Pattern 1950 rifle
| Pattern 1950 rifle | |
|---|---|
| Type | Selective-fire battle rifle |
| Place of origin |  Itayana Sante Reze (technical assistance) |
| Service history | |
| In service | Itayana Solar Autocracy (1950 - present) Amayana Makgato Federation (c.1960 - present) |
| Used by | Amayana National Army Makgato Defence Force Thundering Elephant Army Agysimba Liberation Army |
| Wars | Kasai War Ninvite War M'Biruna Civil War Central Karana War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Shenmesu Arsenal (development) Makamai Michĩ Panxere (refinements) |
| Designed | c.1948-1950 |
| Manufacturer | Maczine Panxere Various Karana and Imo arsenals |
| Produced | 1950-present (Lower Karana & Imo) c.1960-present (Makgato plateau) |
| No. built | over 6,000,000 (all models) |
| Variants | See Variants |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 7.0kg |
| Length | 1300 mm |
| Cartridge | 7.92x57 mm |
| Action | Gas-operated, roller-locked bolt |
| Rate of fire | 240 rpm (automatic mode) |
| Muzzle velocity | Approx. 900 m/s |
| Effective firing range | 500m (with iron sights) |
| Maximum firing range | 2000m (with telescopic sights) |
| Feed system | 65-round drum magazine |
| Sights | iron sights(standard) telescopic sights(later and marksman models) |
The Pattern 1950 Rifle is an automatic rifle designed in the Lower Karana governorates of Itayana. Based on the early Pattern 1922 Rifle, it used the same operating mechanism, adapted to make the rifle fully automatic. Despite the initial production difficulties, the rifle quickly supplanted most older rifles across Itayana, becoming one of the iconic symbols of the Karanite involvement in the Ninvite War.
Development
The direct predecessor of the Pattern 1950 is the Pattern 1922 Rifle, first acquired via Sante Reze in 1921. By that time it was by far the most advanced weapon of the governors in the Two Basins. The weapon was known to be distributed to the elite units of 6th, 8th, 5th, 7th, 16th, 18th, and 19th Governorates. Those units from the former two polities were directed to the frontlines of the Agala War when Charnean Army entered the Itayana region. The rifle performed well in prepared both in ambushes in highlands and in the open battles, slowing down the foray of ICA mechanized vanguards to the point when their command chose to withdraw and focus on the Zarma rebellion within the Agala. The aftermath of the war, described as a "rude awakening to their [governorates'] weaknesses", forced the governorates all across the Two Basins to place efforts in militarization, industrialization, and modernization, beginning the Unifying Revival. Within the 6th Governorate said effort included the development of a new series of weapons, including a battle rifle.
Most of the information about the development of the Pattern 1950 Rifle comes from scattered excerpts of various memoirs, a few archived papers in the Yanbango Central Library, and several prototypes found in the Shenmesu Arsenal Museum. It is known that around 1947-1948, a team of twelve mechanics and gunsmiths from the Shenmesu Arsenal was approached by their governor to create a series of weapons to standardize the equipment of the armies of the right bank of Lower Karana. Part of that series was a selective-fire battle rifle to be the unified weapon of all ground troops. Although more or less experienced in the maintenance of various equipment, developing a new rifle proved challenging for the Shenmesu team. The designers adopted the Pattern 1922 system of buffered gas operation, but initially could neither meet the requirement for selective fire nor make it fit for mass production. With the assistance of Makamai Michĩ Panxere, a Rezese small arms subsidiary of Maczine Panxere crivikeze, the issues were solved by 1950 and the rifle was adopted immediately.
Initial production orders went to Rezese manufacturers, notably the Maczine Panxere, while the Shenmesu Arsenal was revamping its industrial machinery. The first locally-produced rifles entered service in 1953. Further production orders were also placed to the Kanokari Arsenal of the 5th Governoate and the LDN Arsenal of the 18th Governorate, allowing the design to spread across the Lower Karana and Imo. 29th Governorate captured several rifles in the Kasai War and adopted the design as well by 1965 when the production lines were properly set up.
Operation
Pattern 1950 rifle is a gas-operated selective-fire rifle. At 1,300 millimetres (51 in) long and weighing 7.0 kilograms (15.4 lb), it is one of the larger and heavier battle rifles put into service. Unlike Pattern 1922, it features a straight stock and a wooden handguard assembly, reminiscent of older bolt-action rifles like the Olesunn and the BR-1 rifles. Pattern 1950 rifle is fitted with a muzzle break and a standard-issued detachable bipod for extra stability during sustained fire. The bipod is mounted at the forward third of the rifle and extends downwards, allowing a somewhat wider field of fire than the forward-mounted bipod. The rifle could also be outfitted with a bayonet, fit to the lock behind the muzzle break.
The operating scheme was borrowed from the Pattern 1922 Rifle. The gas piston is detached from the bolt by a mechanical lock, which consists of a metal plunger, a lock itself, and a locking coil. The plunger is connected to the operating rod through an intermediate coil, while a weaker intermediate coil counteracts it on the other side of the assembly. When the expanding gas reaches the gas port, the gas piston moves the plunger back until it hits the lock coil, sealing the plunger in the lock, which forces the excess gas pressure outside of the barrel. The intermediate coil pushes the operating rod back, fully unlocking the bolt and extracting the cartridge; losing its tension, it also disables the gas piston lock. The assembly then slides back under pressure from the second intermediate coil, pushing the gas piston and the plunger forward and sealing the bolt.
Three changes were made to the operating system from the onset of development. First, the operating rod was placed at the centerline of the assembly, as opposed to the right side of the rifle. Second, the operating rod could no longer be disengaged from the bolt, disabling the manual straight-pull action of the Pattern 1922. Third, the positions of the operating mechanism and the barrel were reversed, leaving the gas operation at the top. Those changes, with the addition of the straight stock, allowed the already buffered recoil impulse to be transmitted to the shooter by a straight line, further mitigating the effects of recoil on accuracy during the automatic fire.
The fire selector, a rotating lever also serving as a safety catch, is integrated into the trigger assembly. Its forward position corresponds to automatic fire, the downward position is semi-automatic fire, and the rearward position disengages the trigger as a safety measure. The rifle is fed through a drum magazine; the first prototype was fed by a 65-round magazine from the Pattern 1922 rifle. During the Agala War, it was found to be too prone to ejecting unspent cartridges even by the better-trained lifeguard troops, so a new 65-round magazine was developed. Both were based on the same operating principle, using a spring-driven dummy cartridge to bring the next round up to be fed. The new magazine used feed lips instead of an internal lock. While eliminating the cartridge ejection, the weight of the fully-loaded magazine often caused feed lips to deform, causing failure to feed the next cartridge. It was a particular problem with the Karana-made magazines, manufactured with lower-quality steel. The issue had to be rectified by introducing a weight-carrying magazine catch on Pattern 1965 rifles, but that made magazines incompatible between the variants.
The rifle's rear sight was derived from the Olesunn rifle. It is a tangent leaf sight, calibrated from 144 to 1296 meters, in line with Itayana base-12 measurements. The effective firing range was 500 metres (1,600 ft) for the average rifleman. Further production models added places for optical scopes like PU or PSO-1, but few scopes were available for rifles until the 1980s. Those that could be acquired ended up mostly issued to sharpshooters in reconnaissance units or the best riflemen in battalions. With optical scopes, the effective range of semi-automatic fire could be as far as 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). While no precise data exists for the effective range of automatic fire with optical scopes, after-action reports from the Thundering Elephant Army troops suggested possible accurate automatic fire up to about 900 metres (3,000 ft) in right situations.
The theoretical rate of automatic fire is 240 rounds per minute. Practical rates of semi-automatic and automatic fire depend on the skills of the rifleman, with the skilled one required to achieve at least 130 rounds per minute of automatic fire by the Makgato Defense Force training standards. However, during the Ninvite War, it was found that the sustained automatic fire could heat the chamber enough to cause a round cook-off, as well as overheat and damage the barrel, which could not be easily replaced like on the proper machine guns. Because of that, during the Ninvite War it was recommended not to fire more than 15-20 rounds per burst unless in an emergency. Pattern 1985 Rifle introduced a quick-changing barrel by adding a rotating lock at the barrel base and a lever mechanism on the right side of the rifle, although it was viewed as an emergency measure rather than the default mode of operation.
Service history
First rifles were delivered by the Makamai Michĩ Panxere to the lifeguard troops of the 6th Governorate by 1951; in 1952, Shenmesu Arsenal delivered its first batch of rifles. Immediately it became obvious that production quality of the Karanite rifles was far below substandard. The complex mechanism suffered from breakdowns, most notably in the gas piston lock and the fire selector, while the magazines were incompatible between the rifles and often jammed. Production was halted after the first batch to rectify the issues, and to improve the quality control with the help from Maczine Panxere specialists. Rifles delivered in 1953 were much better received, although mechanical complexity of the design meant it was difficult to ramp up production.
Pattern 1950 rifle first proved itself during the Kasai War, where it outmatched the outdated bolt-action rifles of the Makgato governorates. Enough rifles were delivered by 1954 to start distributing them to the best gunners in line infantry battalions, where an automatic rifle often acted as a secondary light machine gun in platoon light machine gun teams. Some units even used the rifle as an ersatz light machine gun of a 12-man section, a role in which it performed inadequately due to the lack of fast-changing barrel and low rate of fire. The rifle had the most profound effect in the lifeguard battalions, fully equipped with rifles and trained to lay precise semi-automatic fire or to sustain automatic fire. Notably, in the Battle of ARH, three lifeguard battalions of 6th and 8th governorates broke through the left wing of the 30th Governorate banner and repelled continuous assaults for a week. This success led to increasing production orders, partially serviced by the Rezese crivikeze as late as 1976. Several rifles fell into the hands of the Makgato governors who then, knowing of its performance, started their own production efforts.
By the Ninvite War, the updated Pattern 1965 version of the rifle was the common piece of equipment of the Itayana armies. Typically, on a 12-man section, 8-10 were the riflemen equipped with rifles, the rest servicing light machine guns for additional fire support. The rifle itself was not suitable for the machine gun role, as the 240-rounds per minute rate of fire was inadequate by the 1970s standards. This composition persisted throughout the war, where soldiers of the Thundering Elephant Army found themselves at the advantage over Hatherian troops in the open assaults on base areas. However, the weight of equipment often drained the men during actions in the dry heat of Ninva, and during the Battle of Hamath it was found that the size of the rifle made it suboptimal for urban combat. Despite that, it was never substituted, nor lost its respect from the troops, being able to lay accurate automatic and fast semi-automatic fire. Many troops outfitted their rifles with barrels from standard-issue 50mm mortars for suppressing machine gun nests or firing signal flares. This was standardized with the introduction of the Pattern 1985 rifle, which also introduced a quick-changing barrel, well-received by troops.
The rifle was again seen in action during the Central Karana War, used by both sides of the conflict despite being partially substituted by AK-54 assault rifles after the Ninvite War. The Solar Autocracy units used a lighter Pattern 2006 variant. Built from composites instead of wood and using better machine tools, it weighed almost 30% less that the preceding Pattern 1985, used by the Makgato Defense Force. By then it was standard for each company to have 1-2 platoons armed with AK-54s, with battle rifles acting as medium-range fire support and marksman rifles. The rifle performed adequately and affirmed its advantages in the hands of skilled riflemen, although all of its previous shortcomings were observed as well. Most notably, MDF units have claimed to have shot down five planes of the Solar Air Fleet with rifle fire, although ISAF analysis only confirmed two lost and one damaged by the small arms fire.
It was estimated in 2022 that over 3 million rifles of various patterns are in stockpiles across the Two Basins, with over a million is still in service across both Karanite armies.
Variants
Numerous variants of the Pattern 1950 rifle were made during its development and production run. The following list includes development prototypes, surviving in the Shenmesu Arsenal Museum, major production variations, and notable experimental variants. It excludes variant copies and small revisions made during production.
Development prototypes
- 1948 prototype rifle: the first, semi-automatic prototype of the rifle. Featured rotating bolt and a 65-round drum magazine of the Pattern 1922. Failed to meet the selective-fire requirement, and was only fit for small-scale artisanal production. Four prototypes are known to have survived.
- 1949 prototype rifle: the second, selective-fire prototype of the rifle. Featured rotating bolt and a revised 65-round drum magazine with feed lips. While resolving the issues of the 1948 prototype, the design was not yet fit for mass production. About 36 were assembled, of which 22 are known to have survived.
- 1950 prototype rifle: the final, selective-fire prototype of the rifle. Featuring a roller-locked bolt instead of a rotating bolt, and is modified with the Rezese experience in weapons manufacturing. 36 were made, and 25 are known to have survived.
Production variants
- Pattern 1950 Rifle: the first production version of the rifle based on the 1950 prototype, adding a muzzle break and a removable standard bipod.
- Pattern 1965 Rifle: the second production version of the rifle, revised for easier field maintenance. It also features a new 65-round magazine with a weight-carrying catch, a pistol grip, and a place for a PU scope on top of the rifle. Main infantry rifle of the Thundering Elephant Army.
- Pattern 1985 Rifle: the third production version of the rifle, featuring a quick-changing barrel. Capable of mounting an underbarrel grenade launcher instead of the standard bipod, or with an adapted bipod introduced the same year. It also features a dovetail joint mount on the left side of the rifle for a PSO-1 scope, while retaining the PU mount on top. Small numbers participated in the late stages of the Ninvite War.
- Pattern 2006 Rifle: the fourth production version of the rifle. Fitted with a Picatinny rail on top of the rifle box and another one under the barrel, allowing to mount a variety of accessories, with a separate mounting for a standard bipod. Using composite materials instead of wood and advances in metal processing reduced the weight to 5.2kg. Produced only by the Lower Karana and Imo arsenals due to the need for cheap and readily available composites.
Experimental variants
- Experimental 2022 Rifle: an attempt by the Kanokari Arsenal Bureau to devise the next-generation battle rifle, using experience from the Pattern 2006 Rifle and further advancements in available materials. The rifle uses a new 7.2x70mm cartridge but retains the operating principles of the Pattern 1950 rifle. Not formally adopted as of 2024.
Users
Former users
Charnean Empire ─ reportedly used by some of the ICA troops during the Ninvite War, but never formally adopted.- Agysimba ─ tens of thousands were bought from the 36th Governorate during the M'Biruna Civil War.