Instead of three-round burst, the burst cam could be modified to two-round or six-round burst. The selector itself had 360 degrees of motion, and could be moved either clockwise or counterclockwise, unlike with standard groups. Unlike the standard three-position group, the four-position group went from (going clockwise from the 9 o'clock position) safe, fully automatic, semi-automatic and finally burst. The Model 605B had no forward assist, but had a four-position selector switch (developed by Foster Sturtevant in December 1966) so that a user could select safe, semi-automatic, three-round burst, or full automatic modes of fire. One prototype used a shorter handguard and a 16-inch (410 mm) long barrel. Because of the shorter barrel, no bayonet mounting lugs were provided. The only significant change from the M16 rifle was that the barrel was shortened to 15 inches (381 mm) in length, so that it ended just forward of the front sight base.

It was an improved version of the AR-15 SBR (Colt Model 605), which was a shorter barrel version of the Colt Armalite AR-15. The Model 605A CAR-15 Carbine was a shortened version for situations where longer weapons could be unwieldy, such as aboard vehicles or helicopters. It was made in prototype form only and saw no sales.ĬAR-15 Carbine A semi-auto Bushmaster Dissipator barrel which uses a similar short-barrel, standard length hand-guard concept to the CAR-15 Carbine The CAR-15 Heavy Assault Rifle M2 was a belt-fed conversion of the standard CAR-15, with a heavy barrel and bipod attachment. It was designed to feed from 30-round box magazines. The CAR-15 Heavy Assault Rifle M1 was a heavy-barreled version of the standard AR-15 with a bipod attachment, intended for use as a Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW). The principal difference between the Model 603 and Model 604 is that the former has a forward assist, allowing a user to manually close a stuck bolt. However, the United States military had already committed to purchases before Colt created the concept of the CAR-15 weapons system. The Model 603 CAR-15 Rifle, adopted initially by the United States Army as the XM16E1 and then later as the M16A1, and the Model 604 CAR-15 Rifle, adopted by the United States Air Force as the M16, formed the core of the CAR-15 family. Because of that, the term 'CAR-15' has been used to describe any M16-based carbine, even if the particular weapon is not officially named this.Ĭolt Automatic Rifle-15 family CAR-15 Rifle (AKA: M16 rifle) The 'CAR-15 Rifle' was already identified by most users as the M16 rifle, and 'CAR-15' was similarly associated with the short-barreled Colt Submachine Gun and Commando models. military only made significant purchases of the Rifle and Commando versions, so Colt abandoned the CAR-15 family concept.

Belt-fed light machine guns were also developed under the CAR-15 banner, although they have little in common with the M16 rifle. By using various upper assemblies, buttstocks, and pistol grips, the weapon could be configured as assault rifles, carbines, submachine guns, open-bolt squad automatic weapons and a survival rifle version.

Starting in 1965, Colt attempted to market the M16 rifle as a modular weapon system. Army Ranger in the foreground is armed with an M-16 A1 carbine (Model 653).įurther information on CAR-15 variants: List of Colt AR-15 & M16 rifle variants However, in present usage, 'CAR-15' is the generic name for all carbine-length variants made before the M4 carbine. Colt later abandoned the CAR-15 concept, but continued to make carbine variations, using the ' M16' brand for select-fire models and the ' Colt AR-15' brand for semi-automatic models. The CAR-15 name was an attempt to re-associate the AR-15 name with Colt, since the AR initially stood for ArmaLite, the original manufacturer of the ArmaLite AR-15. However, the term 'CAR-15' is most commonly associated with the Colt Commando (AKA: XM177) these select-fire carbines have ultrashort 10.5-inch (270 mm) and 11.5-inch (290 mm) barrels with over-sized flash suppressors. The Colt Automatic Rifle-15 or CAR-15 is a family of M16 rifle–based firearms marketed by Colt in the 1960s and early 1970s. Gas-operated, rotating bolt ( Direct impingement)ģ0-round box magazine or other STANAG magazines.

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