Stoner 63
| Stoner 63 | |
|---|---|
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| general information | |
| Military designation: | XM-207 XM-22 XM-23 |
| Country of operation: | United States |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Eugene Stoner Cadillac Gage Corp. Knight's Armament Company |
| Production time: | 1963 to 1972 |
| Model variants: | Stoner 63A Comando (XM-207) Stoner 63A Automatic Rifle (XM-22) Stoner 63A Carbine (XM-23) Stone 63A LMG |
| Furnishing | |
| Overall length: | 1020 mm (MG), 660 mm (assault rifle) mm |
| Weight: (unloaded) | 3.6 kg |
| Barrel length : | 400 mm (assault rifle) 531 mm (MG) mm |
| Technical specifications | |
| Caliber : | 5.56 × 45 mm NATO |
| Ammunition supply : |
Bar magazine Curved magazine ammunition belt |
| Cadence : | 700-1000 rounds / min |
| Fire types: | Single , continuous fire |
| Closure : | Turret lock |
| Charging principle: | Gas pressure charger |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Stoner 63 is one of Eugene Stoner designed and Cadillac Gage and Knight's Armament Company built American gun system.
The Stoner 63 is not easy to categorize. Eugene Stoner designed the weapon modularly. With a few tweaks, the Stoner 63 could be changed to an assault rifle , carbine , light or medium machine gun . The weapon was particularly popular with the American special forces and marine infantry during the Vietnam War . Between 3,500 and 4,000 Stoner 63 were produced.
The best-known variant is the light machine gun. Here it basically had the same task as the M249 today . It should provide an infantry force with the necessary firepower. For this a bipod was attached under the barrel. The ammunition could be supplied from a box magazine attached under the weapon or by means of a belt. Without the bipod and with a belt feed, the rifle could also be used as a heavy assault rifle. In the variant as a medium machine gun, an adapter was attached in order to be able to attach the M2 tripod. The shoulder rest fell away. In this variant, the weapon was also used as an on-board weapon in helicopters . In the machine gun version, the Stoner 63 had a significantly longer barrel than an assault rifle or carbine. When KAC took over production, the weapon was again significantly improved. The use of plastics made the weapon lighter and, thanks to design changes, it could be broken down into six components without tools.
Another difference between MG and assault rifle was the arrangement of the breech. This was simply turned over. The cartridge ejection was on the left with the MG variant and on the right with the assault rifle.
literature
- Chris McNab: Small Arms of the 20th and 21st Centuries. Pistols, revolvers, rifles, submachine guns, machine guns, grenade weapons . Kaiserverlag, Klagenfurt 2007, ISBN 978-3-7043-1440-6 , ( Worth knowing - Sport, Technology ), p. 112.
Web links
- Maxim Popenker: Stoner 63. In: Modern Firearms. modernfirearms.net, accessed January 18, 2019 .