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Subject:
RE:South African Assault Rifles
Stefan_Viljoen@excite.com
1/19/2002 10:26:38 PM
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| Well, first off in the early days (60's to 70's) we used the R1 - this was a 7.62 gas-operated assault rifle (see link for a photo). This is a variation on the FN-FAL made by Fabrique National in Belgium. Very heavy to hump around, heavy ammo, but VERY powerfull and lethal up to a 1000 meters. It is identical to the rifles the Argentinians used in the Falklands against the Brits. The British also had a 7.62 version of the same weapon, only theirs was called the SLR - and it was single shot semi-auto only, the R1 having retained its automatic setting in our service. I personnaly adore the R1 and remember my issued one (28147 - stil remember the number!) with great fondness.
Somewhere in the late eighties we started switching over to the R4. You are correct in saying it was based on the Galil. It is 5.56 just like the M-16 only apparently more reliable. Its action is partly based on the rotating bolt design of the AK series of rifles. Easier to carry (obviously!) I never really took to the little weapon. It is only effective out to 400 meters, its projectile is very light and can be deflected by so much as a blade of grass. It is very high velocity though, and its projectiles tumble, producing real nasty wounds. It however, feels a lot "cheaper" than the R1 - the R1 using lots of precision machining and milling in manufacture, the R4 lots more inexpensive metal pressings in most of its structure. It is the current issue in the SANDF. It can be a real bastard - shot-out examples tend to cock themselves if they fall out of a vehicle (believe me - I saw it!) or start firing if they were cocked in the first place. Worn out ones also love to jump to auto from single shot after the first round of single shot fire. Quite a few accidental shooting deaths in our armed forces was due to the shoddy design and quality of many of these weapons.
Our special forces mostly used captured Ak-47 and Ak-74 rifles. They were absolutely the best to be had, and some guys apparently preferred them to both the R1 and R4. The R1 is okay if you keep it clean, but an AK just keeps on going - forever! It needs no maintenance, is extremely rugged, and was excellent for our purposes. Apparently, troops threw away their issue weapons if they could get a grubby little mitt on an AK. |
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