CAR-15

Overview:

The Colt Automatic Rifle-15 Military Weapons System or CAR-15 was a family of AR-15 and M16 rifle–based firearms marketed by Colt in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Due to their compact size, the short-barreled Colt Commando and XM177 versions of this family continued to be issued to the U.S. military after the Vietnam War. The CAR-15 name was an attempt to re-associate the AR-15 name with Colt, since the AR initially stood for ArmaLite Rifle, the original manufacturer. Colt later abandoned the CAR-15 concept, but continued to make variations, using the M16 brand for military-oriented models and the Colt AR-15 brand for law enforcement and civilian models. However, in present usage, CAR-15 is used as a generic name for carbine-length M16 and AR-15 variants. Specifically, "Colt Commando" currently refers to the ultrashort 11.5-inch barrel assault rifle of the Model 733 series, marketed as the M4 Commando (formerly M16A2 Commando). By comparison, the M4 Carbine has an 14.5-inch barrel, while that of the M16 assault rifle is 20 inches. Starting in 1965, Colt attempted to market the M16 rifle as a modular weapons platform that could fulfill all of the various needs of an army, similar to the marketing plans for the AR-10, its predecessor, and the Stoner 63, its rival. In order to compete with the Stoner 63 which could be converted into a belt-fed light or medium machine gun, Colt also included the short-lived CMG-1 and CMG-2 machine guns in the CAR-15 Military Weapons System, though the CMG-1 and CMG-2 had few parts in common with the CAR-15s. By using various upper assemblies, buttstocks, and pistol grips, the weapon could be configured as an assault rifle, a heavy-barreled automatic rifle, a carbine, a submachine gun, or as a survival rifle. Each variation had a Colt model number, meant for internal identification usage. The members of the CAR-15 family, with the exception of the Rifle and Commando, only existed as toolroom prototypes and never entered full-scale production. As a result, wide variation due to experimentation exists within each model. The U.S. military only made significant purchases of the Rifle and Commando versions, so Colt abandoned the CAR-15 family concept. The CAR-15 Rifle was already identified by most users as M16s or AR-15s, and the CAR-15 name was similarly associated with the short-barreled Submachine Gun and Commando models. Because of that, the term "CAR-15" has been used to describe any M16-based carbine, even if the particular weapon is not officially named thus.

Specifications:

Type

• Assault rifle.

Place of Origin

• United States.

Weight

• Empty: 5.2 lb. (2.36 kg).
• Loaded w/30 round: 6.22 lb. (2.82 kg).

Length

• Buttstock retracted: 28.3 in. (719 mm).
• Buttstock extended: 31 in. (826 mm).

Barrel Length

• 10 in. (254 mm).

Cartridge

• 5.56x45mm NATO.

Action

• Direct impingement.

Rate of Fire

• 700 to 900 rounds per minute.

Muzzle Velocity

• 2,750 ft/s (838 m/s).

Feed System

• Various STANAG Magazines.

Sights

• Rear: Flip aperture.
• Fore: Post.