AUG /Hbar

AUG /Hbar (Austria)

Сaliber  5.56mm NATO
V0 945 m/s
Цeigth  4,9kg w/o magazine
Length 900 mm
Length of barrel 621 mm
Аeeding  box magazine 30 or 42 rounds
Rate of fire  680 rpm

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Steyr-Solothurn MG30

Steyr-Solothurn S2-100 / S2-200 / MG 30 / 31M machine gun (Switzerland /Austria)

 Steyr-Solothurn S2-100 light machine gun.

 Steyr-Solothurn S2-200 / MG 30 light machine gun, Austria.

 Steyr-Solothurn S2-200 / 31M light machine gun, Hungary.

Caliber	7.92x57, 8x56R
Weight	9.5 kg
Length	1162 mm
Barrel length	600 mm
Feed	Magazine, 30 rounds
Rate of fire	550 rounds per minute

During the late 1920s Waffenfabrik Solothurn, a Swiss private business that emerged in the watch-making industry but later turned to the production of small-armsparts, was bought by the German concern Rheinmetall, to serve as a research and development facility away from the watchful eyes of the Allied Control Commission, established in 1918 as a result of Treaties of Versailles. In 1929 Waffenfabrik Solothurn brought out its first practical machine gun, known by the factory as the S2-100, and in export catalogs as the MG 29. Next year Solothurn announced an updated version, the S2-200, also known as theMG 30. It was, in essence, a typical light machine gun – recoil operated and magazine fed, although Solothurn also offered a complicated universal tripod for this gun. The Solothurn MG30 earned its place in history by being adopted by Austria in 1930 and Hungary in 1931 (in both cases chambered for 8x56R ammunition), and it also served as the starting point for several German machine guns, such as the MG 15 (aircraft) and MG 34. It is also must be noted that most of components of the MG30 were produced in Austria at the Steyr factory; Solothurn carried out the final assembly and test-firing.

The Solothurn S2-200 machine gun is a short-recoil operated, air cooled, magazine-fed weapon. It uses a locking ring, which is located at the end of the barrel extension, to lock the bolt. Inside the locking ring, there are six sets of locking lugs, arranged as an interrupted thread. These lugs are mated with lugs cut at the rear of the bolt. Rotation of the ring, which locks and unlocks the bolt, is controlled by rollers mounted on the outside of the ring. Upon recoil, these rollers follow cam tracks cut into the receiver. The gun is of relatively simple design, with most parts having a round cross-section. The tubular receiver is an extension of the barrel jacket. The butt hosts a tube which contains the return spring and its guide. During disassembly, the butt is unlocked and rotated to disengage it from the receiver, then removed. This permits the entire barrel / bolt group to be pulled or shaken off the receiver for replacement. Since the bolt is held attached to the barrel extension, it needs to be removed from the hot barrel and attached to the cold one before reassembly; this procedure requires a heat-insulated glove to handle the hot barrel.
The trigger is of the rocking type and allows for single shots and automatic fire. The selection of fire mode is made by pressing either the top (single shots) or bottom (automatic) part of the trigger.Ammunition feed is from curved box magazines, inserted from the left side; ejection is to the right.
The gun is normally fitted with a folding bipod, although Solothurn also produced a sophisticated universal tripod, with a remote trigger and a traverse and elevation mechanism, and recoil buffers.
Modifications:
S2-100 / MG 29: a direct predecessor to the S2-200, made in very limited numbers in 1929-30. Key difference from S2-200 is that buttstock cannot be removed so quickly.
MG 30 (Austria): same as S2-200 except for ammunition used – it was chambered for 8x56R rimmed ammunition, which required magazines of more curved shape
31M (Hungary): same as MG 30.

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Schwarzlose M1907 and M1907/12

Schwarzlose M1907 and M1907/12 machine gun (Austro-Hungary /Austria)

 Schwarzlose M1907 machine gun on Dutch-made M tripod, with AA sight.

 Schwarzlose M1907/12 machine gun on standard Austrian tripod; spade grips are folded up.
Image courtesy of James D. Julia auction house, Maine, USA

 Schwarzlose M1907/12 machine gun on standard Austrian tripod; spade grips are in ready position, and a shoulder stock is attached.
Image courtesy of James D. Julia auction house, Maine, USA

 Schwarzlose M1907/24 (Vz.24) machine gun, interwar Czechoslovak conversion to 7.92x57 mauser caliber; note that it has longer barrel and jacket.

Caliber	8x50R Mannlicher and others
Weight	20 kg (gun body) + 3 kg (water) + 20 kg (tripod)
Length	1067 mm
Barrel length	527 mm
Feed	belt
Rate of fire	400 rounds per minute

German arms designer Andreas Wilhelm Schwarzlose patented a basic design for a machine gun in 1902. He subsequently sold his patent rights to the Steyr arms factory in Austria, which produced the first guns of the Schwarzlose pattern in 1905. After two years of trials and development, the military forces of the Empire adopted the Schwarzlose machine gun in 1907; this gun was also later adopted in a range of calibers by the Netherlands and Sweden (who both manufactured Schwarzlose machine guns under licence until the 1930s), and by Greece, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey – all before the World War I. In 1912 it was modified with the introduction of stronger parts and slightly reshaped retarding levers (struts). The primary visible difference between original M1907 guns and modified M1907/12 guns is the lack of the gap between the hump on the receiver and the barrel jacket on the latter guns.
After the WWI and the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a great many Schwarzlose guns were adopted by smaller countries that emerged from the remains of the Empire, such as Czechoslovakia (which put the gun into production) and Hungary. Many Schwarzlose guns also went to Italy as war reparations, and subsequently saw some use during WW2, mostly in Africa in the original 8x50R caliber. Another user of Schwarzlose machine guns was Russia, which captured several thousands of Austrian machine guns during the early parts of World War One.
The Schwarzlose machine gun, although overshadowed by more famous weapons such as the Maxim or Browning, has its own merits. It is quite simple in construction, robust in service, and usually quite reliable. Its drawbacks come from its basic design, which centers on a retarded-blowback action. This action calls for a relatively short barrel so that the chamber pressure drops before the case begins to leave the chamber; otherwise it would rupture – although when the Czechoslovak army converted their old 8x50R Schwarzlose machine guns to the more powerful 7.92x57 Mauser ammunition, they had no problems associated with high pressure, even with new, significantly longer barrels. Nevertheless, most of the Schwarzlose guns retained short barrels throughout their service life. This obviously limited the muzzle velocity and thus the maximum range and possible bullet penetration at any given range, compared with contemporary guns with a locked breech. The short barrel also called for a dedicated flash hider, to suppress the significant muzzle flash which otherwise would blind the gunner at night. Finally, the lack of primary extraction required an integral oiler, which squirted a small amount of oil into the chamber just before chambering the next round. Nevertheless, the Schwarzlose was a good weapon and saw considerable use through both world wars, although during the Second World War it was mostly relegated to second-line troops, fortifications and other such uses. 

The Schwarzlose machine gun is a retarded-blowback operated, water cooled, belt-fed weapon that fires from a closed bolt. The method of operation requires a heavy breechblock, connected to the receiver through a pair of knee-joint struts. When the bolt is in battery, the struts are folded forward, with their joint axis lying relatively low above the barrel axis. Upon firing, the pressure of the powder gases acts on the breechblock through the base of the cartridge case. The rearward movement of the breechblock unfolds the struts, but because of a carefully arranged redirection of forces through the struts and joints, most of the initial pressure is transferred to the receiver. Upon further recoil, joint axis rises above the barrel, and thus the recoil force is re-distributed with more and more of it being used for bolt acceleration. Upon recoil, the bolt compresses a massive and powerful return spring which forces it forward and into battery once the recoil stroke is completed. The charging handle is attached to the axis of the forward strut, and has to be rotated back to cycle the bolt.
Due to the lack of primary extraction, the Schwarzlose has to use oiled cartridges. To avoid the problems associated with factory-oiled or waxed ammunition (which tends to collect fine dust and then cause jams) the gun has an internal oiling system which squirts a small amount of oil into the chamber just before the chambering of each round. This system includes an oil reservoir, located in the receiver’s top cover, and a small oil pump, which is operated by the reciprocating bolt. 
The belt feed system is very simple, and involves few parts. The major part is the star-wheel, located in the lower left corner of receiver. Upon bolt recoil, the star-wheel is rotated for one step by the interaction of the cam surfaces on the bolt and the wheel. Each cartridge has to make three steps in the feed before being presented to the bolt for chambering, therefore initial belt loading requires three deliberate pulls on the charging handle. The feed direction is from the right side only, ejection being to the left.
The trigger system also is of rather simply design. It involves a separate striker, a striker spring and a sear, mounted on the bolt. The sear is cocked by a lever attached to the rear bolt delaying strut, and this cocking movement adds to the retarding force applied to the bolt. After cocking the striker is held to the rear by the sear. The thumb trigger is located at the rear of the receiver, and once pushed by the operator, it holds the connection bar so it trips the sear when the bolt is in battery. A manual safety is located next to the trigger and blocks it unless pushed forward by the operator’s left thumb. Dual spade grips are located horizontally at either side of the receiver, and can be folded up for storage or transportation.
 The most common mounting was a tripod of solid construction, with tubular legs of adjustable height and traverse and elevation mechanisms. An optional armored shield was available for this gun, which was unusual in that it also provided frontal and lateral armored protection for the thin metal of the water jacket. Alternatively, a low-height, lightweight tripod was provided for the “light” role. This tripod had no traverse and elevation mechanisms.

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Steyr ACR

Steyr ACR - Advanced Combar Rifle

Steyr ACR

Steyr ACR layout shematic

Steyr ACR action drawing from Steyr patent
gas piston in forward position, breech block with chamber in upper position

Caliber: 5.6 mm fleschette
Action: Gas operated, rising breech
Overall length: mm
Barrel length: 540 mm
Weigth: 3.23 kg w/o magazine
Rate of fire: rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 24 rounds

The Advanced Combat Rifle program was started by the US Army in the late 1980s with the main goal to improve the hit probability of average infantry soldier by at least 100 percents above the M16A2 capabilities. During this trials, held in the early 1990s, some new and existing designs from several companies were tested, with more or less sucess, but no one achieved the 100% improvement in hit probablility over the existing M16 rifle, so program was terminated and all participating designs were freezed, which is pity. One of the most interesting participants was a design of the austrian company Steyr-Mannlicher AG.

The Steyr ACR was built as an attempt to revive the fleschette ammunition concept, first tried in the 1960s during US Army SPIW program. In 1960s, the fleschette concept was a failure. In 1990s, it was much more sucessful, but not enough to be worth of total rearming to the new infantry weapon system.

Steyr ACR is built around a specially designed cartridge of nominal caliber of 5.56mm. This cartridge has simple, cylindrically shaped plastic case. The fleschette, or dart, is totally enclosed in the case. Fleschette diameter is about 1.5 mm (.06 inch), lenght is about 41 mm (1.6 inch), weight 0.66 gramm (10 grains). Fleschette is partially enclosed into discarding sabot, and leaves the muzzle at impressive velocity of 1450 meters per second (4750 fps), still retaining velocity of 910 m/s (2980 fps) at the range of 600 meters. The plastic case had no rim or extracting groove, and priming compound is located annually at the inside wall of the case.

To fire such uncommon cartridge, Steyr ACR has equally uncommon design. Barrel of nominal caliber of 5.56mm, has a very slow rifling to give initial stabilisation to the fleschette, which is stabilised in flight by its own small fins. Instead of common linear-moving bolt, Steyr ACR have separate chamber (breech block), which can be moved up and down. The whole action is powered by gas drive, which has annual gas piston, located around the barrel. To understand this system i will explain how it works:
at first, lets suppose that chamber is empty and rifle is manually cocked for the first shot.In this position the chamber block is its lowest position, aligned with the topmost round in magazine.The gas piston with its operating rod is in its rearmost position and under the pressure of the return spring.When trigger is pressed, the operating rod with gas piston are released and started forward under the pressure of the return spring, which is located around the barrel. This movement, at first, via special rammer, feeds the first round forward from magazine and into the chamber, and then, via shaped cam and breech block spring, rises the breech block with the cartridge into the topmost position. In this position the fixed firing pin passes through the hole in the top of the chamber and penetrates the cartridge wall, igniting the primer composition and firing the round. When projectile (fleschette with sabot) passes the gas port, some of powder gases began to move the gas piston back. This movement, via the operating rod and shaped cam, loweres the breech block with empty case out of alignment with barrel and down to the magazine. When breech comes to stop in the lowest position, a separate rammer feeds next cartridge forward and out of magazine, chambering it. At the same time, the fired case is pushed forward out of the chamber by the next cartridge, and when cleared from the chamber, the spent case simply falls down out of the rifle via the ejection port. The ejection port is located at the bottom of the rifle, ahead of magazine, and this eliminates one of the biggest problems of any bull-pup rifle - a non-ambidextrous (or, in this case - fully ambidextrous) ejection.

If rifle is set to the full auto mode, the firing cycle is repeated as descibed above. Otherwise, the loaded breech remains in its lowest position, awaiting for the next trigger pull.

This quite comprehensive action was concealed in sleek and comfortable polymer case with AUG-styled pistol grip and large ventilated upper rib with fixed sights. Optical sights also were fitted. Due to extremely high projectile velocity, flight time was very short at any practical ranges, and trajectory was wery flat, giving the shooter almost ray-gun performance, which allowed to fire withouth prior calculations of point of impact - speaking simply, at any practical combat ranges shooter will hit where it aimed, regardless target movements (projectile flight time to the target at 300 meters is about 0.2 seconds). Due to high velocity, Steyr ACR had good killing power and armour piercing capablities, and due to the low weight of the projectile recoil was low. But it was not enough to double the M16 performance, so, for now, the Steyr ACR remains in prototype or preproductional state and the program is freezed if not abandoned at all.

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Steyr AUG

Steyr Stg.77 AUG assault rifle

 Steyr AUG A1 in standard rifle configuration (military green colour)

The drawing of the Steyr AUG prototype (circa 1974). From original patent. Notethe open sights instead of the latter built-in telescope sights

 Same prototype drawing, major components: barrel group, receiver, plastic housing with magazine and trigger group (from top to bottom)

Steyr AUG with M203 40mmgrenade launcher

Steyr AUG A1 Carbine (police black colour)

 Steyr AUG A2 with Carbine configuration (shorter barrel) and with Picatinny-type rail installed instead of standard telescope sight

 Steyr AUG A3 Carbine with 16inch barrel and optional forward grip / tactical flashlight and telescope sight

Steyr AUG A3 Carbine with 16inch barrel and special 40mm grenade launcher;grenade launcher sight is attached to the top of removable telescopic riflesight

Steyr AUG A3 in Sniper configuration, with heavier and longer 20inch barrel,detachable bipod and long-range telescopic sight

Comparison of various AUG barrels, from top to bottom: LMG/heavy barrel with bipod;standard rifle barrel; carbine barrel; SMG barrel.

Click here to see the cross-section ofthe Steyr AUG rifle (58 Kb JPEG, will open in the new window)

Caliber: 5.56mm NATO (.223rem)
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
Overall length: 805 mm (with standard 508 mm barrel)
Barrel length: 508 mm (also 350 mm SMG, 407 mm Carbine or 621 mm LMG heavy barrel)
Weight: 3.8 kg unloaded (with standard 508 mm barrel)
Magazines: 30 or 42 rounds box magazines
Rate of fire: 650 rounds per minute
Effective range of fire: 450-500 meters with standard assault rifle barrel

The Steyr AUG (Armee Universal Gewehr - Universal Army Rifle) had been indevelopment since the late 1960s, as a replacement for venerable but obsolete Stg.58 (FN FAL) battle rifles for Austrian army. It was developed by the Austrian Steyr-Daimler-Puch company (now the Steyr-Mannlicher AG & Co KG) in close conjunction with Austrian Army. The major design is attributed to the three men - Horst Wesp, Karl Wagner and Karl Möser, who developed most of the rifle features. From the Austrian Office of Military Technology the project was supervised by the Colonel Walter Stoll. The new rifle has been adopted by the Austrian Army in 1977, as the Stg.77 (Assault rifle, model of 1977), and production began in 1978. Since then, the AUG gained serious popularity, being adopted by the armed forces of Australia, Austria, New Zealand, Oman, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Ireland and some others. It also was widely purchased by various security and law enforcement agencies worldwide, including the US Coastal Guard. The Steyr AUG can be considered as the most commercially successful bullpup assault rifle to date. Since the 1997, the Steyr-Mannlicher produced an updated version of the AUG, the AUG A2.
In around 2005, Steyr-Mannlicher introduced the most recent version of AUG, the AUG A3. This version is characterized by addition of four Picatinny-type accessory rails - one at the top of the receiver, and three around the barrel, in front of the receiver - at both sides and below it. Therefore there AUG A3 has no standard / integral sighting equipment; instead, any open, telescope or night vision sights can be installed on the upper rail, using appropriate mountings. Lower rail can be used to mount various attachments like tactical front grips, flash-lights, and a specially designed 40mm grenade launcher. Side rails can be used for equipment like laser-aiming devices.

Some said that the AUG rifle was revolutionary in many respects when it first appeared, but this is not true. In fact, the AUG is a clever combination of the various previously known ideas, assembled into one sound, reliable and aesthetically attractive package. Let's look at this a little closer. Bullpup configuration: The Steyr AUG is not a first military bullpup ever devised. In fact, BritishEnfield EM-2 and Soviet Korobov TKB-408 bullpup assault rifles precede the AUG by some 25-30 years. The French  FAMASbullpup also appeared on the scene at the very same time, as the AUG did. Plasticfirearm housing: Another Soviet experimental bullpup design, Korobov TKB-022, had the plastic housing as early as in 1962, and the  FAMAS rifle, again, has this same feature at the same time as AUG did. Telescope sight as a standard: The British  EM-2 bullpup rifle of late 1940s, as well as the experimental Canadian FN FAL prototypes of early 1950s, also featured a low-magnification telescope sights as their prime sighting equipment. A modular design: First systems, consisting of various firearms based on the same receiver and action (automatic rifle, light machine gun, carbine) were originally developed in 1920s in France by Rossignol and in Soviet Russia by Fedorov. Considering all said above, one must agree that the AUG was a logical development of various well known ideas,and a really successful one.

In general, the AUG is known for good ergonomics,decent accuracy and a good reliability.

Technical description.
The Steyr AUG is a gas operated, magazine fed, selective fire rifle of bullpup layout.

AUG is built around the aluminium casting receiver, with steel reinforcement inserts. One such insert is used to provide the locking to the removable barrels and the rotating bolt, thus relieving the receiver from most of the firing stress. Other inserts are used as a bearings for the bolt carrier guide rods.

The AUG uses a short piston stroke, gas operated action, with the gas piston mounted inside the compact gas block, which is fixed to the barrel. The gas cylinder is offset to the right from the barrel. Gas piston has its own return spring, contained inside the gas block. The gas system features a three positions gas regulator, which allows for two open positions (for normal and fouled conditions) and one closed position (for launching the rifle grenades). The gas block also contains a barrel fix / release lock and a front grip hinge. Each barrel has eight lugs, that lock into the steel insert in the receiver, and there's four basic barrel patterns for the AUG: standard rifle barrel is 508 mm (~20 in) long. "Compact" or "Submachine gun" barrel is 350 mm (13.8 in) long, "Carbine" barrel is 407 mm (16 in) long, and the heavy / LMG (light machine gun) barrel is 621 mm (24.4 in) long. On each rifle barrels can be exchanged in the matter of seconds. Each barrel is fitted with the flash hider, and the heavy 621 mm barrel also is fitted with lightweight folding bipods. There's no bayonet lug on Austrian service rifles, but it can be installed if required.

Barrel replacement procedure, as noted above, takes only few seconds (assuming that the shooter has the spare barrel handy). To remove the barrel, one must take off the magazine, and clear the rifle by operating the cocking handle. Then, grasp the barrel by the front grip, push the barrel retaining button at the gas block, and rotate the barrel and pull it out of the rifle. To install a new barrel, simply push the barrel down into the front of the receiver all the way and then rotate it until it locks. The rifle now is ready to be loaded and fired.

The bolt system consists of the bolt carrier, which has two large hollow guide rods, attached to its forward part. The left rod also serves as a link to the charging handle, and the right rod serves as the action rod, which transmits the impulse from the gas piston to the bolt carrier. The rotating bolt has 7 locking lugs, claw extractor and a plunger-type spring loaded ejector. Standard bolt has its extractor on the right side, to facilitate right-side ejection, but the left-side bolts (with mirrored positions of extractor and ejector) are available for those who need left-side ejection. The two return springs are located behind the bolt carrier, around the two string guide rods, that are located inside the bolt carrier guide rods. The cocking handle is located at the left side of the gun and normally does not reciprocate when gun is fired, but it can be solidly engaged to the bolt group if required by depressing the small button on the charging handle. On the latest AUG A2 variant, the charging handle was made folding up and of slightly different shape. The AUG action features a bolt stop device, that holds the bolt group open after the last round of ammunition from the magazine is fired. To release the bolt after the magazine replacement, one must pull the charging handle.

The hammer unit is made as a separate assembly and almost entirely of plastic (including the hammer itself). Only springs and pins are steel. The hammer unit is located in the butt and is linked to the sliding trigger by the dual trigger bars. The safety is of the cross-bolt, push-button type and located above the pistol grip. There's no separate fire mode selector on the AUG rifles. Instead, the trigger itself is used to control the mode of fire. Pulling it half the way back will produce single shots, while the full pull will produce automatic fire. The enlarged triggerguard encloses the whole hand and allows the gun to be fired in winter gloves or mittens.

The standard sighting equipment of the Steyr AUG rifle is the 1.5X telescope sight, with aiming reticle made as a circle. This circle is so dimensioned so its visible inner diameter is equal to the visible height of the standing man at 300 meters range. The adjustment knobs on the sight are used only for zeroing. The sight housing, which is integral to the receiver on the AUG A1 models, also features an emergency backup iron sights at the top of the telescope sight housing. Some early production AUG rifles of A1 pattern were fitted with receivers that had an integral scope mounts. On the AUG A2 models, the standard scope mount can be quickly removed and replaced by the Picatinny-type mounting rail.

The housing of the AUG rifles, integral with the pistol handle and triggerguard, is made from the high impact-resistant polymer, and is usually of green (military) or black (police) colour. The housing has two symmetrical ejection ports, one of which is always covered by the plastic cover. The rubber-coated buttplate is detachable and, when removed, opens the access to the rifle internals, including the hammer unit and the bolt group. The buttplate is held in position by the cross-pin, which also serves a s a rear sling swivel attachment point.

The AUG is fed from the detachable box magazines, that hold 30 (standard rifle) or 42 (light machine gun) rounds. The magazines are made from semi-translucent, strong polymer. The magazine release button is located behind the magazine port and is completely ambidextrous (some said that it is equally NOT comfortable for either hand use).

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Steyr Mannlicher M95

 8x50R Steyr Mannlicher M95 long rifle.

 Steyr Mannlicher 8x56R M95/30 short rifle (upgraded and shortened M95), left side.
Image: Frank Rodyns, Belgium

 same 8x56R Steyr Mannlicher M95/30 short rifle, right side, with the loaded en bloc clip shown in front of the gun.
Image: Frank Rodyns, Belgium

Steyr Mannlicher M95/30 rifle, with bolt open and loaded clip partially inserted into action; note how the bolt handle remains horizontal, as opposed to more common rotating bolt actions such as Mauser.
Image: Frank Rodyns, Belgium

Drawing of the Mannlicher 1895 straight-pull bolt system; note the curved ribs and cuts marked with the dotted lines, which rotate the bolt head on bolt open/close action.

 Bottom view on the Steyr Mannlicher M95 rifle, showing the large opening, through which the empty clip is ejected.

	M95 long rifle	M95/30 rifle
Caliber	8x50R М93	8x56R M30
Overall length	1272 mm	1000 mm
Barrel length	765 mm	480 mm
Weight	3,8 kg empty	3,36 kg empty
Magazine capacity	5 rounds in en bloc clip	5 rounds in en bloc clip

The Steyr M1895 rifle, also known as Steyr-Mannlicher M95 straight pull rifle, was developed by famous Austrian arms designer Ferdinand Ritter Von Mannlicher. Based on his previous M1890 design, this rifle was manufactured in Austro-Hungarian Empire at state arms factories in Steyr (Austria) and Budapest (Hungary). More than 3 millions of M95 rifles were produced between 1895 and 1918. This rifle was issued to Austro-Hungarian army, and, after the fall of the Empire, to the Austrian and Hungarian armies. Originally produced in 8x50R caliber, in 1924 some of M95 rifles were converted to the German 7.92x57 Mauser (also known as 8x57 Mauser) ammunition. These converted rifles featured shorter 58 cm barrels, were designated as M95/24 and used in Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. This conversion gave away with original Mannlicher en bloc clip, and replaced it with Mauser stripper clips. Since 1930 Austria converted most of the M95 rifles to the more powerful 8x56R M30 ammunition, using the same Mannlicher en bloc clips. These rifles were designated as M95/30, and marked with the letter "S" on the receiver ring. Hungary started to convert their rifles to the same 8x56R ammunition in 1931, with the upgraded rifles being marked with the letter "H" on the receiver ring. Many of the M95 rifles were used during the Word War 2 by the Hungarian, Bulgarian and Italian armies, as well as by some German police forces.

Ferdinand Von Mannlicher developed his first straight-pull bolt action rifle by 1884, and by 1885 he developed the famous Mannlicher en block clip, which was inserted into the box magazine from the top, and automatically ejected through the opening at the bottom of the magazine as the last round was chambered. This significantly speed up the loading process, compared to the earlier designs with magazines loaded by single rounds; the problem was that such magazine could not be loaded with loose rounds without the clip. As a result, during the early part of the 20 century Mannlicher en bloc clip was generally replaced by the Mauser-type stripper clip. Earliest Mannlicher straight-pull rifles have had not so strong wedge-locking system, but in 1890 he introduced a straight pull bolt action with rotary bolt head with two lugs, which he latter used in M95 rifles.

Steyr Mannlicher M95 bolt has a separate head with two frontal locking lugs; bolt head was inserted into the bolt body from the front. Bolt body had internal spiral-shaped ribs, with matching spiral-shaped cuts in the tail of the bolt head. These ribs and cuts forced the bolt head to rotate on the pull of the bolt body, locking and unlocking the action. Box magazine contained five rounds in en bloc clips; as the magazine emptied, the clips were ejected from the opening at the bottom of the magazine. Non-empty clips could be removed from the top with the bolt open, by depressing the clip catch inside the triggerguard. One specific feature of this system was that the clip has specific "top" and "bottom" sides, and could not be loaded into the rifle upside down. The safety was located at the rear left side of the bolt. Large ear-shaped cocking handle at the rear of the bolt served as a manual cocking handle, to re-cock the action without operating the bolt. M95 rifles were issued with detachable knife bayonets. Other than basic rifle, M95 also was issued as Stutzen (short rifle or carbine, with bayonet lug), and slightly shorter cavalry carbine (without bayonet lug).

These rifles are generally considered as a reasonably strong and accurate, but somewhat sensitive to mud and dirt, as most others military straight pull bolt action rifles. There were several downsides, inherent to these rifles. The straight pull bolt lacked the powerful initial extraction, provided by most rotating bolt actions. Large opening at the bottom of the magazine easily collected the dirt and dust into the magazine. The en block clip loading system does not allow the partially full magazine to be refilled without removing the non-empty clip first. The use of rimmed ammunition resulted in the non-symmetric clip which could be inserted into the action only with one side down; upper side of the clip has stamped serrations to hold it while loading (this particular problem was cured in Italian Carcano rifles, which used rimless ammunition, and symmetric clips).

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Steyr .50 HS

Steyr .50HS heavy sniperrifle, with folded bipod.

Caliber: .50BMG (12.7x99mm) or .460Steyr
Operation: manually operated rotating bolt action
Barrel: 833 mm (33")
Weight: 12.4 kg
Length: 1370 mm (54")
Feed Mechanism: single shot, no magazine

The Steyr .50 HS is the most recent development of the famous Austrian arms manufacturer, the SteyrMannlicher Gmbh & Co KG. First displayed at the ShotShow-2004 (February2004, Las-Vegas, USA), this single shot rifle is primary intended for anti-material applications and counter-sniping. The Steyr .50HS is available in two calibers, the old and venerable .50BMG and the apparently new .460Steyr (on which so far no data were obtained).

The Steyr .50 HS is a single shot rifle,with manually operated, rotating bolt with two large locking lugs at the front.The two-stage trigger is factory set to 4lbs (1.8kg). The buttstock is adjustable for length of pull, the cheekpiece is also adjustable. Heavy barrel is partially fluted and fitted with effective muzzle brake. Steyr .50 HS has no iron sights; the MilStd Picatinny rail is standard. Rifle is not intended to be fired off-hand; it is fitted with integral folding adjustable bipods.

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Steyr AMR / IWS 2000

 Steyr AMR 5075 prototype.

 Steyr IWS 2000 prototype.

 Steyr 15.2mm cartridge compared to 7.62mm NATO (.308 Wichester) cartridge.

 Steyr 15.2mm cartridge schematic.

Caliber(s): 15.2mm Steyr APFSDS
Operation: long recoil, semi-automatic
Barrel: 1200 mm
Weight: 18 kg
Length: 1800 mm
Feed Mechanism: 5 rounds detachable box mag.

The development of this interesting weapon began in mid-1980s, when Austrian company Steyr-Mannlicher AG decided to develop a long-range anti-materiel rifle (AMR) - a modern equivalent of the WW2-era antitank rifles. Main targets for AMR are light armoured vehicles, helicopters, installations such as radar cabins, missile launchers, fuel tanks etc. To achieve desired effective range of at least 1000 meters, Steyr engineers first decided to use APDS (armour piercing, discarding sabot), or sub-caliber, ammunition. Development started from 12.7mm cartridges, and later Steyr developed a 14.5mm APFSDS (Arnour percing, fin stabilised, discarding sabot) ammunition in 14.5mm caliber and built few prototypes with smooth bores and semi-automatic actions, called Steyr AMR 5075. Further development led to even bigger caliber of 15.2mm fith same ultra-high velocity APFSDS projectiles. This system is called Steyr IWS 2000 (Infantry Weapon System 2000) and currently is probably in Adsvanced Development status or ready for adoption.

IWS 2000 is wery formidable weapon. It fires 20 gramm (308 grains) tungsten dart (fleschette) with muzzle velocity of 1450 meters per second (4750 fps). At 1000 meters this projectile will penetrate a 40 mm of RHA (rollded homogenous steel armour) and will result in serious secondary fragmentation effect behind the armour. That said, it will penetrate two walls of any modern APC at one kilometer range. The trajectory is very flat and does not rise higher than 800 mm above the line of sight when fired to 1000 meters.The cartridge is of somewhat original design, and has plastic case with steel head and base. The projectile is concealed within a plastic sabot.

The rifle itself also is very interesting. Firs, it uses rare long-recoil system, when barrel recoils along with the bolt for significant lenght. At the end of the recoil, bolt unlocks from the barrel by rotating and held back, and barrel returns into forward position, ejecting a spent case. Bolt stays at the rearmost position while barrel moves, and then also moves forward, chambering a new round from the side-mounted magazine and finally locking rigidly to the barrel. This design allows for better recoil disttibution over a longer period of time. Huge muzzle brake also contributes to recoil control, so felt recoil of the IWS 2000 is descibed as a similar to the large-caliber sporting rifle. Five round detachable box magazine is located at the right side of the receiver and inclined down for about 45 degrees. The smooth-bore barrel can be easily detached, so rifle can be carried disassembled into two man-portable packs. Plastics are used where possible to reduce the weight of the gun. IWS 2000 is equipped with bipod and a rear leg under the buttstock. It is also equipped with 10X telescope as a standard.

This is probably the most powerful modern anti-materiel rifle, and while it is not a true "sniper" rifle, it is well worth mentioning. The future of this design is also unclear, sice it requires ammunition of a brand new type.

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Steyr AUG Para 9mm

Steyr AUG A1 Para 9mm submachine gun, original version.

 

Steyr AUG A3 XS 9mm submachine gun.

Characteristics

Data for current production Steyr AUG A3 XS submachine gun
Caliber 9x19mm Luger/Parabellum
Weight 3,0 kg empty
Length 610 mm
Barrel length: 325 mm
Magazine capacity 25 rounds
Rate of fire ~700 rounds/minute

The original Steyr AUG Para 9mm submachine gun is a reversible conversion of the original Steyr AUG assault rifle, intended mostly for short-range police and special operations work. This weapons combines relatively compact dimensions with very good accuracy (compared with other 9mm submachine guns), thanks to a long barrel and closed-bolt firing. If necessary, Steyr AUG 9mm submachine gun also can be fitted with silencer.

Steyr AUG Para 9mm submachine gun utilizes basic components (aluminum receiver and polymer stock of bullpup configuration) from the Steyr AUG assault rifle. The 9mm barrel is installed (original Steyr AUG assault rifles have quick detachable barrels), and a gas-operated locked bolt action is replaced with simple blowback (unlocked) bolt. Original firing system with hammer and pull-through selective trigger (short pull results in single shots, long pull - in full automatic fire) is retained, and a special magazine adapter is installed into the magazine housing. Depending on the basic version of the Steyr AUG assault rifle, which is used for conversion, 9mm version will retain its parent sighting equipment - 1.5X telescope sight in A1 version of Picatinny rail with optional open or optical sights in A2 and A3 versions.

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Steyr TMP

Steyr TMP. 

 

Characteristics

Caliber: 9x19mm Luger/Parabellum
Weight: 1,3 kg empty
Length: 282 mm
Rate of fire: 800-900 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 15 or 30 rounds

Steyr TMP is a modern compact SMG. It is blowback operated, locked breech design, with rotating barrel. This mean that after the shot bolt with barrel locked to it are moving backward for some 4 millimeters. Then, the barrel rotates clockwise slightly, and thus unlocks the bolt. Rotaton controls via small cam on the barrel that follows the spiral groove inside the receiver.
Both upper and lower receiver are made from polymer. TMP has no stock and could be fired only from off-hand position.
Safeties featured automatic off-battery safety, drop safety and the manual safety switch.
TMP is reported as a very controllable and comfortable to fire firearm.

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Steyr MPi 69 and MPi 81

Steyr MPi 69 submachine gun.

 

Steyr MPi 81 submachine gun; note added cocking handle that replaced sliding front sling swivel of MPi 69.

 

Characteristics

Caliber: 9x19mm Luger/Para
Weight: 3.13 kg empty
Length (stock closed/open): 465 / 670 mm
Barrel length: 260 mm
Rate of fire: 550 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 25 or 32 rounds
Effective range: 100-150 meters

The Steyr MPi 69 submachine gun was developed by Austrian company Steyr-Daimler-Puch during early sixties and put into production; in around 1981 the basic design was slightly improved with addition of a conventional bolt cocking handle. The updated version was designated as MPi 81 and was manufactured until about mid-1990s. Both versions are in use by several police and military forces in Europe and elsewhere.

Steyr MPi 69 submachine gun is a blowback operated, selective fire weapon that fires from open bolt. The receiver is made from stamped steel, the receiver cover and pistol grip are made from nylon. The bolt is of "wrap-around" type (most of its weight is located in front of the breech face, around the barrel) and had a fixed firing pin. The cocking handle on MPi 69 is combined with front sling swivel; to cock the bolt, shooter has to pull the front part of the sling rearward and then release it. On MPi 81 submachine gun, this system is replace by conventional bolt cocking handle. Both MPi 69 and MPi 81 had cross-bolt button manual safety, located above the trigger. The fire mode selection mechanism is a combination of the trigger pull and safety button. If the safety button is pushed all the way to the left, the short pull on the trigger will produce single shots, and the long pull will produce burst firing. If the safety button will be left in mid-way position, only single shots will be possible. If the safety is all the way to the right, the gun is set to safe and will not fire.
Sights consist of protected front and flip-up type rear. The shoulder stock is retractable and made from steel wire.

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Steyr - Solothurn S1-100 / MP-34

Steyr MP-34 submachine gun, left side.

 

Steyr MP-34 submachine gun, right side.

 

Steyr MP-34 partially disassembled.

 

Drawing from original patent, covering S1-100 integral magazine loading device.

 

Characteristics

 

Caliber	9x19mm Luger / Parabellum, 9x23 Steyr, 9x25 Mauser Export
Weight	4,25 kg empty
Length	850 mm
Barrel length	200 mm
Rate of fire	400-500 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity	32 rounds
Effective range	150-200 meters

The story of this weapon start in around 1919, when German arms-making company Rheinmetall produced a prototype submachine gun designated MP.19. This weapon was developed by Lous Stange to same specifications as Schmeisser'sMP.18/I, but MP.19 came too late to see any action during WW1. After the end of WW1, Germany was severely limited in design and production of small arms by treaty of Versailles. When Hitler came into power, German military-oriented companies began to move the R&D outside of Germany to avoid treaty limitations. In 1929, Rheinmetall purchased the small Swiss-based company Wafenfabrik Solothurn, which was used to finalize some Rheinmetall small arms which were developed under secrecy in Germany. One of those weapons was an improved version of MP.19 submachine gun, which was announced by Waffenfabrik Solothurn under company index "S1-100". This was an excellent weapon, reliable, controllable and accurate, but Solothurn company lacked production capabilities. To make guns on industrial scale, Solothurn teamed with famous Austrian gun-making company Waffenfabrik Steyr, and formed trade company Steyr-Solothurn Waffen AG in Zurich, Switzerland. This company sold weapons designed by Rheinmetall and Solothurn and made by Steyr, and S1-100 submachine gun was among first products of this international conglomerated. In the 1930 Austrian police adopts the S1-100 as Steyr MP.30, chambered for standard Austrian 9x23 Steyr pistol cartridge. It was also exported to Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay and El Salvador; it also was sold in limited numbers to China, in 7,63x25 Mauser caliber. Portugal adopted the S1-100 in 7,65x22 Luger caliber in 1938, and in 1942 purchased more S1-100's from Steyr but this time in 9x19 Luger. For South American markets, Steyr produced version of S1-100 in .45ACP caliber; this version was distinguished by additional pistol grip under the forearm. Austrian army adopted the S1-100 as Steyr MP.34, chambered for powerful 9x25 Mauser ammunition. When Hitler's Germany occupied Austria in 1938, it quickly consumed most of Austrian MP.30's and MP.34's, and after rebarreling to 9x19 ammunition these weapons were issued to German troops as MP.34(ö). Production of Steyr-Solothurn submachine guns has ceased in around 1940, when, under German administration, it was replaced in production at Steyr by much simpler and less expensive MP-40 submachine gun of German design. It must be noted that S1-100 was one of the finest submachine guns made prior to WW2, and probably one of most expensive.

Steyr-Solothurn S1-100 submachine gun was blowback operated, selective-fired weapon which fired from open bolt. Unlike most other submachine guns, the return spring was located in the buttstock and was linked to bolt via long push-rod, pivotally attached to the rear of the bolt. The basic action of the gun was accessible through the top cover, which was hinged at the front and opened up and forward to expose bolt and trigger unit below it. The fire mode selector was made in the form of a sliding switch, located at the left side of the stock. Early guns had Schmeisser-style bolt-locking safety in the form of hook-shaped cut which was used to engage the bolt handle when bolt was cocked. Later on, additional manual safety was added to the top cover, in front of the rear sight. this safety locked bolt either in cocked or closed position. The feed was from left side, with magazine housing slightly canted forward for more positive feeding Ejection was to the right. The magazine housing had an unusual magazine filler device, with slots for magazine at the bottom and for stripper clip - at the top. removed magazine was inserted into this device from the bottom, and then shooter placed stripper clips into the top of device and pushed cartridges down into magazine. Four standard 8-round clips were required to fill the magazine.
All S1-100 guns were fitted with wooden stock with semi-pistol grip. Barrel was enclosed into perforated jacket, which had provisions for mounting a bayonet. Sights included hooded front and tangent type rear, marked from 100 to 500 meters. One most unusual accessory, which was briefly advertised for S1-100 during mid-1930s, was a compact machine-gun type tripod, which was to provide additional stability for weapon when firing from ground. It seems that this tripod was never made in quantity.

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