The service rifle (also known as standard-issue rifle) of a given armed force is that which it issues as standard to its service members. In modern forces, this is typically a highly versatile and rugged assault rifle, battle rifle or carbine suitable for use in nearly all theatres and environments.
Although certain weapons issued to special forces units are rarely considered "service weapons" in the truest sense, certain specialist rifles and submachine guns are categorized as such if issued as per standing operating procedures upon entering special environments or scenarios. These may include urban warfare (FIBUA/MOUT) and jungle warfare environments.
Most armies also have service pistols/side arms.
Video Service rifle
History
Originally, rifles used in combat were not standard-issue weapons like the service rifles of today. Rifles were for specialist marksmen only, whilst the ordinary infantry were issued less accurate smoothbore muskets which had a higher rate of fire, with bore diameters as high as 19 mm, or 0.75 inch. By the middle of the 19th century, however, rifles were becoming more and more common on the battlefield, with muskets being phased out. Originally, these combat rifles were single-shot muzzle-loading weapons, but as technology advanced through the 18th and 19th centuries, so too did the technique of loading rounds. First, breech-loading firearms, like the Prussian Needle gun of the mid-19th century came to prominence, which then evolved into repeating weapons, such as the bolt-action Mosin-Nagant rifle used by Imperial Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the Soviet Union in World War II. By this time almost all prominent armies in the world had some sort of standard service rifle.
During the late 19th century, there was yet another leap forward in rifle design which was to influence service rifles even today. That is, the use of a fired cartridge's gas emissions to automatically rechamber rounds into the breech once a bullet had been fired, as well as expelling the old cartridge. These weapons were known as gas-operated firearms. Some of the earliest examples of these were most prominent in the Second World War, however some examples exist from the First World War and were usually semi automatic. The most prominent of which was the American-made M1 Garand, first brought into service with the United States in 1936. These rifles usually fired a "full-sized" cartridge, such as the .30-06 Springfield or .303 British, as opposed to an intermediate rifle cartridge. Another type of commonly issued rifle which was to become well known during this time was the assault rifle, a (usually) fully automatic rifle firing a lighter "intermediate" cartridge, as opposed to the full-sized cartridges used by the usual rifles of that time. The first of these was the Sturmgewehr 44, used by Nazi Germany in the later stages of the Second World War. The StG44 was not issued in large numbers, and was never adopted as Germany's service rifle. The STG44 was to serve as the precursor to other assault rifles such as the Soviet AK-47, the American M-16, the Belgian FN FAL and the Swiss Sturmgewehr 58, which today is the common used type of rifle in armies.
Maps Service rifle
Service rifles by nation
Albania
Angola
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bangladesh
Belgium
Bolivia
Brazil
Cambodia
Canada
Chile
Colombia
People's Republic of China
Republic of China (Taiwan)
Croatia
Cuba
Czech Republic
Denmark
Egypt
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Georgia
Greece
Guatemala
Haiti
- The Haitian Army was disbanded by the United States, and replaced in 1915 by the Gendarmerie d'Haïti. The Haitian Army was again disbanded in 1995.
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Korea
Lebanon
Liberia
Libya
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Mexico
Myanmar
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Pakistan
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia and Soviet Union
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Singapore
Slovenia
Somalia
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sweden
Switzerland
Thailand
Tibet
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- Tibet was de facto independent from 1912 until the 1950s, and fielded the Tibetan Army
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom & British Overseas Territories
United States
Uruguay
Venezuela
Vietnam
See also
- List of assault rifles
- Service firearm competitions
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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