Armalite AR-5
| Armalite AR-5 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Rifle |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1956 |
| Used by | United States Air Force |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | ArmaLite |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 2.5 lb |
| Length | 28" |
| Barrel length | 14" |
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|
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| Caliber | .22 Hornet |
| Action | Bolt-action |
| Feed system | 5-round detachable box magazine |
The Armalite AR-5 is a lightweight bolt-action rifle, chambered for the .22 Hornet cartridge, and adopted as the MA-1 aircrew survival rifle by the United States Air Force. It was developed by ArmaLite, a division of Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation in 1954.
The U.S. Air Force needed a compact, lightweight, accurate rifle for the new XB-70 manned bomber aircrew's survival kits. Since the M4 and M6 aircrew survival weapons were no longer in manufacture, the Air Force put out a request for a new survival weapon. Shortly after Fairchild established the ArmaLite division in 1954, ArmaLite designed and submitted the AR-5 in response. The Air Force officially adopted the AR-5 as the MA-1 in 1956. However, the Air Force never received funding to buy more than the original 12 test models due to the cancellation of the XB-70 fleet which left the number of M4 and M6 aircrew survival weapons already in inventory sufficient for existing Air Force needs. Adoption of the MA-1 established ArmaLite as a recognized firearms company, leading to several other rifle designs of varying success (e.g., the AR-7, AR-10 and AR-15).
The earlier M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon is a superposed ("over-under") break action combination gun with a .22 Hornet single-shot rifle barrel over a .410 shotgun barrel. While there is versatility to such a combination, the AR-5's detachable box magazine fed bolt action has the advantage of rapid fire capability. The AR-5, like the M4 Survival Rifle and M6 US Air Force survival rifles, used the .22 Hornet cartridge which has 2.3 times the muzzle velocity and 7 times the energy of the common .22 Long Rifle (when comparing 40 gr bullets), and yet still has a light recoil.
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