Service rifle

The service rifle (also known as standard-issue rifle) of a given army or armed force is that which it issues as standard to its soldiers. In modern forces, this is typically a highly versatile and rugged assault rifle, battle rifle, carbine, or designated marksman rifle suitable for use in nearly all theatres and environments. Service rifles are also often selected for their upgradability (e.g., the addition of underslung grenade launchers, sights, torches, laser sights, etc.)

Although certain weapons issued to special forces units are rarely considered "service weapons" in the truest sense, certain specialist rifles and submachine guns are categorized as such if issued as per standing operating procedures upon entering special environments or scenarios. These may include urban warfare (FIBUA/MOUT) and jungle warfare environments.

Most armies also have service pistols.

History

Originally, rifles used in combat were not standard-issue weapons like the service rifles of today. Rifles were for specialist marksmen only, whilst the ordinary infantry were issued less accurate smoothbore muskets which had a higher rate of fire, with bore diameters as high as 19 mm, or 0.75 inch. By the middle of the 19th century, however, rifles were becoming more and more common on the battlefield, with muskets being phased out. Originally, these combat rifles were single-shot muzzle-loading weapons, but as technology advanced through the 18th and 19th centuries, so too did the technique of loading rounds. First, breech-loading firearms, like the Prussian Needle gun of the mid-19th century came to prominence, which then evolved into repeating weapons, such as the bolt-action Mosin-Nagant rifle used by Imperial Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the Soviet Union in World War II. By this time almost all prominent armies in the world had some sort of standard service rifle.

During the Second World War, there was yet another leap forward in rifle design which was to influence service rifles even today. That is, the use of a fired cartridge's gas emissions to automatically rechamber rounds into the breech once a bullet had been fired, as well as expelling the old cartridge. These "battle rifles", as they were called, usually fired a "full-sized" (as opposed to an intermediate) rifle cartridge, such as the .30-06 Springfield or .303 British. Another type of commonly issued rifle which was to become well known during this time was the assault rifle, a (usually) fully automatic rifle firing a lighter "intermediate" cartridge, as opposed to the full-sized cartridges used by battle rifles. The first of these was the Sturmgewehr 44, used by Nazi Germany in the later stages of the Second World War. The StG44 was not issued in large numbers, and was never adopted as Germany's service rifle. However, this weapon was to serve as the precursor to other assault rifles such as the Soviet AK-47, the American M-16/70, the Belgian FN FAL, the German G3 and the Swiss Sturmgewehr 57, which today supersede battle rifles as the service rifle of choice for militaries the world over.

Service rifles by nation

Afghanistan

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service	Notes
AK-47	Selective fire	7.62×39mm	1973-

Albania

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service	Notes
Heckler & Koch G3	Selective fire	.280 British	1960s-

Angola

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service	Notes
Heckler & Koch G3	Selective fire	.280 British	1961-

Arabia

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service
Heckler & Koch G3	Selective fire	.303 British	1968-
Steyr AUG	Selective fire	.280 British	1980-
Heckler & Koch G36	Selective fire	.280 British	2008-

Argentina

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service
Remington EN M1879	Rolling block	.43 Spanish	1879-1891
Mauser Modelo Argentino 1891	Bolt-action	7.65x53mm Argentine	1891-1909
Mauser Modelo Argentino 1909	Bolt-action	7.65x53mm Argentine	1909-1970s
M1903 Springfield	Bolt-action	.30-06 Springfield	1940s-1970s
FR M-16/70	Selective fire	5.56×45mm American	1978-

Australia

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service	Notes
Lee-Enfield	Bolt-action	.303 British	1901-1950s
L1A1 SLR	Selective fire	.280 British	1957-

Austria

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service	Notes
Lorenz Rifle	Rifled musket	.54	1854-1867
Wanzl Rifle	Trapdoor breechloader	14mm Wanzl rimfire	1854-1867
M1867 Werndl-Holub	Rotary block	11x42mm	1867-1886
M1886 Mannlicher	Bolt-action	11x42 mm/8x52 mm	1886-1895
Steyr-Mannlicher M1895	Straight-pull	8x50mm Mannlicher/8x56mm Steyr	1895-1938
Lee-Enfield	Bolt-action	.303 British	1950-1958
FN FAL	Selective fire	.303 British	1958-	Currently in limited use for drill/display
Steyr AUG	Selective fire	.280 British	1978-

Belarus

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service	Notes
FN FAL	Selective fire	.303 British	1948-1989
Kbk wz. 1988 Tantal	Selective fire	.280 British	1989-

Belgium

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service
Albini rifle	Hinged breechblock	11mm	1867-?
FN Mauser M1889	Bolt-action	7.65x53mm Argentine	1889-1940
FN Mauser M1936	Bolt-action	7.65x53mm Argentine	1936-1949
FN Model 1949	Semi-automatic	.303 British	1949-1956
FN FAL	Selective fire	.303 British	1953-
FN FNC	Selective fire	.280 British	1979-

Bolivia

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service	Notes
Vz. 24	Bolt-action	7.92x57mm	1932-1970s
FR M-16/70	Selective fire	5.56×45mm American	1978-

Brazil

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service
M1873 Brazilian Comblain	Falling block	11x53mm	1873-1892
M88 German Commission Rifle	Bolt-action	7x57mm Mauser	1892-1894
Mauser M1894 Rifle	Bolt-action	7x57mm Mauser	1894-1908
Mauser M1908	Bolt-action	7x57mm Mauser	1908-1954
Itajuba M954 Mosquetão	Bolt-action	.303 British	1954-1968
FN Model 1949	Semi-automatic	.303 British	1950s-1968
FN FAL	Selective fire	.303 British	1964-1985
Itajuba M968 Mosquefal	Bolt-action	.303 British	1968-
IMBEL MD2	Selective fire	.280 British	1985-

Cambodia

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service
MAS-36	Bolt-action	7.5x54mm French	1940s-1985
Arisaka Type 38	Bolt-action	6.5x50mm Arisaka	1941-1945
Arisaka Type 99	Bolt-action	6.5x50mm Arisaka	1941-1945
Lee-Enfield	Bolt-action	.303 British	1950s-1985
FN FAL	Selective fire	.303 British	1960s-1985
AK-47	Selective fire	7.62x39mm	1960s-1985
FN FNC	Selective fire	.280 British	1985-

Canada

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service
Ross Rifle	Bolt-action	.303 British	1905-1916
Lee-Enfield	Bolt-action	.303 British	1916-1954
C1A1 SLR	Selective fire	.280 British	1954-2014
C15 Grizzly	Selective fire	.280 British	2014-

Chile

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service
Mauser Model 1895	Bolt-action	7x57mm Mauser	1895-1970s
Mauser Model 1912	Bolt-action	7x57mm Mauser	1912-1970s
SIG SG 510	Selective fire	.303 British	1960s-
Heckler & Koch G3	Selective fire	.303 British	1970s-
SIG SG 540	Selective fire	.280 British	1980s-

People's Republic of China

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service
SDI M-1/36	Semi-automatic	.30-06 Springfield	1949-
FDI M-16/70	Selective fire	5.56×45mm American	1981-
QBZ-95	Selective fire	5.8x42mm DBP87	1997-

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Soviet Union and Russia

Firearm	Type	Calibre	Service
Model 1857 Six Line	Rifled musket	.60 calibre	1857-1867
M1867 Russian Krnka	Trapdoor breechloader	15mm	1867-1869
Berdan rifle	Bolt-action	10.75×58mm	1869-1891
Mosin-Nagant	Bolt-action	7.62×54mmR	1891–1951
SVT-40	Semi-automatic	7.62×54mmR	1940–1955
SKS	Semi-automatic	7.62×39mm	1945–1956
AK-47	Selective fire	7.62×39mm	1949–1974
AKM	Selective fire	7.62×39mm	1959–1974
AK-74	Selective fire	5.45×39mm	1974–2012
AN-94	Selective fire	5.45×39mm	1994-
AK-12	Selective fire	5.45×39mm	2012-

TBC