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Small Arms

Strictly defined, the term “small arms” means any firearm with a calibre of .60 in or smaller and all shotguns. An alternative term gaining increasing currency is "light arms," to include individual and light support weapons. Before the study of the individual weapons, we must examine some of the quirks in small arms nomenclature. Much of the confusion surroundings small arms terminology lies in cartridge, or round, designation. For example, what is the difference between .30-30, .30-06, 7.62-mm, and the .308 Winchister cartridges? Normally, the designation will include the calibre. Calibre, as referred to in small arms, is the diameter of the bore; it also indicates the diameter of the cartridge. A .30-30 designation indicates that the cartridge has a calibre of .30 inch and contains 30 grains of propellant powder. The .30-06 cartridge also has a calibre of .30 inch, but the number -06 in this case, indicates that the round was standardized in 1906. The 7.62-mm is a .30-cal round that is used with the Navy standard issue M14 rifle. The .308 Winchister is commercial .30-cal round. Thus, all four cartridges are of the same calibre. This does not mean they can be fired from the same weapon.

The soldier's individual weapons consist in most countries of an assault rifle in calibre 5.56 or 7.62 mm. Light support weapons consist of machine guns, single shot grenade launchers and automatic grenade launchers. Machine guns are available in calibre of 5.45, 5.56, 7.62, 12.7 and 14.5-mm. Single shot grenade launchers have a calibre of 40-mm, and generally fire a high explosive grenade out to a maximum range of about 400 meters. Automatic grenade launchers have a calibre of 30 or 40-mm, firing ammunition is of a HE or a high explosive dual-purpose type with a maximum range of 2200 meters.

A pistol is a hand-operated firearm having a chamber integral or permanently aligned with the bore.

A revolver is a hand-operated firearm with a revolving cylinder containing chambers for individual cartridges.

A rifle is a shoulder firearm which can discharge a bullet through a rifled barrel of 16 inches or longer. The spiral parallel grooves in the bore impart spin in the projectile, providing stability and extended range.

A carbine has a barrel under 16 inches in length, and is typically used by cavalry, artillery, engineers or others who require a weapon for self-defense and emergencies.

Assault rifles are capable of single shot or automatic fire using a short cartridge providing accurate fire and more controllable recoil force than a standard rifle cartridge. By reducing the cartridge case and propellant, the cartridges weigh less and soldiers can carry more. These shorter rifles were developed in response to the recognition that most fire-fights take place at ranges under 400 yards. The small size of the assault rifle and its ability to fire up to 800 rounds per minute has led to it being adopted by various forces as a replacement for the submachine gun.

 A machine pistol is a firearm originally designed to fire, or capable of being fired, fully automatically by a single pull of the trigger.

Submachine guns are lightweight one-man weapons capable of automatic fire, firing a low-powered pistol cartridge with limited range and accuracy.

A general purpose machine gun functions as either a squad light automatic weapon [light machine gun] when mounted on a bipod and fired from the shoulder, or as a sustained fire long-range weapon [heavy machine gun] when mounted on a tripod or light vehicle and provided with an optical sight.

A complete round of small-arms ammunition is known as a cartridge, and is made up of the following components: bullet, cartridge case, primer, propelling charge. Small calibre ammunition types are differentiated by projectile tip identification paint, i.e., tracers are painted red or orange, armor-piercing are black.

The main weapons used by the mechanised infantry platoons are:

• the M16A1 rifle is 5.56-mm, magazine-fed, and gas-operated. It has a selector lever which allows the rifle to be fired semiautomatic or automatic. The most stable firing positions (those increasing the probability of target hits) are the prone supported or foxhole supported for semiautomatic fire and the prone bipod supported for automatic fire. Its 55-grain steel core ball bullet has muzzle velocity of 3,250 fps, with the max range of 2,653 meters. Cyclic rate is 700 to 800 r.p.m; max effective rate of fire is 150 to 200 at automatic, 45 to 65 at semiautomatic. Its combat weight (with sling and 20-round box magazine) is only 7.5 pounds. 
• the M60 machine gun is 7.62-mm, belt-fed, gas-operated, and automatic. It has an attached bipod mount and a separate tripod mount. The most accuracy is gained firing from the prone position with the weapon mounted on the M122 tripod. Some vehicular mounts (such as the pedestal mount on the M151 Jeep) are also available for this gun. When the gunner is standing, the gun may be shot from the hip, underarm, or shoulder;
• the M203 40-mm grenade launcher is a single-shot, breech-loaded, pump-action weapon. It is attached to an M16A1 rifle. It fires a variety of ammunition. It can suppress targets that are in defilade; suppress or disable armored vehicles, except tanks; penetrate concrete, timber, or sandbagged weapon positions and some buildings; illuminate and signal. The firing positions with the most stability are the standing supported and prone supported;
• the SAW (squad automatic weapon) is 5.56-mm, belt or magazine-fed, gas-operated with two-position regulator, and automatic. It has an attached bipod mount and may be fired from the M122 tripod, using the M60 machine gun pintle and adapted to the traversing and elevating (T&E) mechanism. The most accuracy is gained firing from the prone position on the tripod. When the gunner is standing, the gun may be shot from the hip, underarm, or shoulder;

The Browning calibre .50 machine gun is belt-fed, recoil-operated, single shot or automatic. The main infantry vehicular mount is the cupola of the APC. When used in the ground mode, the machine gun is mounted on the M3 tripod mount or the M63 antiaircraft mount. When shooting at ground targets from a stationary position, the gun is fired in bursts of 9 to 15 rounds. When firing at aircraft, a continuous burst is used rather than several short bursts. When firing on the move, long bursts of fire are walked into the target. Enemy lightly-armored vehicles and troops can be suppressed with a heavy volume of fire until a force can destroy or bypass the opposition. The AN/TVS-2 night vision device can be mounted on the calibre .50 machine gun.

The M72A2 LAW (light antitank weapon) is a self-contained unit. It consists of a 66-mm high explosive antitank (HEAT) rocket in a disposable fiberglass and aluminium launcher tube. Its light weight and ability to penetrate more than 30 centimetres of armor make it a weapon that can be used against enemy armor, bunkers, and other hard targets out to a range of 200 meters. The most stable firing positions for the LAW are the standing supported, prone, and prone supported.