Old Editions Headlines
March of 1957 "Is this the next GI rifle" It shows and AR. Answer: well, no. The M14 is coming for a few years first, as the magazine will note in the June 1960 issue. Then 50 years of AR. Unless you meant the AR-10. Which they did. Features I didn't know about... The original magazine was aluminum and never meant to be reloaded. And a backpack with belted ammunition feeding the rifle was considered. Sounds great, in theory. In August of 1961 the magazine was printing the M14 was obsolete before it had really been deployed. Bad scene.
May of 1956 "Can burp guns replace rifles" Answer: no. After 65 years that answer is pretty much settled. Though it tried for a good while. Unless you consider an AR pattern a burp gun. Money quote: "the burp gun symbolizes the most important revolution in military tactics since the invention of the breech loader."
Belt-fed ammunition from a backpack? That's crazy talk! ;)
ReplyDeleteIn the 60's, I attended one of my dad's WWII army reunions and visited a nearby museum with several of the Battle of the Bulge vets. They were very clear that a 'burp gun' was an MP-43/44, but not an MP-40. They knew the difference.
ReplyDeleteChecking the article, it rather strangely mixes SMG's with Sturmgewehren.
The old Guns magazine downloads have been great fun. Much thanks to Guns and American Handgunner for making their old issues available.