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An assault rifle is a selective-fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine.〔C. Taylor ''The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat'', ISBN 0-87947-308-8〕〔F.A. Moyer ''Special Forces Foreign Weapons Handbook'', ISBN 0-87364-009-8〕〔R.J. Scroggie, F.A. Moyer ''Special Forces Combat Firing Techniques'', ISBN 0-87364-010-1〕〔Musgave, Daniel D., and Thomas B. Nelson, ''The World's Assault Rifles,'' vol. II, The Goetz Company, Washington, D.C. (1967): 1〕 Assault rifles were first used during World War II. Though Western nations were slow to accept the assault rifle concept after World War II, by the end of the 20th century they had become the standard weapon in most of the world's armies, replacing battle rifles and sub-machine guns. Examples include the StG 44, AK-47 and the M16 rifle. The Germans were the first to pioneer the assault rifle concept, during World War II, based upon research that showed that most firefights happen within and that contemporary rifles were over-powered for most small arms combat.〔http://pogoarchives.org/labyrinth/09/02.pdf M16 Rifle Case Study. Prepared for the Presidents Blue Ribbon Defense Panel. March 16, 1970. By Richard R. Hallock, Colonel U.S. Army (Retired)〕〔Jane's Guns Recognition Guide, Ian Hogg & Terry Gander, HarperCollins Publisher, 2005, p.287〕〔''Military Small Arms Of The 20th Century'', 7th Edition, 2000 by Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks, p.243〕〔Major Thomas P. Ehrhart (Increasing Small Arms Lethality in Afghanistan: Taking Back the Infantry Half-Kilometer ). US Army. 2009〕 They sought to develop a select-fire intermediate powered rifle combining the firepower of a submachine gun with the accuracy and range of a rifle.〔〔〔〔〔 This was done by shortening the standard 7.92×57mm cartridge to 7.92×33mm and giving it a lighter 125 grain bullet, that limited range but allowed for more controllable automatic fire.〔〔〔〔〔http://pogoarchives.org/labyrinth/09/02.pdf M16 Rifle Case Study. Prepared for the President's Blue Ribbon Defense Panel. March 16, 1970. By Richard R. Hallock, Colonel U.S. Army (Retired)〕 A smaller, lighter cartridge also allowed soldiers to carry more ammunition "to support the higher consumption rate of automatic fire."〔 The result was the Sturmgewehr 44, which the Germans produced in large numbers; approximately half-a-million were made.〔〔〔〔 Unlike previous rifle designs it introduced an over-the-barrel gas system, straight stock and pistol grip to reduce recoil and improve handling characteristics.〔 "The principle of this weapon...was probably the most important advance in small arms since the invention of smokeless powder."〔 ==Definition== The term ''assault rifle'' is generally attributed to Adolf Hitler, who for propaganda purposes used the German word "Sturmgewehr" (which translates to "assault rifle"), as the new name for the MP43, subsequently known as the Sturmgewehr 44 or StG 44.〔Musgave, Daniel D., and Thomas B. Nelson, ''The World's Assault Rifles,'' vol. II, The Goetz Company, Washington, D.C. (1967)〕〔Myatt, Major Frederic, ''Modern Small Arms'', Cresent Books, New York (1978): 169〕〔Hogg, Ivan, and John Weeks, ''Military Small Arms of the 20th Century'', third ed., Hippocrene Books, New York (1977): 159〕〔Chris Bishop, ''The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II'', Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2002, p. 218〕〔''Military Small Arms of the 20th Century'', 7th Edition, Ian V. Hogg, page 243〕 Other sources dispute that Hitler had much to do with coining the new name besides signing the production order. The StG 44 is generally considered the first selective fire military rifle to popularize the assault rifle concept. Today, the term ''assault rifle'' is used to define firearms sharing the same basic characteristics as the StG 44. In a strict definition, a firearm must have at least the following characteristics to be considered an assault rifle:〔〔〔 * It must be an individual weapon * It must be capable of selective fire * It must have an intermediate-power cartridge: more power than a pistol but less than a standard rifle or battle rifle * Its ammunition must be supplied from a detachable box magazine〔 * And it should have an effective range of at least Rifles that meet most of these criteria, but not all, are technically not assault rifles despite frequently being called such. For example: * Select-fire M2 Carbines are not assault rifles; their effective range is only 200 meters.〔''Jane's Gun Recognition Guide''. Ian Hogg & Terry Gander. HarperCollins Publishers. 2005. page 330〕 * Select-fire rifles such as the FN FAL battle rifle are not assault rifles; they fire full-powered rifle cartridges. * Semi-automatic-only rifles like variants of the Colt AR-15 are not assault rifles; they do not have select-fire capabilities. * Semi-auto rifles with fixed magazines like the SKS are not assault rifles; they do not have detachable box magazines and are not capable of automatic fire. The U.S. Army defines assault rifles as "short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between submachine gun and rifle cartridges." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Assault rifle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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