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Ordnance Notes -- by Bob Stoner GMCM(SW) Ret.
Stoner 63/63A 5.56mm
Machinegun
Stoner 63A in the medium
machinegun role, mounted on
the M-122 tripod for the M-60 GPMG .
The Stoner 63/63A 5.56mm machinegun
has developed a somewhat mythic status as part of the Vietnam-era SEAL armory.
Dr. Eugene Stoner's idea was for a modular, gas-operated, selective firearm
that could be made into a rifle, a carbine, a belt-fed machine gun (right or
left feed), a squad automatic weapon with top feed (similar to the British BREN
gun), and a solenoid-fired fixed machine gun for vehicle use. The receiver module
was the heart of the package. It had two spring-loaded ejection port covers
which allowed the bolt to be setup to eject the fired case to either the left
or right. Lugs attached to the receiver were used to attach the sights, lower
receiver group, magazine wells, or top covers and belt feed mechanisms. Depending
on the configuration of the gun, the gas cylinder could be either above or below
the barrel. All Stoners used quick-change barrels in various lengths and sizes.
All Stoners used the multiple lugged rotating bolt assembly pioneered by the
AR-10 and AR-15 rifles.
The Stoner 63/63A was manufactured
by Cadillac Gage Corporation. (Cadillac Gage also manufactured the V-100 and
V-150 four wheeled armored cars used by American and Vietnamese forces during
the Veitnam war.) The Stoner Weapon System evolved through combat use in Vietnam.
The first guns were of the Stoner 63 style and approximately 2,400 were made
from 1963 through 1966. An additional 850 Stoner 63A guns were made between
1966 and 1969, and approximatley 100 Mk 23 Mod 0 Stoners were made for the Navy
SEALs in 1969. The Army had two different versions made up for evaluation by
its special forces units as the XM-207 in early 1970, but no production figures
are available for those pieces. Stoner production ceased altogether by the end
of 1971. Total production for U.S. and foreign users would probably in the 3,500
to 4,000 unit range.
Most SEAL Stoners were of the belt-fed,
light machinegun (LMG) variety such as the Stoner 63A Commando (which had a
shortened barrel). The gun used either a 150-round snail drum that attached
beneath the gun and fed from the left or a 100-round or 150-round plastic box
that mounted sideways beneath the gun and fed from the left. Experiments were
tried with larger or smaller drums and boxes for the "correct mix"
of firepower, portability, and reliability. A clip-on bipod was available for
the LMG, but SEAL operators usually did not use it in the field. SEAL operators
who used Stoners treated them with the care one lavishes on thoroughbred racing
cars such as a Ferrari. Cleaning, lubrication, and inspections of parts were
rigorously applied to the Stoners and they responded with awesome firepower.
If there was any criticism of the Stoner, it was that it had a lot of small
parts and required a lot of care in order to perform. Later operators of the
XM-207 series had malfunctions because they did not maintain their Stoners with
the zeal the SEALs did with theirs. A variation of the Stoner machinegun link
lives on today with the Fabrique Nationale M-249 belt and magazine-fed squad
automatic weapon (SAW).
Stoner 63 SPECIFICATIONS:
Weight of gun -- 5.31 kg (11.7 lbs).
Weight of 100-round ammo box (full) -- 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs).
Weight of LMG, sling, and 100-round box -- 6.9 kg (15.2 lbs).
Length (overall) -- 102 cm (40-1/8 in).
Sight radius -- 56.5 cm (22-1/4 in).
Cyclic rate (variable) -- 700 to 1,000 rounds/minute.
Max sustained fire -- 75 to 125 rounds/minute.
Max effective fire -- 150 to 200 rounds/minute.
Max effective range -- 1,100 m (1,200 yd).
Max range -- 2,653 m (2,900 yd).
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@ 2002 Bob Stoner
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