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7.62 MM VERSUS 5.56 MM – A COMPARISON OF NATO’S TWO CALIBRES

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
1. On 28 October 1980, after more than four years of extensive testing at the German Infantry School at Hammeburg, Federal Republic of Germany, the NATO Small Arms Test Control Commission (NSMATCC) approved the standardization of a second rifle caliber cartridge.   The cartridge selected was the intermediate power 5.56 x 45mm (.223 Caliber) and the improved Belgian version, the SS109, was selected as the basis for standardization.
2. As a result, NATO had two standard rifle caliber cartridges, the full power 7.62 x 51mm NATO (.308 Caliber), in service since 1953, and the intermediate power 5.56 x 45mm NATO adopted in 1980.   Although the selection of the 5.56 x 45mm cartridge was based on extensive testing, research, and documented battle performance, this intermediate power round is not the optimum ammunition and caliber in the contemplated battlefields of the future.   Let's examine the concept of inter-mediate power rifle ammunition, the evolution of the two standard NATO rifle cartridges, their advantages and disadvantages, and discuss why the older, full power 7.62 x 51mm NATO cartridge can better satisfy the present and future tactical needs of the individual rifleman.
THE CONCEPT OF INTERMEDIATE POWER
3. The concept of intermediate power rifle cartridges began in Germany prior to World War II.   The standard German rifle cartridge used since 1888 was the full power 7.92 x 57mm which propelled a 198 grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of 2,550 feet per second (fps) or 773 meters per second (mps).   Comprehensive studies of the actual distances over which rifle fire was employed and of the marksmanship capabilities of the average German infantryman, especially during the heat of battle, convinced German researchers that a smaller, substantially less-powerful, and lighter cartridge would be more than adequate.
4. In addition, the adoption of smaller intermediate power...