asked Haenel for several significant improvements over their initial design. Most notable was the request to replace the submachine-gun like open-bolt firing system with more convenient closed-bolt system, to improve single-shot accuracy. Schmeisserre designed the weapon accordingly, and by 1943 submitted the improved version to the HWaA. But by this time Hitler had ordered that only existing types should be developed and manufactured, and the Maschinenkarabiner was not on this list. To avoid this nuisance, the Germans decided simply to rename the MKb to the MP, or Machinen pistole (submachine gun), which was on the “approved” list. So, the new and improved weapon received the designation MP-43, and went into limited production and field trials at the front. During the following year, the MP-43 experienced several minor modifications, leading to MP-43/1 and MP-43/2 designations, but these differed only in details such as front sight bases and grenade launcher interfaces.

MP 43 assault rifle, the first production variant of the Sturmgewehr, right side

In April 1944 the designation of all MP-43s was changed to MP-44, with no actual changes made to the design. At this time there were plenty of glowing reports from the German troops fighting with MP-43s and MP-44s at the Eastern front. Seeing these reports, Hitler finally approved the mass production and issue of the new “wunderwaffe”, and in December 1944 officially christened it the Sturmgewehr, or Assault Rifle, 1944 (StG.44) This was a pure act of propaganda, but the name stuck not only to that gun, but also to the whole new class of automatic weapons designed to fire intermediate cartridges.

The total number of MP-43s, MP-44s and StG.44s produced was about 450,000,and these guns proved very effective, but not without some flaws. After the end of the war the direct development of the Stg.44 was stopped, but the East German police used some remaining guns. Another major post-war user of Stg.44 was Yugoslavia; their paratroopers used it under the designation "Automat, padobranski, 7.9 mm M44, nemacki" until the early 1980s, when the Kalashnikov-type M64 and M70 rifles finally replaced it. Yugoslavia also produced 7.92 x 33 Kurz ammunition until the late 1970s.

Stg.44 assault rifle with the Krummlauf Vorsatz J (curved barrel) attachment, which was designed to be fired "around the corner" or from inside the armored vehicle

The StG.44 (like its earlier versions MP.43 and MP.44) is a gas operated, selective fire weapon. The receiver and trigger housing with pistol grip are made from steel stampings, with machined steel inserts. The trigger housing with pistol grip is hinged to the receiver and folds down for disassembly. The gas drive utilizes a long-stroke piston, and the bolt is tipped down to lock into the receiver. The gun is fired from a closed bolt. The MP-43 and subsequent versions all were hammer-fired, while the MKb.42(H) was striker-fired. The safety lever is located at the left side of the pistol grip unit, and a separate cross-bolt type of fire mode selector allows for single-shot and full auto fire. The charging handle is attached to the gas piston rod, and the ejection port has a dust cover. The recoil spring is located inside the wooden butt. At the top of the butt there is container for a cleaning kit, closed by the spring-loaded steel cover. The Stg.44 was provided with open, leaf-type sights, and could be fitted with telescope sights or a specially developed active infrared sighting unit, called “Vampir” (vampire).

The muzzle of the Stg.44 was threaded to accept a cup-like grenade launcher; a special muzzle nut usually covered the threads. The Stg.44 also could be fitted with a special curved barrel attachment (“Krummlauf”), which allowed the gun to be fired “around the corner” or from inside a tank, without exposing the shooter to the enemy fire. Several types of these attachments were developed, but only one type, the 30-degree “KrummlaufVorsatz J”, was apparently manufactured in any significant numbers. This device had a special mirror sighting adapter and reduced the bullet velocity down to mere 300 meters per second due to the high friction in the curved barrel extension. This apparently did not bother the German Army, since these curved barrel adapters were intended for short-range encounters only.

MP 43 assault rifle partially disassembled

Caliber:7.92x33 mm (7.92mm Kurz)
Action: Gas operated, tilting bolt
Overalllength: 940 mm
Barrel length: 419 mm
Weigth: 5.22 kg
Rate of fire: 500 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 30 rounds

Are 'non-lethal' weapons really dangerous?

2011-11-24T09:51:00.000+08:00

From an article from AlJazeera. See: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/11/2011112213479768939.html?utm_content=features&utm_campaign=features&utm_source=twitter&utm_term=rss&utm_medium=tweet
------------------------------------

Fears that tear gas and rubber bullets, widely used in crackdown against protesters, could be cause of deaths in Egypt.

From Egypt, to Athens, to Oakland, police have employed "non-lethal weapons" to break down recent protests and disperse protesters.

As crowds have swelled to express discontent, variations of tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons, and stun grenades have been fired back at them.

The US defence department describes non-lethal weapons as "primarily employed to immediately incapacitate targeted personnel or materiel, while minimising fatalities, permanent injury to personnel ... in the target area or environment.

"Non-lethal weapons are intended to have reversible effects on personnel and material."

Despite this, activists have reported grave injuries as a result of tear gas canisters fired at protesters from close range.

Moreover, the non-lethality of the gas is also in doubt, as serious questions are being raised about the causes of recent deaths during this week's protests in Cairo's Tahrir square.

Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, reporting from the Egyptian capital, said: "There have been repeated rounds of tear gas fired here. It is a particularly virulent form, stinging the face to an immense extent.

"Many of those who have been killed are said to have died of asphyxiation.

"Medical workers say the conditions of those brought in is serious, many with symptoms they have not seen before from tear gas inhalation."

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Khalid Hamdi, staffing a make-shift clinic in Tahrir square, said: “We've seen many faintings and we'd never seen that before.

"About 70 per cent of the injuries are fainting. People are coming in with asthma, convulsions sometimes - this wasn't often before."

Amnesty international has also expressed concern about the use of tear gas in the square.

"We have received reports from medical sources saying that some of those who died did so as as a result of suffocation after inhaling tear gas," Said Haddadi, a spokesman for the rights group, told Al Jazeera.

'Pain and discomfort'

US government agencies, the departments of state and commmerce in particular, regulate the export of tear gas and other non-lethal weapons by granting export licenses allowing US manufacturers to sell tear gas to foreign buyers.

Two US companies have been identified as major exporters of the devices: Combined Systems Inc and NonLethal Technologies Inc, both based in Pennsylvania.

Peter Felstead, editor of Jane’s Defence Weekly, said countries buying weapons from the UK, at least, are closely vetted and their contracts constantly reviewed.

“If something happens in Saudi Arabia, or Bahrain for example, withdrawing contracts in response to those kind of events would present something of a dilemma. The US and UK strategic alliances with Saudi Arabia in particular are very strong. If there is unrest in Saudi, the question is will the support be withdrawn?"

He said buyers are expected to obtain training packages along with their purchase to make sure the weapons are employed properly. A lack of proper training could be the cause of any fatalities that might result.

"There are times when employing crowd control is absolutely necessary. But if the non-lethal weapons are not employed properly, they could make things worse.

"For example, if you end up forcing a crowd away from security forces to stampede through a narrow gap, you could kill people in the process."

What exactly is being fired at protesters in Tahrir is unclear.

Two forms of tear gas are most commonly used: Chlorobenzylidene malononitrile (also referred to as CS) and Chloroacetophenone (often known as CN).

Both gases are irritants that affect the eyes, nose, mouth and lungs, and cause tearing, sneezing and coughing.

"The primary effect is shortness of breath, pain, and discomfort," reads the catalogue of Combined Systems Inc.

Dr Ziad Kazzi, from Grady Health System and assistant director of Georgia Poison Center, said large doses of the gas could be fatal to healthy individuals as well.

“Those with already existing conditions, such as asthma or lung disease, are at higher risk. However, if large doses are inhaled, particularly in enclosed space, it could damage lungs and lead to death, even for healthy people. But it depends on the dosage.”

“Dose determines the poison,” he said, adding that several factors such as concentration, potency of the gas, the amount that is being delivered, the environment that it is being released in, and the personal characteristics of the people receiving it all play a part.

He said small doses have not been proven to have lasting effects.

'A cloud of irritant agent'

Tear gas canisters come in various shapes and forms, for indoor and outdoor purposes.

Smoke grenades - both launched by hand as well as munitions launchers - "deliver a cloud of irritant agent with a discharge time of approximately 25 seconds," NonLethal Technologies Inc's catalogue says.

Smoke projectiles, the second method that tear gas can be used at protesters, are "designed to provide effective outdoor crowd dispersal while maintaining a safe stand-off distance of up to 80 yards," according to the catalogue.

The canisters weigh between 175 and 500 grammes, and are made of aluminum or stern steel. Much of the injuries are caused by the fact that these canisters are fired onto crowded areas.

"Danger: Do not fire directly at person[s]. Severe injury or death may result," is reportedly written on the canisters.

Rubber bullets have also been fired at protesters, causing severe injuries.

The bullets come in aluminum cartridges, with a total weight of about 185 grammes. In one of the models in the NonLethal Technologies catalogue, each cartridge contains "three rubber batons that are skip fired towards the subjects".

"Eyewitnesses and lawyers have told us that some were injured as a result of rubber bullets," Amnesty's Haddadi said about the use of rubber bullets in the protests in Cairo.

“People can be killed by rubber bullets, there is no doubt about that. It has happened in northern Ireland. If you fire from close range, or someone is hit in the head," Felstead said.

"It would be quite difficult to specifically target people lethally. But it could easily happen when firing into a crowd."

With over 36 killed in Egypt since November 19, and medical sources citing "suffocation after inhaling tear gas" as the cause of many of the deaths, the non-lethality of the weapons employed - as well as how they were imported - has come under serious question.

Khalid Abdala, an Egyptian actor and activist, told Al Jazeera from Tahrir that he held international governments "complicit in everything that is happening here".

"International governments have replenished the stocks of bullets that have been shot at people right now, and the tear gas that is clinging to my lungs," he said.

Heckler-Koch G36

2011-11-21T14:37:00.000+08:00

HK G36 assault rifle (standard German army version with dual sight system) with 40mm AG36 underbarrel grenade launcher

The Heckler und Koch G-36 assault rifle had been born as HK-50 project in early 1990s. The reason behind that project was that the Bundeswehr (the German army), after the cancellation of the G11 and G41 projects, was left with outdated G3 rifle and no modern rifle, compatible with the current NATO standards. Therefore the famous company Heckler & Koch was set to develop a new assault rifle for both the German army and the export. The new 5.56mm assault rifle has been adopted by the Bundeswehr in the 1995, and in the 1999 Spain adopted its slightly different, export version, G36E as its standard infantry rifle. The G36 also found its way into the hands of various law enforcement agencies worldwide, including British police and some US police departments. It is a good rifle, accurate, reliable, simple in operations and maintenance, and available in a wide variety of versions - from the short-barreled Commando G36C and up to a standard G36 rifle. The MG36 squad automatic weapon (light machine gun), which was initially designed as a heavy-barreled version of the G36, was in fact a short-lived proposition that never went into mass production.

HK G36 assault rifle with optional accessory kit which includes forearm with four Picatinny rails and a low-profile scope rail on the receiver

The G36, in severely modified form, was used as a "kinetic energy" part of the now-cancelled US XM-29 OICW weapon and it also served as a base for XM8 assault rifle (also cancelled).

HK G36C 'Compact' or 'Commando' assault rifle, with optional Picatinny rails on forend

Technical description.
From the technical point of view, the G36 is a radical departure from all the previous HK rifles, based on the proven G3 roller-delayed system. The G36 is a conventional gas operated, selective fire rifle, made from most modern materials and using most modern technologies.

HK G36E rifle (Export version) with single 1.5X telescope sight and spare magazine clamped to the left side of the inserted one

The receiver and most of the others external parts of the G36 are made from reinforced polymers, with steel inserts where appropriate. The operating system appears to be a modification of the older American Armalite AR-18 rifle, with short stroke gas piston, located above the barrel, square-shaped bolt carrier and the typical rotating bolt with 7 locking lugs. Of course, there also are many differences from the AR-18. The bolt carrier rides on a single guide rod, with the return spring around it. The charging handle is attached to the top of the bolt carrier and can be rotated to the left or to the right. When not in use, the charging handle aligns itself with the axis of the weapon under the pressure of its own spring, and reciprocates with the bolt group at the top of the receiver. The gas block is fitted with the self-adjustable gas valve that expels all the used gases forward, away from the shooter. The ejection window is located at the right side of the receiver and features a spent cases deflector to propel the ejected cases away from the face of the left-handed shooter.

HK G36K "short" (Kurz) assault rifle, with buttstock folded; standard version with iron sights and Picatinny rail

All the major parts are assembled on the receiver using the cross- pins, so rifle can be disassembled and reassembled back without any tools.

The typical HK trigger unit is assembled in a separate plastic housing, integral with the pistol grip and the triggerguard. Thanks to this feature, a wide variety of firing mode combinations can be used on any rifle, simply by installing the appropriate trigger unit. Standard options are single shots, full automatic fire, 2 or 3 round bursts in any reasonable combinations. The default version is the single shots + 2 rounds burst + full auto. The ambidextrous fire selector lever also serves as a safety switch.

HK G36KE short assault rifle, export version, with 'E' type telescope sight / carrying handle setup

G36 is fed from the proprietary 30-rounds box magazines, made from translucent plastic. All magazines have special studs on its sides, so two or three magazines can be clipped together for faster reloading. The magazine housings of the G36 are made as a separate parts, so G36 can be easily adjusted to the various magazine interfaces. By the standard, the magazine release catch is located just behind the magazine, in the G3 or AK-47 style, rather than on the side of the magazine housing (M16-style). A 100-round Beta-C dual drum magazines of US origins also can be used (these magazines are standard for the MG36 squad automatic versions of the G36).

The side-folding skeletonized buttstock is standard on all G36 rifles. It folds to the right side and does not interfere with rifle operation when folded.

The standard sighting equipment of the G36 consists of the TWO scopes - one 3.5X telescope sight below, with the second 1X red-dot sight above it. The sights are completely independent, with the former suitable for long range accurate shooting, and the latter suitable for the fast target acquisition at the short ranges. Both sights are built into the plastic carrying handle. The export versions of the G36 are available with the single 1.5X telescope sight, with the emergency open sights molded into the top of the carrying handle. The subcompact G36K Commando version is available with the integral Picatinny-type scope and accessory rail instead of the carrying handle and standard sights.

The standard G36 rifles can be fitted with the HK AG36 40mm underbarrel grenade launcher. It also can be fitted with the bayonets. Interestingly enough, G36 uses an AK-74-type bayonets, which are left from the now non-existent NVA (East Germany Army) stocks.

	G36	G36K	G36C
Caliber	5.56x45mm (.223 Rem)
Length (buttstock open / folded)	998 / 758 mm	860 / 615 mm	720 / 500 mm
Barrel length	480 mm	320 mm	228 mm
Weight empty	3.6 kg (3.3 kg G36E)	3.3 kg (3.0 kg G36KE)	2.8 kg
Magazine capacity	30 rounds standard
Rate of fire	750 rounds per minute

The Panzerkampfwagen IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the Panzer IV

2011-11-16T13:16:00.000+08:00

A Panzer IV Ausf G. in desert colors, bearing the palm tree insignia of the 15th Panzer Division of the Afrika Korps.

The Panzerkampfwagen IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161.

Panzer IV Ausf. C

Designed as an infantry-support tank, the Panzer IV was not originally intended to engage enemy armor—that function was performed by the lighter Panzer III. However, with the flaws of pre-war doctrine becoming apparent and in the face of Soviet T-34 tanks, the Panzer IV soon assumed the tank-fighting role of its increasingly obsolete cousin. The most widely manufactured and deployed German tank of the Second World War, the Panzer IV was used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, including the Sturmgeschütz IV tank destroyer, the Wirbelwind self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon, and the Brummbär self-propelled gun, amongst others.

PzKpfw IV Ausf. D

Robust and reliable, it saw service in all combat theaters involving Germany, and has the distinction of being the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war, with over 8,800 produced between 1936 and 1945. Upgrades and design modifications, often made in response to the appearance of new Allied tanks, extended its service life. Generally these involved increasing the Panzer IV's armor protection or upgrading its weapons, although during the last months of the war with Germany's pressing need for rapid replacement of losses, design changes also included retrograde measures to simplify and speed manufacture.

The 300 horsepower Maybach HL 120TRM engine used in most Panzer IV production models.

The Panzer IV was the most widely exported tank in German service, with around 300 sold to partners such as Finland, Romania, Spain and Bulgaria. After the war, the French and Spanish sold dozens of Panzer IVs to Syria, where they saw combat in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Origins

The short-barreled Panzer IV Ausf. F1.

The Panzer IV was the brainchild of German general and innovative armored warfare theorist Heinz Guderian. In concept, it was intended to be a support tank for use against enemy anti-tank guns and fortifications. Ideally, the tank battalions of a panzer division were each to have three medium companies of Panzer IIIs and one heavy company of Panzer IVs. On 11 January 1934, the German army wrote the specifications for a "medium tractor", and issued them to a number of defense companies. To support the Panzer III, which would be armed with a 37-millimetre (1.46 in) anti-tank gun, the new vehicle would have a short-barrelled 75-millimetre (2.95 in) howitzer as its main gun, and was allotted a weight limit of 24 tonnes (26.46 short tons). Development was carried out under the name Begleitwagen ("accompanying vehicle"), or BW, to disguise its actual purpose, given that Germany was still theoretically bound by the Treaty of Versailles. MAN, Krupp, and Rheinmetall-Borsig each developed prototypes, with Krupp's being selected for further development.

The 1942 Panzer IV Ausf. F2 was an upgrade of the Ausf. F, fitted with the KwK 40 L/43 anti-tank gun to counter Soviet T-34 and KV tanks.

The chassis had originally been designed with a six-wheeled interleaved suspension, but the German Army amended this to a torsion bar system. Permitting greater vertical deflection of the roadwheels, this was intended to improve performance and crew comfort both on- and off-road. However, due to the urgent requirement for the new tank, neither proposal was adopted, and Krupp instead equipped it with a simple leaf spring double-bogie suspension.

A Panzer IV Ausf H at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, France, with its distinctive Zimmerit anti-magnetic mine coating, turret skirts, and wire-mesh side-skirts.

The prototype required a crew of five men; the hull contained the engine bay to the rear, with the driver and radio operator, who doubled as the hull machine gunner, seated at the front-left and front-right, respectively. In the turret, the tank commander sat beneath his roof hatch, while the gunner was situated to the left of the gun breech and the loader to the right. The turret was offset 66.5 mm (2.62 in) to the left of the chassis center line, while the engine was moved 152.4 mm (6.00 in) to the right. This allowed the torque shaft to clear the rotary base junction, which provided electrical power to turn the turret, while connecting to the transmission box mounted in the hull between the driver and radio operator. Due to the asymmetric layout, the right side of the tank contained the bulk of its stowage volume, which was taken up by ready-use ammunition lockers.

The Ausf. J was the final production model, and was greatly simplified compared to earlier variants to speed construction. This shows an exported Finnish model.

Accepted into service as the Versuchskraftfahrzeug 622 (Vs.Kfz. 622), production began in 1936 at Krupp-Grusonwerke AG's factory at Magdeburg.

Ausf. A to Ausf. F1

A Panzer IV Ausf. E showing signs of multiple hits to the turret, including the gun barrel.

The first mass-produced version of the Panzer IV was the Ausführung, A (abbreviated to Ausf. A meaning "Batch A"), in 1936. It was powered by Maybach's HL 108TR, producing 250 PS (183.87 kW), and used the SGR 75 transmission with five forward gears and one reverse, achieving a maximum road speed of 31 kilometres per hour (19.26 mph). As main armament, the vehicle mounted the Kampfwagenkanone 37 L/24 (KwK 37 L/24) 75 mm (2.95 in) tank gun, which was a low-velocity gun designed to mainly fire high-explosive shells. Against armored targets, firing the Panzergranate (armor-piercing shell) at 430 metres per second (1,410 ft/s) the KwK 37 could penetrate 43 millimetres (1.69 in), inclined at 30 degrees, at ranges of up to 700 metres (2,300 ft). A 7.92 mm (0.31 in) MG 34 machine gun was mounted coaxially with the main gun in the turret, while a second machine gun of the same type was mounted in the front plate of the hull. The Ausf. A was protected by 14.5 mm (0.57 in) of steel armor on the front plate of the chassis, and 20 mm (0.79 in) on the turret. This was capable only of stopping artillery fragments, small-arms fire, and light anti-tank projectiles.

A British Crusader tank passing a burning German Panzer IV during Operation Crusader, late 1941.

After manufacturing 35 tanks of the A version, in 1937 production moved to the Ausf. B. Improvements included the replacement of the original engine with the more powerful 300 PS (220.65 kW) Maybach HL 120TR, and the transmission with the new SSG 75 transmission, with six forward gears and one reverse gear. Despite a weight increase to 16 t (18 short tons), this improved the tank's speed to 39 kilometres per hour (24 mph). The glacis plate was augmented to a maximum thickness of 30 millimetres (1.18 in), and the hull-mounted machine gun was replaced by a covered pistol port. Forty-two Panzer IV Ausf. Bs were manufactured before the introduction of the Ausf. C in 1938. This saw the turret armor increased to 30 mm (1.18 in), which brought the tank's weight to 18.14 t (20.00 short tons). After assembling 40 Ausf. Cs, starting with chassis number 80341 the engine was replaced with the improved HL 120TRM. The last of the 140 Ausf. Cs was produced in August 1939, and production changed to the Ausf. D; this variant, of which 248 vehicles were produced, reintroduced the hull machine gun and changed the turret's internal gun mantlet to an external one. Again protection was upgraded, this time by increasing side armor to 20 mm (0.79 in). As the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 came to an end, it was decided to scale up production of the Panzer IV, which was adopted for general use on 27 September 1939 as the Sonderkraftfahrzeug 161 (Sd.Kfz. 161).

A PzKpfw IV Ausf. H of the 12th Panzer Division operating on the Eastern Front in the USSR, 1944.

In response to the difficulty of penetrating British Matilda Infantry tanks during the Battle of France, the Germans had tested a 50 mm (1.97 in) gun—based on the 5 cm PaK 38 L/60 anti-tank gun—on a Panzer IV Ausf. D. However, with the rapid German victory in France, the original order of 80 tanks was canceled before they entered production.

British officers inspect a German Pzkw-IV knocked out in France in June 1944 by the Durham Light Infantry.

In September 1940 the Ausf. E was introduced. This had 50 millimetres (1.97 in) of armor on the bow plate, while a 30-millimetre (1.18 in) appliqué steel plate was added to the glacis as an interim measure. Finally, the commander's cupola was moved forward into the turret. Older model Panzer IV tanks were retrofitted with these features when returned to the manufacturer for servicing. Two hundred and eighty Ausf. Es were produced between December 1939 and April 1941.

Pzkw-IV in Belgrade Military Museum, Serbia.

In April 1941 production of the Panzer IV Ausf. F started. It featured 50 mm (1.97 in) single-plate armor on the turret and hull, as opposed to the appliqué armor added to the Ausf. E, and a further increase in side armor to 30 mm (1.18 in). The weight of the vehicle was now 22.3 tonnes (24.6 short tons), which required a corresponding modification of track width from 380 to 400 mm (14.96 to 15.75 in) to reduce ground pressure. The wider tracks also facilitated the fitting of ice sprags, and the rear idler wheel and front sprocket were modified. The designation Ausf. F was changed in the meantime to Ausf. F1, after the distinct new model, the Ausf. F2, appeared. A total of 464 Ausf. F (later F1) tanks were produced from April 1941 to March 1942, of which 25 were converted to the F2 on the production line.

Ausf. F2 to Ausf. J

On May 26, 1941, mere weeks before Operation Barbarossa, during a conference with Hitler, it was decided to improve the Panzer IV's main armament. Krupp was awarded the contract to integrate again the same 50 mm (1.97 in) Pak 38 L/60 gun into the turret. The first prototype was to be delivered by November 15, 1941. Within months, the shock of encountering the Soviet T-34 medium and KV-1 heavy tanks necessitated a new, much more powerful tank gun. In November 1941, the decision to up-gun the Panzer IV to the 50-millimetre (1.97 in) gun was dropped, and instead Krupp was contracted in a joint development to modify Rheinmetall's pending 75 mm (2.95 in) anti-tank gun design, later known as 7.5 cm PaK 40 L/46. Because the recoil length was too long for the tank's turret, the recoil mechanism and chamber were shortened. This resulted in the 75-millimetre (2.95 in) KwK 40 L/43. When firing an armor-piercing shot, the gun's muzzle velocity was increased from 430 m/s (1,410 ft/s) to 990 m/s (3,250 ft/s). Initially, the gun was mounted with a single-chamber, ball-shaped muzzle brake, which provided just under 50% of the recoil system's braking ability. Firing the Panzergranate 39, the KwK 40 L/43 could penetrate 77 mm (3.03 in) of steel armor at a range of 1,830 m (6,000 ft).

The Ausf. F tanks that received the new, longer, KwK 40 L/43 gun were named Ausf. F2 (with the designation Sd.Kfz. 161/1). The tank increased in weight to 23.6 tonnes (26.0 short tons). One hundred and seventy-five Ausf. F2s were produced from March 1942 to July 1942. Three months after beginning production, the Panzer IV. Ausf. F2 was renamed Ausf. G. There was little to no difference between the F2 and early G models.

During its production run from May 1942 to June 1943, the Panzer IV Ausf. G went through further modifications, including another armor upgrade. Given that the tank was reaching its viable limit, to avoid a corresponding weight increase, the appliqué 20-millimetre (0.79 in) steel plates were removed from its side armor, which instead had its base thickness increased to 30 millimetres (1.18 in). The weight saved was transferred to the front, which had a 30-millimetre (1.18 in) face-hardened appliqué steel plate welded (later bolted) to the glacis—in total, frontal armor was now 80 mm (3.15 in) thick. This decision to increase frontal armor was favorably received according to troop reports on November 8, 1942, despite technical problems of the driving system due to added weight. At this point, it was decided that 50% of Panzer IV productions would be fitted with 30 mm thick additional armor plates. Subsequently on January 5, 1943, Hitler decided to make all Panzer IV with 80 mm frontal armor. To simplify production, the vision ports on either side of the turret and on the right turret front were removed, while a rack for two spare road wheels was installed on the track guard on the left side of the hull. Complementing this, brackets for seven spare track links were added to the glacis plate. For operation in high temperatures, the engine's ventilation was improved by creating slits over the engine deck to the rear of the chassis, and cold weather performance was boosted by adding a device to heat the engine's coolant, as well as a starter fluid injector. A new light replaced the original headlight, and the signal port on the turret was removed. On March 19, 1943, the first Panzer IV with Schürzen skirts on its sides and turret was exhibited. The double hatch for the commander's cupola was replaced by a single round hatch from very late model Ausf. G. and the cupola was up-armored as well. In April 1943, the KwK 40 L/43 was replaced by the longer 75-millimetre (2.95 in) KwK 40 L/48 gun, with a redesigned multi-baffle muzzle brake with improved recoil efficiency.

The next version, the Ausf. H, began production in April 1943 and received the designation Sd. Kfz. 161/2. This variant saw the integrity of the glacis armor improved by manufacturing it as a single 80-millimetre (3.15 in) plate. To prevent adhesion of magnetic anti-tank mines, which the Germans feared would be used in large numbers by the Allies, Zimmerit paste was added to all the vertical surfaces of the tank's armor. The vehicle's side and turret were further protected by the addition of 5-millimetre (0.20 in) side-skirts and 8-millimetre (0.31 in) turret skirts. During the Ausf. H's production run its rubber-tired return rollers were replaced with cast steel; the hull was fitted with triangular supports for the easily-damaged side-skirts. A hole in the roof, designed for the Nahverteidigungswaffe, was plugged by a circular armored plate due to shortages of this weapon. These modifications meant that the tank's weight jumped to 25 tonnes (27.56 short tons), reducing its speed, a situation not improved by the decision to adopt the Panzer III's six-speed SSG 77 transmission, which was inferior to that of earlier-model Panzer IVs.

Despite addressing the mobility problems introduced by the previous model, the final production version of the Panzer IV—the Ausf. J—was considered a retrograde from the Ausf. H. Born of German necessity to replace heavy losses, it was greatly simplified to speed production. The electric generator that powered the tank's turret traverse was removed, so the turret had to be rotated manually. The space was later used for the installation of an auxiliary 200-litre (44 imp gal) fuel tank; road range was thereby increased to 320 kilometres (198.84 mi), The pistol and vision ports in the turret were removed, and the engine's radiator housing was simplified by changing the slanted sides to straight sides. In addition, the cylindrical muffler was replaced by two flame-suppressing mufflers. By late 1944, Zimmerit was no longer being applied to German armored vehicles, and the Panzer IV's side-skirts had been replaced by wire mesh, while to further speed production the number of return rollers was reduced from four to three.

In a bid to augment the Panzer IV's firepower, an attempt was made to mate a Panther turret—carrying the longer 75 mm (2.95 in) L/70 tank gun—to a Panzer IV hull. This was unsuccessful, and confirmed that the chassis had, by this time, reached the limits of its adaptability in both weight and available volume.

Production

The Panzer IV was originally intended to be used only on a limited scale, so initially Krupp was its sole manufacturer. Prior to the Polish campaign, only 262 Panzer IVs were produced: 35 Ausf. A; 42 Ausf. B; 140 Ausf. C; and 45 Ausf. D. After the invasion of Poland, and with the decision to adopt the tank as the mainstay of Germany's armored divisions, production was extended to the Nibelungenwerke factory (managed by Steyr-Daimler-Puch) in the Austrian city of St. Valentin. Production increased as the Ausf. E was introduced, with 223 tanks delivered to the German army. By 1941, 462 Panzer IV Ausf. Fs had been assembled, and the up-gunned Ausf. F2 was entering production. The yearly production total had more than quadrupled since the start of the war.

As the later Panzer IV models emerged, a third factory, Vomag (located in the city of Plauen), began assembly. In 1941 an average of 39 tanks per month were built, and this rose to 83 in 1942, 252 in 1943, and 300 in 1944. However, in December 1943, Krupp's factory was diverted to manufacture the Sturmgeschütz IV, and in the spring of 1944 the Vomag factory began production of the Jagdpanzer IV, leaving the Nibelungenwerke as the only plant still assembling the Panzer IV. With the slow collapse of German industry under pressure from Allied air and ground offensives — in October 1944 the Nibelungenwerke factory was severely damaged during a bombing raid — by March and April 1945 production had fallen to pre-1942 levels, with only around 55 tanks per month coming off the assembly lines.

Combat history

The Panzer IV was the only German tank to remain in both production and combat throughout World War II, and measured over the entire war it comprised 30% of the Wehrmacht's total tank strength. Although in service by early 1939, in time for the occupation of Czechoslovakia, at the start of the war the majority of German armor was made up of obsolete Panzer Is and Panzer IIs. The Panzer I in particular had already proved inferior to Soviet tanks, such as the T-26, during the Spanish Civil War.

Western Front and North Africa (1939–1942)

When Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, its armored corps was composed of 1,445 Panzer Is, 1,223 Panzer IIs, 98 Panzer IIIs and 211 Panzer IVs; the more modern vehicles amounted to less than 10% of Germany's armored strength. The 1st Panzer Division had a roughly equal balance of types, with 17 Panzer Is, 18 Panzer IIs, 28 Panzer IIIs, and 14 Panzer IVs per battalion. The remaining panzer divisions were heavy with obsolete models, equipped as they were with 34 Panzer Is, 33 Panzer IIs, 5 Panzer IIIs, and 6 Panzer IVs per battalion. Although the Polish army possessed less than 200 tanks capable of penetrating the German light tanks, Polish anti-tank guns proved more of a threat, reinforcing German faith in the value of the close-support Panzer IV.

Despite increasing production of the medium Panzer IIIs and IVs prior to the German invasion of France on 10 May 1940, the majority of German tanks were still light types. According to Heinz Guderian, the Wehrmacht invaded France with 523 Panzer Is, 955 Panzer IIs, 349 Panzer IIIs, 278 Panzer IVs, 106 Panzer 35(t)s and 228 Panzer 38(t)s. Through the use of tactical radios and superior tactics, the Germans were able to outmaneuver and defeat French and British armor. However, Panzer IVs armed with the KwK 37 L/24 75-millimetre (2.95 in) tank gun found it difficult to engage French tanks such as Somua S35 and Char B1. The Somua S35 had a maximum armor thickness of 55 mm (2.17 in), while the KwK 37 L/24 could only penetrate 43 mm (1.69 in) at a range of 700 m (2,296.59 ft). Likewise, the British Matilda Mk II was heavily armored, with at least 70 mm (2.76 in) of steel on the front and turret, and a minimum of 65 mm on the sides.

Although the Panzer IV was deployed to North Africa with the German Afrika Korps, until the longer gun variant began production, the tank was outperformed by the Panzer III with respect to armor penetration. Both the Panzer III and IV had difficulty in penetrating the British Matilda II's thick armor, while the Matilda's 40-mm QF 2 pounder gun could knock out either German tank; its major disadvantage was its low speed. By August 1942, Rommel had only received 27 Panzer IV Ausf. F2s, armed with the L/43 gun, which he deployed to spearhead his armored offensives. The longer gun could penetrate all American and British tanks in theater at ranges of up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft). Although more of these tanks arrived in North Africa between August and October 1942, their numbers were insignificant compared to the amount of matériel shipped to British forces.

The Panzer IV also took part in the invasion of Yugoslavia and the invasion of Greece in early 1941.

Eastern Front (1941–1945)

With the launching of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, the unanticipated appearance of the KV-1 and T-34 tanks prompted an upgrade of the Panzer IV's 75 mm (2.95 in) gun to a longer, high-velocity 75 mm (2.95 in) gun suitable for antitank use. This meant that it could now penetrate the T-34 at ranges of up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) at any angle. The 75 mm (2.95 in) KwK 40 L/43 gun on the Panzer IV could penetrate a T-34 at a variety of impact angles beyond 1,000 m (3,300 ft) range and up to 1,600 m (5,200 ft). Shipment of the first model to mount the new gun, the Ausf. F2, began in spring 1942, and by the summer offensive there were around 135 Panzer IVs with the L/43 tank gun available. At the time, these were the only German tanks that could defeat the Soviet T-34 or KV-1. They played a crucial role in the events that unfolded between June 1942 and March 1943, and the Panzer IV became the mainstay of the German panzer divisions. Although in service by late September 1942, the Tiger I was not yet numerous enough to make an impact and suffered from serious teething problems, while the Panther was not delivered to German units in the Soviet Union until May 1943. The extent of German reliance on the Panzer IV during this period is reflected by their losses; 502 were destroyed on the Eastern Front in 1942.

The Panzer IV continued to play an important role during operations in 1943, including at the Battle of Kursk. Newer types such as the Panther were still experiencing crippling reliability problems that restricted their combat efficiency, so much of the effort fell to the 841 Panzer IVs that took part in the battle. Throughout 1943, the German army lost 2,352 Panzer IVs on the Eastern Front; some divisions were reduced to 12–18 tanks by the end of the year. In 1944, a further 2,643 Panzer IVs were destroyed, and such losses were becoming increasingly difficult to replace. By the last year of the war, the Panzer IV was outclassed by the upgraded T-34-85, which had an 85 mm (3.35 in) gun, and other late-model Soviet tanks such as the 122 mm (4.80 in)-armed IS-2 heavy tank. Nevertheless, due to a shortage of replacement Panther tanks, the Panzer IV continued to form the core of Germany's armored divisions, including elite units such as the II SS Panzer Corps, through 1944.

In January 1945, 287 Panzer IVs were lost on the Eastern Front. It is estimated that combat against Soviet forces accounted for 6,153 Panzer IVs, or about 75% of all Panzer IV losses during the war.

Western Front (1944–1945)

Panzer IVs comprised around half of the available German tank strength on the Western Front prior to the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Most of the 11 panzer divisions that saw action in Normandy initially contained an armored regiment of one battalion of Panzer IVs and another of Panthers, for a total of around 160 tanks, although Waffen-SS panzer divisions were generally larger and better-equipped than their Heer counterparts.Regular upgrades to the Panzer IV had helped to maintain its reputation as a formidable opponent. Despite overwhelming Allied air superiority, the Norman bocage countryside in the US sector heavily favored defense, and German tanks and anti-tank guns inflicted horrendous casualties on Allied armor during the Normandy campaign. On the offensive, however, the Panzer IVs, Panthers and other armored vehicles proved equally vulnerable in the bocage, and counter-attacks rapidly stalled in the face of infantry-held anti-tank weapons, tank destroyers and anti-tank guns, as well as the ubiquitous fighter bomber aircraft. That the terrain was highly unsuitable for tanks was illustrated by the constant damage suffered to the side-skirts of the Ausf. H's; essential for defence against shaped charge anti-tank weapons such as the British PIAT, all German armored units were "exasperated" by the way these were torn off during movement through the dense orchards and hedgerows.

The Allies had also been developing lethality improvement programs of their own; the widely-used American-designed M4 Sherman medium tank, while mechanically reliable, suffered from thin armor and an inadequate gun. Against earlier-model Panzer IVs, it could hold its own, but with its 75 mm M3 gun, struggled against the late-model Panzer IV (and was unable to penetrate the frontal armor of Panther and Tiger tanks at virtually any range). The late-model Panzer IV's 80 mm (3.15 in) frontal hull armor could easily withstand hits from the 75 mm (2.95 in) weapon on the Sherman at normal combat ranges, though the turret remained vulnerable.

The British up-gunned the Sherman with their highly effective QF 17 pounder anti-tank gun, resulting in the Firefly; although this was the only Allied tank capable of dealing with all current German tanks at normal combat ranges, few (about 300) were available in time for the Normandy invasion. The other British tank with the 17 pdr gun could not participate in the landings and had to wait for port facilities. It was not until July 1944 that American Shermans, fitted with the 76 mm (2.99 in) M1 tank gun, began to achieve a parity in firepower with the Panzer IV.

However, despite the general superiority of its armored vehicles, by August 29, 1944, as the last surviving German troops of Fifth Panzer Army and Seventh Army began retreating towards Germany, the twin cataclysms of the Falaise Pocket and the Seine crossing had cost the Wehrmacht dearly. Of the 2,300 tanks and assault guns it had committed to Normandy (including around 750 Panzer IVs), over 2,200 had been lost. Field Marshal Walter Model reported to Hitler that his panzer divisions had remaining, on average, five or six tanks each.

During the winter of 1944–45, the Panzer IV was one of the most widely used tanks in the Ardennes offensive, where further heavy losses—as often due to fuel shortages as to enemy action—impaired major German armored operations in the West thereafter. The Panzer IVs that took part were survivors of the battles in France between June and September 1944, with around 260 additional Panzer IV Ausf. Js issued as reinforcements.

Variants

A Syrian Panzer IV Ausf. G, captured during the Six-Day War, on display in the Yad La-Shiryon Museum, Israel.

In keeping with the wartime German design philosophy of mounting an existing anti-tank gun on a convenient chassis to give mobility, several tank destroyers and infantry support guns were built around the Panzer IV hull. Both the Jagdpanzer IV, initially armed with the 75-millimetre (2.95 in) L/48 tank gun, and the Krupp-manufactured Sturmgeschütz IV, which was the casemate of the Sturmgeschütz III mounted on the body of the Panzer IV, proved highly effective in defense. Cheaper and faster to construct than tanks, but with the disadvantage of a very limited gun traverse, around 1,980 Jagdpanzer IV's and 1,140 Sturmgeschütz IVs were produced. The Jagdpanzer IV eventually received the same 75 millimeter L/70 gun that was mounted on the Panther.

A Jagdpanzer IV/48 tank destroyer, based on the Panzer IV chassis, mounting the 75 mm PaK L/48 anti-tank gun.

Another variant of the Panzer IV was the Panzerbefehlswagen IV (Pz.Bef.Wg. IV) command tank. This conversion entailed the installation of additional radio sets, mounting racks, transformers, junction boxes, wiring, antennas and an auxiliary electrical generator. To make room for the new equipment, ammunition stowage was reduced from 87 to 72 rounds. The vehicle could coordinate with nearby armor, infantry or even aircraft. Seventeen Panzerbefehlswagen were converted from Ausf. J chassis, while another 88 were based on refurbished chassis.

The Wirbelwind armored anti-aircraft vehicle.

The Panzerbeobachtungswagen IV (Pz.Beob.Wg. IV) was an artillery observation vehicle built on the Panzer IV chassis. This, too, received new radio equipment and an electrical generator, installed in the left rear corner of the fighting compartment. Panzerbeobachtungswagens worked in cooperation with Wespe and Hummel self-propelled artillery batteries.

A Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär infantry-support gun (Casemate MG variant (flexible mount)).

Also based on the Panzer IV chassis was the Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär 150-millimetre (5.91 in) infantry-support self-propelled gun. These vehicles were primarily issued to four Sturmpanzer units (Numbers 216, 217, 218 and 219) and used during the battle of Kursk and in Italy in 1943. Two separate versions of the Sturmpanzer IV existed, one without a machine gun in the mantlet and one with a machine gun mounted on the mantlet of the casemate. Furthermore, a 105-millimetre (4.13 in) artillery gun was mounted in an experimental turret on a Panzer IV chassis. This variant was called the Heuschrecke, or Grasshopper. Another 105 mm artillery/anti-tank prototype was the 10.5 cm K (gp.Sfl.) nicknamed Dicker Max.

Four different self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicles were built on the Panzer IV hull. The Flakpanzer IV Möbelwagen was armed with a 37-millimetre (1.46 in) anti-aircraft cannon; 240 were built between 1944 and 1945. In late 1944 a new Flakpanzer, the Wirbelwind, was designed, with enough armor to protect the gun's crew and a rotating turret, armed with the 20mm quadmount Flakvierling anti-aircraft cannon system; at least 100 were manufactured. Sixty-five similar vehicles were built, named the Ostwind, but with a single 37-millimetre (1.46 in) anti-aircraft cannon instead. This vehicle was designed to replace the Wirbelwind. The final model was the Flakpanzer IV Kugelblitz, of which only five were built. This vehicle featured a covered turret armed with twin 30-millimetre (1.18 in) anti-aircraft cannons.

Although not a direct modification of the Panzer IV, some of its components, in conjunction with parts from the Panzer III, were utilized to make one of the most widely-used self-propelled artillery chassis of the war—the Geschützwagen III/IV. This chassis was the basis of the Hummel artillery piece, of which 666 were built, and also the 88 millimetres (3.46 in) gun armed Nashorn tank destroyer, with 473 manufactured. To resupply self-propelled howitzers in the field, 150 ammunition carriers were manufactured on the Geschützwagen III/IV chassis.

Russian Tanks

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T-54

It is estimated that some 50,000 examples of the T-54 and similar T-55 systems have been produced.

Designation: T-54
Classification Type: Main Battle Tank
Contractor: State Factories - USSR
Country of Origin: Soviet Union
Initial Year of Service: 1949

The T-54 series of Soviet main battle tanks came about with development after World War 2, ending with the system becoming operationally available by 1949. It can be said that no other Cold War or post-Cold War tank has seen as many production models or combat usage as has the T-54 and the similar T-55 series of tanks. Despite its heavy use by armies worldwide - many to this day fielding the system as a frontline unit - the T-54 has had its fair share of engine and transmission issues which have plagued the type since the beginning.

The T-54 is an identifiable brand of Soviet tank design, featuring a rounded cast turret mounting a 100mm main gun. Five road wheels adorn either track side and the large .50 caliber anti-aircraft gun at the loader's hatch is noticeable. A very fundamental tank design, a student of the Second World War can see definite similarities between the influence of late war systems apparent in this post-war design.

Power is derived from a V-12 diesel engine mounted at rear of the all-welded hull. The engine also serves a dual purpose in that diesel fuel is injected into the exhaust for a self-created smokescreen. As such, smoke grenade dischargers are not a standard component of the T-54 design. The T-54 tank is crewed by four personnel and features a driver at center front, whom also controls a bow-mounted 7.62mm fixed machine gun (another is a coaxial mount on the turret, controlled by the gunner). The commander, gunner and loader are situated in the turret with the former group at left and the latter at right. The T-54 has access to a variety of munitions to select from and many are of the standard modern variety. Up to 34 projectiles are carried in the turret and the D-10 main gun can engage and defeat targets some 1,000 yards away though limited downward traverse is a noted deficiency.

As one might assume, such a numerous system has produced an equally numerous amount of variants that include the standard conversions such as bridgelayer, armored recovery vehicle and command vehicles - all utilizing the base T-54 chassis. Additionally, the basic T-54 has been upgraded with various modifications that include gun stabilizers on both of the firing axis, infra-red nightvision capability, increased ammunition storage capability and deep fording equipment.

To this day, the T-54 is fielded en mass, having seen active combat in a variety of environments, especially with former Soviet allied nations and states. China produced their own version of the T-54 known as the Type 59. Though having the pedigree of the famous T-34 tank of World War 2, the T-54 is often seen as inferior to its contemporary counterparts in the West. In any case, the system will probably still maintain a battlefield presence for some time to come, thanks in large part to overwhelming production figures and modernization programs instituted by a variety of its owners over the years.

PT-76

The PT-76 is billed as a Light Amphibious Tank and is still in service with several countries.

Designation: PT-76
Classification Type: Light Amphibious Tank
Contractor: State Arsenals - Soviet Union
Country of Origin: Soviet Union
Initial Year of Service: 1952

The PT-76 was developed shortly after Second World War. The weapon system is designated as a "Light Amphibious Tank" featuring a crew of three and the ability to traverse varying depths of water.

The PT-76 is armed with the World War Two-standard 76.2mm main gun, has turret traversal of -4/+30 and can fire the standard set of projectiles - from high explosive to AP-T and HE-FRAG rounds. For self-defense, the system features a 7.62mm machine gun while some models have also added a 12.7mm air defense heavy machine gun of DShKM type. Additional fuel tanks can be added to the system increasing the overall road range by 68 miles (110 km).

By design, many of the PT-76's components are also shared with the BTR-50, SA-6 Gainful SAM and the ZSU-23-4. The engine of the PT-76 is also the same one that powers the T-55 Main Battle Tank.

The PT-76 is marketed as being fully amphibious but features some noticeable drawbacks in the way of no NBC protection, a rather large overall size and thin armor protection for ammunition and crew.

Total production numbers of the PT-76 has reached over 7,000 vehicles. The last PT-76 entered service in 1967, though modernization programs and new turret designs have kept the system ongoing. China produces a version of the PT-76 locally as the Type 63.

T-55

Designation: T-55
Classification Type: Main Battle Tank
Contractor: State Factories - Soviet Union
Country of Origin: Soviet Union
Initial Year of Service: 1958

The T-55 Medium Tank is probably the most internationally prolific piece of tracked armor as it can be found in dozens of military inventories across the globe. It has seen military frontline service from the invasion of Hungary in 1956 to the Arab wars with Israel of the late 1960's and early 1970's.

The T-55 features a 100mm D-10 rifled main gun. Two 7.62mm defensive machine guns are provided, one coaxially and one in the bow front-hull. A 12.7mm air defense machine gun is provided in later models of the T-55.

Development of the T-55 stems from the base T-54 Main Battle Tank design, which itself can trace it's roots back to the World War Two-inspired T-34 tank design. The T-55 was superceeded by the T-62 detailed elsewhere on this website.

In all essence, the T-55 shares many common features, components and systems with the T-54, thus many sources may group their histories together as such (sometimes shown as T-54/T-55).

Variants:
T-55 - Base production model. Basic T-54 with new turret and 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun.
T-55A - Added radiation protection and 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun.
T-55M - New 580hp engine sans cupola for loader; Ability to fire AT-10 Stabber ATGW missiles through main gun.
T-55M-1 - Passive armor protection
T-55MV - Explosive reactive armor protection
T-55AM-1 - Standardized to T-55A specifications with passive armor protection and AT-10 firing ability.
T-55K - Command Vehicle
T-55AK - Command Vehicle
T-55MK - Command Vehicle
T-55MVK - Command Vehicle
T-55AM2B - Czech-produced variant
T-55AM2P - Polish-produced variant
T-55AM2PB - Russian-produced variant
T-55AD - T-55M standardized specifications with specialized countermeasures system installed.
T-55AD-1 - Upgraded engine; Laser-rangefinder.

Specifications:
Dimensions:
Length: 20.34ft (6.20m)
Width:11.81ft (3.60m)
Height: 7.61ft (2.32m)
Performance:
Speed: 22mph (35km/h)
Range: 242miles (390km)

Structure:
Accommodation: 4
Weight: 44.6 US Short Tons (40,500kg)
Systems:
NBC Protection: None
Nightvision: Yes - Infrared
Power:
Engine(s): 1 x 462-516 kW 675 hp diesel engine.

Armament & Ammunition:

1 x 100mm D-10 rifled main gun
1 x 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun
1 x 7.76mm coaxial machine gun
1 x 7.62mm machine gun in bow

Ammunition:
34 x 100mm projectiles
500 x 12.7mm ammunition
3,000 x 7.62mm ammunition

T-10 Josef Stalin

The T-10 was the last of the Josef Stalin heavy-caliber, heavy-armor tank designs dating back to the Second World War.

The T-10 can be considered the pinnacle "Josef Stalin" tank design as it is the tank that superseded previous forms and became the final product of the series. It sported an all new main gun, redesigned body and turret and put upon itself all of the lessons learned through armored conflict in World War 2. The tank was of a heavy classification and was such an outstanding and well-regarded design that the last known operational usage of the T-10 was reported in 1996.

Outwardly, the T-10 was similar to the preceding IS (Josef Stalin) tank series with a rounded turret placed forward of the hull design and had more in common with the IS-3 than other previous forms. The T-10 featured an all new turret and main gun armament along with a redesigned hull and improved engine performance. A crew of four personnel operated the machine with the drive in the front hull and the commander, loader and gunner in the turret in traditional Soviet tank design fashion (commander and gunner on left and the loader on the right inside the turret - contrasting Western design placement). Power was derived from a single 12 cylinder diesel generating around 700 horsepower.

Armor protection was excellent, reach some 10 inches at its thickest.

The T-10 appeared in two supplementary forms with subtle modifications as the T-10A and the T-10B. The final version in the series would be the T-10M, which fitted a longer M-62-T2 (L/43) main gun. This particular version also featured a new muzzle brake, NBC protection for the crew and infra-red nightvision. Additionally, self-defense machine gun protection was improved allowing for an optional 12.7mm anti-aircraft DShK machine gun to be installed.

The T-10 performed as expected and was well-regarded. It saw action with Egyptian forces against Israel in the Six Day War, losing many examples to Israeli control - to which the very same systems were used to guard the Suez Canal from Egyptian encroachment. Production of the T-10 ended in 1966, to which some 2,500 examples appeared overall, and were the last of the Soviet heavy tanks when that classification type fell out of favor with Red Army needs.

Sd.Kfz. 251 - Half-track armored personnel carrier by Germany in WW2

2011-11-10T15:21:00.000+08:00

The Sd.Kfz. 251 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251) half-track was an armored fighting vehicle designed and first built by Hanomag company during World War II. The largest and best armored of the wartime half-tracks, the Sd.Kfz. 251 was designed to transport the panzergrenadiers of the German mechanized infantry corps into battle. Sd.Kfz. 251s were the most widely produced German half-tracks of the war, with over 15,252 vehicles and variants produced in total by various manufacturers, and were commonly referred to simply as "Hanomags" by both German and Allied soldiers.

Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf. A

There were four main model modifications (Ausführung A through Ausf. D), which formed the basis for at least 22 variants. The initial idea was for a vehicle that could be used to transport a single squad of panzergrenadiers to the battlefield protected from enemy small arms fire, and with some protection from artillery fire. In addition, the standard mounting of at least one MG 34 or MG 42 machine gun allowed the vehicle to provide support by fire for the infantry squad once they had disembarked in battle.

Positive aspects of the open top included greater situational awareness and faster egress by the infantry, as well as the ability to throw grenades and fire over the top of the fighting compartment as necessary while remaining under good horizontal cover. Downsides to the open top were a major vulnerability to all types of plunging fire; this included indirect fire from mortars and field artillery as well as depressed-trajectory small arms fire from higher elevated positions, lobbed hand grenades, and strafing by Allied aircraft.

Sd.Kfz. 251/7 "Pionierpanzerwagen"

The first two models were produced in small numbers from 1939. A and B model can be identified by the structure of the nose armor which comprises two trapezoids. The lower trapezoid has a cooling hatch. Production of the B modification from 1940 eliminated the fighting compartment's side vision slits. The C modification introduced into production in mid-1940 featured a simplified forward armoured plate for the engine. Ausf. A through C had rear doors of the vehicle bulging out. The C variant had a larger production run, but was a quite complex vehicle to build, involving many angled plates that gave reasonable protection from small arms fire. From early 1943, the Ausf D variant was developed with a purpose of reducing the number of angled body plates by 50%, simplifying the design and thus speeding up the production. Ausf D can be easily recognized by its single piece sloping rear (with flat doors).

Sd.Kfz. 251/9 "Stummel"

The standard personnel carrier version was equipped with a 7.92 mm MG 34 or MG 42 machine gun mounted at the front of the open compartment, above and behind the driver. A second machine gun could be mounted at the rear on an anti-aircraft mount.

Variants were produced for specialized purposes, including with anti-aircraft guns, light howitzers, anti-tank guns and mortars or even large unguided artillery rockets, as well as a version with an infrared search light used to spot potential targets for associated Panther tanks equipped with infrared detectors.

Another potentially good design feature of the Sd.Kfz.251 was the large track area, with the characteristic "slack track" design with no return rollers for the upper run of track, and overlapping and interleaved main road wheels common to virtually all German halftracks of the period. This lowered ground pressure and provided better traction, giving the Sd.Kfz.251 better cross country performance than most other nations' half-tracked vehicles. The interleaved and overlapping main road wheels, however, shared a chief problem with the Tiger I and Panther main battle tanks that also used such roadwheel configurations - in muddy or winter weather conditions, such as those during a rasputitsa mud season or the coldest Russian winter conditions, accumulated mud and/or snow could freeze solid between the road wheels, possibly immobilizing the vehicle.

The early production models of this vehicle were issued to the 1st Panzer Division in 1939.

These vehicles were meant to enable panzergrenadiers to accompany panzers and provide infantry support as required. In practice, there were never enough of them to go around, and most panzergrenadier units had to make do with trucks for transport.

HK G11 (Prototype)

2011-11-08T17:25:00.000+08:00

HK G11 rifle

The development of the G11 rifle was started in the late 1960's, when West German government decided to replace existing G3 rifle with lighter weapon with much better hit probability.

HK G11K2 pre-productional rifle

The initial studies lead to the idea of the small-caliber, rapid-fire rifle that fires caseless ammunition. To ensure sufficient stopping/killing power for small-caliber bullets used, the rifle should had have the three-round bursts capability and high capacity magazine.

HK G11 rifle with the optional optical scope installed

The new design, called G11, was created by German company Heckler und Koch, with the Dynamit Nobel company in team. The HK was responsible for the rifle itself, while Dynamit Nobel had to develop caseless ammunition.

Second prototype of the G11

The basic concept of the G11 is as follows:
The rifle features unique cylinder breech/chamber system that rotates 90 degrees. The cartridges in the magazine are located above the barrel, bullets down. Prior to each shot, first cartridge is pushed down from magazine into chamber and then breech/chamber rotates 90 degrees to align the cartridge with the barrel (see pic). After that, the cartridge is fired and the breech/chamber rotates back, ready for the next cartridge to be chambered. In the case of the cartridge ignition failure, the failed cartridge is pushed down from the chamber by the next cartridge. The breech can be manually "cocked" by the rotating handle at the side of the rifle, located beyond the pistol handle. The cocking handle does not move when gun is fired. Another interesting detail is that barrel, rotating breech, feed module and magazine are mounted in the housing that can move in the rifle back and forth. When firing single shots, the housing moves back and forward after the each shot. When firing the full-auto, the housing moves back and forward during each shot, resulting in moderate rate of fire of some 600 round per minute. But, when firing the three-round bursts, second and third cartridges are feed and fired as soon as the chamber is ready for it, and third bullet leaves the barrel PRIOR to the moment when the housing becomes to its rearward position. This results in wery high rate of fire with three-shots bursts - ca. 2000 rounds per minute. Also, this results in that the actual recoil affects the rifle AFTER the last bullet in the burst is fired.

13th prototype of the G11

Rifle featured built-in 1X optical sight with simple circle aiming reticle. Early prototypes featured one 50 rounds polymer magazine, while latest versions featured 45 rounds magazines - one in the loaded position within the movable housing and two spare magazines on the top of the rifle, asides from the loaded magazine.

Caseless ammunition - early variant at the left, latest variant DM11 (cutout view) - at the right

The caseless ammunition in its early appearance was designed as a block of the propellant, coated with flammable laquer, with bullet and primer "glued on" the propellant. Final ammunition design DM11, that appeared in the mid-1980s, featured "telescopic" design, when bullet was fully enclosed in the block of the propellant. The cartridge propelled the bullet that weights 3.25 gramms, to the 930-960 meters per second.

Schematic drawing of the G11 bolt & feeding system

Early prototypes were prone to the ammunition cook-offs during the sustained fire, but later Dynamit Nobel solved this issue.

In the late 1980s the Bundeswehr (West German Army) began the field tests of the pre-production G11s. After the initial tests, some improvements were devised, such as removable optical sight, mounting of two spare magazines on the rifle, and bayonet/bipod mount under the muzzle.

The modified variant, called G11K2, was tested in 1989, scoring at least 50% better combat accuracy when compared to G3 rifle. Initial batch of some 1000 G11K2s was received by Bundeswehr in 1990 or so, but due to some reasons the whole programme was cancelled by German Government. Main reasons of this cancellation were, in my opinion, the lack of fundings after the re-union of the West and East Germanies, and the general NATO policy for unification of the ammunition and even magazines for the assault rifles.

The slightly modified G11 was also tested in the USA under the ACR (Advanced Cobat Rifle) programme, in 1990. The ACR programme was not intended to result in adoption of the new rifle for the US Army, just to test new technologies and designs, and the G11 proved itself as a very accurate, comfortable to handle and fire, and reliable weapon.

Caliber: 4.7 mm caseless
Action: Gas operated, rotating breech
Overall length: 750 mm
Barrel length: 540 mm
Weigth: 3.6 kg empty
Magazine capacity: 50 or 45 rds

Water purifier

2011-11-03T09:46:00.002+08:00

The individual water purification system provides the infantryman the ability to remove or destroy contaminants from all water sources. There are a number of civilian versions available in the market today.

China and India at War: Study Contemplates Conflict Between Asian Giants

2011-10-31T16:08:00.000+08:00

Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/10/28/china-and-india-at-war-study-contemplates-conflict-between-asian-giants/#ixzz1cLMj2zWF

There are plenty of reasons why China and India won't go to war. The two Asian giants hope to reach $100 billion in annual bilateral trade by 2015. Peace and stability are watchwords for both nations' rise on the world stage. Yet tensions between the neighbors seem inescapable: they face each other across a heavily militarized nearly 4,000km-long border and are increasingly competing against each other in a scramble for natural resources around the world. Indian fears over Chinese projects along the Indian Ocean rim were matched recently by Beijing's ire over growing Indian interests in the South China Sea, a body of water China controversially claims as its exclusive territorial sphere of influence. Despite the sense of optimism and ambition that drives these two states, which comprise between them nearly a third of humanity, the legacy of the brief 1962 Sino-Indian war (a humiliating blow for India) still smolders nearly five decades later.

And it's alive on the pages of a new policy report issued by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, an independent think tank that is affiliated with India's Ministry of Defense. "A Consideration of Sino-Indian Conflict" is hardly a hawkish tract — it advocates "war avoidance" — but, by spelling out a few concrete scenarios of how conflict may look between the two countries, it reveals the palpable lack of trust on the part of strategists both in New Delhi and Beijing. The report applauds long-term Indian efforts underway to beef up defenses along the Chinese border, but warns that Beijing may still take action:

In future, India could be subject to China's hegemonic attention. Since India would be better prepared by then, China may instead wish to set India back now by a preventive war. This means current day preparedness is as essential as preparation for the future. A [defeat] now will have as severe political costs, internally and externally, as it had back in 1962; for, as then, India is yet again contemplating a global role.

While a lot of recent media attention has focused on the likelihood of Sino-Indian clashes at sea, the IDSA report keeps its scope trained along the traditional, glacial Himalayan land boundary, referred to in wonkish parlance as the LAC, the Line of Actual Control. Since the 1962 war, China and India have yet to formally resolve longstanding disputes over vast stretches of territory along this line. Those disputes have resurfaced noticeably in recent years, with China making unprecedented noises, much to the alarm of New Delhi, over its historical claims to the entirety of the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh — what the Chinese deem "Southern Tibet." The Chinese even rebuked Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for having the audacity of visiting the Indian state during local elections in 2009.

Not surprisingly, it's in this remote corner of the world that many suspect a war could kick off, particularly around the historic Tibetan monastery town of Tawang. India has reinforced its position in Arunachal with more boots on the ground, new missile defenses and some of the Indian air force's best strike craft, new Russian-made Su-30 fighters. After decades of focusing its army west against perennial threat Pakistan, India is tacitly realigning its military east to face the long-term challenge of China.

The report speculates that China could make a targeted territorial grab, "for example, a bid to take Tawang." Further west along the LAC, another flashpoint lies in Kashmir. China controls a piece of largely uninhabited territory known as Aksai Chin that it captured during the 1962 war. Indian press frequently publish alarmist stories about Chinese incursions from Aksai Chin and elsewhere, playing up the scale of Chinese investment in strategic infrastructure on its side of the border in stark contrast to the seeming lethargy of Indian planners. Part of what fuels the anxiety in New Delhi, as the report notes, is the threat of coordinated action between China and Pakistan — an alliance built largely out of years of mutual antipathy toward India. In one mooted scenario, Pakistan, either with its own forces or terrorist, insurgent proxies, would "make diversionary moves" across the blood-stained Siachen glacier or Kargil, site of the last Indo-Pakistani war in 1999, while a Chinese offensive strikes further east along the border.

Of course, such table-top board game maneuvers have little purchase in present geo-politics. Direct, provocative action suits no player in the region, particularly when there's the specter of American power — a curious absence in the IDSA report — hovering on the sidelines. Intriguingly, the report seems to dismiss the notion that China and India would clash in what others would consider obvious hotspots for rivalry; it says the landlocked Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan would likely be treated as a neutral "Switzerland", while Nepal, a country of 40 million that entertains both Beijing and New Delhi's patronage, is more or less assured that neither of its big neighbors would risk violating its sovereignty in the event of war.

Moreover, the IDSA seems to rule out either side encouraging or deploying proxies in more clandestine struggles against the other. The restive border regions on both sides of the LAC are home to resentful minority populations and more than a few insurgent factions. India and China — unlike Pakistan — have little precedent in abetting militant groups and strategists on both sides would be wary of fanning flames of rebellion that no one can put out.

Yet what seems to stoke Sino-Indian military tensions — and grim prophecies of conflict — are precisely these feelings of vulnerability. The uncertainties posed by both countries' astonishing economic growth, the lack of clear communication and trust between Beijing and New Delhi and the strong nationalism underlying both Indian and Chinese public opinion could unsettle the uneasy status quo that now exists. Managing all this is a task for wooly-heads in New Delhi and Beijing. But don't be surprised if more reports like this one come out, drawing lines on the battlefield.

Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/10/28/china-and-india-at-war-study-contemplates-conflict-between-asian-giants/#ixzz1cLMj2zWF

Wheeled attack vehicles of the cold war

2011-10-24T16:27:00.000+08:00

Chenowth Scorpion Desert Patrol Vehicle

The ultimate SEAL Team joyride - the Scorpion DPV/FAV.

The Scorpion DPV (Desert Patrol Vehicle) is a three-man on-road/off-road vehicle used for many long-range desert operations including close-air support or combat search and rescue missions. Originally designated as the FAV (Fast Attack Vehicle) the DPV has seen service primarily with the United States Navy SEALs through Operation Desert Storm and is assumed to be in current operational use along the fronts in the Iraq War and in Afghanistan. The concept of FAVs in combat dates back to World War 2 where the British Army utilized specially-modified "JEEPS" to shadow the movements, whereabouts and activities of the German Army in the Egyptian Campaign. These systems belonged to the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) whose primary function had become reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.

The Desert Patrol Vehicle (DPV) utilizes a modified construction frame like those found in base off-road race cars. Suspension consists of two frontal shock absorbers and four shock absorbers positioned in the rear. The suspension is controlled primarily by a position-sensitive 'trailing-arm' system. The DPV is actually a 2x4 off-road vehicle, though designed to go anywhere a 4x4 could naturally go. Power is derived from a Volkswagen 2-liter, 200 horsepower air-cooled engine that allows for speeds above 60 miles per hour and a range equal to 210 miles. Range can be augmented by was of a fuel bladder than increased its operational range some 1,000 further miles. The DPV (then as the FAV) was developed in the 1980s with a generous budget and some 120 vehicles were produced as well as militarized motorbikes for special forces use.

The vehicle can be armed with a variety of mission-specific weaponry including the Browning .50 caliber heavy machine gun, the Mark 19 40mm automatic grenade launcher and the M60 .30 caliber general purpose machine gun. Ammunition stores are mission dependent. Additionally, and personal weapons carried by the crew become part of the lethality that is the DPV. Total payload for the DPV is a reported 1,500lbs.

The DPV was first unveiled to American home audiences in the 1991 televised liberation of Kuwait City. SEAL Team members were shown on their DPVs in the Kuwaiti streets complete with the traditional Bedouin headgear in place. The DPVs were able to maneuver across the desert and through the city streets with relative ease, staying ahead of the regular army forces while keeping an eye on Iraqi armor formations, location and defensive positions.

The DPV weapon system is extremely useful as a battlefield scout and reconnaissance vehicle in the special forces role. Other mission roles include target acquisition, surveillance, peacekeeping and deep strike. In large part, the DPV/FAV has been replaced in inventory by the LSV - Light Strike Vehicle.

Specifications for the Chenowth Scorpion Desert Patrol Vehicle (DPV) / Fast Attack Vehicle (FAV)

Dimensions:
Overall Length: 13.39ft (4.08m)
Width: 6.92ft (2.11m)
Height: 6.59ft (2.01m)

Structure:
Accommodation: 3
Weight: 0.7 US Short Tons (680kg; 1,499lbs)

Armament Suite:
MISSION-SPECIFIC:
1 x 40mm SACO MK 19 Automatic Grenade Launcher
1 x 12.7mm M2 Browning Heavy Machine Gun
1 x 7.62mm M60 General Purpose Machine Gun
2 x Anti-Tank Missile Launchers

Additionally any crew-carried personal weapons.

AMMUNITION:
Mission specific.

2 x AT-4 anti-tank missiles

Powerplant:
Engine(s): 1 x Volkswagen 2-liter air-cooled engine developing 200 horsepower.

Performance:
Maximum Speed: 56mph (90.6 km/h)
Maximum Range: 200 miles (322 km)

Systems:
NBC* Protection: None
Nightvision: None

* Nuclear, Biological, Chemical

Chaimite V-200 4x4 Armored Personnel Carrier

The Chaimite V-series of APC has evolved into an adaptable battlefield vehicle.

The Chaimite V-200 is a Portuguese-designed and produced 4x4 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) and has the ability to become completely amphibious. The Chaimite V-200 is served by a crew of three made up of a commander, driver and gunner. The gunner utilizes the one-man powered turret system which can be adapted to include a variety of mission-specific armaments (detailed above).

The Chaimite V-200 can also transport eight combat-ready infantry squad members in relative security. The Chaimite V-series of 4x4 armored personnel carriers has evolved into a multi-faceted platform featuring mortar carriers, battlefield ambulances, a 6x6 variant and an anti-tank defense system variant among others.

Specifications for the Chaimite V-200

Dimensions:
Overall Length: 18.37ft (5.60m)
Width: 7.41ft (2.26m)
Height: 6.04ft (1.84m)

Structure:
Accommodation: 3 + 8
Weight: 8.0 US Short Tons (7,300kg; 16,094lbs)

Armament Suite:
2 x 7.62mm machine guns

Other mission specific armament may include:

1 x 12.7mm heavy machine gun
1 x 7.62mm machine gun
1 x 20mm main gun
1 x 90mm main gun
1 x 81mm mortar
1 x 120mm mortar
1 x anti-tank missile launcher system

AMMUNITION:
9,250 x 7.62mm ammunition

Powerplant:
Engine(s): 1 x Model M75 V-8 water-cooled petrol engine generating 210hp @ 4,000rpm. A V-6 diesel engine is also available.

Performance:
Maximum Speed: 68mph (110 km/h)
Maximum Range: 652 miles (1,050 km)

Systems:
NBC* Protection: None
Nightvision: Optional

* Nuclear, Biological, Chemical

BRDM-2 4x4 Amphibious Scout Car

The BRDM-2 is another Cold War-era export favorite serving worldwide.

The BRDM-2 primarily served as an armored scout car with the Soviet Army during the height of the Cold War. She was a direct replacement to the limited BRDM-1 scout car series and, like many of the Soviet Cold War offerings, the newer BRDM-2 proved a cheap yet still capable system, making it a popular export product the world over. Thousands of examples were ultimately produced and the type was fielded in anger throughout several of the key global conflicts between the years 1960 and 2000. While she still serves with many nations across the globe (mostly Soviet-allied customers), the BRDM-2 now remains a limited product all her own when set on the modern battlefield. Regardless, she has proven herself a combat-capable system and has enjoyed the successes of her rather simplistic yet utterly reliable design.

In 1949, designs were on the boards for a new amphibious light tank to be used in the reconnaissance role for the Soviet Army. This design evolved into the PT-76 which entered service in August of 1952. The PT-76 lent itself well to the blossoming mobile army doctrine of the Soviets and allowed for unprecedented access to both land and water at speed. What the new system would need now is a comparable reconnaissance vehicle that could keep up with the inherent mobility of the new light tank - something which the current Soviet inventory found elusive in the available offerings. As such, the BRDM-1 scout car was born.

The BRDM-1 (originally as the "BRDM" before there was a "BRDM-2") was an initial scout car design that first appeared in the Soviet Army inventory in 1957 (design beginning in 1954). Of note was her 4x4 off-road capability and her amphibious quality, the former aided by a pair of powered belly wheels and the latter coming in the form of a rear-mounted water jet for propulsion. The engine was mounted in the front hull with the crew compartment set to the middle-rear. The BRDM-1 led a healthy existence, seeing over 10,000 examples produced and delivered to a large portion of Soviet allied nations in varied battlefield forms - she was adapted to carry a range of anti-tank missiles as well, improving her tactical usefulness to an extent. However, the BRDM-1 design was inherently limited at its core. She maintained no trainable turreted armament system (the gunner need expose himself to enemy fire to operate the external machine gun) nor was her crew protected from the effects of a nuclear war - prevalent in the Cold War years. Additionally, she was not given night vision equipment, making her a liability in such an environment. To add insult to injury, the BRDM-1 also lacked any sort of specialized reconnaissance-minded vision equipment - considering her role as a reconnaissance scout car, this was a wholly major drawback.

As such, it wasn't long before the BRDM-2 series of scout cars was born to "right the wrongs" of the previous design. The BRDM-2 first appeared in 1962 (a design credited to V.K. Rubtsov) and came online as a direct replacement for the BRDM-1. The BRDM-2 brought along with it several key improvements that made for a better system - including revisions and improvements to the amphibious capabilities, on-road/off-road performance and armament. Additionally, the BRDM-2 was fitted with NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) protection as well as night vision equipment. The engine was moved to the rear of the hull with the crew compartment positioned to the middle-front. A powered turret was added to hold the armament and the powered belly wheels were retained. Production was handled by the Molotov GAZ Plant in Gorkiy, Russia. In all, some 7,200 examples went on to see production (from 1962 to 1989) and, at her usage height, some 40 nations fielded the BRDM-2. She proved a regular at Soviet pride parades during the Cold War and was publically seen for the first time to Western observers in 1966.

It is easy to dismiss the BRDM-2 based on looks alone for she maintains a rather utilitarian appearance with little to recommend herself. However, she is a capable wheeled system that has seen use the world over. The design is characterized by her four large road wheels offering full 4x4 support, these set on leaf springs with hydraulic shock absorbers. The wheels are spaced well apart, particularly when viewed in the side profile. Wheel wells are high-arcing and promote flexibility in steering while collecting and deflecting the mud and dust of the terrain. The lower hull is slab-sided along the sides and rear panels but sloped upwards along the front. The lower front hull angles up to the nearly-flat glacis plate. The glacis plate contours into the hull superstructure and allows a forward panel for vision ports afforded to the front-seated personnel. The sides of the superstructure are angled inwards towards the top. The design is capped by a rounded, low-profile, flat-topped, fully-enclosed turret structure that itself maintains relatively unfettered 360-degree rotation (these is only a communications antenna to the forward right-hand side of the design, near the commander's hatch). Headlamps are held at the forward extreme corners of the upper hull glacis plate and partially protected by armored rails. The driver makes use of external mirrors to view his immediate and distant surroundings. The forward armor vision panels can be raised and lowered at operator discretion. When raised, the glass-covered vision port (bulletproof) allows for improved forward visibility. Vision blocks for the crew are set at the upper access hatches as well as the sides of the hull superstructure while the commander and driver also have use of periscopes when the vehicle is fully "buttoned down". The engine is fitted to the rear of the hull unlike the BRDM-1. There is an integrated winch system built into the front hull of the BRDM-2 design as well as a central tire pressure system. The tire pressure system allows the driver to adapt one or all of his road wheels "on-the-fly" to the terrain ahead.

Unique to the BRDM-2's design is the use of a smaller pair of road wheels located along the middle of the hull sides. There systems can be raised or lowered "on-the-fly" by the driver and aid in cross-country performance by applying more surface to the terrain. Upgraded BRDM-2s have removed these belly wheels to make additional internal space for the crew.

Armor protection for the BRDM-2 runs from 14mm to 3mm. 10mm thickness is afforded to the front face of the turret. All other turret sides are 7mm thick. The hull is supplied with thicker armor at the front top and lesser armor along the floor and rear. The hull nose plate alone carries 14mm armor thickness. The rear measures in at 7mm. Armor is of welded steel construction.

Crew accommodations include four personnel made up of the driver, commander, assistant driver and gunner. The driver and commander are seated at the front in a side-by-side fashion with access to a pair of roof-mounted entry/exit hatches. Interestingly, this is the only means of entry/exit for the personnel within the vehicle for the turret holds no hatches of its own, nor do the hull sides. The gunner sits within the powered turret during action but takes a place within the hull during standard travel. The crew has access to a land navigation system and a decontamination kit (the latter to combat the effects of a nuclear battlefield).

Base armament for the BRDM-2 scout car is a 14.5mm KPVT heavy machine gun tied to a co-axial 7.62mm PKT general purpose machine gun. These are both fitted to the enclosed power turret and operate along the same firing arcs with elevation limited to -5 to +30 degrees. In fact, the BRDM-2 makes use of the same turret system as used on the BTR-60PB, BTR-70 and OT-64 Model 2A armored personnel carriers. 500 rounds of ammunition are afforded to the 14.5mm system while 2,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition are carried. Other variations of the BRDM-2 carry anti-tank or anti-aircraft missile system launchers in place of the machine gun armament.

Power is supplied from a rear-mounted GAZ-41 series V-8 water-cooled gasoline engine delivering 140 horsepower at 3,400rpm (a bigger, more powerful engine over that in the BRDM-1). The placement of the engine in the rear makes it less susceptible to incoming enemy fire. Additionally, armor separates the engine compartment from the crew for added survivability. Maximum road speed is listed at 62 miles per hour while operational range is listed at about 466 miles. When fording water, the BRDM-2 can sustain a top speed of approximately 6.2 miles per hour. The vehicle measures in at 5.75m in length with a width equal to 2.75m while carrying a 2.31m height. The BRDM-2 grosses a 7,000kg operating weight and features a 430mm ground clearance. She has full 4x4 wheeled support. Upgraded BRDM-2s have featured improved engines.

As an amphibious-minded design, the BRDM-2 makes use of a single four-bladed water jet for propulsion in water. The jet is protected by an armor covering when the vehicle traverses land but must be removed before entering a body of water. Though the speed of the BRDM-2 in water is not excellent, it is serviceable and allows for an overall dynamically-minded platform.

While the BRDM-2 extends well beyond its basic scout roles and appears in a myriad of battlefield forms, a few notable variants deserve mention. The BRDM-2-RKhb is a radiological-chemical reconnaissance variant and identified by her carrying of twin rectangular-shaped racks along her superstructure. The BRDM-2U is a command vehicle with specialized communications equipment. Anti-tank forms include the BRDM-2 chassis mounted with launchers for "Sagger", "Spandrel" and "Swatter" anti-tank missile systems. The BRDM-2 has also been converted to fire the SA-9 "Gaskin" anti-aircraft missile system.

As with many of the Cold War implements fielded by the Soviet Union, systems such as the BRDM-2 lack much in the way of "refinements" common to her Western counterparts. Little is given to general crew comfort and the GAZ engine is noted as being a thirsty beast, limiting her useful range. The crew is nary protected from many of the modern battlefield weapons that would be used against her armor, though this helps to keep her somewhat light and mobile. Of particular note is the use of the twin access hatches. These are fitted to the front of the vehicle, forcing a crew to abandon their mount, most likely in the line of enemy fire. Most modern systems feature some sort f emergency exit and this usually fitted to the rear hull.

The BRDM-2 has since become a combat-tested system, and this occurring in a variety of climates and environments and under the direction of a multitude of users. The system was fielded by the Soviet Army in their War in Afghanistan to which some systems inevitably became part of the Afghan National Army, in turn, as captured spoils. The BRDM-2 was also fielded by Arab operators in the Six Day War of 1967, the War of Attrition (1968-1970) and the Yom Kippur War of 1973 against Israel. Israel captured some of these vehicles only to fit the TOW anti-tank missile launcher on the hull superstructures and use them against their former owners. A few retained models were made into museum "victory" pieces. American forces tangled with, and captured, several BRDM-2s during the 1983 invasion of Grenada through "Operation Urgent Fury". The Iraqi Army made use of the scout car in the Persian Gulf War of 1991 with limited success and, later, in the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 with even lesser success. The type also served in the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995) and the Kosovo War (1998-1999), proving her a viable player in the European environment.

The BRDM-2 has since (at least in theory) been replaced by the BRDM-3 series 8x8 wheeled reconnaissance vehicle. The BRDM-3 is based on the BTR-80 8x8 wheeled armored personnel carrier. The BTR-80 has itself replaced the BTR-60 and BTR-70 wheeled vehicles since its inception.

The United States evaluated captured BRDM-2s following the 1991 Persian Gulf War. One such example resides on display at the US National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, Georgia. During the Cold War years, HMMWVs (Humvees) were externally modified to resemble BRDM-2s during identification training / war game exercises. East German BRDM-2s became part of the unified German Army following the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

Many nations have already passed their BRDM-2s to other buyers or scrapped their existing fleets entirely.

Specifications for the BRDM-2

Dimensions:
Overall Length: 18.86ft (5.75m)
Width: 7.71ft (2.35m)
Height: 7.58ft (2.31m)

Structure:
Accommodation: 4
Weight: 7.7 US Short Tons (7,000kg; 15,432lbs)

Armament Suite:
STANDARD:
1 x 14.5mm KPVT heavy machine gun
1 x 7.62mm PKT co-axial machine gun

OPTIONAL CONFIGURATIONS:
Anti-Tank Missiles ("Sagger", "Spandrel", "Swatter", "Spigot").
Anti-Aircraft Missiles ("Gaskin")

AMMUNITION:
500 x 14.5mm ammunition
2,000 7.62mm ammunition

Powerplant:
Engine(s): 1 x GAZ-41 V-8 Water-cooled petrol engine with an output of 140hp @ 3,400rpm.

Performance:
Maximum Speed: 62mph (100 km/h)
Maximum Range: 466 miles (750 km)

Systems:
NBC* Protection: Yes
Nightvision: Yes - Infra-red for Driver and Commander

* Nuclear, Biological, Chemical

BRDM-1 4x4 Amphibious Scout Car

The successful BRDM-1 amphibious scout car led to the equally successful BRDM-2 model appearing in the mid-1960s.

The BRDM-1 series of amphibious scout cars first appeared in the late 1950s and would serve as the principle armored car in service with the Red Army until eventually being replaced by the equally successful BRDM-2 series. The BRDM-1 developed into several successful anti-aircraft variants mounting a variety of missile systems and was completely amphibious with its built-in waterjet at rear. The BRDM series of scout cars would be the definitive scout car for the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War and be exported en mass to several Soviet-friendly nations.

Development of the Soviet BRDM-1 was spurned along by the need to replace their aging World War 2-era BA-64 series of armored cars. The BRDM-1 appeared as a 4x4 vehicle with a front mounted engine and roof-mounted hatches (earlier models were open-topped). Interestingly, the BRDM-1 featured an extra twin set of road wheels which could be lowered by the driver. Additionally, the driver could control tire pressure through an integrated regulation system for customized off-road or ditch crossing performance.

Standard armament for the BRDM-1 was initially a single 7.62mm arrangement though some models were fitted with an additional 12.7mm anti-aircraft heavy machine gun. In that arrangement, the heavy machine gun was mounted forward whilst the 7.62mm caliber type was to the rear of the crew compartment. Crew accommodations amounted to the driver and up to four passengers depending on the role and mission. Power was derived from a 6-cylinder gasoline engine generating some 90hp.

The BRDM-U became a Command Vehicle and was distinguished from other BRDM-1s by the integration of four antenna instead of the usual one. The BRDM-1RKhb served as a radiological and biological reconnaissance vehicle in the event of a nuclear war and was distinguished by two rectangle-shaped packs held at rear of the vehicle. Anti-tank launcher models consisted of AT-1, AT-2 and AT-3 launchers fitted on the roof and raised when ready to fire. Each progressive design featured an increased engagement range and an increase missile count.

The BRDM-1 was later replaced by the similar BRDM-2 series of amphibious scout cars.

Specifications for the BRDM-1

Dimensions:
Overall Length: 18.70ft (5.70m)
Width: 7.38ft (2.25m)
Height: 6.23ft (1.90m)

Structure:
Accommodation: 5
Weight: 6.2 US Short Tons (5,600kg; 12,346lbs)

Armament Suite:
1 x 12.7mm DShKM MG anti-aircraft machine gun mounted at front
1 x 7.62mm SGMB MG at rear mounting

AMMUNITION:
Not Available

Powerplant:
Engine(s): 1 x 6-cylinder gasoline engine producing 90hp.

Performance:
Maximum Speed: 50mph (80 km/h)
Maximum Range: 311 miles (500 km)

Systems:
NBC* Protection: None
Nightvision: Yes - Driver

* Nuclear, Biological, Chemical

Walther MKb.42(W) assault rifle

2011-10-17T10:45:00.000+08:00

In 1939 HWaA (German Army Weapons command) issued a contract for the development of a "Maschinen karabiner", or machine carbine (MKb for short), chambered for the new 7.92 x 33 Kurz cartridge, to the company C.G. Haenel Waffen und Fahrradfabrik. In 1940 another company joined in the development of this new type of small arm; the famous German arms manufacturing company Carl Walther, known for its fine and popular pistols. Walther had already been engaged in the development of intermediate-cartridge firearms since 1936, when it produced self-loading carbines for an experimental 7 x 39 cartridge. Later,Walther developed several automatic designs in "full-size" 7.92 x 57, and one of these experimental prototypes, the 7.92 mm A-115, served as a starting point for its 7.92 mm Kurz rifle. Walther began to developits own Maschinenkarabiner as a private venture, but in 1941 receivedofficial approval from HWaA for further development in competition with Haenel, the first MKb.42(W) rifles being delivered to the army in thesecond half of 1942.

In late 1942, the first small batches of both Haenel and Walther weapons, designated MKb.42(H) and MKb.42(W) respectively, were sent to the Eastern front, for trials against Soviet troops. Initial results were promising, with the Haenel rifles being generally preferred due to their better reliability. The Walther design, which showed better single-shot accuracy, was rejected as unsuitable on the grounds of its questionable annular gas piston system. No further development in this field was apparently taken by the Walther organization, which was already very busy delivering its P.38 pistols to the German army.

The MKb.42(W) is a gas-operated, magazine fed weapon. The gas system has an annular gas piston, located around the barrel, inside the stamped annular handguards. A rotating bolt of somewhat complicated design locks to the barrel via two lugs. The hammer-fired trigger unit allows single shots or fully automatic fire, and the MKb.42(W) is fed using the same 30-round magazines as its rival, the MKb.42(H). The MKb.42(W) fires from a closed bolt.

Heckler & Koch G3

2011-10-04T09:53:00.000+08:00

During the early to mid-1950s West Germany, like the other NATO countries, faced the need for rearming its army for the newest common 7.62x51mm NATO caliber small arms. Initially, Germans preferred the Belgian FN FAL rifle, and adopted it circa 1956 under the designation of G1. Due to obvious reasons Germany wanted to manufacture its military rifles, and attempted to buy a manufacturing license for FAL, but Belgium rejected the deal. So, Germany turned to the another design, available from Spanish company CETME, and known as the CETME Mod A rifle.

Earliest variant of G3 rifle with flip-up rear sight and metallic ventilated handguards

Germany bought the manufacturing license for the CETME rifle and transferred it to the Heckler und Koch (HK) company, located in Oberndorf. HK slightly modified the CETME design, and in 1959 the Bundeswehr (W.Germany Army) finally adopted the CETME / Heckler-Koch rifle as G3 (Gewehr 3 - Rifle, [model] 3). Since that time and until the 1995 the G3 in various modifications served as a general issue shoulder weapon not only for German Armed forces, but also for many other countries. Those include Greece, Iran, Mexico, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey and many other countries. Total of more than 50 countries during the last 40 years issued the G3 to its forces. The G3 was or still is manufactured in countries like the Greece, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Portugal and others. The key reason of high popularity of the G3 is that it is much simpler and cheaper to manufacture,than its major contemporary rivals - Belgian FN FAL and US M14.

G3A3 with drum type rearsight, plastic ventilated handguards and fixed stock

HK itself continued to produce and offer the G3 until the year 2000 or 2001, when it finally disappeared from HK catalogs and web-sites. However, the HK still manufactures a wide variety of firearms, based on the G3 design but of different purposes and calibers, like 9mm MP-5 submachine guns, 5.56mm HK 33 assault rifles, 5.56mm and 7.62mm HK23 and HK21 machine guns, PSG1 sniper rifles etc. In general, the HK G3 rifle can be described as one of the best 7.62mm NATO battle / assault rifles - reliable, versatile, controllable, non-expensive and, finally, very popular. For the civilian markets, HK producedthe semi-automatic only versions of the G3, initially known as HK 41 and later as HK 91.

G3A3 with attached bayonet and plain plastic handguards of more modern appearance

The G3 rifle is a selective fire, magazine fed rifle, built using delayed blowback action, developed by German engineers at Mauser Werke late in the 2nd World War and refined in Spain, at the CETME company. Initial models of the G3 rifle were quite similar to CETME rifles, and even had "CETME" markings on the receivers (until 1961 or so). The G3 is built using as many stamped parts as possible. The receiver is stamped from sheet steel. The trigger unit housing along with pistol handle frame, also are stamped from steel and hinged to the receiver using the cross-pin in the front of the trigger unit, just behind the magazine housing. Earliest G3 rifles also featured stamped handguards and CETME-type flip-up rear diopter sights. In the mid-1960s the initial design was upgraded to the G3A3 and G3A4 configurations.

G3A4 - retractable butt version of the G3

These rifles had ventilated plastic handguards and a drum-type rear diopter sights, marked from 100 to 400 meters. The G3A3 was a fixed butt version, with buttstock made from plastic, and the G3A4 was a telescope butt version, with retractable metallic buttstock with rubber buttplate. Late German production G3A3 and G3A4 models were built using new trigger units, integral with restyled pistol grip and triggerguard, made from plastic. The shortest version of the G3 was the G3KA4, similar to G3A4 but with shortened barrel. Every G3 rifle can be equipped with detachable bipods, claw-type detachable scope mounts. Long-barreled versions can be fitted with bayonet or used to launch rifle grenades from the barrel. Folding cocking handle is located on the special tube above the barrel, at the left side, and does not reciprocate when gun is fired. The safety / fire selector is located above the triggerguard on the left side of the trigger group housing and usually is marked "S - E - F" (Safe - Single shots - Full auto). Latest models could have selectors marked with colored icons.

G3KA4 - the shortest G3 variant with retractable buttstock and most modern integral pistol grip / trigger unit made entirely of plastic

Caliber: 7.62mm NATO (.308 win)
Action: Roller-delayed blowback
Weight: 4.5kg
Overall length: 1023 mm
Barrel length: 450 mm (315 mm on G3KA4 model)
Magazine capacity: 20 rounds

Haenel / Schmeiiser MKb.42(H) assault rifle

2011-09-22T14:16:00.001+08:00

In 1939 HWaA (Hitler's army Weapons command) issued a contract for the development of a "Maschinen karabiner", or machine carbine (MKb for short), chambered for the new 7.92x33 Kurz cartridge, to the company C.G. Haenel Waffen und Fahrradfabrik. Initial development took place under the designation of MKb.42 - Maschinen karabiner, 1942. The new weapon was intended as a replacement for submachine guns, bolt action rifles and, partly, light machine guns for front troops and was intended to have an effective range of 600 meters or so.

The famous designer Hugo Schmeisser led the Haenel development team, which produced the first working prototypes of new weapon by 1942. In accordance with the specification, the new weapon inherited several features from MP-40 submachine gun, such as the left-side charginghandle with slot safety and magazine housing with button release. Because the new weapon had to be made with the maximum usage of stamping and welding, Haenel was joined by the Merz Werke, a company with no knowledge in firearms but a great deal of experience in steel stamping and forming. The first weapons were issued to front line units on the Eastern front by the mid-1942, and the low-rate mass production began in late 1942. A total of about 10,000 MKb.42(H) were produced for the German Army before its production was ceased in favour of an improved design, the MP-43 / Stg.44.

The MKb.42(H) is a gas operated, selective-fire weapon. It uses along-stroke gas piston, located above the barrel in a long gas tube.The barrel locking is achieved by tipping the rear part of the bolt down into the locking recess, cut in the machined steel insert in the stamped steel receiver. The gun fires from an open bolt at all times,and the only safety is the MP-40-type slot, cut at the rear of the charging handle slot, in which the charging handle can be hooked when the bolt is open. The cross-bolt type fire mode selector is located above the trigger guard. The MKb.42(H) could be fitted with standard bayonet, and has a wooden butt.

Caliber:7.92 x 33 (7.92 mm Kurz)
Action: Gas operated, tilting bolt
Overalllength: 940 mm
Barrel length: 364 mm
Weigth: 4.9 kg empty
Rate of fire: 500 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 30 rounds

Teller Mine 43

2011-09-14T14:09:00.000+08:00

The Tellermine 43 was a German circular steel cased anti-tank blast mine used during the Second World War. It was a simplified version of the Tellermine 42, which enabled simpler production techniques. Between March 1943 and the end of World War II, over 3.6 million Tellermine 43s were produced by Germany. Copies of the mine were produced by several countries including Denmark (M/47), France (Model 1948) and Yugoslavia (TMM-1). The mine is found in Egypt and Libya.

The casing of the mine is circular, rising towards the center with a large flat pressure plate. A rectangular metal carrying handle is fitted to the side of the mine. The pressure plate sits over the fuze well which can hold either a T.Mi.Z.42 shear pin fuze or T.Mi.Z.43 ball release fuze. At the bottom of the fuze well is a PETN booster charge, surrounded by the doughnut shaped main charge of TNT. The mine has secondary fuze wells on the side and base to enable anti-handling devices to be fitted. Additionally, the T.Mi.Z.43 fuze functions as an anti-tampering device, detonating the mine if the pressure plate is lifted. The mine can also be fitted with a tilt rod fuze, screwed into to the side fuze well.

Height: 102 mm
Diameter: 318 mm
Weight: 8.1 kg
Explosive content: 5.5 kg TNT (sometimes Amatol)
Trigger weight: 100 to 180 kg

HK417 assault rifle

2011-09-12T09:12:00.000+08:00

2006 prototype of HK417 rifle with 20" barrel; note that it used HK G3-compatible magazines

HK417 assault rifle was recently developed by famous German arms-making company Heckler und Koch, as a "big brother" to the 5.56mm HK416 assault rifle. Information on this weapon first surfaced in 2005, on the wave of new interest for the 7.62mm NATO caliber military rifles. This interest came in from experience of international forces gained in Afghanistan and Iraq, where increased range and penetration of the 7.62mm NATO bullets was (and still is) quite useful. Several companies developed new or updated versions of 7.62mm weapons, with intent to sell to military, law enforcement and in certain cases - to civilian shooters as well. The HK417 is one of such weapons. It is primarily oriented toward US market, as it mimics the popular 5.56mm AR-15 / M16 rifles in external appearance, controls, and many design features. However, there are more than few new and original features in HK417, including Heckler-Koch's patented piston-operated gas system, user-changeable barrels etc. Like most other competitors, HK417 riflesare available in several barrel lengths, suitable for full scale of military operations, from close combat in urban or forest areas and upto long-range accurate shooting.

Current (2008) version of HK417 rifle with 12 inch / 30cm barrel, basic version

(2008) version of HK417 rifle with 12 inch / 30cm barrel, fitted with telescope sight with night vision adapter, folding bipod and a sound moderator (silencer)

HK417 rifle is a gas operated, selective fired weapon of modular design. It uses short-stroke gas piston located above the barrel, that operates the 7-lug rotating bolt. Barrels are cold hammer forged, and could be replaced by end user in several minutes using simple tools. There are four basic patterns of barrels available for HK417 as of now: 305mm / 12" and 406 mm / 16" standard barrels and 406 mm / 16" and 508 mm/ 20" accurized barrels. Accurized barrels provide 1 MOA accuracy (with proper ammunition). Receiver is made from high grade aluminum alloy and consists of two parts (upper and lower), connected by two cross-pins a-la AR-15 / M16 rifles. Combination-type safety / fire selector allows for single shots and full automatic mode. HK417 retains all M16-style controls, including last round bolt hold-open device, bolt closure device, rear-based charging handle and magazine release button on the right side of the magazine well. HK417 is fitted with four Picatinny rails on free-float handguard as standard, and will accept any type of sighting devices on STANAG-1913 compliant mounts. It also can accept modified HK AG36/AG-C 40mm grenade launcher, which is clamped directly to bottom rail. Buttstock is of modified M4 design, multi-position telescoped. Production HK417 rifles use proprietary 10- or 20-round box magazines, made of translucent polymer (early prototypes used HK G3 magazines).

(2008) version of HK417 rifle with 16 inch / 40cm barrel

Caliber: 7,62x51mm NATO
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
Overall length: 905 - 985 mm with 406 mm barrel / 35.6" - 38.8" with 16" barrel
Barrel length: 305 mm / 12", 406 mm / 16" or 508 mm / 20"
Weight: 4.36 kg - 4.96 kg, depending on barrel length
Rate of fire: 600 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 10 or 20 rounds

(2008) version of HK417 rifle with 20 inch / 50cm barrel, with telescopesight and detachable bipod

German Model 24 grenade

2011-09-07T09:07:00.000+08:00

German stick grenade Model 24

The Model 24 Stielhandgranate was the standard hand grenade of the German Army from the end of World War I until the end of World War II. The very distinctive appearance led to its being called a "stick grenade", or a "potato masher" in British Army slang, and is today one of the most easily recognized infantry weapons of the 20th century.

The stick grenade was introduced in 1915 and the design developed throughout World War I. A friction igniter was used; this method was uncommon in other countries but widely used for German grenades.

A pull cord ran down the hollow handle from the detonator within the explosive head, terminating in a porcelain ball held in place by a detachable base closing cap. To use the grenade, the base cap was unscrewed, permitting the ball and cord to fall out. Pulling the cord dragged a roughened steel rod through the igniter causing it to flare-up and start the five-second fuse burning. This allowed the grenade to be hung from fences to prevent them from being climbed; any disturbance to the dangling grenade would cause it to fall and ignite the fuse.

Section of the Stielhandgranate Model 24.

The first stick grenades featured a permanently revealed pull cord which came out from the handle near the bottom (rather than tucked inside the removable screw-capped base). These exposed pull cords had a tendency to accidentally snag and detonate the grenades while being carried, causing severe (usually fatal) injuries.

Stick grenades were stored in cases for transport, and their fuse assemblies inserted prior to going into combat — a reminder for the user was stenciled on each explosive charge ("VOR GEBRAUCH SPRENGKAPSEL EINSETZEN", in English: "Before use insert detonator").

This type of grenade, featuring a high explosive charge encased in a thin sheet steel can, is an example of an "offensive" (relying on blast effect), rather than "defensive" (fragmentation) grenade. A serrated fragmentation sleeve ("Splitterring") was adopted in 1942 which could be slid over the head of the grenade. Fragments of the sleeve would be scattered on detonation, making the grenade more effective against personnel.

The stick provided a lever, significantly improving the throwing distance. The Model 24 could be thrown approximately 30 to 40 yards, whereas the British Mills bomb could only be thrown about 15 yards. The design also minimized the risk of the grenade rolling downhill back towards the thrower when used in hilly terrain or in urban areas. However, the additional length of the handle meant that less of them could be carried.

The grenades were extremely useful for clearing out entrenched infantry positions. Although they were not individually very effective against armoured vehicles and fortifications, the grenade could be used in an improvised "bundle" style with another six explosive heads (without their sticks) wired around the central stick grenade. These were known as Geballte Ladung (literally "baled charge" or "concentrated charge").

A German soldier with a Model 24 grenade in Russia in 1941.

The Stielhandgranate went through numerous variants, several versions being deployed in World War I before a settled design emerged in 1917. Into World War II the grenade had a slightly smaller head and the unnecessary belt clip was removed.

Each change was essentially a move towards a lighter device which was easier and less costly to manufacture, and to these ends the Model 24 was eventually superseded by the simpler Model 43 grenade, although the former continued to be used through to the end of the war.

Numerous Ersatz variations were developed towards the end of the war as Germany's resources and production capabilities dwindled. Other than the common high explosive (HE) stick grenade, Germany produced a smokescreen version, which existed in an early and later model and is easily identified by a white band around the handle and (on the later model) a grooved handgrip to permit a user to differentiate it from the regular explosive version in the dark by touch alone. As a cold climate could cause the Model 24 to fail to detonate, a special explosive powder was used in those destined for Russia, and these were marked with "K" (Kalt or "cold") on the can. Inert (non-exploding) training versions were also produced.

The stick grenade concept was also used in the Far East by the Imperial Japanese Army and the Chinese National Revolutionary Army in World War II, and later the Chinese Communists, who supplied the locally-manufactured "Type 67" to the NLF and People's Army of Vietnam.

WWI German grenade and its Austro-Hungarian ceramic counterpart.

German Tanks of WW2

2011-09-06T14:34:00.000+08:00

Hunting Tiger (SdKfz 186 Jagdtiger)

The Jagdtiger was an optimistic - yet powerful - design that ultimately was a limited battlefield component.

The SdKfz 186 Jagdtiger was a further development of the mammoth and powerful Tiger II heavy tank and was an optimistic - yet effective - design at best. Though blessed with a powerful main armament and thick frontal armor, the Jagdtiger brought along with it the same deficiencies present in the Tiger II design, the most notable of them being the sheer weight of the system, high fuel consumption and unreliable engine.

The Jagdtiger first appeared as two prototypes design by Porsche and Henschel respectively with the major difference bring in the number of road wheels used. These were designated as Jagdtiger VI but later renamed to the more common designation of SdKfz 186. The tank destroyer featured the most powerful anti-tank gun of the war in the 128mm PaK L/55 - an armament that could quite literally shoot and defeat enemy armor before they were ever in range to fire back - and was fixed into position in the upper hull. Frontal armor took precedence and was nearly 10 inches thick. A crew of five to 6 personnel was needed to man the machine.

Unfortunately for its designers, the Jagdtiger suffered from some serious battlefield setbacks. The heavy armor - particularly in front - made the vehicle very heavy and unwieldy while exposing the thin side and rear armor to well placed enemy fire. The weight of the vehicle (some sources state 79.4 tons) forced the structure to take on a tremendous amount of stress in movement and recoil while forcing the gasoline engine to use up an inordinate amount of fuel. The main gun, as powerful as it was, required the charge and munition to be loaded individually each and every time the gun was fired and only 40 of the large projectiles could be carried.

In the end, the Jagdtiger was anything but the tank hunter that it was advertised to be. The system ended up fairing better as a stationary artillery platform, offering up infantry support or holding ground as a sort of armored and mobile bunker, than it was at chasing down and destroying the faster-moving American, British and Soviet designs. Though no Allied armor could withstand the might of the 128mm projectile of the Jagdtiger's main gun, the Allies still held the advantage of being on the offensive by the time the Jagdtiger was ready for action.

Designation: SdKfz 186 Jagdtiger (Hunting Tiger)
Classification Type: Tank Destroyer
Contractor: Nibelungen Works / Porsche / Henschel - Germany
Country of Origin: Nazi Germany
Initial Year of Service: 1944
Number Built: 74

Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer

The Jagdpanzer Hetzer was one of the more successful conversions of the Czech 38(t) chassis.

The Jagdpanzer 38(t) fur 7.5-cm PaK 39 "Hetzer" (meaning "baiter") was yet another in the long line of Nazi Germany conversions of the successful Czech-designed 38(t) tank chassis. The Hetzer was easily identifiable by its hull-mounted main gun, low profile and large road wheels. Up to this design, previous conversions yielded a high profile, making them easy targets on the battlefield. The Hetzer design was a departure from this norm and produced one of the most highly regarded Panzerjager systems of the war - a system that would see production in the post-war years as well, this time for the Czech Army.

The Hetzer was fitted with the powerful PaK 39 artillery gun, already a proven weapon in other platforms. Where the Hetzer shined was in the use of the Czech 38(t) chassis, a mobile, small yet reliable system that, when mated to the PaK 39, produced equal successful results. The Hetzer shown impressive road speed for a vehicle of this time. The armor protection was more than adequate for the crew of four, making the Hetzer itself a tough vehicle to knock out. The top hull was mated over the 38(t) chassis and featured sloping sides for increased deflection capability. A single MG 34 or MG42 machine gun was fitted to the top of the hull for anti-infantry defense. The powerful PaK 39 gun was capable of knocking out any known Allied armor.

The Hetzer became one of those German weapons that would see entire production lines dedicated to itself. Such was the potency of the weapon that the need outweighed actual production allotment with just 1,577 units by 1944. In the end, the Hetzer was done in only by the advancement of Allied ground forces into Germany. Other than that, there was very little working against this powerful little system.

Designation: Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer
Classification Type: Tank Destroyer
Contractor: BMM / Skoda - Germany
Country of Origin: Nazi Germany
Initial Year of Service: 1943
Number Built: 1,500

SdKfz 142 StuG III (Sturmgeshutz)

The StuG III series proved a pivotal battlefield element for the German Army, up through the closing months of World War 2.

The StuG III was a well known German assault gun of World War 2. The system stemmed from a German Army need to supply ground troops with a mobile artillery system when traditional armor units such as tanks were not notmade available. The system would have to mount formidable firepower in its design and provide a mechanized element to advancing fronts in order to keep up with the requirements inherent in the Blitzkrieg concept. The resulting system - though at the time deemed an interim solution - became the Sturmgeshutz (StuG) III, which utilized the existing Panzer III tank hull and sported a 75mm main gun in a fixed position on the superstructure.

The StuG III entered production in January of 1940. The system mounted a powerful 75mm main gun into a turretless all-hull design (the 75mm gun was simply too long to fit into Panzer III turrets). This, coupled with the use of existing Panzer III hulls, cut down on production costs and time.

However, the major drawback of this turretless design however lay in the fact that the entire tank had to be turned to target and fire on an enemy. Later models would add self-defense 7.92mm machine guns for crew protection. Crew accommodations amounted to four personnel. Externally, the design of
the StuG III was characterized by the small six road wheels, low profile and, in some models from 1943 onwards, side skirting for additional armor protection for the crew.

The StuG III appeared in a few variants with earlier ones mounting the StuK 37 L-24 main gun. The definitive StuG III came in the form of the Ausf F model which sported an StuK 40 L/43 main gun. This model's designation changed slightly to showcase the difference from previous ones and became the SdKfz 142/1 and would sometimes be known as the StuG 40 from that point on. Additionally frontal armor protection was further addressed and continued to be so in future variants.

Production of the StuG series numbered in the thousands with a majority of production facilities concentrating on StuG IIIs by war's end. The system proved so effective and vital that even captured Soviet versions turned up with the Red Army sporting a variety of Soviet main armaments. Finland was also the other major user of the StuG III. Easy to build and relatively inexpensive when compared to other German systems, the StuG III series became a pivotal battlefield component of the German Army up through the closing months of the world conflict.

Designation: SdKfz 142 StuG III (Sturmgeshutz)
Classification Type: Assault Gun / Tank Destroyer
Contractor: Daimler-Benz / Alkett - Germany
Country of Origin: Nazi Germany
Initial Year of Service: 1940
Number Built: 9,642

SdKfz 138 Marder III (Marten III)

A Marder III Auf M - the final incarnation of the Marder series - with turret moved to the rear.

Marder III systems was yet another hastily modified conversion model of existing Panzer II tank chassis overstock. With the Panzer II system as a whole virtually obsolete on the changing battlefields of World War 2 and the production lines of the Panzer II chassis still warm and ready to churn out new models, it was seen fit to add a static superstructure to the Panzer 38(t) (Panzer II) chassis to create a formidable mobile heavy gun platform (Panzerjager). The result was yet another capable self-propelled gun and tank destroyer capable of meeting the armor of Allied forces of the time. The Marder III series would be the most-produced model of the Marder family which had the Marder I and Marder II precede it.

Design varied from Marder-class to Marder-class and the Marder III was no different. The III series featured a more refined purpose-driven look with a stable chassis mounting four road wheels to a side. The main gun sat fixed in the superstructure which was opened on top and the rear, exposing the gun crew to grenade attack, small arms, shrapnel and the elements while at the same time saving on weight and improving speed. The Marder III first appeared in March of 1942 as the Panzerjager 38(t) Sd.Kfz 139, Marder III fitted with captured specimens of the Soviet-built 7.62-cm main gun. Some 340 examples of this type were produced. The follow-up version became the Panzerjager 38(t) Sd.Kfz 138, Marder III Ausf H, this one fitted with the 3" 7.5-cm PaK 40 anti-tank gun with a better armored sloping shield superstructure. The final main version became the Panzerjager 38(t) Sd.Kfz 138, Marder III Ausf M. This model saw a major revision to the Marder III's layout in that the engine was moved closer to the middle of the hull and the superstructure was mounted further aft to balance the vehicle out more efficiently. A newer engine provided for a greater output of 150 horsepower over the original types. Production lasted up until 1944 to which over 800 Ausf H and Ausf M models were produced alone to the tune of 1,143 Marder III's altogether. Defensive armament was two 7.92mm MG34 or MG42 machine guns – one in a trainable (yet exposed) mounting in the upper superstructure and the other in a fixed position in the bow.

Like the Marder models before it, the Marder III was primarily concentrated to the East Front, though the weapon could be found everywhere German infantry forces operated. The Marder III's proved just as resilient as her predecessors and the main gun could face off against any of the Allied armor with the exception of the Soviet heavy tank systems. The exposed crew in the tall superstructure and light armoring along the sides meant that the vehicle was not without weakness. An additional factor was that, with the static superstructure being fitted to the chassis, the entire vehicle had to be positioned to the direction of desired fire. This made the Marder III adequate in an ambush role, fixed defensive role or calibrated offensive artillery role from a distance but a liability in a moving or close-in standup fight. In any case, her main armament was respected and feared alike and her proper use and ease of production ensured her a mention in any listing of World War 2 mobile artillery systems.

Designation: SdKfz 138 Marder III (Marten III)
Classification Type: Tank Destroyer
Contractor: BMM - Germany
Country of Origin: Nazi Germany
Initial Year of Service: 1942
Number Built: 1,143

SdKfz 173 Jagdpanther (Panzerjager V Jagdpanther)

The Jagdpanther was a superb purpose-built tank destroyer built on speed and firepower.

The Jagdpanther was the missing link to complete battlefield domination for the Germany Army. Already having the well-established Tiger II and Panther series of tanks, the Jagdpanther tank destroyer would have been a formidable addition to any tank group if estimated production totals during the war were ever met. As it was, the Jagdpanther was a formidable vehicle and quite possibly the best tank design of the war, done in only by the constant Allied bombardment of crucial assembly plants.

Well noted for its 8.8 centimeter main gun fixed into the hull, the Jagdpanther looked the part. The sloping front armor gave the appearance of a slow and stout machine, though this was far from the truth. The Jagdpanther was actually one of those creations where all the vital components of a successful killing machine come together - for it fielded a package of speed, mobility, firepower and protection unlike any other vehicle of the war. The main gun alone was powerful enough to remove any Allied armor from the playing field.

The Jagdpanther came about at a time when most tank destroyers were built upon existing chassis, featuring make-shift combinations of main guns and hulls. What made this new German creation unique was that the Jagdpanther was a purpose-built tank-killer so specifications for such a system were full met. The system was displayed for Adolph Hitler in 1943 - and much impressed the dictator that the prototype name of "Panzerjager Panther" was soon changed to the more recognizable "Jagdpanther". The vehicle would appear on frontlines in early 1944, with Hitler himself a having personal involvement in its development.

On the battlefield, the Jagdpanther earned its keep, appearing in limited quantities but changing the tide of engagements nonetheless. Allied armor was an issue already with the M4 Shermans, Matildas, Valentines and Cromwells and the major punch of the 8.8 centimeter main gun of the Jagdpanther would only exacerbate the problem. On the East Front, the Russians could contend with the Jagdpanther up to a point with their mighty IS-2 systems. Jagdpanthers could engage an armored target some 500 yards away and penetrate with lethal efficiency.

By 1945, only some 382 Jagdpanthers had been produced. As the Allies progressed, closing more and more of the German production facilities, the terror of the Jagdpanther became less and less. In any case, the Jagdpanther was a system to be reckoned with and - had it seen higher production totals - would have certainly continued to give the Allied commanders something more to think about.

Designation: SdKfz 173 Jagdpanther (Panzerjager V Jagdpanther)
Classification Type: Tank Destroyer
Contractor: MIAG / Brandenburg Eisenwerk - Germany
Country of Origin: Nazi Germany
Initial Year of Service: 1944
Number Built: 382

SdKfz 182 Panzerkampfwagen VIB Tiger II (PzKpfw VIB)

The Tiger II was the definitive battlefield presence and the pinnacle of German Panzer tank design by the end of the war.

Even with the formidable Tiger I heavy tank series already hitting the production lines, it was envisioned that the system could be made into a more powerful class of tank. This decision leaned heavily on counteracting any new heavy tanks as developed by the Soviet Union and would be the ultimate in the Panzer evolution.

The resulting system - christened the "Tiger II" (or known in some circles as the "King Tiger", "Royal Tiger" and or the German "Konigstiger") - would be feature the awesome tank-killing 88mm main gun and armor as much as 4 inches at its thickest. Fortunately for the Allies, production of the complicated system was slow and petrol for the retreating Germans was at a premium. Additionally, the heavy tank proved somewhat unwieldy, slow and unreliable despite the sheer power inherent in the design.

The Tiger II design centered around the powerful 88mm main gun of which some 84 projectiles were carried aboard. The system was crewed by five personnel and an additional 2 x 7.92mm machine guns were added for self-defense. Power was derived from a single Maybach HL 230 P 30 12-cylinder petrol engine developing in the area of 700 horsepower. The sheer weight of the vehicle did not lend itself favorably to the design at some 153,660 pounds, most attributed to the added armor and heavy main gun. Road speed was limited to 24 miles per hour and much less than that off road. Range amounted to a mere 68 miles.

Production of the mammoth tank began in December of 1943 with the system seeing first action in May of 1944. Tiger II's would also be present at Normandy to which the invading Allies would see first hand the power of the "King Tiger". In essence, the Tiger II was more similar to the Panther tank than the Tiger I as the Tiger II utilized similar engines, cupola and wheels. If anything, the Tiger II could be considered more of an up-gunned Panther tank than an improved Tiger I model.

The Tiger II appeared with a variety of turrets by various manufacturers throughout its production run. The initial 50 production models were fitted with a Wegmann turret while later models were seen with Krupps, Porsche and Henschel designed turrets. The similarity between the Panther and Tiger II lines helped keep these two tanks in production up into 1945, though two Panthers could be constructed for every one Tiger II.

In the end, fuel shortages did most of the Tiger II systems in as their armor was able to withstand most any direct shot from Allied tanks. Many a Tiger II crew simply abandoned their systems on the battlefield when out of gas. The Tiger II chassis went on to become the basis for the equally formidable Jagdtiger B tank destroyers while Tiger II production totaled some 485 examples. Top production equaled 84 in the month of August (1944) alone, never meeting the ambitious expectation of 145 per month.

Classification Type: Heavy Tank
Contractor: Henschel / Porsche - Germany
Country of Origin: Nazi Germany
Initial Year of Service: 1944
Number Built: 485

Tellermine 35

2011-09-05T15:26:00.000+08:00

A pre-war Tellermine 35 in a carry case at the Imperial War Museum in London. The large fuse head is visible.

The Tellermine 35 (T.Mi.35) was a German metal cased anti-tank mine used extensively during the Second World War. The mine's case is made of sheet steel, and has a slightly convex pressure plate on the top surface with a central fuse well. Two secondary fuse wells are located on the side and bottom of the mine for anti-handling devices.

For use on beaches and underwater the mine could be deployed inside a specically designed earthenware or concrete pot, which acted as a waterproof jacket for the mine.

A later variant of the mine, the T.Mi.35 (S) was produced with a ribbed case and a fuse cover. The ribbed case stopped sand from blowing off the top of the mine when it was used in a desert or sandy environment.

Pressure of 400 pounds (180 kg) on the center of the mine or 200 pounds (90 kg) on the edge of the mine deforms the pressure plate compressing a spring, and shearing a retaining pin holding the striker. Once the striker is released it is driven into a percussion cap which ignites the detonator followed by the booster charge and main charge.

Specifications

Height: 76 mm
Diameter: 318 mm
Weight: 9.1 kg
Explosive content: 5.5 kg of TNT
Trigger weight: 90 to 180 kg

HK416 assault rifle

2011-09-02T16:11:00.000+08:00

HK416 carbine with 10.5 inch (267mm) barrel

Following the revision of the OICW Block 1 / XM8 program, the Heckler & Koch company decided to enter the US military and law enforcement markets with the alternative design, which, in fact, looks quite promising. Based on the experience, gained during successful upgrade program of the British SA80 / L85A1 program, HK decided to cure the existing M16 rifles and M4 carbines from most of their problems, inherent to this 40-years old design. The key improvements, made by HK, are their patented short-stroke gas piston system, borrowed from HK G36 rifle. This system replaced the direct gas system of standard M16 rifle, so no powder residue will remain in the receiver even after long shooting sessions. The "new"gas system also is self-regulating and will work reliably with any barrel length. Other improvements include new buffer assembly, improved bolt, and a cold hammer forged barrel, as well as free-floating hand guard with integral Picatinny-type rails. Originally developed as a "drop-in" upper receiver assembly for any standard M16/M4 type lower receiver, HK416 is also available as a complete weapon, with HK-made lower receivers. Current (late 2005) models include carbines with 10.5" and14.5" barrels, and 16.5" barreled carbine and 20" barreled rifle will be added later.

Another interesting development, which is apparently based on the upscaled HK416 design, is the HK417 - the 7.62x51 NATO rifle that combines AR-15/M16 type ergonomics, layout and handling with improved reliability of HK-made and designed gas piston system. This rifle probably will use HK G3-type magazines. If the rumors about HK417 are true, the 5.56mm HK416 / 7.62mm HK417 combination will be a direct rival to the newest FN SCAR system.

HK416 carbine with 14.5 inch (368mm) barrel

HK416 is a gas operated, selective fired weapon of modular design. It uses short-stroke gas piston that operates the 7-lug rotating bolt. Receiver ismade from high grade aluminium alloy. Combination-type safety / fire selector allows for single shots and full automatic mode. Hk416 retains all M16-style controls, including last round bolt hold-open device, rear-based charging handle and magazine release button on the right side of the magazine well. HK416 is fitted with four Picatinny rails as standard, and may accept any type of sighting devices on STANAG-1913 compliant mounts. It also can accept modified HK AG36/AG-C 40mm grenade launcher, which is clamped directly to bottom rail. Buttstock is of typical M4 design, multi-position telescoped.

Caliber: 5.56x45mm NATO
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
Overall length (stock collapsed/extended): 10" barrel: 686 / 785 mm;14" barrel:
Barrel lengths: 10.5" / 267mm; 14.5" / 368mm; 16.5" /419mm and 20" / 508mm
Weight: 3.31 kg w. 10.5" barrel, 3.5kg w 14.5" barrel
Rate of fire: 700-900 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 30 rounds

Tellermine 29

2011-08-29T14:58:00.001+08:00

A Tellermine 29 showing the three fuzes.

The Tellermine 29 is a round metal cased German anti-tank blast landmine. It first entered service in 1929, and the initial German defence plan was to purchase 6,000 a year, but in January 1931 it was decided to speed up the purchase process and 61,418 were ordered. By 1937 with the introduction of the Tellermine 35, it was being used for training, and the majority were sent to warehouses.

The mine did see limited service during the Second World War, notably after D-Day in France where allied troops reported encountering it.

The mine uses three Z.D.Z. 29 fuzes that are normally set at an activation pressure of 125 kg, but can be set to function with a pressure of just 45 kg or even function as a tripwire fuze. The mine is fitted with two secondary fuze wells that enable the fitting of anti-handling devices.

A training version of the mine designated T.Mi.29 (Ueb) was also produced that was filled with a smoke-generating main charge and holes along the circumference to allow the smoke to escape.

A number of Yugoslavian mines copied the basic pattern of the Tellermine 29, including the TMA 3 and TMA 4.

FN FNC

2011-08-23T17:56:00.000+08:00

FN FNC rifle of late manufacture (with enlarged trigger guard)

Following the market failure of their previous 5.56mm caliber assault rifle, the CAL, famous Belgian company Fabrique Nationale began to develop the new assault rifle for 5.56mm NATO cartridge in the early 1970s. The final design, called the FNC (Fabrique Nationale Carbine) was produced circa 1978 and was consequently adopted by the Belgian Armed forces. It was also adopted by Sweden and Indonesia, and both those countries purchased the licenses to build more or less modified FNC carbines at their own facilities. Swedish version is known as Bofors AK-5 and Indonesian version is known as Pindad SS1. The FNC also was sold to some police forces around the world, and, in limited numbers for civilians - as a "Sporter" model, limited to semi-automatic mode only.

Same rifle, right side view. note the spring-loaded dust cover on the cocking handle slot

The FNC is a sound design which accumulated best features from other famous designs, such as Kalashnikov AK-47, Colt/Armalite M16, and others.

FNC is a gas operated, selective fire, magazine fed weapon.

FN FNC of earlier manufacture, with butt folded

The gas drive and rotating bolt of FNC strongly resembles the AK-47 system, but adapted for more advanced production technologies such as CNC machining and with some modifications. The long stroke gas piston is located above the barrel and is linked to the bolt carrier. Unlike the AK-47, the gas piston rod could be separated from the bolt carrier when gun is disassembled. The gas system featured two-position gas regulator (for normal or adverse conditions) and a separate gas cutoff, combined with folding rifle grenade sights. When grenade sights are raised into the ready position, the gas cutoff automatically blocks the gas supply to the action, allowing for safe launching of rifle grenades. Both gas cutoff and grenade sight are located on the gas chamber, just behind the front sight. The now common rotating bolt has two massive lugs that locks into the barrel extension.

FN FNC Para, with shorter barrel, butt folded and magazine removed

The receiver is made from two parts that are linked by two cross-pins. The receiver could be opened for disassembly and maintenance by removing the rear pin, so the parts could be hinged around the forward pin (which also can be removed to separate receiver parts). Upper receiver is made from stamped steel, the lower receiver, along with magazine housing, is made from aluminum alloy.

Barrel of the FNC is equipped with flash hider which also served as a rifle grenade launcher.

FNC is equipped with hooded post front sight and a flip-up, "L" shaped rear diopter sight with 2 settings, for 250 and 400 meter range.

The controls of the FNC consist of the 4-positions safety / mode selector switch on the left side of the receiver. Available modes are Safe, Single shot, 3-rounds bursts and Full automatic fire. The cocking handle is attached to the bolt carrier at the right side and does reciprocate with the bolt group when the gun is fired. The rear part of the cocking handle slot, cut in the upper receiver for cocking handle, is covered by the spring-loaded cover which automatically opens by the handle when it goes back and automatically closes the opening when cocking handle returns forward.

FNC is equipped with side-folding buttstock, made of steel and covered by plastic. A solid, non-folding plastic butt is available as an option. The pistol handle and the forend are made from plastic. FNC is equipped with sling swivels and can be fitted with special bayonet or with adapter for US M7 knife-bayonet. FNC can be fed from any STANAG (NATO standard) compliant magazine, and issued with 30 rounds magazines. If required, FNC could be fitted with 4X telescope sight or various IR / night vision sights.

Caliber: 5.56x45mm NATO
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
Overall length: standard model 997 mm (776 mm with folded butt);"Para" model 911 mm / 680 mm
Barrel length: 449 mm (363 mm "Para" model)
Weight with empty magazine: 4.06 kg (3.81 kg "Para"model)
Magazine capacity: 30 rounds (accept all STANAG-compatible magazines)
Rate of fire: about 700 rounds per minute
Effective range: 450 meters

Teller mine - German-made antitank mine common in World War II

2011-08-22T11:35:00.000+08:00

Various Teller mines strapped to a tree

The Teller mine was a German-made antitank mine common in World War II. With explosives sealed inside a sheet metal casing and fitted with a pressure-actuated fuze, Teller mines had a built-in carrying handle on the side. As the name suggests (Teller is the German word for dish or plate) the mines were plate-shaped. Containing little more than 5.5 kilograms of TNT and a detonation pressure of roughly 200 pounds, the Teller mine was capable of blasting the tracks off of any World War II-era tank or destroying a lightly armored vehicle. Because of its rather high operating pressure, only a vehicle or heavy object passing over the Teller mine would set it off.

Teller mines had two additional fuze wells (on the side and underneath) to enable anti-handling devices to be attached.

There were four models of Teller Mine made during World War II:
Teller Mine 43
Teller Mine 42
Teller Mine 35
Teller Mine 29

Approximately 3,622,900 of these mines were produced by Germany from 1943 to 1944.

Enfield SA-80

2011-08-15T12:07:00.000+08:00

British soldier sights the L85A2 rifle fitted with German-made 40mm grenade launcher

The development of the SA80 (Small Arms for 1980s) system, which included two weapons - SA80 IW (Infantry Weapon) assault rifle and SA80 LSW (Light Support Weapon) light machine gun, began in the late 1960s when British army decided to develop a new rifle, which will eventually replace the venerable 7.62mm L1 SLR (British-made FNFAL rifle) in the 1980s.

When NATO trials were announced in 1977 to select a new cartridge, British state-owned Enfield Small Arms Factory developed its own small-caliber, high velocity round, which was more or less representing the US .223/5.56mm case necked down to accept 4.85mm (0.19 inch) bullet. When the cartridge came out, Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield developed a new weapon around it, initially designated as SA80-IW or XL65. This weapon, being somewhat similar in outline to the much earlier British Enfield EM-2 assault rifle, was internally quite different, and, basically, was more or less the US-made Armalite AR-18 rifle, put into bullpup stock and rechambered for 4.85mm cartridge. After NATO trials, which resulted in adoption of the Belgian SS-109 version of the 5.56mm cartridge, Enfield engineers rechambered XL65 for this cartridge and continued its development under the designation of XL70. Due to Falkland war, the new system was adopted only in 1984. Original SA80 weapons (both L85 and L86) were plagued with many problems, some being very serious. In general, L85 was quite unreliable and troublesome to handle and maintain. Finally, in the year 1997, after years of constant complaints from the troops, it had been decided to upgrade the rifles then in service.

L22A1 carbine

The upgrade program, committed in years 2000 - 2002, was completed by the famous Heckler-Koch, which was then owned by British Royal Ordnance company (German investors bought the HK back in 2002). About 200,000 rifles were upgraded into the L85A2 configuration, out of total 320,000 or so original L85A1 rifles produced. While official reports about the upgraded weapons were glowing, the initial field reports from the British troops, engaged in the Afghanistan campaign of 2002, were unsatisfactory. Most problems, however, were traced to improper care and maintenance of weapons, and for now the L82A2 performs fairy well both in Afghanistan and Iraq.

L22A2 carbine, as issued to Royal Armoured Corps tank crews in Iraq; note that it has a Picatinny rail above the front grip

Other than the basic L85A1 variant, the SA80 IW also appeared in the shortened carbine version, and in the manually operated L98A1 rifle, which got its gas system removed and a larger cocking handle attached. The L98A1 is used to train the army cadets for basic rifle handling and shooting skills, and the rifle is fired as a manually operated, straight pull magazine repeater rifle. The latest weapon in the SA80 family is the recently adopted L22 carbine, which is issued to tank crews of Royal Armoured Corps. This weapon is available in two versions, L82A1 and L82A2, the latter being fitted with additional Picatinny rail on the right side of front grip base.

Upgraded L85A2 with SUSAT sight

The current L85A2 rifles are recognized as reliable and very accurate, especially when using standard issue SUSAT telescope sights. The drawbacks ofthe L85A2 are somewhat poor balance (which can be improved with installation of HK-made 40mm underbarrel grenade launcher), right-side only extraction and rearward placement of the fire mode selector.

Technical description.

The L85 is a gas operated, magazine fed, selective fire rifle of bullpup layout.

The receiver of the L85 is made from stamped sheet steel, reinforced with welded and riveted machined steel inserts. The gas operated action has a short stroke gas piston, located above the barrel. The gas piston has its own return spring. Gas system has a three-position gas regulator, one position for a normal firing, second for a firing in adverse conditions and the third for launching the rifle grenades (gas port is shut off). The machined bolt carrier rides inside the receiver on the two parallel steel guide rods, with the single return spring placed above and between the guide rods. The typical rotating bolt has 7 lugs that locks into the steel insert in the receiver, just behind the barrel breech. The charging handle is attached to the right side of the bolt carrier, and prior to A2 upgrade caused some problems by reflecting the ejected cases back into the action, thus causing stoppages. In the L85A2 configuration the charging handle was redesigned to avoid such problems. The charging handle slot is covered by the spring-loaded dust cover. The bolt and its extractor claw also were upgraded in the L85A2, to achieve more reliable extraction of the spent cases.

The trigger / hammer assembly of the L85A1 is also typical for a modern bullpup rifle, with the long link from the trigger to the hammer unit, located in the buttstock. The hammer assembly of the L85A2 was redesigned to introduce a slight delay before the hammer release when the gun is fired in the full auto. This did not affected the cyclic rate of fire but improved the reliability and stability of the weapon during the automatic fire. The fire mode selector is located at the left side of the receiver, well behind the magazine housing, and allows for single shots of full automatic modes of fire. The cross-bolt safety button is located above the trigger.

The barrel is rifled for a NATO-standard 5.56mm ammunition, with 1:7 twist, and is fitted with a NATO-standard flash hider, which allows to launch the rifle grenades from the barrel.

The L85 is fed using NATO-standard (STANAG) magazines, similar to M16 type magazines, with the standard capacity of 30 rounds. Early L85A1 steel magazines caused a lot of trouble, as well as the magazine housing itself, which had thin walls that could be easily dented, thus blocking the magazine way. Both magazines and its housings were upgraded in the L85A2 configuration.

L85A1 rifle, with carrying handle and front sight installed instead of more common SUSAT telescope sight

The standard sighting equipment is the 4X SUSAT (Sight Unit, Small Arms, Trilux) telescope, with illuminated reticule. The SUSAT is mounted on a quick-detachable mount at the top of the receiver, and features an emergency backup open sights at its top. The SUSAT allows for an accurate fire (mostly in single shots) out to 400-500 meters. For a second-line troops an alternative sighting system is available, that consists of the removable front post sight with high base and post protection "ears", and a detachable carrying handle with built-in diopter rear sight.

The L85 can be fitted with the proprietary knife-type multipurpose bayonet. L85A2 rifles also can be fitted with 40mm under-barrel grenade launcher, using special handguard. Launcher is made in Germany by Heckler-Koch.

Enfield SA80-IW (Individual Weapon), chambered for experimental 4.85x49 ammunition

Caliber: 5.56x45 NATO
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
Overall length: 780 mm (709 mm in Carbine variant)
Barrel length: 518 mm (442 mm in Carbine variant)
Weight: 4.13 kg (with SUSAT optical sight and no magazine); 5 kg with SUSAT and loaded with magazine with 30 rounds of ammunition
Magazine capacity: 30 rounds
Rate of fire: 650 rounds per minute
Effective range: about 500 meters (with SUSAT sights)

Why China's Navy Makes Asia Nervous

2011-08-11T13:13:00.000+08:00

Article by Time. See full article by clicking on this.

The last time the aircraft carrier once known as the Varyag generated this much concern, it was for fear it might sink. The ship was one of the Soviet Union's last naval commissions, but construction at the Black Sea shipyard of Mykolaiv was abandoned in 1992 after the U.S.S.R.'s breakup. The Varyag languished as an unfinished hulk until 1998, when a Chinese company, based in Macau and with ties to the Chinese navy, bought it from Ukraine, ostensibly to take the ship to the gambling enclave as a floating casino. Turkish officials worried that the 300-m vessel — a rusting shell without weaponry, engines or navigation equipment — would sink while crossing the Bosphorus Strait, causing an environmental headache and a hazard to navigation. So they delayed its passage for three years, only agreeing in 2001 to halt traffic on the Bosphorus to allow the symbol of Soviet decline to be tugged past the shoreside forts and luxury homes of Istanbul on its five-month journey to the Pacific.

Macau's harbor was never deep enough for the Varyag. The orphaned warship of a former superpower, with its distinct ski-jump-like bow for launching planes, wound up instead in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian. There, it has slowly been transformed into the first aircraft carrier of a future superpower. Now the world has a new set of concerns about the former Varyag. On Aug. 10 the newly refurbished carrier set sail from Dalian for its first sea trial. Its casino cover story long discarded, the ship will enter a wager with decidedly higher stakes: the projection of China's military power on the high seas.

The Varyag's launch comes at a fraught time. China's armed forces are modernizing — military spending has grown by an annual average of 15% since 2000 — and after a decadelong charm offensive in East and Southeast Asia, Beijing has begun taking a more aggressive stand on territorial disputes. Several factors are driving this tougher approach, including the possibility that disputed waters may have valuable energy reserves, a desire to challenge the regional influence of the U.S., the ever present influence of nationalism and a fear of looking weak before next year's leadership transition. "The Chinese attitude appears to have become substantially more assertive in character," says Clive Schofield, director of research at the University of Wollongong's Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security. "You see this across the board."

China's neighbors, particularly Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, have responded with tough talk and posturing of their own. Last year China and Japan sparred over islands in the East China Sea that Japan administers and both nations claim, known as the Diaoyu to the Chinese and the Senkaku to the Japanese. When Japan detained a Chinese trawler captain near the islands, China cried foul. Two weeks later Japan released the fisherman, who returned to a hero's welcome in China. This summer, Chinese warships passed through international waters near Okinawa, which has unsettled Tokyo. Japan's latest white paper on national defense said Chinese military modernization, increased activities in Asian waters and lack of transparency "are becoming a cause for concern in the region and within the international community."

The more contentious cockpit is the South China Sea. Its 3 million sq km are dotted by tiny islands, and many of its waters are thought to hold rich oil and natural-gas deposits. Tensions have been rising between China, which claims almost all of the South China Sea, and some of the other Asian states that assert sovereignty over parts of it. The Philippines, which says that Chinese ships have harassed its survey ships and fishing boats a half-dozen times since the spring, announced it would begin to refer to the area as the West Philippine Sea and sent its navy's flagship, the World War II — era frigate Rajah Humabon, to patrol it. Vietnam accuses Chinese vessels of deliberately cutting, twice this summer, the cables of survey ships belonging to PetroVietnam. Hanoi says it is considering a possible reinstatement of the military draft and carried out live-fire drills in June. China responded with three days of naval exercises of its own.

Surface Tension
The disputes over Asia's waters have drawn in the U.S. Last year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that the U.S. had a "national interest" in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and offered Washington's assistance as a mediator. China responded angrily that the U.S. was seeking to "internationalize" an issue that should be resolved among neighbors. Some observers figured that Beijing would take a less antagonistic approach in 2011, having seen how regional disputes invited greater U.S. involvement. "That hasn't happened," Ian Storey, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore said in June. "In fact, tensions have risen in the past two or three months, probably to a higher level than they've been at since the end of the Cold War."

On July 20, China and ASEAN announced nonbinding guidelines on how a settlement in the South China Sea might be pursued, but the differences have hardly narrowed. Cui Tiankai, a Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, warned that the U.S. was at risk of becoming entangled in a regional conflict if it did not work to restrain other states in the region. "I believe that individual countries are actually playing with fire," he told reporters in late June. "I hope that fire will not be drawn to the United States." In mid-July, General Chen Bingde, the Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), publicly complained to his U.S. counterpart, Admiral Mike Mullen, about U.S. military spending, maritime surveillance operations near China's borders and joint exercises with Vietnam and the Philippines that he called "ill timed." Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said after a four-day visit to China that he was not convinced that Beijing's military advancements were entirely defensive in nature, and he fretted that the strife over the South China Sea "could result in some kind of escalation, some kind of miscalculation — an incident, a misunderstanding that would greatly heighten the stakes."

In such a heated environment, China's new aircraft carrier will stoke fresh fears. The ship has yet to be given a Chinese name, but some mainland netizens are calling it Shi Lang, after the 17th century Chinese admiral who conquered Taiwan. Even if Beijing eventually chooses to call the vessel something more subtle, the message to the region will be clear — China's ability to back up its territorial claims is growing.

Military analysts caution that the carrier itself is not a game changer. It is, after all, built from a scrapped 26-year-old hull. The ship may take at least five years after setting sail to become fully operational, says Richard Bitzinger, an expert on Asian militaries and a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore; even then, it may be used just for training. Once the ship begins trials, pilots will have to practice taking off and landing from a moving deck, and crews learn to handle the complexity of a vessel for which the Chinese have no experience. But, as Andrew Erickson, an associate professor at the U.S. Naval War College, puts it, "China has to start somewhere. A newlywed couple wants a starter home, a newly rising great power wants a starter carrier." Analysts believe that as the PLA navy learns how to operate the former Varyag, China will begin building aircraft carriers from scratch — perhaps as many as four. This is the biggest significance of the vessel now being refurbished in Dalian. "It is indicative of China's intentions to break out," says Bitzinger.

For the foreseeable future, the U.S. will remain the dominant military power in Asia. It spends six times what China does on defense and has a long history of operating carriers. The U.S. commissioned its first in 1934 and now has 11 nuclear-powered flattops. Each can carry more than 80 aircraft and simultaneously launch and land several each minute. Combined with submarines, guided-missile cruisers, destroyers and supply ships, the Nimitz-class carrier group is one of the world's foremost military forces, far more powerful than anything China will be able to organize for decades.

But a straight comparison between the U.S. and China is misleading, says Erickson, "unless one envisions an all-out global conflict between the two, which fortunately remains virtually inconceivable." Instead, China is focused on blocking any effort by Taiwan to achieve full independence. China's naval development has been concentrated on what military experts call "antiaccess" or "area denial" capabilities, which would prevent the U.S. from coming to the aid of Taiwan in the event of a conflict. To that end, China has developed an intimidating array of missiles including a new "carrier killer," a long-range, land-based ballistic missile capable of hitting moving ships that General Chen first publicly acknowledged during Mullen's China trip in July.

China has also been able to focus on the projection of military power elsewhere, with cross-strait tensions easing following the election of the mainland-friendly Ma Ying-jeou as Taiwan's President in 2008. Compared with the PLA navy's North Sea and East Sea fleets, the South Sea fleet "has received a major jump in attention and funding in the past several years," says Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, North East Asia project director for the International Crisis Group. "In addition to the upgrade of existing combatant vessels and submarines, we've also seen the deployment of additional military personnel, patrol ships and submarines." The biggest addition will be the aircraft carrier, which Kleine-Ahlbrandt expects will be sent to operate in the South China Sea. "American military officers tend to brush off [the Varyag] and say it's old, technically outdated, basically just a sitting target," says Storey. "I think the view in Southeast Asia is quite different. It's going send a message to Southeast Asian countries that China is serious about upholding its territorial claims in the South China Sea."

The Confidence Gap
China is playing hardball on the diplomatic front too. Beijing cut off military-to-military ties with the U.S. over arms sales to Taiwan, only resuming them in late 2010 to prepare for President Hu Jintao's state visit to the U.S. Unlike the Cold War, when the U.S. and the Soviet Union agreed to a robust set of rules and hotlines to keep an incident at sea from touching off a nuclear war, Beijing and Washington have no comparable agreement. In a recent report by the Australian-based Lowy Institute for International Policy, authors Rory Medcalf and Raoul Heinrichs list more than a dozen incidents at sea between naval forces or their proxies in the western Pacific. They note that without more communication and active confidence-building measures by all sides, increased naval activity in the area raises the risk of wider hostilities. "While the chance that such incidents will lead to major military clashes should not be overstated, the drivers — in particular China's frictions with the United States, Japan and India — are likely to persist and intensify," they write. "As the number and tempo of incidents increases, so does the likelihood that an episode will escalate to armed confrontation, diplomatic crisis or possibly even conflict."

For now, however, there isn't any particular mood of belligerence in Dalian, where the former Varyag sits dockside within view of an Ikea store and the site of a new Sam's Club. There's just a feeling that it's high time the world's most populous nation took its rightful place on the high seas. Residents recall when the carrier was towed in nearly a decade ago, a rusted shell with little obvious potential as a warship. Today they scoff at the thought that other countries should be worried. "That thing was a piece of trash that even Ukraine didn't want," says a worker at a nearby construction site. "For a nation of 1.3 billion people, it's definitely not enough. We need much more." It's that notion, and not the aircraft carrier itself, that makes the rest of the world nervous.

LAPA FA 03

2011-08-09T11:45:00.000+08:00

The LAPA FA-03 rifle was developed by Nelmo Suzano at Laboratorio de Pesquisa de Armamento Automatico(LAPA) between 1978 and 1983. This lightweight bullpup rifle features a plastic housing and an interesting double action trigger system, but very few rifles were made in mid-1980s, probably no more than 500 in total. Some of the LAPA FA-03 rifles are still used by special police forces of Brazil.

The LAPA FA-03 assault rifle is a gas operated weapon that uses conventional piston-operated system with rotating bolt locking. The most unusual thing about FA-03 is its trigger, which can be set to "double action" mode, in which rifle can be carried safely with loaded chamber and hammer in lowered position, safety disengaged. In this mode, rifle is ready to fire but it requires along and deliberate trigger pull to fire the first round (a system very popular in modern semi-automatic pistols). Otherwise this was a fairy conventional weapon, with right side only ejection and open sights (rear sight is built into carrying handle).

Caliber: 5,56x45mm NATO
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
Overall length: 738 mm
Barrel length: 490 mm
Weight: 3,5 kg empty
Rate of fire: 650 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 20 or 30 rounds

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2011-08-09T11:41:00.000+08:00

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FN SCAR

2011-08-05T09:09:00.001+08:00

The US Special Operations Command (US SOCOM) issued a solicitation for the procurement of SOF Combat Assault Rifles (SCAR) on October 15th, 2003. This solicitation requested a new combat rifle, specially tailored for the current and proposed future needs of the US Special Forces, which are somewhat different from latest generic US Army requirements,which are being fulfilled by the newest Heckler-Koch XM8 assault rifle.

FN SCAR-L / Mk.16 rifle prototype (1s generation, late 2004), left side view

The key difference in basic requirements between XM8 and SCAR is that, while XM8 is a single-caliber weapon system, tailored for the 5.56x45mm NATO ammunition, the SCAR should be available in various different calibers. Initial SOF requirements included two basic versions of SCAR system - the SCAR Light (SCAR-L), available in 5.56mm NATO, and the SCAR heavy (SCAR-H), which should be initially available in significantly more powerful 7.62x51 NATO chambering, andshould be easily adaptable in the field to other chamberings. These other chamberings initially include the well-spread 7.62x39 M43 ammunition of the Soviet / Russian origins, and probably some others (like the proposed 6.8x43 Remington SPC cartridge, especially developed for US Special Forces).

FN SCAR-L / Mk.16 rifle, 2nd generation prototype, with FN EGLM 40mm grenade launcher attached

The key idea of SCAR rifle system is that it will provide the Special Forces operators with wide variety of options, from short-barreled 5.56mm SCAR-L CQC variation, tailored for urban close combat, and up to long range 7.62x51 SCAR-H Sniper variant, as well as 7.62x39 SCAR-H, which will accept "battlefield pickup" AK-47/AKM magazines with 7.62 M43 ammunition, available during the operations behind the enemy lines. Both SCAR-Land SCAR-H shall be initially available in three versions, Standard (S), Close Quarters Combat (CQC) and Sniper Variant (SV; now it is dubbed Long Barrel - LB). All these variants, regardless the caliber and exact configuration, will provide the operator with the same controls layout, same handling and maintenance procedures, and same optional equipment, such as sights,scopes, and other current and future attachments.

FN SCAR-H / Mk.17 rifle prototype in CQC (Close Quarter Combat,short barrel) configuration,7.62x51 mm NATO version

Late in 2004 USSOCOM announced, that the winner for the initial SCAR contracts is the FN USA, an US-based subsidiary of the famous Belgian company Fabrique Nationale Herstal. Prototype rifles were manufactured by FN Manufacturing Inc, US-based subsidiary to FN Herstal; This company will also handle series production of rifles. Starting mid-2005, first SCAR rifles went to end users in US Special Operation Forces. Since USSOCOM uses Navy-type "mark" designations, SCAR rifles were officially designated as 5.56mm Rifle Mark 16 (SCAR-L / Light) and 7.62mm Rifle Mark 17 (SCAR-H/ Heavy). It is believed that Mk.16 and Mk.17 rifles will gradually replace most rifle systems now in service with US SOCOM forces, such as M4 carbines, M16 rifles, M14 rifles and Mk. 25 sniper rifles.

FN SCAR-L / Mk.16 rifle partially disassembled; note additional quick-detachable barrel

As it turned out, FNSCAR rifles are not based on any previous weapons but designed from scratch. In all variants FN SCAR rifles feature gas operated, short stroke piston action with rotating bolt locking. Bolt has seven radial locking lugs that lock directly into the barrel extension.

5.56mm NATO FN SCAR-L / Mk.16 rifles of current (2007/2008) production, top to bottom in Long Barrel (LB), standard (Std) and Close Quarter Combat (CQC) configurations

Receiver is made from two parts, upper and lower, connected with two cross-pins. Upper part is made from extruded aluminium, lower part is made from polymer. SCAR-L and SCAR-H use similar upper receivers that differ only in the size of ejection port. Other different parts include caliber-specific bolt, barrel, and lower receiver with integral magazine housing. Parts commonality between SCAR-L and SCAR-H is astonishing 90%. Barrels are quick-detachable, and held in the upper receiver with two cross-bolts. Barrel change procedure requires minimum amount of tools, takes just several minutes and there is no need to adjust the headspace after the change.

7.62mm NATO FN SCAR-H / Mk.17 rifles of current (2007/2008) production, top to bottom in Long Barrel (LB), standard (Std) and Close Quarter Combat (CQC) configurations

The trigger unit with ambidextrous safety-fire mode selectors witch allows for single shots and full automatic fire, with no provisions for limited-length bursts mode. The charging handle could be easily installed on either side of the weapon, so the upper receiver has respective cuts on both sides. Top of the upper receiver is covered by the full-length integral Picatinny rail (MIL-STD 1913); additional Picatinny rails are mounted on both sides and under the free-floating handguards. Side-folding polymer buttstock is adjustable for length of pull, and is shaped to provide positive cheek rest with adjustable cheek support. SCAR rifles are fitted with removable, adjustable iron sights, with folding diopter-type rear sight on the receiver rail, and folding frontsight onthe gas block. Any additional type of sighting equipment, necessary for current tasks, including telescope and night sights, can be installed using MIL-STD 1913 compatible mounts.

Mk.16 SCAR-L rifle will use improved M16-type magazines, made of steel; Mk.17 SCAR-H will use proprietary 20-round magazines in 7.62x51 NATO chambering, or standard AK-type magazines in proposed 7.62x39 M43 chambering. Current prototypes of SCAR rifles do not have bayonet mounts,and, probably, will never have one.

	Mk.16SCAR-L (Light)	Mk.17 SCAR-H (Heavy)
Caliber	5.56x45 NATO	7.62x51NATO basic 7.62x39 M43 and others additionally
Overalllength, standard configuration	850 mm(max) / 620 mm (min)	997 mm (max) / 770 mm (min)
Barrellength	254mm/10" (CQC), 355mm/14" (Std), 457mm/18" (LB)	330mm/13"(CQC), 406mm/16" (Std), 508mm/20" (LB)
Weight	3.5kg empty	3.86 kg empty
Rate of fire	600rounds per minute	600 rounds per minute
Magazinecapacity	30 rounds standard	20rounds (7.62x51 NATO) 30 rounds (7.62x39 M43)

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2011-08-05T08:53:00.000+08:00

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Patrol Craft - various types

2011-08-01T08:52:00.000+08:00

PCF Patrol Craft

Over 100 Swift Boat PCF types served in the Vietnam conflict, conducting operations in riverine warfare.

The PCF (Patrol Craft, Fast) vessels - or better known as "Swift Boats" - were a product of the Sewart Seacraft company which designed the ship to military specifications. The approved military design featured limited offensive capabilities in the form of machine guns and mortars but provided a fast and reliable platform from which to conduct the increasingly important riverine operations in the Vietnam War. Nearly 200 of the type were constructed though only about 110 actually served in the war with the United States Navy.

The Swift Boat featured a distinct design profile with a noticeable mast atop the cabin. The driving compartment was held well-forward with three rectangular windows at front. An upper gun tub mounted a dual 12.7mm (.50 caliber) gun system in an open arrangement. Additional armament consisted of a single 12.7mm machine gun mated to an 81mm mortar launcher in an over-under set up. Beyond that, the occasional 7.62mm machine gun could be mounted forward and any personal crew weapons could be utilized.

The Swift Boat appeared in three marks (I, II and III) differing only slightly. The Mark II moved the deck house more amidships and featured redesigned port hole windows for the cabin. The Mark III were based on the Mark II but were larger in size. Swift Boats performed admirably well in Vietnam riverine operations but were susceptible to enemy rocket attacks and water mines. The crew complement was normally six sailors. Power was derived from 2 x Detroit Diesel engines developing roughly 480 horsepower each and held the PCF's reach some 21 knots in ideal conditions.

Specifications for the PCF (Patrol Craft, Fast) (Swift Boat)

Dimensions:
Length: 50ft (15.24m)
Beam: 13ft (3.96m)
Draught: 5ft (1.52m)

Performance:
Surface Speed: 21kts (24mph)
Range: 366miles (589km)

Armament Suite:
2 x 12.7mm machine guns (upper cabin turret)
1 x 12.7mm machine gun and 1 x 81mm mortar mounting (rear deck)

OPTIONAL:
1 x 7.62mm M60 general purpose machine gun (forward mounting)
Structure:
Complement: 6
Surface Displacement: 0tons

Machinery:
Engine(s): 2 x Detroit Diesel engines developing 480hp each.

Armed Low Water Patrol Boat

The United States Marines and Army Both Made use of the Vietnam-era PBR.

One of the most intriguing of the United States Navy's crafts during the Vietnam War arguably was the PBR (or "Patrol Boat, Riverine" though also sometimes known as "Pibber"). The low-draft, high-speed river-borne craft was used for basic river patrol, river traffic searches and special forces insertion in an attempt to disrupt enemy riverine highways from supplies, ammunition and the like. The boat, the centerpiece for River Patrol Force, Task Force 116, could be fitted with a plethora of armament and was very effective in its intended role.

Design of the PBR centered around its propulsion of twin Detroit Diesel diesel engines which generated up to 220 horsepower. These engines drove twin Jacuzzi Brothers waterjets that allowed the PBR speeds in excess of 28 knots. The rigid hull was constructed of fiberglass and produced a shallow draft, allowing the PBR elements to traverse portions of the Delta where other Navy craft could not enter. Accommodations amounted to a standard load of four personnel with one usually consisting of an interpreter for dialogue and navigational purposes. Ceramic-based armor allowed for some protection for the cabin where three of the crew and their fellow passengers resided. A forth crewmember mounted the separated forward armament tub at the bow.

Armament consisted of a myriad of weapons combinations based on experience and practice. The forward bow turret was usually armed with twin 12.7mm (.50 caliber) M2HB Browning heavy machine guns. A pintle mounting amidships could hold a Mark 19 40mm grenade launcher or a single M60 7.62mm (.30 caliber) belt-fed machine gun. The rear pintle mounted (protected by ceramic shields) could mount a single 12.7mm or 7.62mm machine guns. Additional armament for the boat consisted of mortar launchers, 20mm cannons and flamethrowers, the latter of which produced impressive results against the straw and thatch structures found throughout the region. The standard armament of the PBR could also be augmented by whatever personal weapons were carried by the crew.

The PBR appeared in two marks known simply as Mark I and Mark II. The most differentiating feature between the two was that the Mark II series was fitted with a longer hull. The PBR plays a large role in the Hollywood motion picture Apocalypse Now. PBR's served the United States Navy up until 1995.

Specifications for the PBR (Patrol Boat, Riverine)

Dimensions:
Length: 32ft (9.75m)
Beam: 12ft (3.66m)
Draught: 2ft (0.61m)

Performance:
Surface Speed: 28kts (32mph)
Range: 0miles (0km)

Armament Suite:
2 x 12.7mm Browning M2HB machine guns in forward tub turret position
1 x 40mm Mark 19 automatic grenade launcher on midship gun pintle mount
1 x 12.7mm Browning M2HB OR 7.62mm M60 machine gun on aft gun pintle mount

OPTIONAL:
1 x 7.62mm machine gun on starboard pintle mount
1 x 7.62mm machine gun on port pintle mount
1 x 60mm mortar on midship mount
1 x 20mm cannon on midship mount
1 x flamethrower
Structure:
Complement: 4
Surface Displacement: 7tons

Machinery:
Engine(s): 2 x Detroit Diesel diesel engines generating 220hp and driving 2 x Jacuzzi Brothers waterjets.

Patrol Boat Light

The PBL is a multi-purpose, high-speed Boston Whaler-type vessel suitable for interdiction duties.

The PBL (or "Patrol Boat, Light") is another in the United States Navy's long line of surface vessels built on speed and quick strike / interdiction. Such qualities are often prized by special forces units and the capabilities inherent in a system such as the PBL are a mjor reason why. The vessel has seen constant use since its inception and remains in service, being used as recently as Operation Enduring Freedom with United States Navy Special Boat Units (SBU).

The design of the PBL is of particular note, considering the fiberglass hull provides a shallow draught. This effectively means that the PBL can operate in just about any water depth apart from choppy open seas. The shallow draft also plays on the vessels ability to hit a top sea-going speed of up to 40 knots, making the quick strike capability of this craft a strongpoint. The PBL design is centered around a Boston Whaler-type boat and remains unarmored which contributes to the types impressive speeds. The craft has three weapon stations for a variety of weapon mountings though these are traditionally filled with 12.7mm (.50 caliber) and 7.62mm anti-armor and anti-infantry heavy and light machine guns respectively with mountings providing 180-degree arcs of fire forward, amidships and aft. Power for the PBL is derived from twin outboard motors generating 155 horsepower each. These systems sit low to the water line and can hold 25 knot speeds for a sustained amount of time.

The core mission assignment of a class of vessel such as this is strictly in the interception of like-size water-going vessels. Mission types run the gamut of various security operations in established traffic zones and can also revolve around riverine operations if need be. The PBL can also be used to implant special forces units or serve as a reconnaissance gathering platform in a similar special operations role. The overall negligible size of the craft makes transportation ideal through either cargo aircraft, floating headquarters on sea or towed trailer systems via land.

Specifications for the PBL (Patrol Boat, Light)

Dimensions:
Length: 25ft (7.62m)
Beam: 8.6ft (2.62m)
Draught: 12.6ft (3.84m)

Performance:
Surface Speed: 40kts (46mph)
Range: 0miles (0km)

Armament Suite:
3 x weapon stations for .50 caliber machine guns or 7.62mm machine guns.
Structure:
Complement: 11
Surface Displacement: 6tons

Machinery:
Engine(s): 2 x outboard motors developing 155hp each.

INS Hetz / Nirit Sa'ar

The INS Hetz proceeds along a multiple-minded mission set, ready to react in an offensive or defensive nature.

An Israeli Naval Ship (INS), the Hetz/Nirit-class Sa'ar 4.5 is a missile boat that was launched sometime in 1991. The Hetz - and her class - are designed with a multiple mission set in mind: "brown water" patrol close to the shore line and "deep blue" water assignments further at sea. The Hetz takes on a coast guard type assignments and, at times, can be called upon to assume destroyer escort duty as a picket boat, in effect expanding the missile defense umbrella covering Israel's coastline against enemy missile, aircraft or a surface warship attack.

Originally, the Hetz Sa'ar 4.5-class missile boat was named the INS Nirit. Two of the original class - the Aliya and Geula - were scheduled to have helipads and hangers built atop the aft deck. They were renamed to the INS Aliya-class. Compatible helicopters included the Sikorsky HH-65, Bell 206, Hughes MD 500 as well as the newest Eurocopter Panther. In 2006, both "heliboats" were sold to Mexico.

The Nirit was last to be launched and received advanced equipment and, when commissioned in 1991, received a name change to INS Hetz. The Romach and the Keshet were then upgraded to the Hetz standard and the Israeli Navy named the Hetz as first in its class. Another two missile boats were upgraded as Hetz Sa'ar 4.5-class the INS Sufa launched in 2002 with the INS Herev following in 2003.

The Hetz was outfitted with three types of missile systems - the Barak, the Gabriel II, and the American-made Harpoon - and could support a layered defense approach with the operator choosing the right weapon for the task at hand. Apart from the Harpoon, the other two defense systems were of wholly Israeli design. The Gabriel II was a short-to-medium anti-ship missile system with a range up to 36km with six such launchers mounted onboard. The Barak was a short-range 10km system designed for anti-aircraft and surface ship suppression to which the Hetz mounted two of these launchers forward. The Boeing Harpoon missile system rounded out the triad and was a proven long-range, surface-to-surface anti-ship missile. The Hetz carried two harpoon batteries of four launchers each having a maximum range of 130km. For closer encounters, the weapons suite was made up of the Vulcan Phalanx Mk 15 25mm CIWS (Close-In Weapon System) or the standard OTO Melara 3 76mm main gun. Fire control onboard for the missile systems and the CIWS 25mm gun was directed by the Thales Neptune air/surface search radar and the Elta EL/M-2221 fire control radar. The ship was also afforded an electronic warfare system in the Elisra NS-9003A/9005 RWR and, as the last level of defense, an Elbit a chaff rocket system was made available.

Specifications for the INS Hetz / Nirit Sa'ar 4.5

Dimensions:
Length: 202.3ft (61.66m)
Beam: 24.9ft (7.59m)
Draught: 9ft (2.74m)

Performance:
Surface Speed: 34kts (39mph)
Range: 5,523miles (8,888km)

Armament Suite:
8 x Harpoon surface-to-surface, long-range, anti-ship missiles.
6 x Gabriel II surface-to-surface, short-to-medium range, anti-ship missiles.
4 x Barak surface-to-air, anti-aircraft, short range missile system.
2 x 76mm OTO Melara cannons OR 2 x Vulcan Phalanx Mk 15 25mm CIWS.
2 x 20mm Typhoon anti-aircraft cannons
4 x Chaff dispensers
4 x Smoke dispensers
Structure:
Complement: 53
Surface Displacement: 488tons

Machinery:
Engine(s): 4 x MTU 16V956 TB91 diesel engines delivering 4,000 base horsepower; 4 x shafts.

INS Dabur

The Dabur series of patrol crafts were replaced by the Dvora-class vessels in Israeli Navy service.

The INS Dabur (PC 860) was the lead ship in her class. Classified as a patrol craft, the system saw the first dozen vessels constructed in the United States with the rest taken over by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) in Israel. The ship and her sisters saw extensive use in the Israeli Navy for over 30 years with action in the 1973 Yom Kipper War. As offensive platforms, the Dabur proved her worth in high speed attacks on Egyptian naval forces of similar or lesser size operating in the Mediterranean.

The design of the Dabur-class went on to influence a generation of Israeli-designed boats to come. She featured a superstructure set about midship and was crewed by nine personnel. Her armament included twin 20mm Oerlikon cannons (one mounted forward and one mounted aft), 2 x 12.7mm (.50 caliber) heavy machine guns, 2 x 324mm torpedo tubes for the Honeywell-brand Mk 46 torpedo and depth charges. In any case, the vessel was primed to attack most vessels through her varied armament types. Power was derived from twin General Motors diesel engines powering 2 x propeller shafts.

The Dabur could reach a top speed of 29 knots in ideal conditions. The system also served (and may continue to do so) in other navies of the world including Argentina, Nicaragua and Chile. Armament may differ between the types based on need. The Dabur-class as a whole was relieved of operational duty in the Israeli Navy by the Dvora-class ships.

Specifications for the INS Dabur (PC 860)

Dimensions:
Length: 64.9ft (19.78m)
Beam: 18ft (5.49m)
Draught: 5.8ft (1.77m)

Performance:
Surface Speed: 29kts (33mph)
Range: 450miles (724km)

Armament Suite:
2 x 20mm Oerlikon cannons
2 x 12.7mm machine guns
2 x 324mm torpedo tubes (Mk 46 torpedoes)
Depth Charges

OPTIONAL:
2 x 25mm cannons (replacing 20mm types)
Crew-served rocket launchers
Additional 12.7mm OR 7.62mm machine guns
Structure:
Complement: 9
Surface Displacement: 39tons

Machinery:
Engine(s): 2 x General Motors diesel engines driving 2 x shafts.

Armored Troop Carrier

The Armored Troop Carrier bristled with heavy armament and was armored for the rigors of close-in fighting along the Vietnam river shorelines.

The United States Navy, much like the French Navy before it during the First Indochina War, saw the importance of controlling and using the many streams and rivers of South Vietnam for war fighting and resupply. The purpose of the Armored Troop Carrier (or "ATC") was therefore twofold - first to move US Army and ARVN troops and, second, to service the fire team boats and other gasoline-powered watercraft on the rivers of Viet Nam. During a standard operation, troops were carried into battle in the Navy's ATCs, which were conventional landing craft, armored to safeguard against heavy fire they often were exposed to from canceled enemy positions onshore. These armored boats could carry a fully equipped infantrymen platoon of 40 men on any waterway with a depth of 5 feet or more.

The ATC boats converted from LCM-6 landing craft developed in the 1950s for ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore use. The converted LCM designs added 0.25 inch armor plating in many areas to protect the superstructure from critical damage caused by rockets. The upgraded armored ATC made up about half of the river craft deployed by the United States during the Vietnam War, in effect making the ATC the "workhorse" of the river war. Some ATCs had helicopter decks added and became ATC(H). These installations allowed helicopters to land on the boats themselves for swift evacuation of wounded soldiers. The Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) started with three basic boat types: (1) the ATC boat ("Tango Boat") - this served as the most useful boat; (2) the "Monitor", a floating artillery platform of the MRF and, (3) the Command and Communications Boat (CCB), the so-called "Charlie Boat". Each squadron of boats had a Tango boat converted into a boat for refueling to be used by all of the above.

The ATCs fuel capacity (using fuel oil or gasoline) was 1,200 gallons with space for 300 gallons of lube oil with a mixing tank holding 500 gallons. The boat was equipped with a portable tank and transfer pump that required hoses for the fuel exchange. The ATC full load displacement was 155,000 lbs with a cargo weight of 130,000 lbs. A sling was installed for hoisting fuel containers onboard. She maintained a semi-flat bottom with 2 x 6-cylinder diesel engines each having 225 horsepower at 2,100 rpm for emergency use and 165 horsepower at 1,800 rpm for continued use. ATCs fielded 2 x 24-inch D by 17-inch P by a 2-inch bore with a right-hand rotation propellers. The cargo well was 9'6" x 22'6" with a clear overhead and 9'6" x 31' 6" with a clear dock.

All Tango boats had a distinctive lowering bow ramp used to deploy troops and load cargo to and from shorelines. The ATC could provide close support against enemy fire due to a shield of hardened steel armor. The vessel could carry an arsenal of weapons that made her available for most defensive- and offensive-minded missions. ATCs were typically fitted with 4 x 7.62mm M60 general purpose machine guns and 2 x 12.7mm Browning M2 heavy machine guns, 1 x 40mm Mk 19 rapid-fire automatic grenade launchers and 2 x 20mm cannons, these protected in armored pill boxes. The crew of seven also carried their personal weapons and large supplies of ammunition was kept on board. If the Monitor river craft were considered the "battleships" of Vietnam rivers then the Tango ATC boats were the "heavy cruisers".

The Tango boats participated in a memorable chapter of the United States Navy's river warfare that was a hard fought effort for control of the "green" and "brown" waterways of the Republic of Vietnam. The US Army's Mobile Riverine Force used the ATC to transport the Riverine Infantry Force throughout the Mekong Delta. In the early part of the war, Tango boats mainly transported troops of the 9th Infantry Division. When the decision came down to integrate, Vietnamese Army and Marine troops replaced the Americans on these Tango boats.

The Viet Cong guerrillas operated on the river on a daily basis and this led to fierce gun battles at very close quarters. The guerrillas used a multitude of boats (called "junks" and "sampans") that were capable of navigating in only a few inches of water and could travel practically unseen and unheard near the banks of the rivers. However, also operating in these inland river areas was the joint Army and Navy Mobile Riverine Force. This force consisted of ATC's and heavily armed and armored monitors along with support boats that moved combat troops from the US Army's 9th Infantry Division into combat.

The ACT's were able to deploy troops on the flanks and to the rear of communist elements in an effort to defeat the enemy forces. After many years of war, the enemy had begun to find ways to counter the allied river patrol effort - the Viet Cong started using smaller rivers and canals to move their supplies. As such, the main force of the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong learned to avoid direct contact with the more powerful Mobile Riverine Force.

To secure the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, the American and Vietnamese river units fought well and hard against a tough Vietnamese communist enemy. In 1975 the Vietnam War ended in failure for the Republic of Vietnam and, by extension, the United States. However, the experience and brave work of the ATC crews, and that of her sister type ships, provided the military with valuable knowledge of riverine warfare for possible future application.

Specifications for the Armored Troop Carrier (ATC)

Dimensions:
Length: 56.5ft (17.22m)
Beam: 17.5ft (5.33m)
Draught: 3.3ft (1.01m)

Performance:
Surface Speed: 8.5kts (10mph)
Range: 0miles (0km)

Armament Suite:
FIRST GENERATION:
1 x 20mm cannon
2 x 12.7mm M2 Browning heavy machine guns
4 x 7.62mm M60 general purpose machine guns
2 x 40mm Mk 18 automatic grenade launchers
2 x 40mm M79 single-shot grenade launchers

Also any crew-served personal weapons - grenades, pistols, rifles, assault rifles and machine guns as available.

SECOND GENERATION:
2 x 20mm cannons
2 x 12.7mm M2 Browning heavy machine guns
4 x 7.62mm M60 general purpose machine guns
1 x 40mm Mk 19 automatic grenade launcher
2 x 40mm M79 single-shot grenade launchers

Also any crew-served personal weapons - grenades, pistols, rifles, assault rifles and machine guns as available.
Structure:
Complement: 7
Surface Displacement: 77tons

Machinery:
Engine(s): 2 x Detroit Diesel 64HN9 engines delivering 220 horsepower each @ 2,100rpm to 1 x shaft.

Patrol Boat Mark V Special Operations Craft

The Mark V series of boats is utilized primarily by the United States Navy SEALs for high-speed insertion and extraction.

The Mark V SOC (Special Operations Craft) primarily serves the United States Navy's Navy SEALs special forces group as a high-speed insertion/extraction vessel with the ability to carry up to 16 SEAL specialists along with its standard operating crew of five or six. Additionally, the craft can serve as a general patrol vessel in low engagement areas and as a launching platform for unmanned aerial vehicles. Built by Halter Marine, Incorporated, the initial Mk V boats were delivered beginning in 1995 with some 20 total craft accounted for. Full operational status was achieved by 1999.

After a fast development time, the first Mark V SOC boat were found to reveal several structural design issues. When operating in rough waters, the Mark V's aluminum hull was known to transmit much of the shock impact throughout the boat and (in some cases) onto the crew, resulting in various injuries. Additionally, the pilothouse structure was known to collapse if struck with the right amount of force from a marauding wave at full speed in rough waters (the Mark V could reach speeds nearing 50 knots). After several years of operation and modifications to the base Mark V, an improved Mark V was on the drawing boards in an attempt to address the rough water operation of the original craft altogether. The newest in the Mark V SOC line became the Mark V.1 (known unofficially as the "MAKO") and featured a composite carbon-fiber hull (as opposed to the aluminum type) along with other improvements in an effort to help protect the crew. As of this writing, the MAKO is in the testing phase with design undertaken by Maine Marine Manufacturing LLC.

When serving the Navy SEALs, the Mark V can carry up to four CRRCs (Combat Rubber Raiding Craft) complete with outboard motors including two motors held in reserve. A handy ramp at the stern makes for easy pick up of the CRRC's and SEAL team as the vessels can come right up and unto the Mark V. Self-defense is accounted for through at least five weapon mounts that can provide a field of active fire covering all 360 degrees of the vessel (along with any personal weapons deployed by the crew). Armament initially included single-mount heavy caliber and general purpose machine guns and automatic grenade launchers but the arsenal has since grown to include a station for the (man-portable) Stinger surface-to-air missile system, miniguns, chain guns, cannons and twin heavy machine gun mounts. It should be noted, however, that the Mark V series is not an ideal offensive weapons platform and is generally reserved for low-to-medium engagement threats - it remains primarily a high-speed insertion/extraction vessel with a secondary role of coastal patrol/interdiction.

Beyond its ample firepower and speed, the Mark V series of patrol boats features a sleek profile with angular shapes helping to provide some "stealth" functionality. Along with the powerful diesel engines, the Mark V can rely on two water jets for low-speed approaches, in effect reducing its wake signature significantly. Mark V's can be launched virtually from any forward-operating post that can offer ample storage space, supplies and maintenance facilities while deployment can be handled through transport aircraft (C-5 Galaxy), by land-based trucks via special transport trailers or applicable support/supply ships.

Specifications for the Patrol Boat Mark V Special Operations Craft (SOC)

Dimensions:
Length: 82ft (24.99m)
Beam: 17.5ft (5.33m)
Draught: 5ft (1.52m)

Performance:
Surface Speed: 50kts (58mph)
Range: 690miles (1,110km)

Armament Suite:
Combination of any of the following:

12.7mm M2 Heavy Machine Guns
7.62mm M240 General Purpose Machine Guns
7.62mm M60 General Purpose Machine Guns
40mm Mk19 Automatic Grenade Launchers
Stinger MANPADS
GAU-17 Miniguns
12.7mm MK95 2 x Heavy Caliber Machine Gun Mount
MK 38 Chain Gun
25mm Mk48 Cannons
Structure:
Complement: 22
Surface Displacement: 68tons

Machinery:
Engine(s): 2 x MTU 12-cylinder TE94 diesel engines; 2 x KaMeWa K50S water jets.

Brazil's IMBEL MD-97 assault rifle

2011-07-25T10:04:00.000+08:00

IMBEL MD-97 family of rifles was developed on the basis of earlier IMBELMD-2 rifles, with certain improvements in parts and overall size. The family consists of two basic models, the selectively-fired MD-97L rifle, which isintended for Brazilian Army's Special Forces, and semi-automatic only MD-97LC carbine, which is intended for police use.

IMBEL assault rifles, top "military" MD-97L, bottom "police"MD-97LC; versions with folding buttstock

IMBEL MD-97 rifles feature gas operated action with short-stroke piston and rotary bolt locking. The trigger unit and folding or fixed buttstock are same as on earlier 7,62mm Fz MD963 rifles (Brazilian-made copies of Belgian FN FAL rifle).Both rifle and police carbine variants are available with either fixed or folding buttstocks; the military MD-97L also can be fitted with domestically-made 40mm underbarrel grenade launcher or bayonet. MD-97 rifles use M16-compatible magazines.

FN FAL assault rifle

2011-07-13T16:57:00.000+08:00

The FN FAL (Fusil Automatique Leger - Light Automatic Rifle) is one of the most famous and widespread military rifle designs of the XX century. Developed by the Belgian Fabrique Nationale company, it was used by some 70 or even more countries, and was manufactured in at least 10 countries. At the present time the service days of the most FAL rifles are gone, but it is still used in some parts of the world. The history of the FAL began circa 1946, when FN began to develop a new assault rifle, chambered for German 7.92x33mm Kurz intermediate cartridge. The design team was lead by Dieudonne Saive, who at the same time worked at the battle rifle, chambered for "old time" full-power rifle cartridges, which latter became the SAFN-49. It is not thus surprising that both rifles are mechanically quite similar. In the late 1940s Belgians joined the Britain and selected a British .280 (7x43mm) intermediate cartridge for further development. In 1950 both Belgian FAL prototype and British EM-2 bullpup assault rifles were tested by US Army. The FAL prototype greatly impressed the Americans, but the idea of the intermediate cartridge was at that moment incomprehensible for them, and USA insisted on adoption of their full-power T65 cartridge as a NATO standard in 1953-1954. Preparing for this adoption, FN redesigned their rifle for the newest T65 / 7.62x51mm NATO ammunition, and first 7.62mm FALs were ready in 1953. Belgium was not the the first country to adopt their own rifle in 1956. Probably the first one was a Canada, adopting their slightly modified version of FAL as C1 in 1955. Canadians set to produce C1 and heavy barreled C2 squad automatic rifles at their own Canadian Arsenal factory. Britain followed the suit and adopted the FAL in 1957 as an L1A1 SLR (Self-loading rifle), often issued with 4X SUIT optical scopes. Britain also produced their own rifles at the RSAF Enfield and BSA factories. Austria adopted the FAL in 1958 as a Stg.58 and manufactured their rifles at Steyr arms factory. Various versions of FAL were also adopted by the Brazil, Turkey, Australia, Israel, South Africa, West Germany and many other countries. The success of the FAL could be even greater if Belgians would sell the license to W.Germany, which really liked to produce the FAL as a G1 rifle, but Belgians rejected the request. Germany purchased the license for Spanish CETME rifle and as a result of this H&K G3 rifle became probably the most notable rival to FAL.

DSA-58OSW - a select-fire "sawed off" FAL clone made by DS Arms (USA) for police use

Austrian Steyr Stg.58 - license built FN FAL

During the time, FAL was built in numerous versions, with different furniture, sights, barrel lengths etc. There are, however, four basic configurations of FAL rifle: FAL 50.00, or simply FAL, with fixed buttstock and standard barrel; FAL 50.63 or FAL "Para", with folding skeleton butt and short barrel; FAL 50.64 with folding skeleton butt of "Para" model and standard length barrel; and the FAL 50.41, also known as FAL Hbar or FALO - a heavy barreled model which was intended primary as a light support weapon. There are also two major patterns of FALs around the globe: "metric" and "inch" FALs. As the names implied, these were built in countries with metric or imperial (inch) measure systems. These patterns are slightly different in some dimensions, and magazines of metric and inch pattern sometimes could not be interchanged. Most "inch" pattern FALs were made in British Commonwealth countries (UK, Canada, Australia) and have had folding cocking handles and were mostly limited to semi-automatic fire only (except for Hbar versions like C2). Most "metric" pattern rifles had non-folding cocking handles and may or may not have select-fire capability, but as with other light select-fire weapons chambered for 7.62x51mm NATO round, the controllability of the full auto fire is disappointing and shots spread in burst is extremely wide. But, regardless of this, the FAL is one of the best so known "battle rifles", reliable, comfortable and accurate. It is somewhat sensitive to fine sand and dust but otherwise is a great weapon.

FN FAL "Paratrooper" model (also known as FAL 50.63) with shortened barrel and folding butt

British L1A1 SLR - license built "inch pattern" FN FAL with SUIT optical sight

The only countries still producing the FAL rifles until the present time are the Brazil and, most surprisingly, the USA. Brazil adopted the FAL under the name LAR and manufactured it at the IMBEL facilities. The USA produced a small amount of FALs as the T-48 at H&R factory in early 1950s for Army trials, but at the present time a number of private US Companies is manufacturing various versions of FAL rifles using either surplus parts kits or newly manufactured parts. Most of these rifles are limited to semi-auto only and are available for civilian users. Probably most notable US manufacturer of FAL modifications is the DS Arms company, which produced its rifles under the name of DSA-58.

Canadian C2 Squad Automatic Weapon - a heavy barreled version of FAL, intended as Light Machine Gun

The FN FAL is a gas operated, selective fire or semi-automatic only, magazine fed rifle. It uses short piston stroke gas system with gas piston located above the barrel and having its own return spring. After the shot is fired, the gas piston makes a quick tap to the bolt carrier and then returns back, and the rest of the reloading cycle is commenced by the inertia of bolt group. The gas system is fitted with gas regulator so it could be easily adjusted for various environment conditions, or cut off completely so rifle grenades could be safely launched from the barrel. The locking system uses bolt carrier with separate bolt that locks the barrel by tipping its rear part into the recess in the receiver floor. The receivers initially were machined from the forged steel blocks, and in 1973 FN began to manufacture investment cast receivers to decrease production costs. Many manufactures, however, stuck to the machined receivers. The trigger housing with pistol grip is hinged to the receiver behind the magazine well and could be swung down to open action for maintenance and disassembly. The recoil spring is housed in the butt of the rifle in fixed butt configurations or in the receiver cover in folding butt configurations, so the folding butt versions require a slightly different bolt carrier, receiver cover and a recoils spring. The cocking handle is located at the left side of the receiver and does not move when gun is fired. It could be folding or non-folding, depending on the country of origin. The safety - fire selector switch is located at the trigger housing, above the triggerguard. It can have two (on semi-automatic) or three (on select-fire rifles) positions. The firing mechanism is hammer fired and use single sear for both semi-automatic or full automatic fire. Barrel is equipped with long flash hider which also serves as a rifle grenade launcher. Design of flash hider may differs slightly from country to country. The furniture of the FAL also can differ - it could be made from wood, plastic of various colors or metal (folding buttstocks, metallic handguards on some models). Some models, such as Austrian Stg.58 or Brazilian LAR were fitted with light bipods as a standard. Almost all heavy barrel versions also were fitted with bipods of various design. Sights usually are of hooded post front and adjustable diopter rear types, but can differ in details and markings. Almost all FAL rifles are equipped with sling swivels and most of rifles are fitted with bayonet lugs.

Brazilian IMBEL LAR - another license built FN FAL, one of few FAL models still in production now

Caliber : 7,62mm NATO (7.62x51)
Action: Gas operated, tilting breech block, select-fire or semi-auto only
Length: 1100 mm (990 / 736 mm for "Para" model)
Barrel length: 533 mm (431 mm for "Para" model)
Weight: 4.45 kg empty (3.77 kg empty for "Para" models)
Magazine capacity: 20 rounds (30 rounds for heavy barreled SAW versions)
Rate of fire: 650-700 rounds per minute

Belgian FAL prototype (ca.1950) chambered for British .280 (7x43mm) intermediate cartridge

Enfield EM-2 Experimental Assualt Rifle

2011-07-08T11:04:00.000+08:00

EM-2 assault rifle, officially adopted in Britain as Rifle, Automatic, No.9 Mk.1 but never put into service. Note that the backup sights are in raised position.

The history of the British EM-2 (Experimental Model-2) assault rifle is interesting and somewhat pitiful story. The EM-2 was born as a result of the experience with small arms, gained during the Second World War. It was obvious that the modern warfare will require the infantry to be armed with light, selective fire weapon with effective range of fire much longer than of submachine gun, but shorter than of conventional semi-automatic or bolt action rifles. This requirement effectively led to the development of the various "intermediate" cartridges. The first power to adopt this concept was the Germany, which issued in limited numbers the selective-fire weapons with intermediate cartridge (7.92x33mm Kurz) since 1942. The Soviet Union was the second to this case, developing its own intermediate cartridge in 1943 and began issuing weapons for it on limited basis since 1944 and on large scale since 1949. The Great Britain also felt the need to replace both Sten submachine guns and SMLE No.4 bolt-action rifles with more modern equipment. The research and experience clearly showed that it is entirely possible to replace both of these weapons with single new weapon, with effective range of fire of no more than 1000 yards and with selective-fire capability. This weapon, of cause, required a new cartridge, which was developed after extensive research and development. This cartridge, an "ideal" from British point of view, was of .280 caliber (7mm) and had a bottlenecked case 43 mm long. The pointed bullet weighted 9.08 g (140 grains) and had muzzle velocity of about 745 m/s (2445 fps). The rough comparison of this round against other most common modern cartridges can be found in the table below. Basically, this cartridge offered significant advantage in effective range and penetration against not only 9x19mm Luger pistol cartridge, but also against 7.92x33mm Kurz German and 7.62x39mm Soviet intermediate cartridges, producing slightly more recoil, which was still significantly less than of .303 British rifle cartridge or latter 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. This cartridge immediately attracted the attention of the Belgian company Fabrique Nationale, which at the same time worked on the advanced version of their SAFN-49 rifle. Canada also showed significant interest in this cartridge.

EM-1 prototype assault rifle.

Having the "ideal" cartridge on hands, both Britain and Belgium began to develop its own assault rifles. The Belgian part of the story will be covered in the FN FAL article elsewhere on this site, and the British part goes right here. The Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) at Enfield Lock began to develop its new assault rifle in the late 1940s. The design team was led by the LTC Edward Kent-Lemon and Stefan Janson. New prototype rifles were called the EM-1 and EM-2 (Experimental Model 1 and 2) and were of similar layout and dimensions, being different mostly in shape details and controls. Both rifles were of bullpup layout, that means that the magazine and the barrel chamber are located behind the triggerguard and pistol handle. It must be noted that these rifles were not the first ever built in the bullpup layout - I know about al least one bolt action bullpup rifle dated back to post-WW1 period. The EM-2 attracted more attention, being slightly less futuristic in appearance. It was a very well balanced and laid out rifle, with comfortable controls, accurate and reliable. In 1951 the EM-2 rifle was nominally adopted for British service as "Rifle, Automatic, caliber .280, Number 9 Mark 1". Had it been put into service, the British troops could have a first class assault rifle prior to 1960, but due to the NATO standardization issues Britain followed the USA and adopted the overpowered American 7.62x51mm cartridge instead of more promising .280, and EM-2 simply could not be easily rebuilt for this round. So, Brits had to adopt another design, but this is also another story. There's also some rumors that infamous British SA80 / L85 assault rifle, introduced in 1980s, was based on the EM-2 design. It is not true, since the crappy L85 has nothing in common with EM-2 except for general external "bullpup" layout.

From let to right: British experimental .280 (7x43mm) cartridge for EM-2; Soviet 7.62x39mm M43; US/NATO 5.56x45mm (.223 Rem); US/NATO 7.62x51mm (.308 Win).

The EM-2 rifle is a gas operated, magazine fed, selective fire rifle. It uses gas system with long piston stroke, located above the barrel. The locking system is generally similar to one found in the WW2-period German Gew.43 or in the Soviet Degtyarov DP-27 machine gun (but turned back to front). Bolt locks into the receiver by two flaps, that are pivoted at their rear to extend out of the bolt and into the locking recesses in the receiver walls. Flaps are controlled by the firing pin sleeve, coaxially located inside the hollow bolt, and the sleeve is in turn connected to the gas piston rod by the projection on the rod. The recoil spring is located at the rear part of the gas piston, above the bolt. When gun is fired, the hot power gases cause the gas piston to go to the rear. This movement first causes the firing pin sleeve to retract within the still stationary bolt, causing the locking flaps to be withdrawn from locking recesses and into the bolt. As soon as the bolt is unlocked, it begin to move back against the pressure of the return spring, ejecting the spent case and feeding the fresh round into the chamber on its return into the battery. EM-2 fires from closed bolt all the time. The firing mechanism is striker-fired, with the main spring and the sear located in the bolt. The sear is located at the bottom of the bolt and is operated by the long trigger lever, connected to the trigger. In general, this was somewhat complicated but very dust-proof, reliable and neat design.

EM-2 disassembled into major components.

The cocking handle is located at the right side of the weapon, on the front part of the gas piston rod, and can be removed when gun is disassembled. The safety switch is located at the front of the triggerguard and is similar in operation to one found in M1 Garand or M14 rifles, and the fire selector is of cross-bolt push-button type, and located above the pistol handle. All controls are easily reachable with firing hand. The furniture (pistol handle and forend) is made from wood, the buttplate is attached to the receiver directly and can be easily removed for field-stripping. EM-2 was fitted with optical sights, mounted on the integral carrying handle as standard. Optical sights were non-adjustable, and range adjustment capability was built into the aiming reticle picture. The emergency (backup) iron sights were also fitted - rear folding peep-hole (diopter) sight was attached to the left side of the carrying handle, and the folding front post sight was mounted on the left side of the gas block.

Caliber: 7x43 mm (.280 British)
Action: Gas operated
Overall length: 889 mm
Barrel length: 623 mm
Weight: 3.41 kg with empty magazine
Rate of fire: 450 - 600 rounds per minute (depends on source)
Magazine capacity: 20 rounds

FN F2000 by FN Herstal

2011-07-01T12:02:00.000+08:00

During the late 1980s and early 1990s famous Belgian company FN Herstal began the search for its next entry into the assault rifle world. The aim this time was to produce a modern, modular weapon, and this ultimately resulted in the FN F2000 rifle, which was first displayed in public in 2001. The F2000 offers all of the most popular features of the modern assault rifle, such as a compact bullpup layout, completely ambidextrous handling, and a modular design with plenty of options and add-ons already available, which allow the rifle to be “tailored” for any particular mission or tactical situation. For example, for peacekeeping operations F2000 could be fitted with less-lethal M303 underbarrel module, which fires tear gas or marker projectiles using pre-compressed air. On the other hand, the F2000 could be fitted with various 40 mm FN EGLM grenade launchers and a proprietary computerized fire control system, instead of the standard low-magnification optical sights.So far FN F2000 rifle found only few buyers, including Armed forces of Sloveniaand Belgian Special operations forces. Nevertheless, it is one of most promising assault rifles on the market.

FN F2000 assault rifle, in standard configuration, with telescope sight

Quite recently FN also introduced a civilian version of F2000, known as FS2000. It has a somewhat longer barrel and is limited to semi-automatic fire. Otherwise it is the same excellent weapon, with great ergonomics and 100% ambidexterity.

FN F2000 assault rifle, in "Tactical" configuration, with Picatinny rail and back-up open sights

FN F2000 assault rifle, with telescope sight and 40mm FN EGLM grenade launcher

The F2000 rifle is a gas operated, rotating bolt, selective-fire weapon, featuring a polymer stock with a bull-pup layout. Itutilizes a short-stroke gas piston and a 7-lug rotating bolt which locks into the barrel extension. The unique feature of the F2000 rifle is its patented front ejection system: the spent cases, extracted from the chamber, travel from the rear part of the gun to the ejection port near the muzzle via a special ejection tube and fall out of the gun at the safe distance from the shooters' face. This is achieved using a special swinging guide, which enters the way of the closing bolt, and directs the spent case, which is held on the bolt face, to the ejection tube, while, at the same time, lower lugs of the bolt are stripping a fresh cartridge from the magazine. The cocking handle is mounted well forward on the left hand side, just above the fore grip, and it can easily be operated with the right hand when the gun is held left-handed. The selector switch is mounted at the bottom of the trigger guard. All of these features combine to make the F2000 the first genuinely ambidextrous bullpup, able to be used with equal ease by right and left handed shooters without requiring any adjustments. In its standard configuration, the F2000 is perfectly balanced around the pistol grip.

FN F2000 assault rifle, in standard configuration, disassembled into major components

FN F2000 rifle being fired by Belgian soldier. Note spent case emerging from the port at the front of the rifle

The stock has built-in standard rails on the top of the weapon (for different sights and scopes etc) and a mounting point ahead of trigger guard, where additional modules may be installed (such as grenade launchers, non-lethal modules etc). In the basic configuration, the upper rail mount is fitted with a 1.6X magnification optical sight, and the lower mounting point is covered by a removable handguard. At the current time, the F2000 rifle may be upgraded, depending on the mission, with FN's 40 mm low-velocity grenade launcher (on the lower mount, instead of the handguard), or with M303 non-lethal module; other options are handguards with built-in laser pointers or flashlights. The standard low-magnification combat scope, which has a back-up open sights on its top cover, may be replaced by any other scope onPiatiny-style mount, or with FN's proprietary computerized fire control module with laser rangefinder, for both the rifle and 40 mm grenade launcher.

FN FS2000, a semiautomatic-only version for civilian shooters

Caliber: 5.56x45 mm NATO
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
Overall length: 694 mm
Barrel length: 400 mm
Weight: 3.6 kg empty, in standart configuration; 4.6 kg with 40mm grenade launcher
Magazine capacity: 30 rounds (any NATO / STANAG type magazines)

IMBEL MD Series Assault Rifle

2011-06-28T15:26:00.000+08:00

IMBEL MD-2 rifle (MD-3 rifle in the insert below)

The MD-2 assault rifle was developed by IMBEL (Industria de Materiel Belico do Brasil). Development began circa 1982, first prototype, named MD-1, appeared in 1983 and final version,named MD-2, came out circa 1985 and later was adopted by Brasilian military.

MD-2 started as a simply scaled down FN FAL rifle (manufactured in Brasil under license as IMBEL LAR), but during the design time the FAL locking system (tilting block) was replaced by M16-type rotating bolt. The receiver design is, however, still very similar to FAL.

MD-2 is a gas operated, selective fire assault rifle, with rotating bolt locking. Trigger group is mounted into the pistol grip unit, which is hinged to the receiver and folds down and forward for disassembly and maintenance. MD-2 featured side-folding metallic buttstock, MD-3 rifle is similar to the MD-2 but has fixed plastic buttstock. MD-2 uses any M16 style magazines.

Caliber: 5.56x45 mm (.223 remington)
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
Overall length: 1010 mm (764 mm with folded stock)
Barrel length: 453 mm
Weigth: 4.4 kg
Rate of fire: 700 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 20 or 30 rounds

The FN CAL

2011-06-23T15:57:00.000+08:00

The FN CAL ("Carabine Automatique Légère", or Light Automatic Carbine) was first demonstrated in 1967. It was an early attempt of the famous Belgian company Fabrique Nationale (FN) to produce an assault rifle chambered for then-new American 5.56mm small-bore, high-velocity cartridge. The FN CAL rifle was designed with mass production in mind, with extensive use of steel stampings and plastics. However, the production life of this rifle was relatively short, and only about 12 000 of FN CAL rifles were manufactured before FN closed the CAL production line in 1977 and switched to more promising design, known as FN FNC. Most of these rifles were sold in Latin America and Africa. The main problems, associated with FN CAL rifles, were complexity of manufacture of certain parts, insufficient reliability and somewhat complex maintenance procedures.

FN CAL assault rifle with fixed butt

The FN CAL assault rifle is gas operated, select-fire weapon. It uses short-stroke gas piston, located above the barrel. The locking is achieved by rotating bolt with multiple radial lugs that engage the barrel extension. Receiver is made from steel stampings and assembled from two parts (upper and lower), hinged at the front. Trigger unit is equipped with 4-position safety / fire selector, and allows for single shots, 3-round bursts and full automatic fire. The charging handle is located on the right side of the receiver, and moves along with the bolt group when gun is fired. Rifle can be fitted with fixed plastic butt or side-folding metallic butt. Standard sights consist of front post and L-shaped rear sight with two apertures (for 250 and 400 meters range). The muzzle compensator / flash hider is shaped to accept rifle grenades; the US-made M203 grenade launcher can be fitted under the rifle, if required. Feed was from proprietary box magazines with 20- or 30-round capacity.

FN CAL assault rifle with folding butt and optional telescope sight

Caliber: 5.56x45 mm
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
Overall length: 926 mm
Barrel length: 467 mm
Weight: 3.0 kg empty
Rate of fire: 850 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 20 or 30 rounds

Advanced Infantry Combat Weapon

2011-06-21T11:12:00.000+08:00

The AICW (Advanced Infantry Combat Weapon) is a joint development of the Australian DSTO (Government operated Defence Science and Technology Organisation), and private companies Metal Storm and Tenix Defence. This development has been carried out since the turn of 21st century, closely following the concept of the American XM29 OICW system. Overall, AICW represents the modular weapon system that combines the 5.56mm rifle/carbine copmponent as a host (basic) platform with 40mm multi-shot grenade launcher (G/L) module and multi-purpose electro-optical sighting system, which can be used to fire either rifle or G/L component, and also can provide recon data to external "consumers" such as tactical computers.

2001 concept of the AICW system

The host rifle component of the AICW is the updated Australian-made F88 rifle, which is a license-built Steyr AUG.However, the basic F88 rifle has been extensively modified to accept other elements of the system - for example, receiver has been upgraded to receive the G/L module at the top, and the buttstock has been enlarged to accomodate G/L electronic fire contol module. Other changes include modification to the safety and trigger arrangements - AICW system has a single trigger for both weapon components (5.56 and 40mm), and a three position (safe - rifle - G/L) safety/selector switch at the side of the pistol grip.

2003 concept of the AICW system

The most interesting part of the AICW weapon is the multi-shot Metal Storm 40mm grenade launcher, which looks like a single 40mm G/L barrel but contains three 40mm projectiles stacked one behind the another. These projectiles are launched using the electric ignition impulses, provided by the fire control module built into the buttstock of the host rifle. Since the muzzle velocity of these projectiles is slightly more than usual for 40mm handheld G/L (95m/s instead of 75m/s), host rifle incorporates the recoil reduction buffer, that allows the Metal Storm G/L barrel to recoil against the spring, decreasing the peak recoil impulse.

2005 testing prototype AICW VX3 weapon

The top of the receiver hosts the multi-role sights of various type and make. At the AICW VX3 live fire demonstartions that took place in the summer of 2005, AICW prototypes were displayed with ITL Viper multi-purpose rifle sight (that incorporates laser range-finder and digital compas), or with Vinghog Vingsight Fire Control System. At the present time (late 2005) AICW prototypes have not yet fired 40mm grenades with live warheads, nor incorporated an airburst facility. However, it is stated that it is possible to easily adapt most of the existing 40mm grenade warheads to the Metal Storm technology, including air-bursting grenades that are now in development in several countries.

At the present time AICW weapons are available only as the "3rd generation technology demonstrators", that completed first live-fire trials (as a complete system) in the summer of 2005. Current Australian MOD plans state that ADF may start to purchase AICW systems in around 2010-2012.

Caliber: 5.56x45mm NATO + 40mm
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt + Metal Storm patented stacked-projectile caseless
Overall length: 738 mm
Barrel length: n/a
Weigth: 6.48 kg unloaded, w/o sight; 7.85 kg loaded w/o sight (30 5.56mm + 3 40mm rounds); 9.9-9.9 kg loaded w. electronic sight
Rate of fire: 650 rounds per minute (for 5.56mm barrel)
Capacity: 30 rounds (5.56mm) magazine plus 3 40mm rounds in the G/L barrel

Steyr AUG (Armee Universal Gewehr - Universal Army Rifle)

2011-06-17T15:50:00.000+08:00

The Steyr AUG (Armee Universal Gewehr - Universal Army Rifle) had been indevelopment since the late 1960s, as a replacement for venerable but obsolete Stg.58 (FN FAL) battle rifles for Austrian army. It was developed by the Austrian Steyr-Daimler-Puch company (now the Steyr-Mannlicher AG & Co KG) in close conjunction with Austrian Army. The major design is attributed to the three men - Horst Wesp, Karl Wagner and Karl Möser, who developed most of the rifle features. From the Austrian Office of Military Technology the project was supervised by the Colonel Walter Stoll. The new rifle has been adopted by the Austrian Army in 1977, as the Stg.77 (Assault rifle, model of 1977), and production began in 1978. Since then, the AUG gained serious popularity, being adopted by the armed forces of Australia, Austria, New Zealand, Oman, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Ireland and some others. It also was widely purchased by various security and law enforcement agencies worldwide, including the US Coastal Guard. The Steyr AUG can be considered as the most commercially successful bullpup assault rifle to date. Since the 1997, the Steyr-Mannlicher produced an updated version of the AUG, the AUG A2.

Steyr AUG A1 Carbine (police black colour)

In around 2005, Steyr-Mannlicher introduced the most recent version of AUG, the AUG A3. This version is characterized by addition of four Picatinny-type accessory rails - one at the top of the receiver, and three around the barrel, in front of the receiver - at both sides and below it. Therefore there AUG A3 has no standard / integral sighting equipment; instead, any open, telescope or night vision sights can be installed on the upper rail, using appropriate mountings. Lower rail can be used to mount various attachments like tactical front grips, flash-lights, and a specially designed 40mm grenade launcher. Side rails can be used for equipment like laser-aiming devices.

Steyr AUG A1 in standard rifle configuration (military green colour)

Some said that the AUG rifle was revolutionary in many respects when it first appeared, but this is not true. In fact, the AUG is a clever combination of the various previously known ideas, assembled into one sound, reliable and aesthetically attractive package. Let's look at this a little closer. Bullpup configuration: The Steyr AUG is not a first military bullpup ever devised. In fact, British Enfield EM-2 and Soviet Korobov TKB-408 bullpup assault rifles precede the AUG by some 25-30 years. The French FAMAS bullpup also appeared on the scene at the very same time, as the AUG did. Plasticfirearm housing: Another Soviet experimental bullpup design, Korobov TKB-022, had the plastic housing as early as in 1962, and the FAMAS rifle, again, has this same feature at the same time as AUG did. Telescope sight as a standard: The British EM-2 bullpup rifle of late 1940s, as well as the experimental Canadian FN FAL prototypes of early 1950s, also featured a low-magnification telescope sights as their prime sighting equipment. A modular design: First systems, consisting of various firearms based on the same receiver and action (automatic rifle, light machine gun, carbine) were originally developed in 1920s in France by Rossignol and in Soviet Russia by Fedorov. Considering all said above, one must agree that the AUG was a logical development of various well known ideas,and a really successful one.

Steyr AUG with M203 40mmgrenade launcher

In general, the AUG is known for good ergonomics,decent accuracy and a good reliability.

Steyr AUG A2 with Carbine configuration (shorter barrel) and with Picatinny-type rail installed instead of standard telescope sight

AUG is built around the aluminium casting receiver, with steel reinforcement inserts. One such insert is used to provide the locking to the removable barrels and the rotating bolt, thus relieving the receiver from most of the firing stress. Other inserts are used as a bearings for the bolt carrier guide rods.

Comparison of various AUG barrels, from top to bottom: LMG/heavy barrel with bipod;standard rifle barrel; carbine barrel; SMG barrel.

The AUG uses a short piston stroke, gas operated action, with the gas piston mounted inside the compact gas block, which is fixed to the barrel. The gas cylinder is offset to the right from the barrel. Gas piston has its own return spring, contained inside the gas block. The gas system features a three positions gas regulator, which allows for two open positions (for normal and fouled conditions) and one closed position (for launching the rifle grenades). The gas block also contains a barrel fix / release lock and a front grip hinge. Each barrel has eight lugs, that lock into the steel insert in the receiver, and there's four basic barrel patterns for the AUG: standard rifle barrel is 508 mm (~20 in) long. "Compact" or "Submachine gun" barrel is 350 mm (13.8 in) long, "Carbine" barrel is 407 mm (16 in) long, and the heavy / LMG (light machine gun) barrel is 621 mm (24.4 in) long. On each rifle barrels can be exchanged in the matter of seconds. Each barrel is fitted with the flash hider, and the heavy 621 mm barrel also is fitted with lightweight folding bipods. There's no bayonet lug on Austrian service rifles, but it can be installed if required.

Steyr AUG A3 in Sniper configuration, with heavier and longer 20inch barrel,detachable bipod and long-range telescopic sight

Barrel replacement procedure, as noted above, takes only few seconds (assuming that the shooter has the spare barrel handy). To remove the barrel, one must take off the magazine, and clear the rifle by operating the cocking handle. Then, grasp the barrel by the front grip, push the barrel retaining button at the gas block, and rotate the barrel and pull it out of the rifle. To install a new barrel, simply push the barrel down into the front of the receiver all the way and then rotate it until it locks. The rifle now is ready to be loaded and fired.

Steyr AUG A3 Carbine with 16inch barrel and special 40mm grenade launcher;grenade launcher sight is attached to the top of removable telescopic rifle sight

The bolt system consists of the bolt carrier, which has two large hollow guide rods, attached to its forward part. The left rod also serves as a link to the charging handle, and the right rod serves as the action rod, which transmits the impulse from the gas piston to the bolt carrier. The rotating bolt has 7 locking lugs, claw extractor and a plunger-type spring loaded ejector. Standard bolt has its extractor on the right side, to facilitate right-side ejection, but the left-side bolts (with mirrored positions of extractor and ejector) are available for those who need left-side ejection. The two return springs are located behind the bolt carrier, around the two string guide rods, that are located inside the bolt carrier guide rods. The cocking handle is located at the left side of the gun and normally does not reciprocate when gun is fired, but it can be solidly engaged to the bolt group if required by depressing the small button on the charging handle. On the latest AUG A2 variant, the charging handle was made folding up and of slightly different shape. The AUG action features a bolt stop device, that holds the bolt group open after the last round of ammunition from the magazine is fired. To release the bolt after the magazine replacement, one must pull the charging handle.

Steyr AUG A3 Carbine with 16inch barrel and optional forward grip / tactical flashlight and telescope sight

The hammer unit is made as a separate assembly and almost entirely of plastic (including the hammer itself). Only springs and pins are steel. The hammer unit is located in the butt and is linked to the sliding trigger by the dual trigger bars. The safety is of the cross-bolt, push-button type and located above the pistol grip. There's no separate fire mode selector on the AUG rifles. Instead, the trigger itself is used to control the mode of fire. Pulling it half the way back will produce single shots, while the full pull will produce automatic fire. The enlarged triggerguard encloses the whole hand and allows the gun to be fired in winter gloves or mittens.

Cross-section ofthe Steyr AUG rifle

The standard sighting equipment of the Steyr AUG rifle is the 1.5X telescope sight, with aiming reticle made as a circle. This circle is so dimensioned so its visible inner diameter is equal to the visible height of the standing man at 300 meters range. The adjustment knobs on the sight are used only for zeroing. The sight housing, which is integral to the receiver on the AUG A1 models, also features an emergency backup iron sights at the top of the telescope sight housing. Some early production AUG rifles of A1 pattern were fitted with receivers that had an integral scope mounts. On the AUG A2 models, the standard scope mount can be quickly removed and replaced by the Picatinny-type mounting rail.

The housing of the AUG rifles, integral with the pistol handle and triggerguard, is made from the high impact-resistant polymer, and is usually of green (military) or black (police) colour. The housing has two symmetrical ejection ports, one of which is always covered by the plastic cover. The rubber-coated buttplate is detachable and, when removed, opens the access to the rifle internals, including the hammer unit and the bolt group. The buttplate is held in position by the cross-pin, which also serves a s a rear sling swivel attachment point.

The AUG is fed from the detachable box magazines, that hold 30 (standard rifle) or 42 (light machine gun) rounds. The magazines are made from semi-translucent, strong polymer. The magazine release button is located behind the magazine port and is completely ambidextrous (some said that it is equally NOT comfortable for either hand use).

Caliber: 5.56mm NATO (.223rem)
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
Overall length: 805 mm (with standard 508 mm barrel)
Barrel length: 508 mm (also 350 mm SMG, 407 mm Carbine or 621 mm LMG heavy barrel)
Weight: 3.8 kg unloaded (with standard 508 mm barrel)
Magazines: 30 or 42 rounds box magazines
Rate of fire: 650 rounds per minute
Effective range of fire: 450-500 meters with standard assault rifle barrel