Small Arms for Urban Combat: A Review of Modern Handguns, Submachine Guns, Personal Defense Weapons, Carbines, Assault Rifles, Sniper Rifles, ... Grenade Launchers and Other Weapons Systems

207 Pages·2011·19.7 MB·English

by  Russell C. Tilstra

Small Arms
for Urban Combat
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Small Arms
for Urban Combat
A Review of Modern Handguns,
Submachine Guns, Personal Defense Weapons,
Carbines, Assault Rifles, Sniper Rifles,
Anti-Materiel Rifles, Machine Guns,
Combat Shotguns, Grenade Launchers
and Other Weapons Systems
RUSSELL C. TILSTRA
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Tilstra, Russell C., ¡968–
Small arms for urban combat : a review of modern handguns,
submachine guns, personal defense weapons, carbines, assault rifles,
sniper rifles, anti-materiel rifles, machine guns, combat shotguns,
grenade launchers and other weapons systems / Russell C. Tilstra.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-6523-1
softcover : acid free paper
1. Firearms. 2. Urban warfare—Equipment and supplies. I. Title.
UD380.T55 2012 623.4'4—dc23 2011046889
BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE
© 2012 Russell C. Tilstra. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Front cover design by David K. Landis (Shake It Loose Graphics)
Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
To my wife and children
for their love and support.
Thanks for putting up with me.
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Table of Contents
Acronyms and Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1. Handguns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2. Submachine Guns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3. Personal Defense Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
4. Carbines /Rifle Caliber Submachine Guns . . . . . . . . . . . 54
5. Assault Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
6. Sniper Rifles /Precision Tactical Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
7. Anti-Materiel Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
8. Machine Guns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
9. Combat Shotguns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
10. Grenade Launchers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
11. Miscellaneous Weapon Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
vii
Acronyms and Abbreviations
ACP—Automatic Caliber Pistol MANPADS—Man Portable Air Defense
ATGM—Anti-tank Guided Missile System
AUG—Armee Universal Gewehr (rifle) MOUT—Military Operations on Urban
T errain
BAR—Browning Automatic Rifle
PDW—personal defense weapon
BDA—Browning double-action
PSP—Polizei Selbstlade Pistole
BMG—Browning machine gun
QCB—quick change barrel
CQB—close quarter battle
RHA—rolled homogenous armor
CQBR—close quarter battle receiver
rpm—rounds per minute
CT—counter-terrorist
SA—single action
DA—double action
S&W—Smith and Wesson
DAO—double action only
SAR—shortened assault rifle
FAL—Fusil Automatique Léger (Light Auto- SAS—Special Air Service
matic Rifle)
SAW—squad automatic weapon
FN—Fabrique Nationale
SMAW—Shoulder Launched Multipurpose
FNC Fusil Nouveau type Carabine Assault Weapon
fps—feet per second SMG—submachine gun
GPMG—general purpose machine gun SOCOM—Special Operations Command
HK—Heckler & Koch SPW—special purpose weapon
IED—improvised explosive device SWAT—Special Weapons and Tactics (unit
KAC—Knight’s Armament Company or team)
LAW—Light Anti-tank Weapon UAV—unmanned aerial vehicle
LB—long barrel UMP—Universal Machine Pistol
LMG—light machine gun UO—Urban Operations
LTL—less than lethal U.S.M.C.—U.S. Marine Corps
MAG—Mitrailleuse d’Appui Generale USP—Universal Self-loading Pistol (series)
WMR—Winchester Magnum Rimfire
viii
Preface
This work, serving a basic reference function, is meant to provide both professional
soldiers and students of small arms study with a working knowledge of the most common
and successful urban combat weapons in use today, as well as some in development that
have potential as service weapons. There are far more complete reference books already
in existence—Jane’s Infantry Weapons is the first such work that comes to mind. I have
used several excellent sources in the course of this work.
This book is intended, however, to be more than just a summary of the small arms
systems in common use. It is also meant to provide the reader with a clear picture of how
warfare has changed and why these changes have taken the small arms industry in the
direction it has recently gone. My decision to write this book resulted from a desire to
share my knowledge of small arms systems both in terms of design and purpose. I have
spent years in this area of study and noticed that very little work had been done with
respect to correlating the conditions of modern combat with the choice of weapons used
for various tasks. While dimensional data are given for almost every model mentioned,
these are only close estimates based on information from the manufacturers and from
other reference works. I have tried to provide some insight into the designs with regard
to application. Some are first rate performers, while others are mediocre designs that still
see use due to reasons other than quality of design or manufacture. While personal opinion
may creep in from time to time, I have attempted to maintain objectivity. Any generalized
claims have been supported with documentation, and sources are listed in the chapter
notes and bibliography.
One linguistic note: While anti-material and anti-materiel carry the same meaning,
I have adopted the second spelling, as more commonly used.
More than anything, I would like to see this work closely studied by those currently
serving in uniform, as they stand the most to gain from this information and they are
most at risk, given the brutal combat environments in which they are forced to operate.
With the exception of photographs on pages 19, 20 and 22, military photographs
are provided courtesy of defenseimagery.mil. Use of military imagery does not imply or
constitute Department of Defense endorsement.
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