History of the AR-15

The ArmaLite division of the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation, Costa Mesa, CA was established in 1954 for the sole purpose of developing military firearms using the latest in plastics and non-ferrous materials. It's team who oversaw drafting work had been the key developers of the AR-15.

The AR-15, designed around a slightly enlarged version of the .222 case firing a 55gr projectile at 3300fps, and weighing in at 6.7 lbs, took some of the best features from earlier designs:

• locking system similar to Johnson Automatic Rifle

• gas system from Swedish Ljungman AG42B

• in-line stock to help with manageability during auto fire

• hinged upper/lower from FN-FAL

• rear sight in carry handle like British EM2

• ejector port cover from MP44

Project SALVO, a number of studies conducted by the Operations Research Office at John Hopkins University and supported by several contractors chose the AR-15 as the best small caliber weapon and it was adopted as the M16. The AR-15 had met all the CONARC requirements, and AR-15 production could be highly automated, making it inexpensive to manufacture. It's 5.56mm cartridge fired a small 55gr bullet at nearly 3000fps, and it was accurate and effective to 350 yards. The small cartridge combined with the buffer system and inline stock made it far more controllable in automatic fire than the M14.

The early Colt AR-15, their magazines, and their operators manuals were marked with ArmaLite’s name. Colt’s retained the AR-15 designation on commercial rifles. To this day Colt’s has a model designation with the letters AR, which stands for “ArmaLite”.