Smithsonian Videohistory Collection
Background
Twentieth Century Small
Arms
(RU 9532)
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Technological and organizational developments have changed the way military small arms are designed in the second half of the twentieth century. The use of alloys and composite materials require more specialized knowledge than one individual can master, and bureaucratized weapon procurement policies require a corporate group to finance and represent innovative weapon concepts. Consequently, it has become almost impossible for one man to design, build, and market a new small arm.
Dr. Edward C. Ezell,, curator for the Armed Forces Division of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History (NMAH), recorded twelve interviews with two of the last solo designers. Eugene M. Stoner of the United States and Mikhail T. Kalashnikov of the former Soviet Union are responsible for the M16 and AK47 automatic rifles, two of the most popular firearms in the world since 1945. Ezell was interested in the process by which the men developed and produced their designs and in their experiences with their respective military bureaucracies. The interviewees detailed how they became involved in small arms design and how their weapons improved on those already in service. The sessions also documented visually the evolution of the design of the rifles, and the composition and assembly of their components. The interviews were recorded in Port Clinton, Ohio; Leningrad and Moscow, Soviet Union; and Star Tannery, Virginia, between April 1988 and May 1990, and are organized into three collection divisions.
Video Session and Participants
This collection consists of thirteen interview sessions, totalling approximately 18:40 hours of recordings, and 214 pages of transcript. There are three generations of tape for each session: originals, dubbing masters, and reference copies. In total, this collection is comprised of 56 original videotapes (56 Beta videotapes), 25 dubbing master videotapes (25 U-Matic videotapes), and 15 reference copy videotapes (15 VHS videotapes).
Collection Division 1: Stoner
In Sessions One through Five, Ezell interviewed Eugene Morrison Stoner, inventor of the U.S. Army's standard issue rifle, the M16/A-2, on his approach to weapon design between 1955 and 1988. Stoner's emphasis on lightweight, rapid-firing rifles conflicted with the Army's traditional interest in long-range, highly accurate small arms. Over time Stoner has extended his innovations to ammunition and ordnance design. Session Six consisted of visual documentation of Stoner's company, ARES Incorporated.
Stoner was born in Gasport, Indiana, in 1922. After graduating from high school in Long Beach, California, he installed armament equipment for Vega Aircraft Company. During World War II he enlisted in the Aviation Ordnance section of the U.S. Marine Corps. In late 1945 he began working in the machine shop for Whittaker, an aircraft equipment company, and ultimately became a Design Engineer. In the mid-1950s Stoner was hired as the Chief of Engineering for the Armalite Division of the Fairchild Engine and Aircraft Corporation where he developed the prototypes for the M16 automatic rifle. Since then he has developed over one hundred patents in the ordnance field for four companies, including ARES Incorporated, which he co-founded in 1971. Having retired from ARES in 1989, Stoner continues to consult with company engineers on design and fabrication innovations.
Video Sessions
Session One (April 19, 1988), at ARES, Inc., Port Clinton, Ohio, featured Eugene Stoner describing his career in small arms design, c. 1950-1975, including:
- his engineering training, and association with ArmaLite;
- AR10 and AR15 automatic rifles as prototypes of M16;
- resistance to the M16 by the Ordnance Corps and the Army;
- concept behind and components of Stoner 63 weapon system;
- concept behind and components of ARES Light Machine Gun;
- engineering requirements and trends in small arms design;
- individual creativity in weapon design.
Visual documentation included:
- AR10, AR15, M16/A-1, M16/A-2 automatic rifles;
- Stoner 63 weapon system;
- ARES Light Machine Gun.
Original Masters: 8 Beta videotapes
Dubbing Masters: 3 U-Matic videotapes
Reference Copies: 2 VHS videotapes
Transcript: 57 pages
2 hours, 40 minutes
Session Two (April 20, 1988), ARES, Inc., featured Stoner discussing the formation and designs of ARES, c. 1972-1988, including:
- research on rates of fire for small arms;
- ARES's origins in 1972;
- development of an externally powered machine gun;
- development and components of Light Machine Gun;
- Stoner's and the U.S. government's approach to weapon development;
- shortcomings in training of American engineers;
- telescoped ammunition;
- Advanced Individual Weapon System (AIWS);
- comparison of traditional weapon testing and combat conditions.
Visual documentation included:
- ARES Light Machine Gun and components;
- small arms telescoped ammunition;
- diagram of AIWS prototype.
Original Masters: 5 Beta videotapes
Dubbing Masters: 2 U-Matic videotapes
Reference Copies: 1 VHS videotapes
Transcript: 40 pages
1 hour, 40 minutes
Session Three (April 20, 1988), on the proving grounds of ARES, featured Stoner and Ezell firing, and discussing, Stoner's Light Machine Gun and the M16/A-2 automatic rifle, including:
- LMG's and M16's recoil and rate of fire;
- ARES' facilities for testing weaponry.
Visual documentation included:
- LMG and M16/A-2 in operation.
Original Masters: 1 Beta videotape
Dubbing Masters: 1 U-Matic videotapes
Reference Copies: 1 VHS videotape
Transcript: 5 pages
20 minutes
Session Four (April 20, 1988), at ARES, Inc., featured Ezell narrating visual documentation of Stoner's recent weapon design work, including:
- diagrams and photographs of 35-mm, 75-mm and 90-mm cannons;
- 20- to 105-mm telescoped ammunition.
Original Masters: 1 Beta videotape
Dubbing Masters: 1 U-Matic videotape
Reference Copies: 1 VHS videotape
Transcript: 3 pages
20 minutes
Session Five (April 21, 1988), on the factory floor at ARES, featured Stoner discussing the various medium and heavy cannon ARES has developed, c. 1975-1988, including:
- 35- and 75-mm automatic cannons;
- differences in small arms and cannon design;
- innovations in Stoner's ordnance and ammunition designs;
- interaction of physical laws, military clientele, and the budget.
Visual documentation included:
- 35- and 75-mm cannons and components;
- telescoped cannon ammunition.
Original Masters: 3 Beta videotapes
Dubbing Masters: 1 U-Matic videotape
Reference Copies: 1 VHS videotape
Transcript: 21 pages
1 hour
Session Six (April 21, 1988), on the factory floor and grounds of ARES, consisted of unnarrated visual documentation, including:
- 155-mm cannon;
- grounds and landscape seen from ARES observation tower;
- numeric-controlled machine tools in operation.
Original Masters: 2 Beta videotapes
Dubbing Masters: 1 U-Matic videotape
Reference Copies: 1 VHS videotape
Transcript: 3 pages
40 minutes
Collection Division 2: Kalashnikov
In Sessions Seven through Ten, Ezell interviewed Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov, inventor of the world's most popular firearm, the AK47, on his approach to weapon design since 1942. Kalashnikov, like Stoner, has emphasized simplicity of operation and interchangeable components but has devoted his career to automatic rifles and machine guns. Session Eleven consisted of visual documentation of Kalashnikov's small arms. The Russian language in each session was translated for transcription.
Kalashnikov was born in Kurya, one hundred and fifty kilometers northeast of Semipalatinsk, in the Altai region of Kazakhstan, in 1919. He finished secondary school in 1936 and began serving in the Soviet Army in 1938, where he worked on tank engineering design until the German invasion in June 1941. After suffering a wound that September, Kalashnikov took up small arms design during his convalescence, concentrating on automatic weapons. In 1949, the Army accepted his AK47 automatic rifle after five years of development. Kalashnikov continued to develop the "Avtomat Kalashnikova" into a weapon system at the Izhevsk Machine Factory in what is now Ustinov. He continues to work there as Senior Manager, and has held a deputy position in the Supreme Soviet since 1966.
Video Sessions
Session Seven (July 11, 1989), in the Conference Room of the House of Optics in Moscow, U.S.S.R., featured Kalashnikov describing his career in small arms design, c. 1942-1989, including:
- engineering background;
- first weapon, the PPK42 submachine gun;
- design philosophy;
- competition with other design bureaus, and acceptance of AK47 automatic rifle by armed forces;
- interchangeability of Soviet small arms;
- Kalashnikov weapon system's triumph over rivals and their reaction;
- smaller caliber AK74 automatic rifle;
- Soviet approach to task of small arm design;
- influence of 1943 rifle cartridge on weapon design.
Visual documentation included:
- photographs of Kalashnikov and family in the 1950s;
- Kalashnikov and design teams in 1960s.
Original Masters: 7 Beta videotapes
Dubbing Masters: 3 U-Matic videotapes
Reference Copies: 2 VHS videotapes
Transcript: 18 pages
2 hours, 20 minutes
Session Eight (July 12, 1989), on the firing range of the First High Officer's Course VYSTREL outside Moscow, featured Kalashnikov describing the mechanics of his weapon system, c. 1959-1974, including:
- AKM and AK74 automatic rifles;
- difficulties in scaling down caliber of AKM;
- interchangeability of AK74 and RPK74 light machine gun;
- sturdier construction of infantry version of PKM machine gun;
- emphasis on simplicity of construction.
Visual documentation included:
- AK74, AKM and RPK weapons;
- AK74, RPK74 and PKM weapons in operation;
- weapon training laboratory.
Original Masters: 5 Beta videotapes
Dubbing Masters: 2 U-Matic videotapes
Reference Copies: 1 VHS videotape
Transcript: 11 pages
1 hour, 40 minutes
Session Nine (July 13, 1989), at the House of Optics in Moscow, featured Kalashnikov explaining his theory and practice of small arms design, c. 1943-1974, including:
- influence of Dragunov SVD sniper rifle;
- need for specialists to work with designer;
- replacement of wooden parts with plastic in AK74 automatic rifle;
- conflict between trends in infantry battle tactics and small arms research and development;
- expenses of weapon modification and conversion;
- field test of weapons and need for creativity in system improvements.
Original Masters: 4 Beta videotapes, (1:20)
Dubbing Masters: 2 U-Matic videotapes, (1:20)
Reference Copies: 1 VHS videotape, (2:00)
Transcript: 9 pages
1 hour, 20 minutes
Session Ten (July 13, 1989), at the Military Historical Order of the Red Star, Museum of Artillery, Engineering, and Signal Corps, featured Kalashnikov explaining the mechanics of his weapons, c. 1942-1974, including:
- 1942 PPK submachine gun;
- 1947 "baby Kalashnikov" automatic rifle;
- 1944 experimental carbine;
- AK46 models of automatic rifle;
- AK47 automatic rifle as modification of AK46;
- AK74 automatic rifle.
Visual documentation included:
- weapons listed above, with components;
- 1943 light machine gun.
Original Masters: 5 Beta videotapes
Dubbing Masters: 2 U-Matic videotapes
Reference Copies: 1 VHS videotape
Transcript: 17 pages
1 hour, 40 minutes
Session Eleven (July 17, 1989), at the Museum of Artillery, Engineering, and Signal Corps, Leningrad, U.S.S.R., featured curator Yuri A. Natsvaladze narrating over visual documentation of various Kalashnikov weapons, including:
- 1942 and 1947 PPK submachine guns;
- AK46 automatic rifle, nos. 1 and 2;
- 1947 and 1948 prototypes of AK47 automatic rifle;
- first production model and five 1950's versions of AK47;
- first production model and two later versions of AKM47 automatic rifle;
- fieldtest and shortened models of AK74 automatic rifle;
- series of bayonets.
Original Masters: 4 Beta videotapes
Dubbing Masters: 2 U-Matic videotapes
Reference Copies: 1 VHS videotape
Transcript: 6 pages
1 hour, 20 minutes
Collection Division 3: Star Tannery
In Sessions Twelve and Thirteen, Ezell interviewed Eugene Stoner and Mikhail Kalashnikov to compare their experiences in small arms design.
Video Sessions
Session Twelve (May 20, 1990), at the NORVA firing range, Star Tannery, Virginia, featured Stoner and Kalashnikov comparing their automatic rifles, including:
- Stoner's innovations with AR15 prototype;
- titanium as engineering material;
- conflict between ammunition and weapon designers;
- differences between forging and casting;
- difficulties of meeting military specifications;
- development of AK47.
Visual documentation included:
- field stripping of AR15 and AK47.
Original Masters: 7 Beta videotapes
Dubbing Masters: 3 U-Matic videotapes
Reference Copies: 2 VHS videotapes
Transcript: 24 pages
2 hours, 20 minutes
Session Thirteen (May 21, 1990), at the NORVA firing range, Star Tannery, Virginia, featured Stoner and Kalashnikov firing various weapons.
Original Masters: 4 Beta videotapes
Dubbing Masters: 2 U-Matic videotapes
Reference Copies: not available
Transcript: no transcription
1 hour, 20 minutes
Restrictions: Tapes of Sessions 7 through 13 may be viewed, but may not be cited, quoted or reproduced without the permission of M. T. Kalishnikov. |
