The Model 45A was a
.30 caliber bullpup
A bullpup firearm is one with its firing grip located in front of the Chamber (firearms), breech of the weapon, instead of behind it. This creates a weapon with a shorter overall length for a given barrel length, and one that is often lighter, ...
battle rifle
A battle rifle is a service rifle chambered to fire a fully powered cartridge.
The term "battle rifle" is a retronym created largely out of a need to differentiate automatic rifles chambered for fully powered cartridges from automatic rifles cha ...
/
light machine gun
A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridge (firearms), cartridges of the same caliber as the othe ...
developed by the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
in the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
in 1945. The weapon existed in prototype or mockup form, but never entered production. The rifle was sparsely documented until annotated photographs of the rifle were found in the archives of the
United States Army Signal Corps
The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army responsible for creating and managing Military communications, communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was ...
.
Design
The Model 45A utilized the magazine from the
M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle. Rather than
iron sights
Iron sights are a system of physical alignment markers used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons such as firearms, airguns, crossbows, and bows, or less commonly as a primitive finder sight for optical telescop ...
, it featured an integral scope. Its purpose is unclear, but it is alternately described as an "experimental .30 caliber
light machine gun
A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridge (firearms), cartridges of the same caliber as the othe ...
(LMG)" or a "field expedient .30 cal."
See also
*
Sieg automatic rifle
The Sieg automatic rifle was a bullpup automatic rifle designed by Chief Gunner's Mate James E. Sieg of the US Coast Guard. The weapon was chambered in the .30-06 round, fed from 20 round magazines and capable of firing around 650–700 RPM on ...
*
SLEM-1
*
EM-2 rifle
The EM-2, also known as Rifle, No.9, Mk.1 or Janson rifle, is a British assault rifle. It was briefly adopted by British forces in 1951, but the decision was overturned very shortly thereafter by Winston Churchill's incoming government in an ef ...
*
List of bullpup firearms
The following is a list of firearms designed in a bullpup (i.e., action behind firecontrol/trigger group) configuration.
See also
*Semi-automatic shotgun
*Automatic shotgun
*Combat shotgun
*List of combat shotguns
*List of multiple-barrel fir ...
*
List of battle rifles
Battle rifles are full-length, semi-automatic or select fire rifles that are chambered for a full-power rifle cartridge, and have been adopted by a nation's military. The difference between a battle rifle and a designated marksman rifle is often ...
References
*Tom Laemlein. ''The Incredible U.S. Model 45A''. Small Arms Review, January 2010.
Model 45A
.30-06 Springfield battle rifles
.30-06 Springfield machine guns
Bullpup rifles
Light machine guns
Trial and research firearms of the United States
Weapons of the Philippine Army
Rifles of the United States
Machine guns of the United States
category:Rifles of the Philippines
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