The 6×45mm SAW describes an experimental series of
rimless
A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped, or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. Thus, rimmed cartridges are sometimes called "flanged" cartridges. Almost all cartridges feature an extractor or headspacing ...
bottlenecked
intermediate cartridge
Cartridge may refer to:
Objects
* Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition
* ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device
* Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators
Other uses
* Cartridge (surname), a ...
s developed in the 1970s for the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
. The cartridges were produced in a variety of sizes and from a variety of materials. The intent was to develop a cartridge that would replace all
5.56×45mm NATO
The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, but often pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, L110, an ...
weapons as well as most
7.62×51mm NATO rifles and
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...
s in the U.S. military. Eventually, the 5.56mm was retained and only the machine gun portion of the SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) competition was successful. That program led to the
M249 light machine gun
The M249 light machine gun (LMG), also known as the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), which continues to be the manufacturer's designation, and formally written as Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249, is the American adaptation of the Belgian F ...
.
Note that the dimensions listed to the right are for 6×45mm SAW rounds. Three versions were produced for testing in the early 1970s. An aluminum-cased version was developed, as well as the about 5 mm longer 6mm SAW Long.
Municion.org on the 6x50mm SAW Long
/ref>
Design and development
During the 1970s, the U.S. Army was looking to develop a new squad automatic weapon
A squad automatic weapon (SAW), also known as a section automatic weapon or light support weapon (LSW), is a man-portable automatic firearm attached to infantry squads or sections as a source of rapid direct firepower. Weapons fulfilling th ...
(SAW) that was lighter than the M60 machine gun with an effective range out to 800 m. The 7.62 mm cartridge was too heavy and the 5.56 mm cartridge could not provide effective performance at that range. Research led to the development of the 6×45mm SAW cartridge. Its bullet had a muzzle velocity of and muzzle energy of . The relatively heavy bullet combined with a moderate velocity had optimum long-range performance. A light-alloy cased version of the round was also produced. Because aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
alloy had a tendency to catch fire, the case length was extended to to make up for loss in capacity caused by the need to line the inside of the case with fire-resistant material. Although the 6mm SAW's performance proved satisfactory, there were supply concerns over adopting a third rifle caliber. Development of the 6mm SAW was abandoned when an improved 5.56 mm round was promised, which arrived as the M855. 6×45mm SAW cartridges depending on their case materiel and bullet weigh .
Chambered firearms
*Brunswick machine gun
*Maremont XM233
*Ford Aerospace XM234
* Rodman Laboratories XM235
*Ford Aerospace XM248
See also
*.276 Pedersen
The .276 Pedersen (7×51mm) round was an experimental 7 mm cartridge developed for the United States Army. It was used in the Pedersen rifle and early versions of what would become the M1 Garand.
Summary
Developed in 1923 in the United S ...
- Another US Army experimental cartridge that never saw service
*6mm Optimum
The "6mm Optimum" is a concept popularized in 1999 by military writer Stanley C. Crist.
History
Crist argued for the adoption of a 6mm service rifle chambering as a replacement for the venerable 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO, calculatin ...
*6×45mm
The 6×45mm is a rimless, bottlenecked cartridge based on the .223 Remington or 5.56 NATO cartridge necked up to .243 (6mm). The cartridge is also known as the 6mm-223 Remington or 6mm/223.
History
Soon after the release of the .223 Remington ...
- A 5.56×45mm necked up to accept 6mm bullets but with a smaller case head diameter when compared to the 6mm SAW
*.22 Savage Hi-Power
The .22 Savage Hi-Power cartridge (aka: 5.6×52mmR) was created by Charles Newton and introduced by Savage Arms in 1912. It was designed to be used in the Savage Model 99 hammerless lever action rifle. It is based upon the .25-35 Winchester ...
* 5.8×42mm DBP87 The People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
standard issue cartridge
* .243 Winchester
* 三八式実包
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:6x45mm SAW
Pistol and rifle cartridges