ArmaLite AR-10 (Original 1956)
ArmaLite · Battle Rifle · Out Of Production · 1956
Also known as: AR-10, Espingarda 7,62mm m/961, Stoner AR-10, AI AR-10, Artillerie-Inrichtingen AR-10
Overview
The ArmaLite AR-10 is the original 1956 select-fire battle rifle designed by Eugene Stoner, George Sullivan, and Charles Dorchester at the fledgling ArmaLite division of Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation. Chambered in the then-new 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge, the AR-10 introduced a radical combination of features that would define small-arms design for the rest of the century: a forged aluminum receiver, a composite polymer/fiberglass stock and handguard, a straight-line recoil geometry with an elevated sight plane, and a direct-gas-impingement system driving a rotating multi-lug bolt inside a carrier. The result was a full-power battle rifle weighing roughly 3.3 kg empty - almost a full kilogram lighter than its M14 and FN FAL contemporaries - yet capable of controllable select-fire. Entered late into the 1956-1957 US Army Springfield Armory rifle trials, an experimental composite-and-aluminum barrel assembly ruptured during high-pressure torture testing, and the T44 (M14) was selected instead. ArmaLite licensed production to Artillerie-Inrichtingen in the Netherlands, which built approximately 6,800 rifles between 1957 and 1961 for Sudan, Portugal, Cuba, Guatemala, and other customers before the project was wound down. Total production across all variants is estimated at approximately 9,900 rifles, making the original AR-10 one of the rarest mass-produced post-war battle rifles. Its design DNA was scaled down by Stoner into the AR-15 in 1957, which became the M16 - giving the original AR-10 a claim to being the most influential unsuccessful rifle in modern firearms history.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3290 g (116.1 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 4050 g (142.9 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1050 mm (41.34") |
| Barrel Length | 508 mm (20.00") |
| Action Type | Gas Operated Short Stroke |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 20 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 845 m/s (2772 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 3400 J (2508 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 700 m (766 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 2700 m (2953 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 700 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 305 mm (12.01") |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Aluminum |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Polymer |
| Finish | Anodized Black |
Calibers
- 7.62x51mm NATO · primary · 7.62x51mm NATO — also known as .308 Winchester, 7.62 NATO, 7.62mm NATO
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic, Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety, Selector Lever Safety
- Features: Straight Line Stock, Carrying Handle Rear Sight, Pistol Grip, Forged Aluminum Receiver, Composite Handguard, Direct Gas Impingement System, Rotating Multi Lug Bolt, Flash Hider, Select Fire
Variants
- ArmaLite AR-10 Cuban Model — Early
- ArmaLite AR-10 Sudanese Model — Export
- ArmaLite AR-10 Portuguese Model — Export
- ArmaLite AR-10 Transitional Model — Transitional
- ArmaLite AR-10 Guatemalan Model — Export
Service history
Conflicts
- Portuguese Colonial War (1961-1974)
- Cuban Revolution (1953-1959)
- First Sudanese Civil War (1955-1972)
- Guatemalan Civil War (1960-1996)
Production
Estimated total produced: 9,900 · Production years: 1956-1961
Approximately 9,900 rifles total across all patterns: ~14 Hollywood prototypes, ~50 Cuban, ~2,500 Sudanese, ~1,500 Portuguese, ~1,200 Transitional, plus trial and commercial samples. The bulk (~6,800) were manufactured under licence by Artillerie-Inrichtingen (AI) in the Netherlands. Excludes all post-1995 revived-ArmaLite AR-10 pattern rifles, which are a separate commercial design.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Eugene Stoner
Discontinued: 1961
Notes
Production spans four main pattern groups: Hollywood prototypes (~14 rifles, 1955-1957), Cuban model (~50 rifles, Hollywood-built), Sudanese model (~2,500, Dutch-built), Portuguese/NATO model (~1,500, Dutch-built), and Transitional model (~1,200, Dutch-built). Early composite barrel sleeves were abandoned after the Springfield trial failure in favour of conventional steel barrels. Magazines are distinctive waffle-pattern 20-round steel boxes and are not interchangeable with modern AR-10/SR-25 pattern rifles. ArmaLite sold the AR-10 and AR-15 designs to Colt in 1959; the AR-10 name was dormant until ArmaLite (revived by Mark Westrom) relaunched a new-production commercial AR-10 in 1996, which is mechanically similar but not parts-compatible with the originals.
Background
In the final days of the 1957 US Army rifle trials at Springfield Armory, an experimental composite-wrapped aluminum barrel on the AR-10 ruptured catastrophically during a high-pressure endurance test - a failure widely attributed to test-lab ammunition rather than the design itself, but enough to doom the rifle. The Army picked the conventional M14 instead. Two years later, Eugene Stoner scaled his 'failed' AR-10 down to 5.56mm and handed the world the AR-15 - the most widely produced rifle pattern in Western history. In a final twist, when ArmaLite was liquidated in 1961, Dutch technicians reportedly dumped the last unsold rifles and tooling into the North Sea.