The Madsen Assault Carbine (also known as the A-Carbine or LAR) was a Danish assault rifle that was produced by Dansk Industri Syndikat AS.
History[]
Development of the A-Carbine began after World War II, with the first prototypes being produced in 1957. The chief designer on the project was Marius Gunnergaard-Poulsen. Originally it was built around the Russian 7.62×39mm cartridge, but in order to make the weapon more attractive to Western customers, it was primarily offered in 7.62×51mm.
Initially the A-Carbine was developed exclusively for Finnish trials. When it failed to achieve adoption there, Madsen began to market it internationally as the LAR (Light Automatic Rifle). However, it struggled to compete with the FN FAL and H&K G3 rifles, and had achieved no export sales by the time it was retracted from sale in the mid-1960s.
Design[]
The A-Carbine was a gas-operated assault rifle with a rotating bolt that engaged a barrel extension. The action was relatively basic, employing a spring-enveloped gas piston located above the barrel. The rifle was constructed primarily of lightweight chromium steel. The barrel was fitted with a 0.6lb muzzle brake.
The A-Carbine was offered with a variety of stock designs, including a basic one-piece wooden stock, a two-piece collapsible stock, a tubular stock, or a retractable stock. It also have provisions to fire rifle grenades, fit a detachable bipod, and fit a sword bayonet.
Gallery[]
References[]
- The World's Assault Rifles & Automatic Carbines, Nelson & Musgrave, 1967
- Madsen LAR at securityarms.com
- Small Arms of the World: A Basic Manual of Small Arms ISBN-10: 0811716872 December 1983