SIG SG 540

The SG 540 is an assault rifle chambered for the intermediate 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge and developed in the early 1970s by Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG, currently SAN Swiss Arms AG) based at Neuhausen in Switzerland as a private venture primarily destined for export.

Development

Work on a new generation lightweight rifle using the 5.56 mm round began in the mid 1960s at SIG and resulted in the somewhat unsuccessful SG 530-1 design that employed a gas-assisted roller-delayed blowback operating system which proved complicated and expensive to manufacture. As a result, in 1969 SIG chose to dispense with the complex roller locking action opting instead for a new design using the more robust and simple rotating bolt locking mechanism (derived from the 7.62 mm Soviet AK-47 assault rifle). This combination was to be successful and the rifle entered production as a family of weapons consisting of: the base, 5.56 mm SG 540, the 7.62 mm SG 542 and the 5.56 mm SG 543 carbine, where both 5.56 mm weapons were designed for use with 5.56x45mm NATO M193 ammunition, while the SG 542 – the rifle caliber 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. Production began between 1973–1974, but due to Swiss restrictions on firearms exportation it had to be carried out at the MANURHIN ("Manufacture de Machines du Haut Rhin") facility in Mulhouse, France. The SG 540 series has entered service with the armed forces of several countries in Africa, Asia and South America as well as numerous law enforcement and security agencies. In 1988, the nationally-owned Portuguese defense manufacturer INDEP purchased rights to license build the SG 543 carbine. Currently both the SG 540 and SG 542 are only manufactured under license in Chile, by FAMAE for the Chilean Armed Forces. Based on the SG 540, FAMAE developed a 9 mm submachine gun version of the weapon known as the SAF.

Design details

The SG 540 is an air-cooled, gas-operated, selective fire assault rifle that fires from a closed bolt position. SIG designers used an extended travel piston-driven action (with the recoil spring wrapped around the piston rod itself) and an adjustable gas regulator with three settings: "0" – used to launch rifle grenades, "1" – used for normal operation and "2" – used only in condition of heavy fouling present in the gas cylinder. The firearm's rotating bolt is locked in position by two steel locking lugs. The bolt head is rotated by a control cam and guiding surface machined into the bolt carrier used to disengage the locking lugs and open the chamber during rearward motion. The casing extractor is contained in the bolt assembly while a protrusion on one of the bolt carrier guide rails in the upper receiver housing acts as the fixed ejector.

The rifle is hammer-fired and has a fire control selector mechanism that is also the safety (lever in the "S" position – indicates the gun is safe, "1" – semi-automatic fire, "3" – 3-round burst and "20" – fully automatic fire). The SG 540 is fed from either 20 or 30-round staggered box magazines. After the last round is fired, a hold-open tab in the magazine engages the bolt catch that locks the bolt in its rear (open) position. A bolt release button is located on the left side of the receiver.

The rifled barrel is fitted with a flash suppressor, which is also used to attach rifle grenades and a bayonet. The iron sights consist of a hooded foresight that can be corrected in elevation and an adjustable (windage only), rotating rear drum that contains four apertures with settings for firing at: 100, 300, 400 and 500 m. The receiver top surface can be used to mount adapters enabling the use of optics.

The SG 540 series come equipped with either a fixed buttstock or a side-folding metal skeleton stock. Another standard feature is a folding bipod which is stowed under the handguard when not in use. The fixed stock, pistol grip and handguard are all made of high-strength polymers to reduce overall weight. In order to minimize costs, metal stamping was employed in the production process.

Variants

Differences between the SG 542 and the SG 540 are mainly the result of adopting a more powerful, full-size rifle cartridge. The SG 542 also uses 20/30-round box magazines but the sights were modified with a 600 m setting in addition to the 100, 300 and 500 m sight drum positions.

The SG 543 carbine is a shortened variant of the SG 540 that has been modified with a short convert|300|mm|abbr=on|1 barrel, a shorter gas cylinder and piston rod as well as a different handguard and sights with 100, 200, 300 and 400 m firing range positions. The SG 543 lacks the integral bipod of the SG 540/542 and the reduced barrel cannot be used to fire rifle grenades.The SG 540 served as the basis for the SG 541 prototype, which would later become the SG 550 that entered service with the Swiss Armed Forces as the Stgw 90 ("Sturmgewehr 90").

Additionally, two semi-automatic variants were manufactured by MANURHIN between the late 1970s and the early 1980s specifically for the European civilian market: called the SIG Manurhin F.S.A. and the SIG Manurhin C.S.A.. These rifles were chambered in .222 Remington and .243 Winchester respectively. Both were available with either 30-round or reduced 5-round magazines, and the option of a folding or fixed stock. The unusual chambering for this type of military-style rifle was an attempt to comply with regulations in certain European countries imposing restrictions on the civilian ownership of "military" cartridges such as the 5.56x45mm NATO/.223 Remington or 7.62x51mm NATO/.308 Winchester.

Users

ee also

*SG 510, the previous service rifle but still in service.
*SG 550, Switzerland's current service rifle.
*Assault rifle
*Gun politics in Switzerland

References

*Long, Duncan. (1989). "Assault Pistols, Rifles And Submachine Guns," Boulder: Paladin Press
* [http://www.sigarms.com/Products/ShowCatalogProductDetails.aspx?categoryid=35&productid=114 sigarms.com]

External links

* [http://world.guns.ru/assault/as47-e.htm Further information on the SG 540]

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SIG SG 540 — Allgemeine Information Militärische Bezeichnung … Deutsch Wikipedia
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SIG SG 550 — SG 550 The SG 550 service rifle Type Assault rifle Place of origin … Wikipedia
SIG-Manurhin SG-540/542/543 — Les 2 versions du SG 542. Les SG 540 sont identique d aspect … Wikipédia en Français

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SIG SG 540

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