ArmaLite
ArmaLite, originally the
ArmaLite Division of the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation, is one of the most influential corporations in the history of 20th century
small arms. Established
October 1,
1954, ArmaLite is responsible for many of the
infantry weapons in service worldwide today, including the
M16 and
M4 assault rifles.
Armalite is currently located in
Geneseo, Illinois.
ArmaLite's first success came shortly after it was founded with the introduction of the
AR-5, a survival rifle chambered for the
.22 Hornet cartridge. The AR-5 (AR stands for ArmaLite) was adopted by the
U.S. Air Force as the
MA-1 Survival Rifle.
A civilian survival weapon, the
AR-7, was chambered in
.22 Long Rifle. The semi-automatic AR-7 was noteworthy in that it could be disassembled, and the components stored in the buttstock. Primarily made of alloys, the AR-7 would float, whether assembled or stored, due to the design of the buttstock, which was filled with plastic foam. The AR-7 and derivative models have been produced by several companies since introduction in the late 1950s, and is still popular today.
In
1954 Eugene Stoner became Chief Engineer at ArmaLite. Stoner was a
Marine in
World War II and an expert with small arms. His design for the
AR-10 assault rifle was entered into the
U.S. Army trials in
1955 as a possible replacement to the venerable yet outdated
M1 Garand. It met stiff competition as it was pitted against the
Springfield Armory T-44, an updated M1 Garand design that became the
M14, and the
T-48, a version of the famous
Belgian FAL rifle. The AR-10 lost the trials to the T-44, largely due to the AR-10's unorthodox appearance and configuration. The superior T-48/FAL also lost, leading to the belief that Army Ordnance had selected the T-44 ahead of time.
The famous
AR-15 rifle was developed as a subcaliber version of the AR-10 and intended as a replacement for the .30-caliber Carbine, then used by officers, aircrews, vehicle crews and others for whom the full-power rifle was not appropriate. Both designs were licensed to
Colt in early 1959. (For more information on the AR-15 see the
M16 article.) The AR-15 was produced for law enforcement and sporting use, then was accepted (in a selective fire version) by the Air Force.
Defense Secretary
Robert McNamara decided that the
.223-caliber round fired by the Armalite would be more useful in combat, in the belief that a wounded enemy soldier would be aided by at least one and perhaps more of his fellow soldiers, taking them all out of action, whereas killing that same soldier would only remove him from combat. He ordered that the M14 rifle be replaced by the M16, to the chagrin of American troops worldwide, who dubbed it the "
Mighty Mattel" due to its plastic stocks and "toystore" appearance. The
Mattel Toy Company brought out an advanced toy rifle which resembled the M16 and called it the "Mighty Mattel" -- there is dispute about whether the rifle or the toy was the first to bear the name. Ironically, the toy was used in the John Wayne movie
The Green Berets in a scene where Wayne smashes a rifle against a tree.
The M16 was soon modified into the M16A1, the most obvious change being the addition of a mechanism to force the bolt closed when it jammed partway open, a common occurrence in early rifles and when the rifle was dirty or the mechanism dry. Soldiers in
Vietnam learned to carry a bottle of gun oil in the strap of helmet or hat, where it could be grabbed in a hurry when needed. Other names given to the M16 include "Poodle Shooter" and "Jam-A-Matic."
The current-issue model is the M16A2, which has different barrel and sight configurations, and uses a round forearm derived from that used on the XM177E2 "Stubby" (also called the
CAR-15). The AR-15 model and its derivatives, sold for sporting use, is semi-automatic, requiring a squeeze of the trigger for each round to be fired.
With both the AR-10 and AR-15 designs sold to Colt, ArmaLite was left without a viable product. So, in 1963, development began on the
AR-18 assault rifle, an "improved" AR-15 with a new gas system that did not violate the Colt held patents. The AR-18 is an excellent rifle, but it did not gain any military support. It is most famous for being adopted by the
IRA in Ireland, who dubbed the rifle "The Widowmaker". The AR-18 did serve as the basis for the current British assault rifle known as the
L85, which is essentially an AR-18 in
bullpup configuration. Other designs, such as the Singapore
SAR-80 and German
G36, are based upon the AR-18.
ArmaLite has changed hands a number of times throughout its history and most recently was reorganized in 1995. Today, ArmaLite produces a number of AR-15 and AR-10 based rifles, as well as
.50 BMG rifles.
Armalite recently joined
Springfield, Inc. in opposing Gov.
Rod Blagojevich's proposed
assault weapons ban for Illinois.
*
Gang of Four ArmaLite Rifle*Irish Brigade
Little ArmaLite'
*
The Police,
Invisible Sun: "I don't want to spend the rest of my life / Looking at the barrel of an Armalite"
*
Fight Club: "And this button-down, Oxford-cloth psycho might just snap, and then stalk from office to office with an Armalite AR-10 carbine gas-powered semi-automatic weapon, pumping round after round into colleagues and co-workers. This might be someone you've known for years. Someone very, very close to you."
List of modern armament manufacturers*
Official site
