American-180

The American-180 is a submachine gun developed in the 1960s which fires .22 LR cartridges from a pan magazine. The concept began with the Casull Model 290 that used a flat pan magazine similar to designs widely used prior to World War II. Only 87 Casull M290s were built as the weapon was expensive to produce.[3] The American-180 is an improved version. A semi-automatic only variant called the American SAR 180/275 is still produced on a custom basis by E&L Manufacturing of Riddle, Oregon.[4]

American-180
TypeSubmachine gun
Place of origin United States
Service history
Used bySee Users
Production history
DesignerRichard J Casull
ManufacturerVoere
Illinois Arms Company, Inc.
American Arms International
No. built~10,000
VariantsShort barrel version
Semi-automatic-only version
Specifications
Mass
  • 2.6 kg (5.7 lb) empty
  • 4.5 kg (10 lb) loaded with 177-round magazine
Length900 mm (35.5 in)
Barrel length
  • 470 mm (18.5 in)
  • 229 mm (9 in) (short barrel)
Cartridge.22 LR
.22 Short Magnum (.22 ILARCO)[1][2]
Actionblowback, open bolt
Rate of fire
  • 1200 round/min (.22 LR)
  • 1500 round/min (.22 Short Magnum)
Feed system165, 177, 220, or 275 round detachable pan magazine
SightsFixed open sights, Factory-installed laser sights

Operation

The weapon operates through a conventional blowback mechanism. It uses an open bolt with a flat pan magazine. It fires at a very high rate of fire of approximately 1,200 RPM. The American-180 was purchased mostly by private parties prior to the American ban on production of machine guns for the US civilian market. The A180 was adopted by the Utah Department of Corrections to arm correctional officers.[5][6]

Despite the low power of the .22 LR round, testing demonstrated that automatic fire could penetrate even concrete and bulletproof vests from cumulative damage. However, the target would have to remain still for some amount of time to allow the cumulative damage to amass in the same area to achieve this.

Users

See also
  • MGV-176, modernized version of the American-180

References
  1. Phil West (March 2014). Survival Weapons: Optimizing Your Arsenal. p. 141. ISBN 978-1291460988.
  2. W. Todd Woodard. Cartridges of the World. Gun Digest Books. p. 617.
  3. .22LR Casull Model 290 Carbine from the 1960's. Bigshooterist. June 23, 2016. Archived from the original on July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023 – via YouTube.
  4. "American SAR 180/275". 2015. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  5. "The American 180". Machine Gun News. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  6. Mendenhall, Monty (March 1998). "Cheap Thrills—22 Rimfire Machine Guns". Small Arms Review. Archived from the original on July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  7. Steyn, Douw; Söderlund, Arné (2015). Iron Fist From The Sea: South Africa's Seaborne Raiders 1978-1988. Helion and Company. pp. 96, 102. ISBN 978-1909982284.
  8. Special Weapons on Rhodesia by Dana Drenkowski, A Wide Variety of Unique Weapons are used in Rhodesia's fight against terrorism, Soldier of Fortune
  9. "Stille Vuurkrag:-Documented Combat Usage of the American-180 by SADF/Rhodesian SAS". TheFirearmBlog. 11 July 2017. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  10. "History of the American 180". Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  11. Report no. 85 of the French Senate, 1982. (Archive)
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