American-180
American-180 | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Type | Submachine gun |
Place of origin | United States Austria |
Service history | |
Used by | See Users |
Production history | |
Designer | Richard J Casull |
Manufacturer | Voere Illinois Arms Company, Inc. American Arms International |
No. built | Less than 10,000 |
Variants | Short barrel version Semi-automatic-only version |
Specifications | |
Mass |
|
Length | 900 mm (35.5 in) |
Barrel length |
|
Cartridge | .22 LR .22 Short Magnum (.22 ILARCO)[1][2] |
Action | blowback, open bolt |
Rate of fire |
|
Feed system | 165, 177, 220, or 275 round detachable pan magazine |
Sights | Fixed open sights, Factory-installed laser sights |
The American-180 is a submachine gun developed in the 1960s which fires .22 LR cartridges from a pan magazine. The concept began with the Casull Model 290 that used a flat pan magazine similar to designs widely used prior to World War II. Only 80 Casull M290s were built as the weapon was expensive to produce. The American-180 is an improved version. A semi-automatic only variant called the American SAR 180/275 is still produced on a custom basis by E&L Manufacturing of Riddle, Oregon.[3]
Operation
The weapon operates through a conventional blowback mechanism. It uses an open bolt with a flat pan magazine. It fires at a relatively high rate of fire of around 1,200 RPM. The American-180 was purchased mostly by private parties prior to the American ban on production of machine guns for the US civilian market. The A180 was adopted by the Utah Department of Corrections to arm correctional officers.[4][5]
Despite the low power of the .22 LR round, testing demonstrated that automatic fire could penetrate even concrete and bulletproof vests from cumulative damage.[citation needed] However, the target would have to remain still for some amount of time to allow the cumulative damage to amass in the same area to achieve this.[citation needed]
Users
Rhodesia: Rhodesian SAS.[6][7]
South Africa: 4th Reconnaissance Regiment[8]
United States: Various law enforcement agencies and correctional facilities.[5][9]
See also
References
- ^ Phil West. Survival Weapons: Optimizing Your Arsenal. p. 141. ISBN 1291460985.
- ^ W. Todd Woodard. Cartridges of the World. Gun Digest Books. p. 617.
- ^ "American SAR 180/275". 2015. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ "The American 180". Machine Gun News. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
- ^ a b Mendenhall, Monty (March 1998). "Cheap Thrills—22 Rimfire Machine Guns". Small Arms Review.
- ^ Douw Steyn (2015). Iron Fist From The Sea: South Africa's Seaborne Raiders 1978-1988. Helion and Company. pp. 96, 102. ISBN 1909982288.
- ^ Special Weapons on Rhodesia by Dana Drenkowski, A Wide Variety of Unique Weapons are used in Rhodesia's fight against terrorism, Soldier of Fortune
- ^ "Stille Vuurkrag:-Documented Combat Usage of the American-180 by SADF/Rhodesian SAS". TheFirearmBlog. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
- ^ "History of the American 180". Retrieved July 22, 2017.
External links
- User Manual
- American-180 submachine gun at Modern Firearms
- A Swarm of Angry Bees: The American 180 .22LR Submachine Gun on YouTube—History and shooting