.276 Pedersen
Encyclopedia
The .276 Pedersen round was an experimental 7 mm cartridge developed for the U.S. Army
and used in the Pedersen rifle
and early versions of what would become the M1 Garand rifle.
in new semi-automatic rifle
s and machine guns. When first recommended for adoption, M1 Garand rifle
s were chambered for the .276 Pedersen, which held ten rounds in its unique en-bloc clips. The .276 Pedersen was a shorter, lighter and lower pressure round than the .30-06, which made the design of an autoloading rifle easier than the long, powerful .30-06. The US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur
rejected the .276 Pedersen Garand in 1932 after verifying that a .30-06 version was feasible.
(0.264 in) Arisaka
, it produced velocities of around 2400 feet per second (730 m/s) with 140 or 150 grain (9.1 or 9.7 g) projectiles. The case was two inches (51 mm) long with significant taper. Tapered cases require the use of highly curved magazines similar to that of the Kalashnikov
although for the short magazines of the Pedersen and Garand rifles, this was immaterial. Both waxed and bare cartridges were made for the Pedersen and Garand rifle respectively.
At the time of its introduction, the .276 Pedersen was a solution to a significant problem. The US Army wanted a general issue autoloading rifle that would fire the .30-06 cartridge, but such a rifle was prohibitively large with existing designs such as the Browning Automatic Rifle
and French Chauchat
. A weapon of the same weight as the M1903 needed to fire a smaller cartridge. Pedersen's cartridge was viewed as a compromise as it was underpowered compared to most military rifle cartridges. This decreased recoil energy made possible a reliable, lightweight semi-automatic rifle with existing technology. Despite these early problems with semi-automatic designs, Garand's design was eventually able to handle the .30-06 cartridge; the need for a lighter caliber dissolved. The Pedersen rifle was unsuitable for the .30-06 and it, too, was dropped.
Immediately after World War II, British designers introduced a series of intermediate-power 7 mm cartridges for a different reason than Pedersen. They sought an answer to the Germans' highly successful 7.92 x 33 mm Kurz and various studies on the matter. The U.S. stuck with .30 caliber mostly out of a desire to have a common cartridge between rifle and machine gun combined with the perceived necessity for effectiveness out to 2000 yards. Development of a shorter .30 caliber round specifically for use in an autoloading rifle began after the war, and resulted in the 7.62x51 mm NATO, a shorter and slightly lighter round that gave nearly identical ballistics to the .30-06. Interestingly, the British studies on various cartridges culminated in the .280 British
cartridge, which shared ballistic similarities to the .276 Pedersen in caliber, bullet weight and velocity.
Despite the failure to adopt either the .276 Pedersen or later .280 British, the concept of an intermediate power military cartridge of a 6.5 to 7 mm diameter was far from dead. Shortly after the 7.62 mm NATO cartridge was adopted, Armalite
submitted their AR-15 Rifle to for evaluation, the US Army suggested they redesign the gun to fire a .256 caliber projectile. Although this suggestion was fruitless, the US Army later engaged in many studies of a 6mm SAW cartridge. They, once again, sought to replace autoloading rifle and machine gun cartridges with one round. Current studies are focused on the 6.8 mm Remington SPC
and 6.5 mm Grendel commercial cartridges although their purpose is to improve on the 5.56 x 45 mm cartridge, not to develop a replacement for the 7.62 x 51 mm NATO as well.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and used in the Pedersen rifle
Pedersen rifle
The Pedersen Rifle, officially known in final form as the T1E3 rifle, was a United States semi-automatic rifle designed by John Pedersen that was made in small numbers for testing by the United States Army during the 1920s as part of a program to standardize and adopt a replacement for the M1903...
and early versions of what would become the M1 Garand rifle.
Summary
Developed in 1923 in the United States, it was intended to replace the .30-06 Springfield.30-06 Springfield
The .30-06 Springfield cartridge or 7.62×63mm in metric notation, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and standardized, and was in use until the 1960s and early 1970s. It replaced the .30-03, 6 mm Lee Navy, and .30 US Army...
in new semi-automatic rifle
Semi-automatic rifle
A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled, automatically ejects the spent cartridge, chambers a fresh cartridge from its magazine, and is immediately ready to fire another shot...
s and machine guns. When first recommended for adoption, M1 Garand rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
s were chambered for the .276 Pedersen, which held ten rounds in its unique en-bloc clips. The .276 Pedersen was a shorter, lighter and lower pressure round than the .30-06, which made the design of an autoloading rifle easier than the long, powerful .30-06. The US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
rejected the .276 Pedersen Garand in 1932 after verifying that a .30-06 version was feasible.
History and Technical Notes
Pedersen's round fired a 7 mm (0.284 in) bullet. Comparable to the contemporary Italian 6.5 x 52 mm (0.268 in) Carcano or the Japanese 6.5 x 50 mm6.5 x 50 mm
The 6.5×50mm Semi-Rimmed Japanese cartridge was adopted by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1897, along with the Type 30 Arisaka infantry rifle and carbine. The new rifle and cartridge replaced the 8×52mm Murata round used in the Type 22 Murata Rifle. In 1902 the Imperial Japanese Navy chambered its...
(0.264 in) Arisaka
Arisaka
Arisaka is a family of Japanese military bolt action rifles, in production from approximately 1898, when it replaced the Murata rifle, until the end of World War II in 1945...
, it produced velocities of around 2400 feet per second (730 m/s) with 140 or 150 grain (9.1 or 9.7 g) projectiles. The case was two inches (51 mm) long with significant taper. Tapered cases require the use of highly curved magazines similar to that of the Kalashnikov
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
although for the short magazines of the Pedersen and Garand rifles, this was immaterial. Both waxed and bare cartridges were made for the Pedersen and Garand rifle respectively.
At the time of its introduction, the .276 Pedersen was a solution to a significant problem. The US Army wanted a general issue autoloading rifle that would fire the .30-06 cartridge, but such a rifle was prohibitively large with existing designs such as the Browning Automatic Rifle
Browning Automatic Rifle
The Browning Automatic Rifle was a family of United States automatic rifles and light machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge and designed...
and French Chauchat
Chauchat
The Chauchat , was the standard light machine gun of the French Army during World War I. Under the leadership of General Joseph Joffre, it was commissioned into the French Army in 1916. It was also widely used by the US Army in 1917-1918 and by six other nations: Belgium, Greece, Poland, Russia,...
. A weapon of the same weight as the M1903 needed to fire a smaller cartridge. Pedersen's cartridge was viewed as a compromise as it was underpowered compared to most military rifle cartridges. This decreased recoil energy made possible a reliable, lightweight semi-automatic rifle with existing technology. Despite these early problems with semi-automatic designs, Garand's design was eventually able to handle the .30-06 cartridge; the need for a lighter caliber dissolved. The Pedersen rifle was unsuitable for the .30-06 and it, too, was dropped.
Immediately after World War II, British designers introduced a series of intermediate-power 7 mm cartridges for a different reason than Pedersen. They sought an answer to the Germans' highly successful 7.92 x 33 mm Kurz and various studies on the matter. The U.S. stuck with .30 caliber mostly out of a desire to have a common cartridge between rifle and machine gun combined with the perceived necessity for effectiveness out to 2000 yards. Development of a shorter .30 caliber round specifically for use in an autoloading rifle began after the war, and resulted in the 7.62x51 mm NATO, a shorter and slightly lighter round that gave nearly identical ballistics to the .30-06. Interestingly, the British studies on various cartridges culminated in the .280 British
.280 British
The .280 British was an experimental intermediate rifle cartridge. It was later designated 7 mm MK1Z, and has also been known as 7 mm NATO, .280/30, .280 Enfield, .280 NATO, 7 mm FN Short, and 7×43mm. It was designed by the British Army in the late 1940s, with subsequent help from...
cartridge, which shared ballistic similarities to the .276 Pedersen in caliber, bullet weight and velocity.
Despite the failure to adopt either the .276 Pedersen or later .280 British, the concept of an intermediate power military cartridge of a 6.5 to 7 mm diameter was far from dead. Shortly after the 7.62 mm NATO cartridge was adopted, Armalite
ArmaLite
ArmaLite is the name of a small arms engineering facility founded in the early 1950s, and once associated with the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation. ArmaLite was formally incorporated as a subdivision of Fairchild on October 1, 1954...
submitted their AR-15 Rifle to for evaluation, the US Army suggested they redesign the gun to fire a .256 caliber projectile. Although this suggestion was fruitless, the US Army later engaged in many studies of a 6mm SAW cartridge. They, once again, sought to replace autoloading rifle and machine gun cartridges with one round. Current studies are focused on the 6.8 mm Remington SPC
6.8 mm Remington SPC
The 6.8 mm Remington SPC is a rifle cartridge that was developed with collaboration from individual members of United States Special Operations Command . Based upon the .30 Remington cartridge, it is midway between the 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO in bore diameter and velocity...
and 6.5 mm Grendel commercial cartridges although their purpose is to improve on the 5.56 x 45 mm cartridge, not to develop a replacement for the 7.62 x 51 mm NATO as well.