ArmaLite
| ArmaLite Inc. | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Incorporated |
| founding | 1954 |
| Seat | Geneseo (Illinois) , (USA) |
| management | Mark Westrom |
| Number of employees | 75 |
| Branch | Weapons manufacturer |
| Website | www.armalite.com |
ArmaLite , founded as the "ArmaLite Division" of the " Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation", is a small manufacturer of firearms based in Geneseo, Illinois . ArmaLite became famous for its AR-15 / M-16 rifles.
history
ArmaLite Division of Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation
After it was founded at the endeavors of the Fairchild engineer Georges Sullivan , the ArmaLite Division was initially the weapons division of the Fairchild aircraft company.
The first commercial success came with the AR-5 , a small, easily dismantled emergency rifle for the .22 Hornet cartridge. The AR-5 was introduced by the US Air Force as the MA-1 “survival rifle” for crashed combat aircraft crews. The civilian version is the AR-7 with the caliber .22 long rifle . One feature was that it could be broken down into its component parts without tools. The AR-7 and its derivatives have been produced by several companies since their introduction in the late 1950s, currently by Henry Repeating Arms in Brooklyn, New York. It is known not least for its “appearance” in the James Bond film from Love from Moscow .
In 1954, Eugene Stoner became ArmaLite's chief engineer. Stoner served with the USMC (Marine Infantry) during World War II and gradually became a specialist in handguns. With his weapon designs he was supposed to become the American counterpart Mikhail Kalashnikov and is therefore often compared to the creator of the AK-47 .
With its design, the AR-10 , ArmaLite took part in a US Army tender for a new infantry rifle in 1955 . It was intended as a possible replacement for the outdated M1 Garand . The Springfield-T 44 and the Belgian type T-48 from FN , a version of the FN FAL , were competing .
The comparatively very modern designed ArmaLite AR-10 lost the elimination process against the T-44, a heavily modified M1 Garand, which should go into series production as the M14 . The reasons for this are the conservative views of the Ordnance Corps , but also the errors that the AR-10 had in the early development stage compared to the already tried and tested T-44 and T-48 designs. An experimental barrel made of aluminum and steel disassembled while testing the ArmaLite design and was replaced with a regular construction. Manufacturing at Springfield may also have played a role. While the M14 became the US Army's new infantry rifle, the Belgian FN FAL established itself in worldwide exports, while the improved AR-10 was mainly produced under license in small numbers in Europe.
The AR-15 was originally developed as a small caliber version of the AR-10 and, as the successor to the M1 carbine (in .30 carbine ), was intended to serve as a weapon for officers, crews, vehicle crews and others for whom an infantry rifle or assault rifle did not seem suitable. Both designs, the AR-10 and AR-15, were bought out by Colt Defense for $ 75,000 and 4.5% royalties in early 1959, which later turned out to be a big mistake for ArmaLite.
The AR-15 - as the M16 - became the successor to the M14 as the standard weapon of the US Army.
ArmaLite Incorporated (1962/1983)
With the sale of the license for the AR-10 and the AR-15 design to Colt, ArmaLite no longer owned a product. In 1961, Fairchild ran into financial difficulties and the ArmaLite board of directors acquired the company and the ArmaLite naming rights from Fairchild, including all rights and titles to all ArmaLite designs except the AR-10 and AR-15, which have been with Colt since 1959 lay.
The company continued from that time as ArmaLite Inc. with mainly the existing staff. From late 1962 to nearly late 1971, the bulk of the ArmaLite development programs were funded by Capital Southwest Corporation of Dallas, Texas. In November 1971, Charles Dorchester (Chairman) and Richard Klotzly, President of ArmaLite, acquired a large portion of the shares that allowed Southwest Corporation to influence ArmaLite.
The Army orders for the AR-15 made it clear that Fairchild had made a mistake in selling the rights to the AR-15 to Colt in 1959. To make up for this mistake, ArmaLite set about developing a new rifle that would not infringe on the patents Eugene Stoner and Colt held on the AR-15 gas lock system.
The result was the Armalite AR-18 , development of which began in 1963. The combat value of the caliber .223 (5.56) had meanwhile been proven in the Vietnam War . ArmaLite hoped to build a new rifle that would be able to replace the AR-15 or M-16. With the experience gained in the production and use of the M-16, and a new gas system that did not infringe patent rights, it was hoped to be able to compete with these models. The market chances of the new rifle were assessed as good.
However, the comparatively robust and inexpensive to manufacture AR-18 found no support from the military, which relied on the M-16 that was introduced. Technically, the AR-18 can be regarded as the successor to the AR-15 with a different, indirect gas system without the expensive aluminum.
The AR-18 was to be the focus of ArmaLite's rifle development and production over the next two decades.
ArmaLite then ordered extensive testing by the HP White Laboratory in Belair, Maryland to show that the AR-18 complied with the requirements of the United States Department of Defense and the State Department . This was also done in the hope that it would be recommended as a modern assault rifle for the armies of other countries.
The army carried out tests with ten prototypes in Aberdeen Proving Ground and Fort Benning ( Georgia by) in the year 1964th The rifle was rated as having "military potential". The army asked for an additional 29 rifles that same year for further testing. These 29 rifles, with a detailed user manual, were produced in accordance with a government contract over a four month period. The tests were conducted as part of the Army's Small Arms Weapons System (SAWS) test. Unsurprisingly, the first rifles needed more development time. Since long decision-making processes are always to be expected with sales in the military sector, the company soon switched to the civilian market. A commercial, only semi-automatic version of the AR-18, the AR-180 was produced.
In 1967, Howa Machinery started producing the AR-18 in Japan . For political reasons Howa was only allowed to sell the rifle to non-belligerent non-Asian states. For example, no AR-18s could be exported to the United States during the Vietnam War . Howa produced 3,927 AR-180s between October 1970 and February 1974.
In mid-1968, ArmaLite began trial production at its Costa Mesa facility . ArmaLite produced 1,171 AR-18s and 4,018 AR-180s at the Costa Mesa facility between July 1969 and June 1972. The Japanese government eased restrictions and allowed the semi-automatic AR-180 to be exported to the United States. By the late 1970s, when Howa production ended, all production of the AR-180 was relocated to the United States.
As a result of ArmaLite's continued efforts, the US Army was required to reevaluate the AR-18 by late 1969. This step came too late. At the end of 1969, the army had already introduced the M-16 as the new standard rifle. Further efforts from now on concentrated on the overseas business and the civilian domestic market.
In the UK, ArmaLite suffered a similar failure with the AR-18. The Department of Defense (MoD) first evaluated the AR-18 in March 1966. It was rated good, especially for its light weight and ease of manufacture. From the British point of view, however, it suffered from a lack of gas regulation to adjust gas pressure and cadence and the lack of a buffer system for the return of the shutter. The accuracy in fully automatic firing was found to be below average, the sealing of the housing against sand and mud as unsatisfactory.
The rifle was then reinforced on the hinge of the lower housing part, a dust cover was attached to the case ejector and an improved recoil and flash hider was attached. It was tested again in August 1966. The improvements were appreciated, but results on the sand and mud test were largely unchanged and the lack of a buffer system was again criticized.
An AR-18 version of Howa was evaluated by MoD in January 1969. It also failed the sand and mud test, but most of the criticism fell on little things that could be resolved quickly. It is fair to say that the test conditions were practical and objective, but the assessments and evaluations of the MoD were tough. Since the Royal Small Arms Factory , which tested both AR-18 variants, was also a manufacturer of military weapons itself, the test results can be regarded as objective and neutral, but a direct comparison with other weapons may, analogous to the Springfield decision for the M14, may have been overlaid by political and economic reasons.
Just when ArmaLite launched the new rifles in the small 5.56 mm caliber, FN and Heckler & Koch sold more rifles worldwide than ever before in the 7.62 mm caliber. Colt continued to sell the M-16 and AR-15, even if it was now partially and justifiably heavily criticized. In 1967, ArmaLite and Colt had to answer to the Ichord Commission for blatant errors - for example, the butt broke off during bayonet training, and the fore-end kept bursting. The AR-18 also remained somewhat prone to piston breakage, and as a whole, ArmaLite never had the success expected. The AR-18 became notorious when the IRA in Northern Ireland added some imported specimens to its arsenal. The AR-18 was soon nicknamed "The Widowmaker" by the IRA or the British forces in Northern Ireland.
In 1973 the Japanese government stopped all exports of AR-18 and AR-180 rifles. The new Japanese restrictions on the export of the AR-18 and AR-180 forced ArmaLite to look for a new license manufacturer for the AR-18 / -180, as they did not have the production capacities that were now lacking. In 1974 the Sterling Armament Company in Dagenham , England , was selected as a licensee. It took 15 months to set the machines up and start production. ArmaLite imported Sterling's rifles into the United States, and both sought to bring the rifles to market worldwide. Sterling manufactured 12,362 AR-180s between 1975 and 1983. When ArmaLite and Sterling were sold, 10,946 AR-180s had been exported to the United States.
Even if the AR-18 failed to establish itself in the military, the ArmaLite rifles served as a source of inspiration for other rifles. The mechanism of the AR-18 served as the basis for the construction of the current British assault rifle, the SA80 . Both the Sa80 and the prototype XL64 / 65 can essentially be viewed as an AR-18 in a short bullpup configuration. Other designs, such as the Charter Industries of Singapore's SAR-80 assault rifle , now known as ST Kinetics , and the German HK G36 , build in part on the mechanism and experience of the AR-18. However, the AR-18 itself remains an unfinished work.
In an effort to focus on the military sales program, ArmaLite decided to discontinue its civilian firearms production. In mid-1973, ArmaLite sold the rights to the AR-7 to Charter Arms. With the final failure of the AR-18, the owners of ArmaLite decided to sell the company. In 1983 a buyer was found and ArmaLite was sold to Elisco Tool Manufacturing Company in the Philippines.
ArmaLite Division of Elisco Tool
The brief, third chapter in the history of ArmaLite began with its sale to Elisco Tool Manufacturing in 1983. ArmaLite's continuation was led by an Englishman, Bruce Swain. This was only intended as a transitional president and was later replaced by John Ugarte. ArmaLite continued to manufacture rifles and parts for its own remaining products. The Sterling Armament Company, under the leadership of the new Vice President Joes Armstrong, continued to build the AR-18 under license.
When Elisco Tool successfully produced the M16A1 for the Philippine Armed Forces and Police, they ran into trouble with Colt because some of the licensing terms were violated. This prompted Elisco to look for another 5.56mm caliber rifle. The only rifle that could be seen as viable serious competition for the M-16 in-house was the AR-18.
Inventory, tools and machines were therefore relocated from the Sterling plant to the Philippines. Since this process did not go through the USA at the start of AR-18 production in the Philippines, it could not be prevented. In the end it was prevented by the political events in the Philippines itself. Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown and had to go into exile, the prevailing political and economic circumstances changed profoundly, the entire government was changed. Under these circumstances, Elisco was unable to begin AR-18 production in the Philippines. It was decided to end operations (and sales) in the US, ArmaLite, by 1987.
ArmaLite Incorporated (from 1994/1995)
Independently of ArmaLite, Karl Lewis and Jim Glazier founded a company called Eagle Arms in Coal Valley, Illinois in 1968. Lewis had made a variety of parts for the M-16 that were sold on the open arms market and to government customers, and Eagle Arms was increasingly doing sales for Lewis' Lewis Machine and Tool (LMT).
Since Eugene Stoner's early patents had expired, Eagle Arms could now build parts and entire rifles of the two variants AR-15 (civil) and M-16. In 1989, Eagle Arms began manufacturing and selling whole rifles, with Lewis Machine and Tool as the main supplier.
In January 1994, Mark Westrom bought the Eagle Arms company. Westrom was a retired Army Artillery Officer and a civilian employee of the Weapons Systems Management Directorate of the Army's Armament Material and Chemical Command (AMCCOM) at the nearby Rock Island Arsenal . After the purchase, he continued production of the Eagle Arms EA-15 rifle. Plans were made to produce a range of telescopic sights and rifles to go with them. The background was that in a number of national competitions, especially those that allowed American ordonance weapons, shooting was also carried out over “long” distances (1000 yards, around 910 meters).
In November 1994, Westrom decided to begin designing an AR-10 in the 7.62 × 51 mm NATO caliber . The rifle called "M 10" was to be produced in line with the "M-15" rifles in caliber 5.56 mm NATO by Eagle Arms. Work on the project began in November 1994. An experienced quality assurance expert, David Dorbeck, was entrusted with most of the technical development.
By chance, the president of the company that manufactured the target optics for Eagle Arms, Dr. John Williams, who worked at ArmaLite in his youth. He introduced Westrom, former ArmaLite line producer to John McGerty. McGerty in turn introduced Westrom, John Ugarte, the current President of ArmaLite.
Ugarte had retained rights to the ArmaLite trademark. In early 1995 Westrom bought the rights and resumed production of rifles under the brand name ArmaLite in Geneseo, Illinois . The company structure was reorganized accordingly with the purchase of the ArmaLite brand, Eagle Arms now operates as part of the new ArmaLite.
Today ArmaLite produces several rifles based on the AR-15 and AR-10. A rifle in 12.7 × 99 mm NATO caliber , the AR-50, is also manufactured. Armalite has also announced that it will introduce a line of pistols, including the AR-24 and AR-26.
Known weapons
literature
- John Walter: Rifles of the World. 3rd edition. Verlag Krause Publications, 2006, ISBN 0-89689-241-7 , pp. 34-42. (on-line)
Individual evidence
- ^ Edward Clinton Ezell : The Great Rifle Controversy. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA 1983.
- ↑ Sam Pikula: The ArmaLite AR-10. 1998, pp. 39-40.
- ↑ Special visor No. 37 - M16 & AR-15. Vogt-Schild Verlag, 2005.
