CAR-15 FAMILY③

CAR-15 FAMILY③

CAR-15 Survival Rifle

The CAR-15 survival rifle is numbered Model 608 at Colt. The "survival rifle" is a weapon for aircrews to use after parachuting after being shot down. In fact, it is equivalent to the so-called PDW now. The gun was designed in early 1964 because the US Air Force issued a competition for the selection of self-defense weapons for pilots to escape after parachuting. The main requirements of the Air Force for this weapon are: very compact, firing .223 Remington bullets, a magazine capacity of 30 rounds, and a gun and three spare magazines can be placed in a package no longer than 15 inches (about 38 cm).

Robert Gaddis made full use of the characteristics of the upper and lower receiver structure of the AR-15 based on the CAR-15 submachine gun that was being developed at the time. It can be disassembled into two parts: the barrel/upper receiver and the lower receiver/stock, and stored in the pilot's bag together with four 20-round magazines (the 30-round magazine developed by Colt at the time was not reliable). The barrel is 10 inches long and the entire gun is 29 inches (about 74 cm) long. There is no auxiliary push handle or bayonet protrusion. It uses a simple cylindrical handguard. The buttstock is a two-section aluminum tube wrapped in a plastic layer and is not retractable (the idea of the retractable buttstock at the time was to shorten the carrying length, and it was not considered from the needs of shooters of different heights and arm lengths. Because the gun itself is disassembled into two parts for carrying, it is meaningless to make the buttstock retractable, and it is cheaper to make it simpler, and the burden will be a little lighter when parachuting) . The grip was also chopped off in half to reduce the size, and the trumpet-shaped flash suppressor is also relatively short, 1.3 inches long. But even so, the CAR-15 life-saving rifle, which is split into two parts, still cannot be put into the 38 cm long package.

Colt built a total of 10 CAR-15 life-saving rifles. These 10 samples are not exactly the same, and there are some differences in details, giving users more choices. However, because it did not meet the size requirements, it was ultimately not adopted by the US Air Force (not even a trial). The competitor of the CAR-15 life-saving rifle is the Stoner 63 life-saving rifle , which fully meets the requirements of the US Air Force. However, it was also not equipped.

Carrying method of CAR-15 rescue rifle: disassembled into two parts, upper and lower receiver, and each gun is equipped with 4 real magazines

After the pilot parachuted to the ground, he reassembled the CAR-15 life-saving rifle and it looked like this

CAR-15 rescue rifle in the museum

A collector's Colt 608 with a 4.25- inch Moderator silencer/flash suppressor from the XM177

The simple and lightweight stock of the CAR-15 survival rifle

This picture is probably a modification based on the design of the CAR-15 life-saving rifle, because the lower receiver has a "full fence" style auxiliary push handle, the barrel is at least 12 inches, and the grip is also a standard size. Only 10 samples of the CAR-15 life-saving rifle were made, and the real ones have now become rare items.

Photo of the 608 model during the public display of the CAR-16 family of rifles

The 10 CAR-15 survival rifles manufactured by Colt may not all be of the same style. For example, they are equipped with a 3.5-inch Moderator silencer/ flash suppressor, and the grip is also cut short but slightly longer.

CAR-15 HBAR light machine gun

The CAR-15 Heavy Barrel Assault Rifle (i.e. light machine gun) is similar to the M1918 BAR , Colt numbered Model 606 , also known as the Heavy Assault Rifle M1. The Heavy Assault Rifle M1 is used as a squad fire support. It uses a heavy barrel with a thicker wall, which not only slows down the barrel temperature rise during continuous shooting, but also improves the accuracy during continuous shooting. A bipod can be clamped under the front sight. In order to improve the continuity of firepower, a 30-round capacity magazine is also used. From the above picture, it can be seen that this early 30-round magazine has a slightly curved shape, and its outline is not exactly the same as the straight-bent-straight M16 magazine we are familiar with now. The other two variants, the 606A, have an auxiliary push handle, while the 606B has a 4-position speed selector designed by Colt himself, and a 3-round burst function. This speed machine was developed by Foster Sturtevant in December 1966. By modifying the burst ratchet, the burst length can be changed to two, three, or six rounds. The U.S. Army purchased less than 200 heavy assault rifles M1 for testing, but did not adopt them.

A further development of this system was the Heavy Assault Rifle M2, which was developed to be belt-fed. Rob Roy designed a special belt box at Colt. This belt box was available in two sizes, one for 50 rounds and the other for 120 rounds, and this system necessitated major changes to the upper and lower receivers. The Heavy Assault Rifle M2 was also never adopted, and later a man named John A. Ceiner made some M16 conversion kits based on the Heavy Assault Rifle M2. Although the US Army evaluated this conversion machine gun for use as a door gun for helicopters , less than 20 belt-fed models were built.