US Colt Commando
Technical Summary
| Caliber: | 5.56 mm |
| Firearm action: | gas-actuated locking bolt |
| Barrel Length: | 11.5 in (290 mm) |
| Overall Length: | 30 in (760 mm) |
| Effective Range: | about (300 m) |
| Magazine: | 30 round, box |
| Cyclic ROF: | 700 to 1000 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity: | 2611 ft/s (796 m/s) |
| Mass (unloaded): | 2.44 kg (5.38 lb) |
| Mass (loaded): | 2.89 kg (6.38 lb) |
The Colt Commando (a.k.a. CAR-15 and XM-177) is a gas-actuated locking bolt 5.56 mm carbine produced by the Colt manufacturing. The weapon first began production in 1965 for Special Operations units during the Vietnam war. It also saw service by the US Air Force who labeled it the CAR-15 and issued it to pilots as a survival rifle. The US Army labelled theirs the XM-177E1 (pre-1967) and the XM-177E2 (post-1967).
Colt marketed the .223 Remington Model 609 submachine gun, otherwise known as the XM-177 Commando (although it is not a sub-machine gun, as a true SMG would be chambered for pistol rather than rifle ammunition). It has a sliding, retractable buttstock, forward assist (for seating the bolt into chamber), a 10 inch barrel, which has smaller round handguards and a unique "sound and flash" suppressor. This gun was given the US Army designation of XM-177E1. The US Air Force purchased the Colt Model 610, and designated it GAU-5/A. This differed only in not having the forward assist.
After fielding it, improvements were suggested. Colt then produced and sold the Model 629, in which the barrel was lengthen to 11.5 inches and got a redesigned "flash and sound" suppressor (behind the new suppressor a washer was added to enable the user to fire rifle grenades). The US Army designated this weapon the XM-177E2. The US Air Force purchased the Colt model 630 (no forward assist) and it was classified GAU-5A/A. Soldiers and sailors called this the CAR-15 (which is actually a different Colt firearm). However, the designation of CAR-15 stuck and these early models are still referred to today as the CAR15.
Colt improved the basic design in the early 1970s. The barrel was lengthened to 14.5 inches. Now using a standard rifle suppressor and having a bayonet stud (for the attaching of the M-7 Bayonet), Colt numbered this 653. The US Army and US Navy procured some in small numbers for SOF units, but did not officially adopt it. It was also referred to as the CAR-15. These various models were used until the mid-1980s when the M16A2 was adopted. Along with the new rifle came the new M-855 ball round.
The Commando is similar in design and has many interoperable components with the M4 Carbine and the M16 Rifle. However, since it is the smallest shoulder-fired weapon produced in the M16 line, it does have minor proprietary mechanisms such as its unique recoil-reduction spring located in the buttstock. Since its inception, there has been a controversy as to whether the Commando is a Carbine or a Submachine gun.
See also
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