TRW Low Maintenance Rifle
| TRW Low Maintenance Rifle | |
|---|---|
 The TRW LMR. Minor differences exist in the stock, handguard, and sights given the various prototypes made. | |
| Type | Full-automatic fire only insurgency assault rifle |
| Place of origin |  United States |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Donald A. Stoehr (1927-2011)[1] |
| Designed | February 1971[2] |
| Manufacturer | TRW Systems Group |
| Unit cost | Specified cost of less than $130 (1971),[3] |
| Produced | 1971—1973 |
| No. built | fewer than 10. |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | Unloaded: 3.30 kg (7.3 lb)[4] Loaded: 3.64 kg (8.0 lb)[4] |
| Length | 871 mm (34.3 in)[4] |
| Barrel length | 493 mm (19.4 in)[5] |
| Cartridge | 5.56×45mm NATO |
| Action | Roller locked open bolt gas-operated long-stroke piston |
| Rate of fire | 450 RPM Cyclic[4] |
| Muzzle velocity | 3,248 ft/s (990 m/s)[4][5] |
| Effective firing range | 460 metres (1,510 ft)[4] |
| Maximum firing range | 2,425 metres (7,956 ft)[5] |
| Feed system | 20, 30-Round STANAG magazine[4] |
| Sights | Rear: Two-position flip aperture Front: Adjustable post |
The TRW Low Maintenance Rifle or LMR was a proposed insurgency weapon designed by TRW Inc. (formerly Thompson Ramo Wooldridge) of the United States during the Vietnam War. The intent was to produce an easy-to-use and operate firearm which could be disseminated to insurgent forces supporting the United States' military interests. The design utilized the same 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition and STANAG magazines as the M16 rifle. It would have been equipped with the M6 bayonet along with its M8A1 scabbard.
Development began in 1971, and ceased in 1973 with the weapon never having been fielded.
See also[edit]
- FP-45 Liberator/Deer gun - insurgency handguns of similar concept.
- International Ordnance MP2 - another insurgency firearm derived from the Sten.
- Avenger submachine gun - improvised submachine gun made and used by Ulster Loyalists in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.
- FG 42/Sturmgewehr 52 - rifles of similar external design.
- Sterling 7.62 - an "emergency standby weapon" of British origin.
- MG 30 - a light machine gun of similar external design.
- Knight's Armament Company SR-47 - an assault rifle that was intended to have similarly high reliability as the LMR.
References[edit]
- Notes
- ^ "The Firearm Blog » .50 BMG Flechette rifle". The Firearm Blog. 24 February 2009. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
- ^ "The Gun Zone -- A 5.56 X 45mm "Timeline" 1970-1973". The Gun Zone. Archived from the original on September 25, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
- ^ Sellars, John R (19 September 2007). "Some Memories of My Career" (PDF). Aerospace Corporation. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g (Jorgensen 2003, p. 13)
- ^ Jump up to: a b c (Dockery 1983, p. 49)
- Sources
- Dockery, Kevin (1983). The Armory Volume 1: Gunpowder Era Weapons from the Fourteenth Century to the Present. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Firebird Limited.
- Jorgensen, Dana (2003). Big Bang -- The Mostly Illustrated RPG Guide to Firearms: Experimental Weapons. Vol. 3. Alternate Realities Publications.