Nov 24, 2020
On today’s episode of the Resistance Library Podcast Dave and Sam
talk about Eugene Stoner.
Eugene Morrison Stoner, the father of the AR-15 and the M16, is a
titan in the world of both military- and civilian-use firearms. If
he had done nothing but design the AR-15, his name would go down in
history. But, of course, he did so much more than that. In addition
to changing the landscape of American firearms, as well as the
world stage, Stoner was also the archetypal
“self-made
American man,” working his way up from nothing on a high school
education to forever change the world as we know it.
Born in Gosport, IN, in 1922, Stoner attended high school in Long
Beach, CA, before working at the Vega Aircraft Company installing
armament. Once World War II started, he enrolled in the United
States Marine Corps, specializing in Aviation Ordnance. He served
in Northern China and the South Pacific.
In 1945, at the war’s end, Stoner went to work in a machine shop
owned by Whitaker, eventually working his way up to design
engineer. In 1954, he went to work as the chief engineer for
ArmaLite, then a division of Fairchild Engine and Airplane
Corporation. His first projects were forerunners of the AR-15, with
creative names like AR-3, AR-9, AR-11 and AR-12. These were all
prototype small arms that never saw production. He did, however,
see success with the AR-5, which was used as a survival rifle by
the United States Air Force.
In 1955, Stoner completed the initial run of design on the ArmaLite
AR-10. This was a revolution in the world of small arms – a weapon
that boasted a compact size, was easy to fire and didn’t weigh too
much. The AR-10 was chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO, and was first
tested at the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1956. It beat
the competition largely due to its comparatively compact size.
Still, the weapon was originally rejected in favor of the T44,
which became the M14, mostly because of its late arrival in the
testing cycle. Dutch company Artillerie Inrichtingen manufactured
the AR-10 under lease until 1960. But this didn’t mean the AR-10
was anywhere near done.
You can read the full article “Eugene
Stoner: The Forgotten History of the Man Who Created
"America's
Rifle" – the AR-15” at Ammo.com.
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