Assault Rifle

Assault Rifle provides a comprehensive account of the development of the military assault rifle and its ammunition from WW2 to the present day. The book is in two parts. The first part includes: Brief historical summary of the assault rifle, its origins and development; Gun design including operating mechanisms and weapon configuration; Ammunition design and performance; Ballistics, especially the balance between recoil and effectiveness; History of assault rifle cartridge. The second part includes: National military rifle programs since the end of WW2; History of developments in each country including experimental programs; Detailed descriptions of the principal service and experimental weapons.

Maxim Popenker was born in Leningrad, graduated from St Petersburg State Technical University and is a lieutenant [reserve] in the Russian Armed Forces. He is an established author of books and magazines and online articles on the subject of firearms. He is the owner and author of a leading Internet resource on small arms, the 'Modern Firearms and Ammunition' website at www.worldguns.ru. Maxim has a long-term interest in the history and technical aspects of firearms, especially those of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.