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Musket (obsolete)
The musket fires a round lead ball from a smooth bore and is loaded from the discharge end (and is so called a muzzle loader). Owing to the loose fit of the ball (as compared to a rifle), a relatively high rate of fire of about three rounds per minute is possible with training and practice. Muskets are most effectively applied by a group of soldiers forming a row three deep. The front of row is the firing group, who move to the back row upon firing and then reload while moving forward. All firing and movements are controlled by a platoon leader, typically a junior officer. The weapon was especially suitable for use by relatively unskilled soldiers, but effective employment required substantial military discipline as the musketeers are usually exposed to enemy fire from similarly equipped opponents and from cannon fire. Under U.S. law, muzzleloaders such as muskets are defined as weapons and not as firearms.
[edit] Early Rifle (obsolete)
Unlike the musket, the rifle has a grooved barrel to spin the bullet with gyroscopic forces. The spinning increases the accuracy and range, because a cylindrical bullet creates less air resistance and has greater range.
Muskets, smooth bore pistols and early rifles are classified by the ignition mechanism (called the lock) used to fire the weapon. These include matchlock, flintlock and wheelock types. Until the development of the Minié ball the rifle had longer reloading time than the musket. This was because the rifling made it more difficult to ram a bullet down the barrel. The Minié Ball was slightly smaller than the barrel and had a divot in the end of the bullet. The fact that it was sub-caliber made it easy to ram the Minié Ball down the barrel, but the gases produced by the gunpowder would expand it to full size once it was fired. This development rendered the rifle superior over the musket in all ways. The pre-Minié Ball weapon was less effective in field maneuvers, but possessed a long and accurate range. When used by a skilled operator a rifle was highly effective in defense where a long field of fire had been cleared and the weapon was used for selective fire, rather than as a volley of simultaneous fire. Unlike the musket it was also suitable as a sniping weapon by attackers against a fixed defense and for use after a stealthy approach.
Under U.S. law, muzzleloaders such as early rifles, or replicas thereof, that do not use cartridges, are defined as weapons and not as firearms.[citation needed]
[edit] Breech Loader
The successor to the muzzle loader was the breech loading rifle. Instead of loading from the muzzle, the breech loader loaded from opening the breech some way. Breech loaders had a much higher rate of fire and can be reloaded from a prone position, greatly increasing the survivability of troops. This ability was particularly advantageous in defense where the troops may be lightly protected by low revetments and shallow trenches.
[edit] Carbine
A rifle that has been shortened (in comparison to the original variant) and been made lighter. These were originally made for use on horseback. Currently, carbines are used for close quarters combat, where their smaller size is an advantage, for guard duty, where their light weight reduces fatigue, and are issued as Personal Defense Weapons in some militaries.
Modern rifles are almost always breech loading, although some muzzle loaders exist. They are usually semi-automatic, fully automatic, bolt action, lever action, or single shot. A battle rifle is a military-issue/surplus full-length rifle which fires a major caliber (30-caliber/7.62 millimeter and above). Rifles are used for almost everything from target shooting and hunting to warfare. Examples of rifles include those of the British SA80 and the American M16, both of which fire a 5.56 standard sized round.
[edit] Sniper rifle
Sniper Rifles are weapons designed for precision firing at an enemy to allow a more precise impact point on the enemy, to fire from a longer range than usual, or both. Sniper rifles usually have telescopic sighting devices and fire a more powerful cartridge that has a flatter trajectory and more power than the intermediate cartridges typically employed by assault rifles. Examples of sniper rifles are the M24, M40, and the Dragunov SVD. Sniper rifles are typically employed by specialist operators selected for their competency. They are often trained in stealth and in intelligence-gathering operations and employed as a one- or two-person unit. A sniper team will consist of a two snipers with one operating the sniper rifle in the role of shooter and the other assisting with a spotting telescope as a spotter to assist in set-up, determining the opportune time to fire, and assessing the results of the shot. Team employment was seen in the 2005 movie production Jarhead, based on a US Marine sniper's autobiography. See also sniper.
[edit] Fully Automatic Weapons
Full automatic fire allows multiple rounds to be fired with a single trigger pull. Ammunition may be stored in long clips or drums for lighter weapons or on "belts" of linked cartridges.
[edit] Submachine Gun
A submachine gun is a weapon designed to fire a pistol cartridge in automatic mode and is employed in close quarters battle. They were the first fully automatic hand-held weapons. Nowadays they are used in close quarters when an assault rifle would be too bulky or may have too much penetration. Some popular submachine guns are the WW2 Thompson submachine gun, the HK MP5 and the IMI Uzi.
[edit] Assault rifle
The assault rifle was born in World War II when the Germans developed the Stg44, revolutionizing the battlefield. The main characteristic of the assault rifle is the usage of an intermediate cartridge, smaller and less powerful than those used in the battle rifle but with greater speed and power than those used in pistols and submachine guns. Depending on the model, an assault rifle's effective range can go from 300 m to 500 m. The assault rifle is now the standard weapon used by infantry for most of the planet. A selective fire function will allow single shots to be fired, and modern doctrine encourages the provision of an automatic fire mode of short bursts of three rounds, both to increase kill probability compared to a single shot while conserving ammunition compared to full automatic mode.
The main characteristics of assault rifles compared to battle rifles are: less recoil, less weight, less power, less range, bigger magazine capacity, higher rate of fire.
Compared to submachine guns, they have more recoil, are heavier, have more power, and more range.
The two best known assault rifles in history are the Russian AK-47 designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov and the American Colt M16, originally designed by Eugene Stoner. Both have hundreds of rifles based on them, either copies or extreme variants.
[edit] Light Machine Gun
An example of the light machine gun (LMG) would be the M249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) used by the U.S. army. Light machine guns use a rifle round, either a full power or intermediate round, and are operated using a bipod or a light tripod mount. They are usually belt fed or have a larger than normal magazine. This allows LMGs to have more firepower than assault rifles. A light machine gun (LMG) is used to provide covering fire to friendly troops.
[edit] Shotgun
Shotguns fire clouds of small pellets (called shot), rather than single large projectiles (although they can be armed with [[Shotgun_slug|slugs]). The use of shot greatly increases the chance of at least something hitting the target, but at the cost of short range, so they are used in close quarters combat or in home defense situations. The ability to hit a target within a radius of shot also suits the weapon to be used against small and fast moving targets that are hard to hit, such as hunting birds. The main advantages of shotguns are their ease of use and high lethality at close range, when most pellets can hit their target. Their disadvantages are a short range and the reduction of damage over longer range (where only a few stray pellets may hit the target).
Most shotguns are of break action, pump action or are semi-automatic, although muzzleloading shotguns still are used for special-season hunting. The most common antipersonnel shotgun shell is buckshot, with birdshot being the same concept with smaller shot. They can also be used with a large "slug" round effectively giving the user a high-caliber, high-impact round. A number of special rounds have been developed for the shotgun including flechette rounds which consist of tightly packed metal darts, incendiary rounds, less-than-lethal cartridges that use rubber balls or flexible bags of shot, and anti-materiel rounds.
Under U.S. law, muzzleloading shotguns, whether originals or replicas thereof, are defined as weapons and not as firearms.[citation needed]
[edit] Grenade Launcher
A grenade launcher is a device that launches a rifle grenade. Modern rifle grenades resemble small artillery shells or very large pistol cartridges. These grenades are typically launched from an accessory for a rifle in the form of a launcher mounted under the rifle's barrel, as in the case of the M203 grenade launcher. There are also stand-alone models, such as the M79 and modifications for the M203 and AG36. The western countries usually use 40mm grenades, while 30mm grenades are more common in the East, and especially in the former Soviet Bloc. Older rifle grenades look more like hand grenades with stabilizing fins. They are launched from a device that is mounted on the muzzle of a rifle. With older rifle grenades, a blank round (a cartridge without a bullet) is used to generate the propelling gas to launch a grenade. Modern rifle grenades have the advantage that they can be used at the same time as the rifle and have a greater range. There are even fully automatic grenade launchers, like the Mk 19, which resemble belt-fed machine guns.
[edit] Hand Grenade
Hand grenades are small explosive devices that are thrown. A soldier will typically have several of these. Hand grenades usually have a time delay fuse of several seconds. Some types of grenade have impact fuses, usually anti-tank grenades.
[edit] Fragmentation type
An explosive charge is contained within a rigid shell scored so that it breaks into small fragments propelled at high speed. This increases the effective radius of the weapon. The standard U.S. military M67 grenade has a kill radius of 5 meters, a wounding radius of 15 meters and danger radius up to 150 meters.
[edit] Concussion type
Concussion grenades have an explosive charge that is intended to shock with a pressure wave, potentially with lethal effect. The lack of fragments limits the effective range and offers greater safety to the person employing this weapon. Concussion grenades are used in situations where the operator has limited cover from fragments, and in enclosed/semi-sealed spaces when the user can remain outside the space.
[edit] Anti-tank type
Anti-tank grenades use the shaped charge principle to penetrate a tank’s armor. They usually have impact fuses, but some types, like the No 74 sticky bomb, do not. A shaped charge only works if it hits head on, so most anti-tank grenades have some sort of fins or streamers to insure a successful impact. Due to the effectiveness of modern tank armor, anti-tank grenades are mostly obsolete.
[edit] Flash type
A grenade with a low probability of lethality, this makes a loud report with moderate concussive force and a bright flash and does not throw shrapnel. It is intended to shock, temporarily blind, deafen, and disorient persons in a confined space so that they may be overcome and restrained. Typically used by SWAT teams in police units and in commando operations attempting a live capture for subsequent interrogation.
[edit] Smoke type
Smoke grenades are used to provide cover for movement and for signaling, with the latter usually employing various colors of smoke.
[edit] Anti-matériel weapons
[edit] Anti-matériel rifle
An anti-matériel rifle is a very large caliber weapon used primarily to destroy lightly armored or unarmored targets, or unexploded ordnance. They are similar to sniper rifles. Common calibers used are .50 BMG (Browning Machine Gun), 14.5mm, and 20mm. An example is the M82 Barrett.
[edit] Anti-matériel shotgun shell
A shotgun shell may contain various loads of the same gross mass, from fine shot to large shot to solid slug. One loading is devised to destroy equipment, particularly electronics and computers, and is composed of a solid cylindrical and hard mass divided into four to eight solid segments, with sharp edges and corners. These are effective in penetrating and destroying delicate electronic equipment. There are also shotgun shells that are filled with a metal powder for door breaching. The powder stays together as a mass to destroy the latch, but dissipates upon impact so nothing on the other side of the door is hurt.
[edit] Thermite grenade
A grenade containing thermite will produce great amounts of heat and liquid iron and is effective in destroying machinery and electronic equipment.
[edit] Flamethrower
The flamethrower propels a burning stream of flammable fluid. It is primarily used against occupied fortifications. There many types of flamethrower, from backpack-sized units to ones that are mounted in place of a tank's main gun. Backpack flamethrowers have a very limited fuel supply, sufficient for only seconds of fire, and very short range. However, they are devastating both physically and psychologically.
[edit] Improvised weapons
- Booby trap. This is typically left by retreating forces to cause death or injury to advancing forces or to re-occupying civilians. A typical employment would be to place a grenade, with the pin removed, under an object expected to be displaced by the new occupier, or within a can and attached to a trip wire. Many types of booby trap exist, ranging from the simple and small to the massive and complex.
- Improvised explosive device (IED). Any weapon modified or created in a field expedient manner so as to explode, causing damage to personnel or matériel, By definition, an IED is a device that has been altered to detonate when it should not. A typical device may be constructed using an artillery round, some type of detonating mechanism, and a wired or radio operated triggering device such as a cellphone or garage door control. These are employed against road traffic and triggered by a nearby observer. During the Vietnam War anti-tank mines would be constructed by villagers supporting the NLF using explosive compounds removed from unexploded aerial bombs. IED's are used by insurgents in Iraq quite frequently.
- Molotov cocktail. A thrown device, this uses flammable fluid in a breakable container and an ignition source. The ignition source may be an actual contact fuse or something as simple as a flaming rag that will ignite the mixture when the bottle breaks.
[edit] Anti-aircraft weapons
Anti-aircraft weapons exist in all types. The only ones that can be classified as personal weapons are shoulder launched missiles, also called MANPADS. These use either infrared guidance or ride laser beams. MANPADS have short range, but are a very serious threat to low-flying attack aircraft or attack helicopters. Modern examples of shoulder launched missiles are the FIM-92 Stinger, SA-16 and the British Javelin.
[edit] Anti-structure weapons
[edit] Satchel Charges
Large explosives intended to be placed or thrown at short range against structures or to destroy matériel useful to the enemy.
[edit] Antivehicle Weapons
[edit] Recoilless Rifle
A recoilless rifle fires a large shell that resembles an artillery shell. Instead of having a closed breech like a conventional gun, it is open on both ends. This allows the recoil gases to escape and balance the recoil. This has the disadvantage of creating a dangerous backblast. This concept is also applied to shoulder launched rockets and missiles. (For a shoulder launched German World War II example see Panzerfaust.) While recoilless rifles were invented in World War II, one variant, the Carl Gustav rifle, is still in use today.
[edit] Shoulder Fired Rocket
The shoulder fired rocket was designed as an anti-tank weapon, but nowadays it is often used as a general purpose weapon. They launch unguided rockets. Unlike disposable launchers, they can be reloaded. In addition to ground vehicles, shoulder fired rockets have been used effectively against infantry and even helicopters. The original shoulder fired rocket was the American Bazooka. Both it and its German counterpart, the Panzerschreck were developed during the Second World War. The most common type today is the RPG-7
[edit] Shoulder-Fired Disposable Rocket
Shoulder-fired disposable rockets designed to be fired from a one-use tube. These are distinct from missiles in that they are not guided. The first weapon of this type was the Panzerfaust, made in Germany during World War II. They are either for anti-tank or anti-matériel use. Modern examples include the LAW, the RPG-18 and the AT4.
[edit] Shoulder-Fired Disposable Tube Missile
A shoulder-fired missile is a guided missile that is fired from a one-use tube. Usually the guidance system is retained and another missile tube is attached, but this is not always the case. There are a number of guidance systems for missiles of this type. Often these missiles have a “cold launch” system where the initial propellant of the rocket is with a gas charge. This allows the weapon to be used in close quarters where the backblast of a normal launcher would be dangerous. Examples of this type are the American Javelin and the ERYX
[edit] Anti-tank rifle (Obsolete)
An anti-tank rifle is a large rifle designed to penetrate tanks, used in World War I and World War II. This may be mounted on a light wheeled carriage for increased mobility in the field. In World War II, they were only useful against lightly armored vehicles. See Boys rifle.
[edit] Oddity
The "Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank" (PIAT) was used by the United Kingdom from 1943 to 1950. Instead of using a rocket to launch the warhead, the PIAT’s shell was launched by a large spring and then propelled by a charge. |
