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Revision as of 16:25, 5 February 2021
The service rifle (also known as standard-issue rifle) of a given army or armed force is that which it issues as standard to its soldiers. In modern forces, this is typically a highly versatile and rugged assault rifle, battle rifle, carbine, or designated marksman rifle suitable for use in nearly all theatres and environments. Service rifles are also often selected for their upgradability (e.g., the addition of underslung grenade launchers, sights, torches, laser sights, etc.)
Although certain weapons issued to special forces units are rarely considered "service weapons" in the truest sense, certain specialist rifles and submachine guns are categorized as such if issued as per standing operating procedures upon entering special environments or scenarios. These may include urban warfare (FIBUA/MOUT) and jungle warfare environments.
Most armies also have service pistols.
History
Originally, rifles used in combat were not standard-issue weapons like the service rifles of today. Rifles were for specialist marksmen only, whilst the ordinary infantry were issued less accurate smoothbore muskets which had a higher rate of fire, with bore diameters as high as 19 mm, or 0.75 inch. By the middle of the 19th century, however, rifles were becoming more and more common on the battlefield, with muskets being phased out. Originally, these combat rifles were single-shot muzzle-loading weapons, but as technology advanced through the 18th and 19th centuries, so too did the technique of loading rounds. First, breech-loading firearms, like the Prussian Needle gun of the mid-19th century came to prominence, which then evolved into repeating weapons, such as the bolt-action Mosin-Nagant rifle used by Imperial Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the Soviet Union in World War II. By this time almost all prominent armies in the world had some sort of standard service rifle.
During the Second World War, there was yet another leap forward in rifle design which was to influence service rifles even today. That is, the use of a fired cartridge's gas emissions to automatically rechamber rounds into the breech once a bullet had been fired, as well as expelling the old cartridge. These "battle rifles", as they were called, usually fired a "full-sized" (as opposed to an intermediate) rifle cartridge, such as the .30-06 Springfield or .303 British. Another type of commonly issued rifle which was to become well known during this time was the assault rifle, a (usually) fully automatic rifle firing a lighter "intermediate" cartridge, as opposed to the full-sized cartridges used by battle rifles. The first of these was the Sturmgewehr 44, used by Nazi Germany in the later stages of the Second World War. The StG44 was not issued in large numbers, and was never adopted as Germany's service rifle. However, this weapon was to serve as the precursor to other assault rifles such as the Soviet AK-47, the American M-16/70, the Belgian FN FAL, the German G3 and the Swiss Sturmgewehr 57, which today supersede battle rifles as the service rifle of choice for militaries the world over.
Service rifles by nation
Afghanistan
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
AK-47 | Selective fire | 7.62x39mm Soviet | 1973- |
Albania
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Heckler & Koch G3 | Selective fire | .280 British | 1960s- | |
Beretta ARX160 | Selective fire | .280 British | 2016- |
Algeria
America and United States
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Model 1795 Musket | Flintlock | .69 Ball | 1795–1842 | |
Model 1803 Rifle | Flintlock | .54 Ball | 1803-1841 | |
Model 1812 Musket | Flintlock | .69 Ball | 1812–1842 | |
Model 1814 Rifle | Flintlock | .54 Ball | 1814-1841 | |
Model 1816 Musket | Flintlock | .69 Ball | 1816–1842 | |
Model 1817 Rifle | Flintlock | .54 Ball | 1817–1842 | |
Model 1822 Musket | Flintlock | .69 Ball | 1822–1865 | |
Springfield Model 1842 | Percussion cap | .69 Ball | 1835–1842 | |
Springfield Model 1855 | Percussion cap | .58 Minié | 1854-1861 | |
Spencer Repeating Rifle | Lever-action | 56-56 Spencer | 1860–1873 | |
Springfield Model 1861 | Percussion cap | .58 Minié | 1861–1867 | |
Henry Repeating Rifle | Lever-action | .44 Henry | 1862–1873 | |
Springfield Model 1863 | Percussion cap | .58 Minié | 1863–1865 | |
Springfield Model 1865 | Breech-loading | .58 Musket Rimfire | 1865–1867 | |
Springfield Model 1866 | Breech-loading | .50-70 Government | 1866–1873 | |
Springfield Model 1868 | Breech-loading | .50-70 Government | 1869–1873 | |
Springfield Model 1873 | Breech-loading | .45-70 | 1873–1892 | |
Springfield Model 1884 | Breech-loading | .45-70 | 1884–1894 | |
Springfield Model 1892-99 | Bolt-action | .30-40 Krag | 1894–1907 | |
M1895 Lee Navy | Bolt-action | 6mm Lee Navy | 1895-1907 | |
M1903 Springfield | Bolt-action | .30-06 Springfield | 1903–1975 | |
M1916 Mosin–Nagant | Bolt-action | 7.62×54R | 1916–1919 | |
M1917 Enfield | Bolt-action | .30-06 Springfield | 1917–1953 | |
SA M-1/36 | Semi-automatic | .30-06 Springfield | 1936–1963 | |
NHAC M-2/45 Carbine | Semi-automatic | .30 Carbine | 1942–1960s | |
SA M-14/59 | Selective fire | 7.62x51mm American | 1959-1970 | |
FDI M-16/70 | Selective fire | 5.56x45mm American | 1970- | |
FDI M-4/94 | Selective fire | 5.56x45mm American | 1994- |
Andorra
Angola
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Heckler & Koch G3 | Selective fire | .280 British | 1961- |
Arabia
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Heckler & Koch G3 | Selective fire | .303 British | 1968- | |
Steyr AUG | Selective fire | .280 British | 1980- | |
Heckler & Koch G36 | Selective fire | .280 British | 2008- |
Argentina
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Remington EN M1879 | Rolling block | .43 Spanish | 1879-1891 | |
Mauser Modelo Argentino 1891 | Bolt-action | 7.65x53mm Argentine | 1891-1909 | |
Mauser Modelo Argentino 1909 | Bolt-action | 7.65x53mm Argentine | 1909-1970s | |
M1903 Springfield | Bolt-action | .30-06 Springfield | 1940s-1970s | |
FR M-16/70 | Selective fire | 5.56×45mm American | 1978- |
Australia
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lee-Enfield | Bolt-action | .303 British | 1901-1950s | |
L1A1 SLR | Selective fire | .280 British | 1957- |
Austria
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lorenz Rifle | Rifled musket | .54 | 1854-1867 | ||
Wanzl Rifle | Trapdoor breechloader | 14mm Wanzl rimfire | 1854-1867 | ||
M1867 Werndl-Holub | Rotary block | 11x42mm | 1867-1886 | ||
M1886 Mannlicher | Bolt-action | 11x42 mm/8x52 mm | 1886-1895 | ||
Steyr-Mannlicher M1895 | Straight-pull | 8x50mm Mannlicher/8x56mm Steyr | 1895-1938 | ||
Lee-Enfield | Bolt-action | .303 British | 1950-1958 | ||
FN FAL | Selective fire | .280 British | 1958- | Currently in limited use for drill/display | |
Steyr AUG | Selective fire | .280 British | 1978- |
Bahrain
Belarus
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
FN FAL | Selective fire | .280 British | 1948-1989 | |
Kbk wz. 1988 Tantal | Selective fire | .280 British | 1989- |
Belgium
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Albini rifle | Hinged breechblock | 11mm | 1867-? | |
FN Mauser M1889 | Bolt-action | 7.65x53mm Argentine | 1889-1940 | |
FN Mauser M1936 | Bolt-action | 7.65x53mm Argentine | 1936-1949 | |
FN Model 1949 | Semi-automatic | .303 British | 1949-1956 | |
FN FAL | Selective fire | .280 British | 1953-1995 | |
FN FNC | Selective fire | .280 British | 1979- | |
FN SCAR | Selective fire | .280 British | 2015- |
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Vz. 24 | Bolt-action | 7.92x57mm | 1932-1970s | |
FR M-16/70 | Selective fire | 5.56×45mm American | 1978- |
Bosnia
Brazil
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
M1873 Brazilian Comblain | Falling block | 11x53mm | 1873-1892 | |
M88 German Commission Rifle | Bolt-action | 7x57mm Mauser | 1892-1894 | |
Mauser M1894 Rifle | Bolt-action | 7x57mm Mauser | 1894-1908 | |
Mauser M1908 | Bolt-action | 7x57mm Mauser | 1908-1954 | |
Itajuba M954 Mosquetão | Bolt-action | .303 British | 1954-1968 | |
FN Model 1949 | Semi-automatic | .303 British | 1950s-1968 | |
FN FAL | Selective fire | .280 British | 1964- | |
Itajuba M968 Mosquefal | Bolt-action | 7x57mm Mauser | 1968- | |
IMBEL MD | Selective fire | .280 British | 1985- | |
IMBEL MD97 | Selective fire | .280 British | 1997- | |
IMBEL IA2 | Selective fire | .280 British | 2013- |
British Empire
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Brown Bess | Flintlock | .75 Ball | 1722-1838 | |
Ferguson rifle | Breech-loading | .650 Ball | 1776 | |
Baker rifle | Flintlock | .615 Ball | 1801-1837 | |
Brunswick rifle | Percussion cap | .704 Ball | 1837-1851 | |
Pattern 1853 Enfield | Percussion cap | .577 Ball | 1853-1867 | |
Snider-Enfield | Breech-loading | .577 Snider | 1866-1901 | |
Martini-Henry | Breech-loading | .577/450 Martini-Henry | 1871-1888 | |
Lee-Metford | Bolt-action | .303 British | 1888-1926 | |
Lee-Enfield | Bolt-action | .303 British | 1895-1957 | |
Pattern 1914 Enfield | Bolt-action | .303 British | 1914-1947 | |
Remington Model 1901 | Rolling block | 7x57mm Mauser | 1915-1918 | |
L1A1 SLR | Semi-automatic | .280 British | 1956-2014 | |
C15 Grizzly | Selective fire | .280 Brtitish | 2014- |
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Cambodia
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
MAS-36 | Bolt-action | 7.5x54mm French | 1940s-1985 | |
Arisaka Type 38 | Bolt-action | 6.5x50mm Arisaka | 1941-1945 | |
Arisaka Type 99 | Bolt-action | 6.5x50mm Arisaka | 1941-1945 | |
Lee-Enfield | Bolt-action | .303 British | 1950s-1985 | |
FN FAL | Selective fire | .280 British | 1960s-1985 | |
AK-47 | Selective fire | 7.62x39mm Soviet | 1960s-1985 | |
FN FNC | Selective fire | .280 British | 1985- |
Cameroun
Canada
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ross Rifle | Bolt-action | .303 British | 1905-1916 | |
Lee-Enfield | Bolt-action | .303 British | 1916-1954 | |
C1A1 SLR | Selective fire | .280 British | 1954-2014 | |
C15 Grizzly | Selective fire | .280 British | 2014- |
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chile
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bolt-action | 11x59mmR | 1874-1905 | ||
Mauser Model 1895 | Bolt-action | 7x57mm Mauser | 1895-1970s | |
Mauser Model 1912 | Bolt-action | 7x57mm Mauser | 1912-1970s | |
SIG SG 510 | Selective fire | .280 British | 1960s- | |
Heckler & Koch G3 | Selective fire | .280 British | 1970s- | |
SIG SG 540 | Selective fire | .280 British | 1980s- | |
IWI ACE | Selective fire | .280 British | 2014- |
People's Republic of China
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
SDI M-1/36 | Semi-automatic | .30-06 Springfield | 1949- | |
FDI M-16/70 | Selective fire | 5.56×45mm American | 1981- | |
QBZ-95 | Selective fire | 5.8x42mm DBP87 | 1995- | |
QBZ-03 | Selective fire | 5.8x42mm DBP87 | 2003- |
Republic of China
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hanyang Type 88 | Bolt-action | 7.92×57mm Mauser | 1888–1949 | |
Gewehr 98 | Bolt-action | 7.92×57mm Mauser | 1911–1949 | |
Vz. 24 | Bolt-action | 7.92×57mm Mauser | 1924-1950s | |
Karabiner 98k | Bolt-action | 7.92×57mm Mauser | 1935–1950s | |
Chiang Kai-shek rifle | Bolt-action | 7.92×57mm Mauser | 1935–1950s | |
Lee-Enfield | Bolt-action | .303 British | 1936-1968 | |
L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle | Selective fire | .280 British | 1968-2003 | |
T65 assault rifle | Selective fire | .280 British | 1976- | |
T91 assault rifle | Selective fire | .280 British | 2003- |
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Costa Rica
Croatia
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Karabiner 98k | Bolt-action | 7.92×57mm Mauser | 1941–1945 | |
FN Model 24 | Bolt-action | 7.92×57mm Mauser | 1941–1945 | |
Zastava M70 | Selective fire | 7.62×39mm Soviet | 1991–2015 | |
HS Produkt VHS | Selective fire | .280 British | 2008– |
Cuba
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Spanish Mauser | Bolt-action | 7×57mm Mauser | 1902-1923 | |
M1903 Springfield | Bolt-action | .30-06 Springfield | 1923-1947 | |
Lee-Enfield | Bolt-action | .303 British | 1947-1958 | |
FN FAL | Selective fire | .280 British | 1958-1968 | |
FN Model 1949 | Semi-automatic | .303 British | 1961- | |
Heckler & Koch G3 | Selective fire | .280 British | 1962- |
Cyprus
Czechia
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
vz. 24 | Bolt-action | 7.92×57mm Mauser | 1924-1952 | |
vz. 33 | Bolt-action | 7.92x57mm Mauser | 1934-1945 | |
vz. 52 | Semi-automatic | 7.62×45mm | 1952-1959 | |
vz. 58 | Selective fire | 7.62×45mm | 1959- | |
CZ 805 BREN | Selective fire | 7.62×45mm | 2010- |
Denmark
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pattern 1853 Enfield | Percussion cap | .577 Ball | 1853-1867 | ||
Remington Rolling Block rifle | Rolling block | 11mm Danish | 1867-1889 | ||
Gevær M. 1889 | Bolt-action | 8x58RD | 1889- | In service with Sirius Dog Sled Patrol | |
Gevær M/75 | Selective fire | .280 British | 1975- | ||
Gevær M/95 | Selective fire | .280 British | 1995- |
Djibouti
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lee-Enfield | Bolt-action | .303 British | 1922-1967 | |
FN Model 1949 | Semi-automatic | 7.92x57mm Mauser | 1949-1967 | |
Ag m/42 | Semi-automatic | 6.5x55mm | 1950s-1967 | |
Hakim Rifle | Semi-automatic | 7.92x57mm Mauser | 1950s-1967 | |
Rasheed Carbine | Semi-automatic | .280 British | 1950s-1967 | |
vz. 58 | Selective fire | 7.62x45mm | 1967- | |
CZ 805 BREN | Selective fire | 7.62x45mm | 2017- |
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
=Eritria
Estonia
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mosin-Nagant | Bolt-action | 7.62x54mmR | 1918-1966 | |
Pattern 1914 Enfield | Bolt-action | .303 British | 1920-1966 | |
RK 62 | Selective fire | .280 British | 1966-2000s | |
IMI Galil | Selective fire | .280 British | 1994- | |
Ak 4 | Selective fire | .280 British | 2002- | |
IWI ACE | Selective fire | .280 British | 2020- |
Ethiopia
Finland
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mosin-Nagant | Bolt-action | 7.62x54mmR | 1891-1970 | |
Lee-Enfield | Bolt-action | .303 British | 1940-1970 | |
RK 62 | Selective fire | .280 British | 1962- | |
RK 95 TP | Selective fire | .280 British | 1995- |
France
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Charleville musket | Flintlock | .65 Ball | 1717-1840 | |
Musket Model 1777 | Flintlock | .69 Ball | 1777-1826 | |
Delvigne rifle | Flintlock | .69 Ball | 1826-1846 | |
Thouvenin Carabine à tige | Percussion cap | .69 Ball | 1846-1851 | |
Minié rifle | Percussion cap | .58 Minié | 1848-1866 | |
Tabatière rifle | Breech-loading | .58 Minié | 1864-1870 | |
Chassepot M1866 | Bolt-action | 11mm | 1867-1874 | |
Remington Rolling Block rifle | Rolling block | .43 Egyptian | c. 1870 | |
Gras M1874 | Bolt-action | 11x59mmR | 1874-1886 | |
Lebel Model 1886 rifle | Bolt-action | 8mm Lebel | 1886-1940 | |
Berthier rifle | Bolt-action | 8mm Lebel | 1902-1960s | |
MAS-36 | Bolt-action | 7.5x54mm French | 1936-1964 | |
MAS-49 | Semi-automatic | 7.5x54mm French | 1949-1990 | |
CEAM Modèle 1950 | Selective fire | 7.5x38mm | 1958-1982 | |
FAMAS | Selective fire | 7.5x38mm | 1981-2017 | |
PAPOP-2 | Selective fire | 7.5x38mm | 2017- |
---
Soviet Union and Russia
Firearm | Type | Calibre | Service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Model 1857 Six Line | Rifled musket | .60 calibre | 1857-1867 | |
M1867 Russian Krnka | Trapdoor breechloader | 15mm | 1867-1869 | |
Berdan rifle | Bolt-action | 10.75×58mm | 1869-1891 | |
Mosin-Nagant | Bolt-action | 7.62×54mmR | 1891–1951 | |
SVT-40 | Semi-automatic | 7.62×54mmR | 1940–1955 | |
SKS | Semi-automatic | 7.62×39mm Soviet | 1945–1956 | |
AK-47 | Selective fire | 7.62×39mm Soviet | 1949–1974 | |
AKM | Selective fire | 7.62×39mm Soviet | 1959–1974 | |
AK-74 | Selective fire | 5.45×39mm | 1974–2012 | |
AN-94 | Selective fire | 5.45×39mm | 1994- | |
AK-12 | Selective fire | 5.45×39mm | 2012- |
TBC