Assault Rifle provides a comprehensive account of the development of the military assault rifle and its ammunition from WW2 to the present day. The book is in two parts. The first part includes: a brief historical summary of the assault rifle, its origins and development; gun design including operating mechanisms and weapon configuration; ammunition design and performance; ballistics, especially the balance between recoil and effectiveness and the history of assault rifle cartridge. The second part includes: National military rifle programmes since the end of WW2; history of developments in each country including experimental programmes, and detailed descriptions of the principal service and experimental weapons.