.280 British
Encyclopedia
The .280 British was an experimental intermediate rifle
cartridge
. It was later designated 7 mm MK1Z, and has also been known as 7 mm NATO, .280/30, .280 Enfield, .280 NATO, 7 mm FN Short, and 7×43mm. It was designed by the British Army
in the late 1940s, with subsequent help from Fabrique Nationale in Belgium
and the Canadian Army. The .280 British was tested in a variety of rifles and machine gun
s including the EM-2, Lee-Enfield
, FN FAL
, Bren, M1 Garand
and Taden gun
. Despite its success as an intermediate cartridge, the .280 British was not considered powerful enough by the U.S. Army
and several variants of the .280 British were created in an attempt to appease the U.S. Army. The U.S. Army would continue to reject these variants, ultimately adopting the 7.62×51mm NATO
.
the British, having encountered the new 7.92 "Kurz"
cartridge on the battlefield and noted its effectiveness, began a programme to replace the venerable .303
cartridge which had been marked for replacement but had survived as a consequence of wartime pressures on British small arms
development. The goal of the British designers was to create a cartridge that would replace all small arms in .303 calibre including the Bren, the No.4 Rifle
and the Vickers medium machine gun
with a cartridge suitable for a "light rifle". Thus the cartridge had to demonstrate ballistic performance
equal to that of a full powered rifle round and yet exhibit as little recoil and blast
as possible, so that it was controllable during rapid or automatic fire
. A shorter cartridge producing lower recoil also enabled the weapon to be shorter and lighter, and hence easier to use. After extensive tests by the "Ideal Cartridge Panel" in 1945, the British decided upon two 7 mm cartridges – the .270 and the .276. Both designations reflected the measurement of the distance between the rifling
lands in the cartridges' respective barrel
s; the .276 bullet
's actual diameter was 0.284 inches (7.2 mm). In order to focus their efforts, the British ceased research on the .270 and concentrated their efforts on the .276. The .276 was later renamed the .280 even though no dimensions were changed. Recoil of the .280 cartridge was calculated to be a little under half of the .303. Long range performance actually surpassed that of the .303, and shooters reported that it was much more comfortable to fire with the reduced recoil and reduced blast. It seemed that the British designers had accomplished their goals, and proceeded to introduce the cartridge to their NATO allies.
Despite interest from the Belgians (FN would later produce the .280 in quantity and help improve it) and the Canadians, the Americans were not at all interested, claiming they would not adopt a calibre under .30 inch, or with ballistics inferior to the then-standard .30-06 round. The British attempted to appease the Americans, first with small changes such as changing the rim diameter of the .280 to the size of the .30-06 (resulting in the .280/30 cartridge which was produced in large numbers and is the basis of the dimensions listed to the right). Later, when the .280/30 was rejected by the Americans as being too weak with too great a drop in trajectory
, the British and Belgians made large changes to the cartridge design. These resulted in several different variations; one was just a .280/30 with the bullet seated less deeply so more powder could be put in the case, another was a T65 cartridge case necked down to 7 mm. The different cartridges that the British and Belgians eventually came up with fired 140 gr bullets at around 2700 to 2800 ft/s (823 to 853.4 m/s), but with a much greater blast and recoil than the .280/30, which defeated the design parameters of the initial .280 venture. Unsatisfied with the U.S. Army's response on the issue, the British adopted the EM-2 and the .280/30 as their primary rifle and ammunition in 1951 with the .280/30 being re-designated as the "7 mm MK1Z". This effort was to be all in vain, as the Americans adopted the T65 (later to be designated the 7.62×51mm NATO
).
A change of government meant that the 7 mm, EM-2 and Taden gun
projects were abandoned soon afterwards by Winston Churchill
, who returned as the prime minister
and desired commonality between the NATO countries. Small amounts of .280 ammunition
were later produced during the 1960s for various small arms trials.
The .280 British concept would later prove to have been far ahead of its time, as the U.S. itself adopted an intermediate cartridge — 5.56×45mm NATO — by the end of the following decade. Soon after America's large-scale involvement in Vietnam
commenced in 1965 the 5.56 mm ArmaLite
AR-15
rifle, later standardised as the M16
, was purchased in ever increasing numbers and by the late 1960s had displaced the 7.62 mm
M14
in combat units. After insisting on a .30 calibre round with full-power ballistics almost identical to those of the existing .30-06
, the U.S. then adopted the 5.56 mm intermediate cartridge, which demonstrated the emergence and dominance of intermediate cartridges on the battlefield (the other notable one being the 7.62×39mm
AK-47
round). The adoption of the 7.62×51mm NATO
round and the adaptation of the intermediate cartridge CETME
(later developed into the G3
) and FN FAL
designs to fire it, produced rifles that were relatively longer and heavier and had greater recoil. The result was weapons that performed well as longer-range semi-automatic rifles, but were more cumbersome and only marginally controllable in automatic fire. These guns also had a higher training burden and were not well suited to soldier
s of smaller stature, again due to the recoil
. Coincidentally, in 2002 the Americans developed a military calibre intended for the M4
version of the M16
family called the 6.8 mm Remington SPC
— with similar ballistic properties
to the .280 British cartridge — which was intended to provide better ballistics
than the 5.56×45mm.
Types of bullets and colours of tips:
Note: Most cartridges have been observed with a purple annulus. Several experimental cartridge cases were made out of aluminium
, in various colors including orange.
Known manufacturers:
For .280:
For 7 mm HV, 7 mm Compromise, 7 mm Second Optimum:
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
. It was later designated 7 mm MK1Z, and has also been known as 7 mm NATO, .280/30, .280 Enfield, .280 NATO, 7 mm FN Short, and 7×43mm. It was designed by the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in the late 1940s, with subsequent help from Fabrique Nationale in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and the Canadian Army. The .280 British was tested in a variety of rifles and machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s including the EM-2, Lee-Enfield
Lee-Enfield
The Lee-Enfield bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle was the main firearm used by the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century...
, FN FAL
FN FAL
The Fusil Automatique Léger or FAL is a self-loading, selective fire battle rifle produced by the Belgian armaments manufacturer Fabrique Nationale de Herstal . During the Cold War it was adopted by many North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries, with the notable exception of the United States...
, Bren, M1 Garand
M1 Garand
The M1 Garand , was the first semi-automatic rifle to be generally issued to the infantry of any nation. Called "the greatest battle implement ever devised" by General George S...
and Taden gun
Taden gun
The TADEN was a British experimental light machine gun firing the .280 in intermediate round. Alongside the bullpup EM-2 rifle design, it formed part of a proposal to reequip the British Army with new small arms which would use a round smaller than the .303 inch which was shown to be impractical...
. Despite its success as an intermediate cartridge, the .280 British was not considered powerful enough by the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and several variants of the .280 British were created in an attempt to appease the U.S. Army. The U.S. Army would continue to reject these variants, ultimately adopting the 7.62×51mm NATO
7.62×51mm NATO
The 7.62×51mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard for small arms among NATO countries...
.
History
After the Second World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the British, having encountered the new 7.92 "Kurz"
7.92×33mm Kurz
8x33mm Kurz is a rifle cartridge developed in Nazi Germany prior to and during World War II. The ammunition is also referred to as 7.9mm Kurz , 7.9 Kurz, or 7.9mmK, or 8x33 Polte. It was specifically intended for development of a automatic carbine...
cartridge on the battlefield and noted its effectiveness, began a programme to replace the venerable .303
.303 British
.303 British, or 7.7x56mmR, is a .311 inch calibre rifle and machine gun cartridge first developed in Britain as a blackpowder round put into service in December 1888 for the Lee-Metford rifle, later adapted to use smokeless powders...
cartridge which had been marked for replacement but had survived as a consequence of wartime pressures on British small arms
Small arms
Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
development. The goal of the British designers was to create a cartridge that would replace all small arms in .303 calibre including the Bren, the No.4 Rifle
Lee-Enfield
The Lee-Enfield bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle was the main firearm used by the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century...
and the Vickers medium machine gun
Vickers machine gun
Not to be confused with the Vickers light machine gunThe Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 inch machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army...
with a cartridge suitable for a "light rifle". Thus the cartridge had to demonstrate ballistic performance
External ballistics
External ballistics is the part of the science of ballistics that deals with the behaviour of a non-powered projectile in flight. External ballistics is frequently associated with firearms, and deals with the behaviour of the bullet after it exits the barrel and before it hits the target.-Forces...
equal to that of a full powered rifle round and yet exhibit as little recoil and blast
Muzzle flash
Muzzle blast is the term used to describe the release of high temperature, high pressure gases expelled from the muzzle of a firearm when it is discharged. Muzzle flash is the term used to describe the visible light of the muzzle blast. The blast and flash are caused by the combustion products of...
as possible, so that it was controllable during rapid or automatic fire
Automatic firearm
An automatic firearm is a firearm that loads another round mechanically after the first round has been fired.The term can be used to refer to semi-automatic firearms, which fire one shot per single pull of the trigger , or fully automatic firearms, which will continue to load and fire ammunition...
. A shorter cartridge producing lower recoil also enabled the weapon to be shorter and lighter, and hence easier to use. After extensive tests by the "Ideal Cartridge Panel" in 1945, the British decided upon two 7 mm cartridges – the .270 and the .276. Both designations reflected the measurement of the distance between the rifling
Rifling
Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis...
lands in the cartridges' respective barrel
Gun barrel
A gun barrel is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion or rapid expansion of gases are released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at a high velocity....
s; the .276 bullet
Bullet
A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...
's actual diameter was 0.284 inches (7.2 mm). In order to focus their efforts, the British ceased research on the .270 and concentrated their efforts on the .276. The .276 was later renamed the .280 even though no dimensions were changed. Recoil of the .280 cartridge was calculated to be a little under half of the .303. Long range performance actually surpassed that of the .303, and shooters reported that it was much more comfortable to fire with the reduced recoil and reduced blast. It seemed that the British designers had accomplished their goals, and proceeded to introduce the cartridge to their NATO allies.
Despite interest from the Belgians (FN would later produce the .280 in quantity and help improve it) and the Canadians, the Americans were not at all interested, claiming they would not adopt a calibre under .30 inch, or with ballistics inferior to the then-standard .30-06 round. The British attempted to appease the Americans, first with small changes such as changing the rim diameter of the .280 to the size of the .30-06 (resulting in the .280/30 cartridge which was produced in large numbers and is the basis of the dimensions listed to the right). Later, when the .280/30 was rejected by the Americans as being too weak with too great a drop in trajectory
Trajectory
A trajectory is the path that a moving object follows through space as a function of time. The object might be a projectile or a satellite, for example. It thus includes the meaning of orbit—the path of a planet, an asteroid or a comet as it travels around a central mass...
, the British and Belgians made large changes to the cartridge design. These resulted in several different variations; one was just a .280/30 with the bullet seated less deeply so more powder could be put in the case, another was a T65 cartridge case necked down to 7 mm. The different cartridges that the British and Belgians eventually came up with fired 140 gr bullets at around 2700 to 2800 ft/s (823 to 853.4 m/s), but with a much greater blast and recoil than the .280/30, which defeated the design parameters of the initial .280 venture. Unsatisfied with the U.S. Army's response on the issue, the British adopted the EM-2 and the .280/30 as their primary rifle and ammunition in 1951 with the .280/30 being re-designated as the "7 mm MK1Z". This effort was to be all in vain, as the Americans adopted the T65 (later to be designated the 7.62×51mm NATO
7.62×51mm NATO
The 7.62×51mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard for small arms among NATO countries...
).
A change of government meant that the 7 mm, EM-2 and Taden gun
Taden gun
The TADEN was a British experimental light machine gun firing the .280 in intermediate round. Alongside the bullpup EM-2 rifle design, it formed part of a proposal to reequip the British Army with new small arms which would use a round smaller than the .303 inch which was shown to be impractical...
projects were abandoned soon afterwards by Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, who returned as the prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
and desired commonality between the NATO countries. Small amounts of .280 ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
were later produced during the 1960s for various small arms trials.
The .280 British concept would later prove to have been far ahead of its time, as the U.S. itself adopted an intermediate cartridge — 5.56×45mm NATO — by the end of the following decade. Soon after America's large-scale involvement in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
commenced in 1965 the 5.56 mm ArmaLite
ArmaLite
ArmaLite is the name of a small arms engineering facility founded in the early 1950s, and once associated with the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation. ArmaLite was formally incorporated as a subdivision of Fairchild on October 1, 1954...
AR-15
AR-15
The AR-15 is a lightweight, 5.56 mm, air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed semi-automatic rifle, with a rotating-lock bolt, actuated by direct impingement gas operation. It is manufactured with the extensive use of aluminum alloys and synthetic materials....
rifle, later standardised as the M16
M16 rifle
The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...
, was purchased in ever increasing numbers and by the late 1960s had displaced the 7.62 mm
7.62×51mm NATO
The 7.62×51mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard for small arms among NATO countries...
M14
M14 rifle
The M14 rifle, formally the United States Rifle, 7.62 mm, M14, is an American selective fire automatic rifle firing 7.62x51mm NATO ammunition. It was the standard issue U.S. rifle from 1959 to 1970. The M14 was used for U.S...
in combat units. After insisting on a .30 calibre round with full-power ballistics almost identical to those of the existing .30-06
.30-06 Springfield
The .30-06 Springfield cartridge or 7.62×63mm in metric notation, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and standardized, and was in use until the 1960s and early 1970s. It replaced the .30-03, 6 mm Lee Navy, and .30 US Army...
, the U.S. then adopted the 5.56 mm intermediate cartridge, which demonstrated the emergence and dominance of intermediate cartridges on the battlefield (the other notable one being the 7.62×39mm
7.62×39mm
The 7.62×39mm round is a rifle cartridge of Soviet origin that was designed during World War II. It was first used in the RPD machine gun. Due to the worldwide proliferation of the SKS and AK-47 pattern rifles, the cartridge is utilized by both militaries and civilians alike.The 7.62×39mm...
AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
round). The adoption of the 7.62×51mm NATO
7.62×51mm NATO
The 7.62×51mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard for small arms among NATO countries...
round and the adaptation of the intermediate cartridge CETME
CETME
CETME is an acronym for Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales Especiales , a Spanish government design and development establishment. While being involved in many projects CETME was mostly known for its small arms research and development...
(later developed into the G3
Heckler & Koch G3
The G3 is a 7.62mm battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ....
) and FN FAL
FN FAL
The Fusil Automatique Léger or FAL is a self-loading, selective fire battle rifle produced by the Belgian armaments manufacturer Fabrique Nationale de Herstal . During the Cold War it was adopted by many North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries, with the notable exception of the United States...
designs to fire it, produced rifles that were relatively longer and heavier and had greater recoil. The result was weapons that performed well as longer-range semi-automatic rifles, but were more cumbersome and only marginally controllable in automatic fire. These guns also had a higher training burden and were not well suited to soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s of smaller stature, again due to the recoil
Recoil
Recoil is the backward momentum of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil caused by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gasses, according to Newton's third law...
. Coincidentally, in 2002 the Americans developed a military calibre intended for the M4
M4 carbine
The M4 carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 designed by Eugene Stoner and made by ArmaLite. It is a shorter and lighter variant of the M16A2 assault rifle, with 80% parts commonality.It is a gas-operated,...
version of the M16
M16 rifle
The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...
family called the 6.8 mm Remington SPC
6.8 mm Remington SPC
The 6.8 mm Remington SPC is a rifle cartridge that was developed with collaboration from individual members of United States Special Operations Command . Based upon the .30 Remington cartridge, it is midway between the 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO in bore diameter and velocity...
— with similar ballistic properties
External ballistics
External ballistics is the part of the science of ballistics that deals with the behaviour of a non-powered projectile in flight. External ballistics is frequently associated with firearms, and deals with the behaviour of the bullet after it exits the barrel and before it hits the target.-Forces...
to the .280 British cartridge — which was intended to provide better ballistics
Ballistics
Ballistics is the science of mechanics that deals with the flight, behavior, and effects of projectiles, especially bullets, gravity bombs, rockets, or the like; the science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance.A ballistic body is a body which is...
than the 5.56×45mm.
Specifications
| Name | Bullet Diameter | Case Length | Rim | Base | Shoulder | Neck | OAL | MV | Bullet Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .280 British | 7.214 mm (0.284015748031496 in) | 43.434 mm (1.7 in) | 12.01 mm (0.472834645669291 in) for the .280/30 or 11.633 mm (0.457992125984252 in) for the .280 | ||||||
| 64.516 mm (2.5 in) | Approx. 2500 ft/s (762 m/s) with 140 gr bullet | 130 – |
Types of bullets and colours of tips:
- AP (130 gr)
- API (130 gr): black
- Ball (130 gr): plain (unmarked), green, pink, yellow, brown
- Observation (130 gr) (6 gr WP): red
- Tracer (130 gr): white
Note: Most cartridges have been observed with a purple annulus. Several experimental cartridge cases were made out of aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
, in various colors including orange.
Known manufacturers:
- Radway GreenROF Radway GreenThe former Royal Ordnance Factory , Radway Green, now part of BAE Systems Global Combat Systems, manufactures small arms ammunition for the British armed forces...
- Fabrique Nationale
- KynochKynochKynoch was a manufacturer of ammunition, later incorporated into ICI but remaining as a brand name for sporting cartridges.-History:Kynoch was established in Witton in Birmingham in 1862 by Scottish entrepreneur George Kynoch when he opened a percussion cap factory in Witton. In 1895 he built an...
Performance
The following comparisons are excerpts from a manual published by the "Small Arms Group Armament Design Establishment" from the Ministry of Supply:| .280 | .303 | .30/06 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bullet weight | 139 gr | 174 gr | 166 gr |
| Muzzle velocity | 2500 ft/s (762 m/s) | 2456 ft/s (748.6 m/s) | 2770 ft/s (844.3 m/s) |
| Timber penetration at 2000 yards (1,829 m) | 2.9 in (73.7 mm) | 2.4 in (61 mm) | 1.6 in (40.6 mm) |
| Timber penetration at 100 yards (91 m) | 45 in (114 cm) | 42 in (107 cm) | 47 in (119 cm) |
| Range for penetration of airborne type steel helmet | 1000 yd (914 m) | 900 yd (823 m) | 1600 yd (1,463 m) |
| Vertex height for 600 yards (549 m) range | 3.3 ft (101 cm) | 3.1 ft (94 cm) | 3 ft (91 cm) |
| Recoil energy per round | 7.4 ft·lbf (10 J) with EM-2 rifle | 11 ft·lbf (14.9 J) with No.4 Rifle | 14.4 ft·lbf (19.5 J) with M1 Garand M1 Garand The M1 Garand , was the first semi-automatic rifle to be generally issued to the infantry of any nation. Called "the greatest battle implement ever devised" by General George S... |
Variants
- .270: Designed at the same time as the .280. It has a slightly smaller bullet diameter of 0.279 in (7.1 mm) (versus 0.284 in (7.2 mm) for the .280) but a lighter bullet (93 gr) with a greater muzzle velocity (2750 –), longer case (1.8 in (45.7 mm)) and shorter overall length (2.45 in (62.2 mm)). Research was abandoned in 1948.
- 7 mm "Optimum": The original .280 round with the bullet seated less deeply, giving an overall length of 2.6 in (66 mm).
- 7 mm "High Velocity": Longer case (1.95 in (49.5 mm)), with an overall length of 2.79 in (70.9 mm). Similar 140 gr bullet fired at 2750 ft/s (838 m/s).
- 7 mm "Compromise" (aka T65/7 mm): Necked down T65 (7.62×51mm NATO) to 7 mm. Case length 2 in (50.8 mm), overall length 2.8 in (71.1 mm), similar 140 gr bullet fired at 2800 ft/s (853.4 m/s).
- 7 mm "Second Optimum" (7×49 mm): Designed by FN. Also known as the 7 mm "Medium" and the 7 mm "Liviano". FN would later sell FAL rifles chambered in this calibre along with a sizeable amount of ammunition to VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. Longer case (1.935 in (49.1 mm)) with an overall length of 2.78 in (70.6 mm). 140 gr bullet fired at 2755 ft/s (839.7 m/s). - 6.25 mm (6.25×43 mm): A British experimental cartridge designed during the early 1970s, using the .280/30 as a parent case, which was necked down to fit a smaller bullet.
Comparable cartridges
- 7×44mm Danish, a Danish experimental cartridge fired by the Weibel M/1932Weibel M/1932The Weibel M/1932 was a light machine gun concept of Danish origin and was considered to supplement the Madsen gun in Danish service. It was fed from a 20 round box magazine chambered in the intermediate 7x44mm round. This calibre was considered underpowered for its day but shares the same...
tested in 1936. - 7 mm Bench Rest (wildcat cartridgeWildcat cartridgeA wildcat cartridge, or wildcat, is a custom cartridge for which ammunition and firearms are not mass produced. These cartridges are often created in order to optimize a certain performance characteristic of an existing commercial cartridge.Developing and using wildcat cartridges does not...
, at one time produced by Remington ArmsRemington ArmsRemington Arms Company, Inc. was founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington in Ilion, New York, as E. Remington and Sons. It is the oldest company in the United States which still makes its original product, and is the oldest continuously operating manufacturer in North America. It is the only U.S....
) - .308×1.5" "Barnes" (wildcat)
- .308×1.75" and necked down 7 mm variant (wildcats)
For 7 mm HV, 7 mm Compromise, 7 mm Second Optimum:
- 7mm-08 Remington
See also
- EM-2 rifle
- Taden gunTaden gunThe TADEN was a British experimental light machine gun firing the .280 in intermediate round. Alongside the bullpup EM-2 rifle design, it formed part of a proposal to reequip the British Army with new small arms which would use a round smaller than the .303 inch which was shown to be impractical...
- 7 mm caliber7 mm caliberThis article lists firearm cartridges which have a bullet in the to caliber range.*Length refers to the cartridge case length.*OAL refers to the overall length of the cartridge....
- other 7 mm cartridges - 7.92×33mm Kurz7.92×33mm Kurz8x33mm Kurz is a rifle cartridge developed in Nazi Germany prior to and during World War II. The ammunition is also referred to as 7.9mm Kurz , 7.9 Kurz, or 7.9mmK, or 8x33 Polte. It was specifically intended for development of a automatic carbine...
- 7.62×51mm NATO7.62×51mm NATOThe 7.62×51mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard for small arms among NATO countries...
- .276 Pedersen.276 PedersenThe .276 Pedersen round was an experimental 7 mm cartridge developed for the U.S. Army and used in the Pedersen rifle and early versions of what would become the M1 Garand rifle.-Summary:...
- 6.8 mm Remington SPC6.8 mm Remington SPCThe 6.8 mm Remington SPC is a rifle cartridge that was developed with collaboration from individual members of United States Special Operations Command . Based upon the .30 Remington cartridge, it is midway between the 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO in bore diameter and velocity...
- 6.5 mm Grendel
- 5.56×45mm NATO