24/7 Wall St. Insights
- 1950s American military guns built on Cold War and World War II insights, and shaped the development of weaponry we see today.
- The AR-10 and AR-15, developed and manufactured by ArmaLite and Colt, gained a massive following in the 1950s. You can differentiate between these guns based on round caliber.
- Machine guns like the Saco M60 also entered combat in the late 1950s, leading Saco Defense to develop machine guns and small ams used by global military service.
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The United States’ military first began using rifles and shotguns in the mid-1800s. These weapons improved upon the reliability, accuracy, power, and ease-of-use of guns past, which allowed the U.S. military strategic advantage over enemies, at least in some situations. By the time World War II emerged, the American military had better quality guns and much more of them. The development of small guns also made World War II incredibly lethal. Soldiers had access to greater firepower in close-quarter combat. Perhaps this plays into why World War II is considered the deadliest war fought in history. (Check out the World War II battle with the most casualties.)
Gun production and manufacturing continued to increase in the years following World War II’s end. Small guns entered production at a higher rate, though nowhere near the amount of guns produced during the war itself. However, these guns set a precedent for many small arms in the decades to come. (Here are the 20 guns militaries all over the world will have in the future.)
24/7 Wall St. wanted to explore the small arms introduced during the 1950s, specifically American-made guns, that revolutionized gun development. To identify American military guns introduced in the 1950s, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a catalog of small arms from Military Factory, an online database of military vehicles, arms and aircraft. Gun order is alphabetical. We included supplemental information regarding type of small arm, year introduced, manufacturer, firing action, caliber and feed.
Why We’re Covering This
Gun development in the 1950s paved the way for modern military technology. These small guns reflect both innovations from World War II and Cold War pressures. Many guns on this list come from serious weapons manufacturers who still hold power in this industry today. As a result, looking at American-made military guns of the 1950s shows how the guns influenced trends in modern weapon manufacturing.
Here are 10 groudbreaking American-made military guns of the 1950s:
ArmaLite AR-10
- Type: Battle rifle
- Year introduced: 1958
- Manufacturer: ArmaLite / Colt
- Firing action: Gas-operated rotating bolt
- Caliber and feed: 7.62x51mm NATO, .308 Winchester; 20-round detachable box magazine
Colt AR-15
- Type: Select-fire automatic rifle
- Year introduced: 1958
- Manufacturer: ArmaLite / Colt
- Firing action: Rotating bolt, direct impingement system
- Caliber and feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, .223 Remington, .45 ACP, 5.7x28mm, 6.8mm Remington SPC; 20-, 30-, 40-, 45-, 90- or 100-round magazine
Ithaca M6
- Type: Aircrew survival rifle
- Year introduced: 1952
- Manufacturer: Ithaca Gun Company
- Firing action: Manual firing pin selector lever, dual-shot
- Caliber and feed: .22 Hornet, .410; 9 x .22 Hornet, 4 x .410 shells
M40 RR
- Type: 106mm recoilless rifle
- Year introduced: 1955
- Manufacturer: Watervilet Arsenal
- Firing action: Single-shot, reusable gun tube, recoilless
- Caliber and feed: 105x607mmR; Single-shot
Model 870
- Type: Pump-action shotgun
- Year introduced: 1950
- Manufacturer: Remington Arms
- Firing action: Pump-action repeating
- Caliber and feed: 12-, 16-, 20- or 28-gauge, .410 bore; 4- or 7-round tubular magazine
Model 870 Wingmaster
- Type: Pump-action slide shotgun
- Year introduced: 1951
- Manufacturer: Remington Arms
- Firing action: Manually-operated pump-action slide
- Caliber and feed: 12-, 16-, 20- or 28-gauge, .410 bore; 5-round tubular magazine
Python
- Type: Six-shot revolver
- Year introduced: 1955
- Manufacturer: Colt
- Firing action: Double-action, repeating
- Caliber and feed: .357 Magnum; 6-shot rotating cylinder
Saco M60
- Type: General purpose machine gun
- Year introduced: 1957
- Manufacturer: Saco Defense
- Firing action: Gas-operated open bolt
- Caliber and feed: 7.62x51mm NATO; Disintegrating link belt of various counts
Smith & Wesson Model 29
- Type: Six-shot revolver
- Year introduced: 1955
- Manufacturer: Smith & Wesson
- Firing action: Double-action, rotating cylinder
- Caliber and feed: .44 Magnum, .44 Special; 6-round rotating cylinder
Springfield M14
- Type: Battle rifle
- Year introduced: 1959
- Manufacturer: Springfield Armory
- Firing action: Gas-operated, rotating bolt, selective fire
- Caliber and feed: 7.62x51mm NATO; 20-round detachable box magazine
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The post These 10 Small Guns Revolutionized American Military Potential 7 Decades Ago appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..