I'll be putting together an article soon on an all-but-forgotten assault rifle that came onto the scene too late for the U.S. to seriously consider it. It embodied features that even today are considered desirable: easily manufactured mostly from stampings, a folding stock, and a gas system that doesn't vent into the bolt area.
It was the Armalite AR-18. Derived from the 7.62 AR-16 designed by Eugene Stoner, it was scaled down to accept the .223 cartridge. This was the brainchild of Arthur Miller, George Sullivan and Chuck Dorchester; conceived in 1963 and patented by Miller in 1969.
Armalite had sold the rights to the AR-15/M16 rifle to Colt perhaps prematurely; and then introduced the AR-18 as a competitor, probably not a sound move, as the U.S. was already committed to the earlier system.
At any rate, the AR-18 and its semiauto sibling, the AR-180, was produced under the Armalite name by three manufacturers. There was Armalite itself in Costa Mesa, California, Howa in Nagoya, Japan, and Sterling in the UK.
Costa Mesa made 1,171 AR-18s and 4,018 AR-180s from July 1969 to June 1972. Most of these show evidence of hand fitting.
Howa made 3,972 AR-180s from 1970 - 1974. Production ceased when Japan declared neutrality in the Vietnam War and could no longer produce armaments for any of the nations involved there. Howa-manufactured AR-180s are particularly noted for quality and are the rarest of the three manufacturers. The rifle pictured is one of these, made in 1971.
Armalite then turned to Sterling, and they manufactured 12,362 AR-180s from 1979 to 1985; 10,496 were imported into the U.S. These are the most commonly found AR-180s, and the quality on these varied. Many were used by the Irish Republican Army, who called it the "widowmaker."
The AR-18/180 used magazines similar to the M16 mags; M16 mags can be converted by proper placement of a slot in the side of the mag with a Dremel tool.
A 2.75X quick-detachable scope was made for it; one of these is attached to the rifle illustrated. It was range-adjustable with the range numbers on the top turret; calibrated for .223.
Currently, an AR-180B is being manufactured with a fixed stock and a plastic receiver utilizing AR-15 components.
I thought you'd like to see one of the originals.
John
It was the Armalite AR-18. Derived from the 7.62 AR-16 designed by Eugene Stoner, it was scaled down to accept the .223 cartridge. This was the brainchild of Arthur Miller, George Sullivan and Chuck Dorchester; conceived in 1963 and patented by Miller in 1969.
Armalite had sold the rights to the AR-15/M16 rifle to Colt perhaps prematurely; and then introduced the AR-18 as a competitor, probably not a sound move, as the U.S. was already committed to the earlier system.
At any rate, the AR-18 and its semiauto sibling, the AR-180, was produced under the Armalite name by three manufacturers. There was Armalite itself in Costa Mesa, California, Howa in Nagoya, Japan, and Sterling in the UK.
Costa Mesa made 1,171 AR-18s and 4,018 AR-180s from July 1969 to June 1972. Most of these show evidence of hand fitting.
Howa made 3,972 AR-180s from 1970 - 1974. Production ceased when Japan declared neutrality in the Vietnam War and could no longer produce armaments for any of the nations involved there. Howa-manufactured AR-180s are particularly noted for quality and are the rarest of the three manufacturers. The rifle pictured is one of these, made in 1971.
Armalite then turned to Sterling, and they manufactured 12,362 AR-180s from 1979 to 1985; 10,496 were imported into the U.S. These are the most commonly found AR-180s, and the quality on these varied. Many were used by the Irish Republican Army, who called it the "widowmaker."
The AR-18/180 used magazines similar to the M16 mags; M16 mags can be converted by proper placement of a slot in the side of the mag with a Dremel tool.
A 2.75X quick-detachable scope was made for it; one of these is attached to the rifle illustrated. It was range-adjustable with the range numbers on the top turret; calibrated for .223.
Currently, an AR-180B is being manufactured with a fixed stock and a plastic receiver utilizing AR-15 components.
I thought you'd like to see one of the originals.
John
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