7.62×51mm NATO | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Rifle, General Purpose Machine Gun | |||||||||||||||
Place of origin | United States | |||||||||||||||
Service history | ||||||||||||||||
In service | 1954–present | |||||||||||||||
Used by | NATO and others | |||||||||||||||
Wars | Vietnam War, Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, Iran–Iraq War, Falklands War, The Troubles, Gulf War, War in Afghanistan, Iraq War, Libyan Civil War, Syrian Civil War, Yemeni Civil War (2015–present), Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, among other conflicts | |||||||||||||||
Specifications | ||||||||||||||||
Parent case | T-65 experimental cartridge series (derived from the .300 Savage and .30-06 Springfield) | |||||||||||||||
Case type | Rimless, straight walled, bottleneck | |||||||||||||||
Bullet diameter | 0.308 in (7.82 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Land diameter | 0.300 in (7.62 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Neck diameter | 0.345 in (8.8 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Shoulder diameter | 0.454 in (11.5 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Base diameter | 0.470 in (11.9 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Rim diameter | 0.473 in (12.0 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Rim thickness | 0.050 in (1.3 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Case length | 2.015 in (51.2 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Overall length | 2.800 in (71.1 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Rifling twist | 1 in 12 in (304.8 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Primer type | Berdan or Large rifle | |||||||||||||||
Maximum pressure ( NATO EPVAT) | 60,191 psi (415.00 MPa) | |||||||||||||||
Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Test barrel length: 22 in (559 mm) (M80 and M59) 24 in (610 mm) (M118 Long Range) Source(s): M80: TM 9-1005-298-12, 7 August 1969, TM 9-1005-224-10, July 1985, [1] [2] M118 Long Range: U.S. Armament [3] [4] |
The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, straight walled, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries.
First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first been introduced in U.S. service for the M14 rifle and M60 machine gun.
The later adoption of the 5.56×45mm NATO intermediate cartridge and assault rifles as standard infantry weapon systems by NATO militaries started a trend to phase out the 7.62×51mm NATO in that role. [5] [6] Many other firearms that use the 7.62×51mm NATO fully powered cartridge remain in service today, especially various designated marksman rifles/ sniper rifles and medium machine guns/ general-purpose machine guns (i.e. M24 Sniper Rifle and M240 Medium Machine Gun). The cartridge is also used on mounted and crew-served weapons that are mounted to vehicles, aircraft, and ships.
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (September 2017) |
Work that would eventually develop the 7.62×51mm NATO started just after World War I when the large, powerful .30-06 Springfield cartridge proved difficult to adapt to semi-automatic rifles. A less powerful cartridge would allow a lighter firing mechanism. At the time the most promising design was the .276 Pedersen. When it was eventually demonstrated that the .30-06 Springfield was suitable for semi-automatic rifles, the .276 Pedersen was dropped.
Thus when war appeared to be looming again, only a couple of decades later, the .30-06 Springfield was the only round available, and the M1 Garand provided U.S. troops with greater firepower than their bolt action-armed opponents. The Garand performed so well that the U.S. saw little need to replace it during World War II, and the .30-06 Springfield served well beyond the Korean War and into the mid-1950s. The .30-06 Springfield was officially replaced by the 7.62 NATO M14 in 1957.
During the 1940s and early 1950s, several experiments were carried out to improve the M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle. One of the most common complaints was the limited-capacity, eight-round en-bloc clip, and many experimental designs modified the weapon with a detachable box magazine. Springfield Armory's T20 rifle was a fully automatic version. [7] Though not adopted, experience with a fully-automatic Garand laid the groundwork for its replacement. The test program continued for several years, including both the original .30-06 Springfield round and experimental cartridges.
During the 1940s, the .300 Savage became the basis for experiments on behalf of the U.S. Military that resulted in the development of the T65 series of experimental cartridges. The original experimental case design by the Frankford Arsenal was designated the T65 and was similar to the .300 Savage case, but with less taper. The experimental cases were made from standard .30-06 Springfield cases which gave a little less capacity than standard .300 Savage cases because the Frankford Arsenal cases had slightly thicker case walls. The later T65 iterations were made from shortened .30-06 Springfield cases and were longer compared to the original T65 case as the .300 Savage has a shorter case length than the resulting 7.62 NATO. The resulting cartridges provided a ballistic performance roughly equal to the U.S. military .30-06 Springfield 1906 pattern M1906 and 1938 pattern M2 service cartridges. Over forty years of technical progress in the field of propellants allowed for similar service cartridge performance – firing a 147 grains (9.53 g) bullet at 2,750 ft/s (838 m/s) with 2,468 ft⋅lbf (3,346 J) muzzle energy – from a significantly shorter, smaller case with less case capacity. [8] [9] The eventual result of this competition was the T44 rifle.
Designation | Case | Description | Manufacturer | Metric |
---|---|---|---|---|
T65 | T65 case (47 mm) | Steel jacket lead core 150-grain (9.7 g) flat base bullet | Frankford Arsenal | 7.62×47mm |
T65E1 | FAT1 case (49 mm) | Steel jacket lead core | Frankford Arsenal | 7.62×49mm |
T65E2 | FAT1E1 (49 mm – 30° shoulder) | Steel jacket lead core | Frankford Arsenal | 7.62×49mm |
T65E3 | FAT1E3 (51 mm – 20° shoulder) | Steel jacket lead core | Frankford Arsenal | 7.62×51mm |
T65E4 | FAT1E3 (51 mm – 20° shoulder) | Steel jacket lead core 145-grain (9.4 g) boat-tail bullet with a No. 10 ogive point | Frankford Arsenal | 7.62×51mm |
T65E5 | FAT1E3 (51 mm – 20° shoulder) | Steel jacket lead core boat-tail bullet | Frankford Arsenal | 7.62×51mm |
When the United States developed the T65 cartridge, the British military took a different route. They had spent considerable time and effort developing the intermediate-power .280 British (7 mm) cartridge with an eye towards controllable fully automatic fire. The U.S. held to its desire not to reduce the effectiveness of individual aimed shots. The American philosophy was to use automatic fire for emergencies only and continue to use semi-automatic fire the majority of the time. After considerable debate, the Canadian Army announced they would be happy to use the .280 but only if the U.S. did as well. It was clear the U.S. was not going to use the .280 British. The British did start introducing the .280 British along with the bull-pup Rifle No. 9, but the process was stopped in the interests of harmonization across NATO. The T65E5 (7.62×51mm) was chosen as NATO's standard cartridge in 1954.
Winchester saw a market for a civilian model of the late T65 series designs and introduced it in 1952, two years prior to the NATO adoption of the T65E5 experimental cartridge iteration under the 7.62×51mm NATO designation in 1954. Winchester branded the cartridge and introduced it to the commercial hunting market as the .308 Winchester. The dimensions of .308 Winchester are almost the same as 7.62×51mm NATO. The chamber of the former has a marginally shorter headspace and thinner case walls than the latter due to changed specifications between 1952 and 1954. This allows 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition to feed reliably in rifles chambered for .308 Winchester, but can cause .308 Winchester ammunition cases to rupture when fired in rifles chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO.
The T44 rifle was adopted as the M14 rifle in 1957. Around the same time Britain and Canada adopted the Belgian FN FAL (L1A1 SLR British) as the L1 followed by the West German army designated as the G1. The Germans soon transitioned to a modified version of the Spanish CETME rifle by Heckler & Koch that was adopted as the G3. With all of these firearms, it was clear that the 7.62×51mm NATO could not be fired controllably in fully automatic because of recoil. Both the M14 and FAL were later modified to limit fully automatic selection through semi-automatic versions or selector locks. Efforts were also made to improve control with bipods or heavier barrels.
While this was going on, the U.S. Project SALVO concluded that a burst of four rounds into a 20-inch (51 cm) circle would cause twice the number of casualties as a fully automatic burst by one of these rifles, regardless of the size of the round. They suggested using a much smaller, .22 caliber, cartridge with two bullets per cartridge (a duplex load), while other researchers investigated the promising flechette rounds that were lighter but offered better penetration than even the .30-06.
When the M14 arrived in Vietnam, it was found to have a few disadvantages. The rifle's overall length was not well suited for jungle warfare. Also, the weight of 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges limited the total amount of ammunition that could be carried in comparison with the 7.62×39mm cartridge of the Type 56 and AK-47 rifles, with which the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army soldiers were equipped. In addition, the originally issued wooden-stocked versions of the M14 were susceptible to warping from moisture in tropical environments, producing "wandering zeroes" and other accuracy problems, which caused the adoption of fiberglass stocks.
Fighting between the big-round and small-round groups reached a peak in the early 1960s, when test after test showed the .223 Remington (M193 5.56×45mm) cartridge fired from the AR-15 allowed an eight-soldier unit to outgun an 11-soldier unit armed with M14s at ranges closer than 300 meters. U.S. troops were able to carry more than twice as much 5.56×45mm ammunition as 7.62×51mm NATO for the same weight, which allowed them an advantage against a typical NVA unit armed with Type 56-1s.
Rifle | Cartridge | Cartridge weight | Weight of loaded magazine | Max. 10 kilogram ammo load |
---|---|---|---|---|
M14 (1959) | 7.62×51mm NATO | 393 gr (25.4 g) | 20 rd mag at 0.75 kg | 13 mags at 9.75 kg for 260 rds [10] |
M16 (1962) | .223 Remington (M193 5.56×45mm) | 183 gr (11.8 g) | 20 rd mag at 0.32 kg | 31 mags at 9.93 kg for 620 rds [10] |
AK-47 (1949) | 7.62×39mm | 252 gr (16.3 g) | 30 rd mag at 0.82 kg | 12 mags at 9.2 kg for 360 rds [10] |
In 1964, the U.S. Army started replacing their M14s with M16s, incurring another series of complaints from the British. Regardless of the M14 having disadvantages in jungle warfare, 7.62×51mm NATO rifles stayed in military service around the world due to several factors. The 7.62×51mm NATO has proved much more effective than 5.56×45mm NATO at long ranges, [6] and has since found popularity as a sniping round. For instance, M14 variants such as the Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle and M25 Sniper Rifle were utilized in the United States military as designated marksman and sniper rifles. Shorter, easier-to-handle 7.62mm rifles like the G3 stayed in service due to their accuracy, range, cartridge effectiveness and reliability. In addition, continued if limited use in infantry rifles is a logistical convenience given the preference for 7.62×51mm NATO across NATO for general-purpose machine guns.
Specialized loadings were created for 7.62×51mm NATO-chambered sniper rifles. They used heavier and more aerodynamic bullets that had a higher ballistic coefficient than standard ball rounds, meaning they shed velocity at longer ranges more gradually. [11] Maintaining velocity is important for accurate long-range shots because dropping from supersonic to transonic speeds disturbs the flight of the bullet and adversely affects accuracy. The standard M80 ball round weighs 147 gr and from an M14 rifle and M60 machine gun has a muzzle velocity 200 ft/s (61 m/s) faster than the M118LR 175 gr sniping round. However, the M80 drops to subsonic velocity around 900 m (984 yd), while the initially slower M118LR is supersonic out to 1,000 m (1,094 yd) due to its low-drag bullet. [12]
The 7.62×51mm NATO round remains in use in designated marksman rifles such as the Heckler & Koch HK417, SIG 716, FN SCAR, L129A1, Colt Canada C20 DMR and LMT MARS-H based riles to take advantage of the effective range and accuracy potential compared with intermediate rifle rounds. Designated marksman rifles have to be effective, in terms of hit rates and terminal ballistics, at application ranges exceeding those of ordinary assault rifles and battle rifles, but do not require the extended-range performance of a dedicated sniper rifle. For this, depending on the military, sometimes specialized 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition is issued to the designated marksman. [13]
The 7.62×51mm NATO round nevertheless met the designers' demands for fully automatic reliability with a full-power round. It remained the main Medium machine gun and general-purpose machine gun round for almost all NATO forces well into the 1990s, even being used in adapted versions of older .30-06 Springfield machine guns such as the Browning M1919A4 from the WWII era. The .303 British Bren gun was also subject to conversion to fire the 7.62×51mm NATO round, the converted weapon being reclassified as the L4 Light machine gun. West Germany rechambered many of its WW2-era MG42s to create the MG2, and the succeeding MG3 is essentially a slightly modified version of the same weapon. These have been replaced to a considerable extent in the light machine gun role by 5.56×45mm NATO weapons, such as the widespread use of the M249 SAW, but the 7.62×51mm NATO fully powered cartridge is still the standard chambering for the M134 Minigun and GPMGs such as the M60E4, FN MAG/ M240, HK21, MG3, AA-52, Vektor SS-77, UKM-2000 and MG5 and flexible mountings such as helicopters, jeeps, and tanks. It is also commonly found in coaxial mount applications such as found in parallel with the main gun on tanks. The characteristics of 7.62 mm bullet types were not only researched in the 20th century, but were also subject to 21st century ballistic studies. [14] [15]
The U.S. Army developed an improved version of the M80 ball 7.62mm round, designated the M80A1. The M80A1 incorporates changes found in the M855A1 5.56 mm round. Like the M855A1, the M80A1 has better hard-target penetration, more consistent performance against soft targets, and significantly increased distances of these effects over the M80. The bullet is redesigned with a copper jacket and exposed hardened steel penetrator, eliminating 114.5 grains (7.4 g) of lead with production of each M80A1 projectile. [16] The M80A1 began fielding in September 2014. [17] The Army plans to replace both the M80A1 Enhanced Performance Round and M993 Armor Piercing round with the XM1158 Advanced Armor Piercing Round (ADVAP) beginning in 2020. [18] [19] Its type designation progressed to M1158 and it has been in low-rate initial production since May 2019. [20] [19]
The U.S. Special Operations Command plans to begin fielding of the 6.5mm Creedmoor cartridge in early 2019 to replace the 7.62×51mm NATO round in semi-automatic sniper rifles. Tests determined that compared to the 7.62×51mm NATO (M118LR long-range 7.62×51mm NATO load), the 6.5mm Creedmoor doubles hit probability at 1,000 m (1,094 yd), increases effective range by nearly half, reduces wind drift by a third and has less recoil. The same rifles can use the new cartridge, as their similar dimensions allow the same magazines to be used and the weapon only requires a barrel change. [21] [22]
The 7.62×51mm NATO has 3.38 ml (52.0 grains) cartridge case capacity. The exterior shape of the case was designed to promote reliable case feeding and extraction in bolt-action rifles and machine guns alike, under extreme conditions.
7.62×51mm NATO cartridge dimensions. All dimensions in millimeters (mm). [23]
Americans would define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 = 20 degrees. The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 305 mm (1 in 12 in), 4 grooves, Ø lands = 7.62 mm, Ø grooves = 7.82 mm, land width = 4.47 mm. The primer type can be Berdan or Boxer Large Rifle. [24] U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) research papers on the influence of Berdan and Boxer primer spit-hole diameter on 7.62-mm cartridge performance concluded the primary advantage of a Berdan primer is that they are less expensive than a Boxer primer due to their reduced complexity. The ARL found there is little variation in the pressure-time curves between the different spit-hole configurations. Doubling the area of the spit-hole or incorporating a Berdan style spit-hole with the same total area as a standard M80 round showed minimal effects on the overall performance. The standard Boxer primed M80 showed the best results. All measured differences are within one standard deviation and are not significant. [25]
According to the official NATO EPVAT NAAG-LG/3-SG/1 rulings the 7.62×51mm NATO can handle up to 415.00 MPa (60,191 psi) Pmax piezo pressure. The proof round pressure requirement is 521.30 MPa (75,608 psi) piezo pressure recorded in a NATO design EPVAT barrel with a Kistler 6215 transducer, HPI GP6 transducer or by equipment to C.I.P. requirements. [26]
The 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge approaches the ballistic performance of the original U.S. military .30-06 Springfield M1906 service cartridge. Modern propellants allowed for similar performance from a smaller case with less case capacity, a case that requires less brass and yields a shorter cartridge. This shorter cartridge allows a slight reduction in the size and weight of firearms that chamber it, and better cycling in automatic and semi-automatic rifles. The .30-06 Springfield M1906 round weighed 26.1 grams (403 gr), and the 7.62×51mm NATO M80 round weighs 25.4 grams (392 gr). [27]
Although originating from an identical preceding series of experimental cartridges, the commercial 1952 .308 Winchester and the military 1954 7.62×51mm NATO chamberings have evolved separately but remain similar enough that they can be loaded into rifles chambered for the other round, but the .308 Winchester cartridges are typically loaded to higher pressures than 7.62×51mm NATO service cartridges. [28] Even though the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) does not consider it unsafe to fire the commercial .308 Winchester rounds in weapons chambered for the military 7.62×51mm NATO round, there is significant discussion about compatible chambers and muzzle pressures between the two cartridges based on powder loads, chamber dimensions and wall thicknesses in the web area of the military compared to commercial cartridge cases. [29] [30] As the chambers may differ accordingly the head space gauges used for the two chamberings differ. [31]
This article is missing information about Psg 90 sabot -- 7,62 mm Sk Ptr 10 PRICK.(September 2021) |
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (January 2021) |
Current unlinked ammunition is supplied in M19A1 boxes containing 200 rounds divided across four bandoliers containing five-round charger clips [32] or 300 rounds divided across eight cartons. [33] [34] Linked ammunition has been primarily supplied in M19A1 boxes containing one 200-round belt each; the belt can consist either of ball rounds only or of a sequence of four ball rounds followed by one tracer. [35] Historically, both linked and unlinked rounds have also been supplied in wooden boxes containing 500 rounds in bandoliers. [36] [37]
Packaging configurations for all ammunition natures c. 2010 consisted of a plastic 8217 box containing 1,260 rounds divided across nine PVC bags of seven twenty-round cartons each and a conventional M2A1 box containing 400 rounds divided across twenty cartons of twenty rounds each each. For linked ammunition, configurations consisted of a plastic 7716 box containing 1,000 linked rounds divided across five plastic 7815 cases of one 200-round belt each and a wire-bound wooden box containing either 1,000 linked rounds divided across four steel M61 boxes containing one 250-round belt each or 800 linked rounds divided across four steel H84 boxes containing one 200-round belt each. Link types used included M13, M2A2 Browning, and Vickers. [58]
Much like the .303 ammunition that it succeeded, initial batches of British 7.62mm unlinked ammunition were packed in steel H50 boxes containing two wooden H51 boxes each; each H51 box stored the ammunition in a further H52 metal lining. Packaging quantities included 700 rounds in bandoliers containing five-round charger clips (350 rounds per H51), [61] [62] 600 rounds in thirty-round cartons (300 rounds per H51), [63] [64] and 576 rounds in cartons containing thirty-two rounds (288 rounds per H51). [65] Alternatively, ammunition could be provided in a wooden box containing two metal boxes that were similar but not identical to the H52; these wooden boxes used the same packaging quantities as their H50 counterparts. [66] Starting c. 1969, [67] ammunition began to be packed in H84 boxes instead, with this arrangement continuing to the present day; packaging quantities include or included 450 rounds in bandoliers containing five-round charger clips, [67] 400 rounds in twenty-round cartons [68] [69] or fifty-round plastic containers, [70] and 560 rounds in twenty-round cartons. [71] Linked ammunition has been consistently packed in H82 boxes containing one 200-round belt each, with such boxes appearing as early as c. 1964; [69] this belt can consist purely of one ammunition nature, [72] but more commonly it consists of a sequence of four ball rounds followed by one tracer round [69] [73] or, more rarely, one ball round followed by one tracer round. [74] Unless stated otherwise, all ammunition listed below is or was manufactured by Radway Green and by Kynoch. [75] Radway Green, which is currently owned by BAE Systems, continues to produce ammunition for the Ministry of Defence and export customers. [76]
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (January 2021) |
This four-character alphanumeric code is used by the US Armed Forces and NATO to identify the cartridge, the cartridge type, and the packing method (cartons, clips, link belt, or bulk) used.
comprising a metal 7.62MM Blank L13A1 LNK IN MK1
7.62×51mm NATO | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Rifle, General Purpose Machine Gun | |||||||||||||||
Place of origin | United States | |||||||||||||||
Service history | ||||||||||||||||
In service | 1954–present | |||||||||||||||
Used by | NATO and others | |||||||||||||||
Wars | Vietnam War, Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, Iran–Iraq War, Falklands War, The Troubles, Gulf War, War in Afghanistan, Iraq War, Libyan Civil War, Syrian Civil War, Yemeni Civil War (2015–present), Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, among other conflicts | |||||||||||||||
Specifications | ||||||||||||||||
Parent case | T-65 experimental cartridge series (derived from the .300 Savage and .30-06 Springfield) | |||||||||||||||
Case type | Rimless, straight walled, bottleneck | |||||||||||||||
Bullet diameter | 0.308 in (7.82 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Land diameter | 0.300 in (7.62 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Neck diameter | 0.345 in (8.8 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Shoulder diameter | 0.454 in (11.5 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Base diameter | 0.470 in (11.9 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Rim diameter | 0.473 in (12.0 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Rim thickness | 0.050 in (1.3 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Case length | 2.015 in (51.2 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Overall length | 2.800 in (71.1 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Rifling twist | 1 in 12 in (304.8 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Primer type | Berdan or Large rifle | |||||||||||||||
Maximum pressure ( NATO EPVAT) | 60,191 psi (415.00 MPa) | |||||||||||||||
Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Test barrel length: 22 in (559 mm) (M80 and M59) 24 in (610 mm) (M118 Long Range) Source(s): M80: TM 9-1005-298-12, 7 August 1969, TM 9-1005-224-10, July 1985, [1] [2] M118 Long Range: U.S. Armament [3] [4] |
The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, straight walled, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries.
First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first been introduced in U.S. service for the M14 rifle and M60 machine gun.
The later adoption of the 5.56×45mm NATO intermediate cartridge and assault rifles as standard infantry weapon systems by NATO militaries started a trend to phase out the 7.62×51mm NATO in that role. [5] [6] Many other firearms that use the 7.62×51mm NATO fully powered cartridge remain in service today, especially various designated marksman rifles/ sniper rifles and medium machine guns/ general-purpose machine guns (i.e. M24 Sniper Rifle and M240 Medium Machine Gun). The cartridge is also used on mounted and crew-served weapons that are mounted to vehicles, aircraft, and ships.
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (September 2017) |
Work that would eventually develop the 7.62×51mm NATO started just after World War I when the large, powerful .30-06 Springfield cartridge proved difficult to adapt to semi-automatic rifles. A less powerful cartridge would allow a lighter firing mechanism. At the time the most promising design was the .276 Pedersen. When it was eventually demonstrated that the .30-06 Springfield was suitable for semi-automatic rifles, the .276 Pedersen was dropped.
Thus when war appeared to be looming again, only a couple of decades later, the .30-06 Springfield was the only round available, and the M1 Garand provided U.S. troops with greater firepower than their bolt action-armed opponents. The Garand performed so well that the U.S. saw little need to replace it during World War II, and the .30-06 Springfield served well beyond the Korean War and into the mid-1950s. The .30-06 Springfield was officially replaced by the 7.62 NATO M14 in 1957.
During the 1940s and early 1950s, several experiments were carried out to improve the M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle. One of the most common complaints was the limited-capacity, eight-round en-bloc clip, and many experimental designs modified the weapon with a detachable box magazine. Springfield Armory's T20 rifle was a fully automatic version. [7] Though not adopted, experience with a fully-automatic Garand laid the groundwork for its replacement. The test program continued for several years, including both the original .30-06 Springfield round and experimental cartridges.
During the 1940s, the .300 Savage became the basis for experiments on behalf of the U.S. Military that resulted in the development of the T65 series of experimental cartridges. The original experimental case design by the Frankford Arsenal was designated the T65 and was similar to the .300 Savage case, but with less taper. The experimental cases were made from standard .30-06 Springfield cases which gave a little less capacity than standard .300 Savage cases because the Frankford Arsenal cases had slightly thicker case walls. The later T65 iterations were made from shortened .30-06 Springfield cases and were longer compared to the original T65 case as the .300 Savage has a shorter case length than the resulting 7.62 NATO. The resulting cartridges provided a ballistic performance roughly equal to the U.S. military .30-06 Springfield 1906 pattern M1906 and 1938 pattern M2 service cartridges. Over forty years of technical progress in the field of propellants allowed for similar service cartridge performance – firing a 147 grains (9.53 g) bullet at 2,750 ft/s (838 m/s) with 2,468 ft⋅lbf (3,346 J) muzzle energy – from a significantly shorter, smaller case with less case capacity. [8] [9] The eventual result of this competition was the T44 rifle.
Designation | Case | Description | Manufacturer | Metric |
---|---|---|---|---|
T65 | T65 case (47 mm) | Steel jacket lead core 150-grain (9.7 g) flat base bullet | Frankford Arsenal | 7.62×47mm |
T65E1 | FAT1 case (49 mm) | Steel jacket lead core | Frankford Arsenal | 7.62×49mm |
T65E2 | FAT1E1 (49 mm – 30° shoulder) | Steel jacket lead core | Frankford Arsenal | 7.62×49mm |
T65E3 | FAT1E3 (51 mm – 20° shoulder) | Steel jacket lead core | Frankford Arsenal | 7.62×51mm |
T65E4 | FAT1E3 (51 mm – 20° shoulder) | Steel jacket lead core 145-grain (9.4 g) boat-tail bullet with a No. 10 ogive point | Frankford Arsenal | 7.62×51mm |
T65E5 | FAT1E3 (51 mm – 20° shoulder) | Steel jacket lead core boat-tail bullet | Frankford Arsenal | 7.62×51mm |
When the United States developed the T65 cartridge, the British military took a different route. They had spent considerable time and effort developing the intermediate-power .280 British (7 mm) cartridge with an eye towards controllable fully automatic fire. The U.S. held to its desire not to reduce the effectiveness of individual aimed shots. The American philosophy was to use automatic fire for emergencies only and continue to use semi-automatic fire the majority of the time. After considerable debate, the Canadian Army announced they would be happy to use the .280 but only if the U.S. did as well. It was clear the U.S. was not going to use the .280 British. The British did start introducing the .280 British along with the bull-pup Rifle No. 9, but the process was stopped in the interests of harmonization across NATO. The T65E5 (7.62×51mm) was chosen as NATO's standard cartridge in 1954.
Winchester saw a market for a civilian model of the late T65 series designs and introduced it in 1952, two years prior to the NATO adoption of the T65E5 experimental cartridge iteration under the 7.62×51mm NATO designation in 1954. Winchester branded the cartridge and introduced it to the commercial hunting market as the .308 Winchester. The dimensions of .308 Winchester are almost the same as 7.62×51mm NATO. The chamber of the former has a marginally shorter headspace and thinner case walls than the latter due to changed specifications between 1952 and 1954. This allows 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition to feed reliably in rifles chambered for .308 Winchester, but can cause .308 Winchester ammunition cases to rupture when fired in rifles chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO.
The T44 rifle was adopted as the M14 rifle in 1957. Around the same time Britain and Canada adopted the Belgian FN FAL (L1A1 SLR British) as the L1 followed by the West German army designated as the G1. The Germans soon transitioned to a modified version of the Spanish CETME rifle by Heckler & Koch that was adopted as the G3. With all of these firearms, it was clear that the 7.62×51mm NATO could not be fired controllably in fully automatic because of recoil. Both the M14 and FAL were later modified to limit fully automatic selection through semi-automatic versions or selector locks. Efforts were also made to improve control with bipods or heavier barrels.
While this was going on, the U.S. Project SALVO concluded that a burst of four rounds into a 20-inch (51 cm) circle would cause twice the number of casualties as a fully automatic burst by one of these rifles, regardless of the size of the round. They suggested using a much smaller, .22 caliber, cartridge with two bullets per cartridge (a duplex load), while other researchers investigated the promising flechette rounds that were lighter but offered better penetration than even the .30-06.
When the M14 arrived in Vietnam, it was found to have a few disadvantages. The rifle's overall length was not well suited for jungle warfare. Also, the weight of 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges limited the total amount of ammunition that could be carried in comparison with the 7.62×39mm cartridge of the Type 56 and AK-47 rifles, with which the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army soldiers were equipped. In addition, the originally issued wooden-stocked versions of the M14 were susceptible to warping from moisture in tropical environments, producing "wandering zeroes" and other accuracy problems, which caused the adoption of fiberglass stocks.
Fighting between the big-round and small-round groups reached a peak in the early 1960s, when test after test showed the .223 Remington (M193 5.56×45mm) cartridge fired from the AR-15 allowed an eight-soldier unit to outgun an 11-soldier unit armed with M14s at ranges closer than 300 meters. U.S. troops were able to carry more than twice as much 5.56×45mm ammunition as 7.62×51mm NATO for the same weight, which allowed them an advantage against a typical NVA unit armed with Type 56-1s.
Rifle | Cartridge | Cartridge weight | Weight of loaded magazine | Max. 10 kilogram ammo load |
---|---|---|---|---|
M14 (1959) | 7.62×51mm NATO | 393 gr (25.4 g) | 20 rd mag at 0.75 kg | 13 mags at 9.75 kg for 260 rds [10] |
M16 (1962) | .223 Remington (M193 5.56×45mm) | 183 gr (11.8 g) | 20 rd mag at 0.32 kg | 31 mags at 9.93 kg for 620 rds [10] |
AK-47 (1949) | 7.62×39mm | 252 gr (16.3 g) | 30 rd mag at 0.82 kg | 12 mags at 9.2 kg for 360 rds [10] |
In 1964, the U.S. Army started replacing their M14s with M16s, incurring another series of complaints from the British. Regardless of the M14 having disadvantages in jungle warfare, 7.62×51mm NATO rifles stayed in military service around the world due to several factors. The 7.62×51mm NATO has proved much more effective than 5.56×45mm NATO at long ranges, [6] and has since found popularity as a sniping round. For instance, M14 variants such as the Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle and M25 Sniper Rifle were utilized in the United States military as designated marksman and sniper rifles. Shorter, easier-to-handle 7.62mm rifles like the G3 stayed in service due to their accuracy, range, cartridge effectiveness and reliability. In addition, continued if limited use in infantry rifles is a logistical convenience given the preference for 7.62×51mm NATO across NATO for general-purpose machine guns.
Specialized loadings were created for 7.62×51mm NATO-chambered sniper rifles. They used heavier and more aerodynamic bullets that had a higher ballistic coefficient than standard ball rounds, meaning they shed velocity at longer ranges more gradually. [11] Maintaining velocity is important for accurate long-range shots because dropping from supersonic to transonic speeds disturbs the flight of the bullet and adversely affects accuracy. The standard M80 ball round weighs 147 gr and from an M14 rifle and M60 machine gun has a muzzle velocity 200 ft/s (61 m/s) faster than the M118LR 175 gr sniping round. However, the M80 drops to subsonic velocity around 900 m (984 yd), while the initially slower M118LR is supersonic out to 1,000 m (1,094 yd) due to its low-drag bullet. [12]
The 7.62×51mm NATO round remains in use in designated marksman rifles such as the Heckler & Koch HK417, SIG 716, FN SCAR, L129A1, Colt Canada C20 DMR and LMT MARS-H based riles to take advantage of the effective range and accuracy potential compared with intermediate rifle rounds. Designated marksman rifles have to be effective, in terms of hit rates and terminal ballistics, at application ranges exceeding those of ordinary assault rifles and battle rifles, but do not require the extended-range performance of a dedicated sniper rifle. For this, depending on the military, sometimes specialized 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition is issued to the designated marksman. [13]
The 7.62×51mm NATO round nevertheless met the designers' demands for fully automatic reliability with a full-power round. It remained the main Medium machine gun and general-purpose machine gun round for almost all NATO forces well into the 1990s, even being used in adapted versions of older .30-06 Springfield machine guns such as the Browning M1919A4 from the WWII era. The .303 British Bren gun was also subject to conversion to fire the 7.62×51mm NATO round, the converted weapon being reclassified as the L4 Light machine gun. West Germany rechambered many of its WW2-era MG42s to create the MG2, and the succeeding MG3 is essentially a slightly modified version of the same weapon. These have been replaced to a considerable extent in the light machine gun role by 5.56×45mm NATO weapons, such as the widespread use of the M249 SAW, but the 7.62×51mm NATO fully powered cartridge is still the standard chambering for the M134 Minigun and GPMGs such as the M60E4, FN MAG/ M240, HK21, MG3, AA-52, Vektor SS-77, UKM-2000 and MG5 and flexible mountings such as helicopters, jeeps, and tanks. It is also commonly found in coaxial mount applications such as found in parallel with the main gun on tanks. The characteristics of 7.62 mm bullet types were not only researched in the 20th century, but were also subject to 21st century ballistic studies. [14] [15]
The U.S. Army developed an improved version of the M80 ball 7.62mm round, designated the M80A1. The M80A1 incorporates changes found in the M855A1 5.56 mm round. Like the M855A1, the M80A1 has better hard-target penetration, more consistent performance against soft targets, and significantly increased distances of these effects over the M80. The bullet is redesigned with a copper jacket and exposed hardened steel penetrator, eliminating 114.5 grains (7.4 g) of lead with production of each M80A1 projectile. [16] The M80A1 began fielding in September 2014. [17] The Army plans to replace both the M80A1 Enhanced Performance Round and M993 Armor Piercing round with the XM1158 Advanced Armor Piercing Round (ADVAP) beginning in 2020. [18] [19] Its type designation progressed to M1158 and it has been in low-rate initial production since May 2019. [20] [19]
The U.S. Special Operations Command plans to begin fielding of the 6.5mm Creedmoor cartridge in early 2019 to replace the 7.62×51mm NATO round in semi-automatic sniper rifles. Tests determined that compared to the 7.62×51mm NATO (M118LR long-range 7.62×51mm NATO load), the 6.5mm Creedmoor doubles hit probability at 1,000 m (1,094 yd), increases effective range by nearly half, reduces wind drift by a third and has less recoil. The same rifles can use the new cartridge, as their similar dimensions allow the same magazines to be used and the weapon only requires a barrel change. [21] [22]
The 7.62×51mm NATO has 3.38 ml (52.0 grains) cartridge case capacity. The exterior shape of the case was designed to promote reliable case feeding and extraction in bolt-action rifles and machine guns alike, under extreme conditions.
7.62×51mm NATO cartridge dimensions. All dimensions in millimeters (mm). [23]
Americans would define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 = 20 degrees. The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 305 mm (1 in 12 in), 4 grooves, Ø lands = 7.62 mm, Ø grooves = 7.82 mm, land width = 4.47 mm. The primer type can be Berdan or Boxer Large Rifle. [24] U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) research papers on the influence of Berdan and Boxer primer spit-hole diameter on 7.62-mm cartridge performance concluded the primary advantage of a Berdan primer is that they are less expensive than a Boxer primer due to their reduced complexity. The ARL found there is little variation in the pressure-time curves between the different spit-hole configurations. Doubling the area of the spit-hole or incorporating a Berdan style spit-hole with the same total area as a standard M80 round showed minimal effects on the overall performance. The standard Boxer primed M80 showed the best results. All measured differences are within one standard deviation and are not significant. [25]
According to the official NATO EPVAT NAAG-LG/3-SG/1 rulings the 7.62×51mm NATO can handle up to 415.00 MPa (60,191 psi) Pmax piezo pressure. The proof round pressure requirement is 521.30 MPa (75,608 psi) piezo pressure recorded in a NATO design EPVAT barrel with a Kistler 6215 transducer, HPI GP6 transducer or by equipment to C.I.P. requirements. [26]
The 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge approaches the ballistic performance of the original U.S. military .30-06 Springfield M1906 service cartridge. Modern propellants allowed for similar performance from a smaller case with less case capacity, a case that requires less brass and yields a shorter cartridge. This shorter cartridge allows a slight reduction in the size and weight of firearms that chamber it, and better cycling in automatic and semi-automatic rifles. The .30-06 Springfield M1906 round weighed 26.1 grams (403 gr), and the 7.62×51mm NATO M80 round weighs 25.4 grams (392 gr). [27]
Although originating from an identical preceding series of experimental cartridges, the commercial 1952 .308 Winchester and the military 1954 7.62×51mm NATO chamberings have evolved separately but remain similar enough that they can be loaded into rifles chambered for the other round, but the .308 Winchester cartridges are typically loaded to higher pressures than 7.62×51mm NATO service cartridges. [28] Even though the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) does not consider it unsafe to fire the commercial .308 Winchester rounds in weapons chambered for the military 7.62×51mm NATO round, there is significant discussion about compatible chambers and muzzle pressures between the two cartridges based on powder loads, chamber dimensions and wall thicknesses in the web area of the military compared to commercial cartridge cases. [29] [30] As the chambers may differ accordingly the head space gauges used for the two chamberings differ. [31]
This article is missing information about Psg 90 sabot -- 7,62 mm Sk Ptr 10 PRICK.(September 2021) |
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (January 2021) |
Current unlinked ammunition is supplied in M19A1 boxes containing 200 rounds divided across four bandoliers containing five-round charger clips [32] or 300 rounds divided across eight cartons. [33] [34] Linked ammunition has been primarily supplied in M19A1 boxes containing one 200-round belt each; the belt can consist either of ball rounds only or of a sequence of four ball rounds followed by one tracer. [35] Historically, both linked and unlinked rounds have also been supplied in wooden boxes containing 500 rounds in bandoliers. [36] [37]
Packaging configurations for all ammunition natures c. 2010 consisted of a plastic 8217 box containing 1,260 rounds divided across nine PVC bags of seven twenty-round cartons each and a conventional M2A1 box containing 400 rounds divided across twenty cartons of twenty rounds each each. For linked ammunition, configurations consisted of a plastic 7716 box containing 1,000 linked rounds divided across five plastic 7815 cases of one 200-round belt each and a wire-bound wooden box containing either 1,000 linked rounds divided across four steel M61 boxes containing one 250-round belt each or 800 linked rounds divided across four steel H84 boxes containing one 200-round belt each. Link types used included M13, M2A2 Browning, and Vickers. [58]
Much like the .303 ammunition that it succeeded, initial batches of British 7.62mm unlinked ammunition were packed in steel H50 boxes containing two wooden H51 boxes each; each H51 box stored the ammunition in a further H52 metal lining. Packaging quantities included 700 rounds in bandoliers containing five-round charger clips (350 rounds per H51), [61] [62] 600 rounds in thirty-round cartons (300 rounds per H51), [63] [64] and 576 rounds in cartons containing thirty-two rounds (288 rounds per H51). [65] Alternatively, ammunition could be provided in a wooden box containing two metal boxes that were similar but not identical to the H52; these wooden boxes used the same packaging quantities as their H50 counterparts. [66] Starting c. 1969, [67] ammunition began to be packed in H84 boxes instead, with this arrangement continuing to the present day; packaging quantities include or included 450 rounds in bandoliers containing five-round charger clips, [67] 400 rounds in twenty-round cartons [68] [69] or fifty-round plastic containers, [70] and 560 rounds in twenty-round cartons. [71] Linked ammunition has been consistently packed in H82 boxes containing one 200-round belt each, with such boxes appearing as early as c. 1964; [69] this belt can consist purely of one ammunition nature, [72] but more commonly it consists of a sequence of four ball rounds followed by one tracer round [69] [73] or, more rarely, one ball round followed by one tracer round. [74] Unless stated otherwise, all ammunition listed below is or was manufactured by Radway Green and by Kynoch. [75] Radway Green, which is currently owned by BAE Systems, continues to produce ammunition for the Ministry of Defence and export customers. [76]
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (January 2021) |
This four-character alphanumeric code is used by the US Armed Forces and NATO to identify the cartridge, the cartridge type, and the packing method (cartons, clips, link belt, or bulk) used.
comprising a metal 7.62MM Blank L13A1 LNK IN MK1