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Stoner 63
The Stoner 63 was a 5.56x45mm modular weapon system designed by Eugene Stoner, designer of the AR-15 rifle. It was produced by Cadillac Gage, now known as Textron. Eugene Stoner conceived the idea of a system built around a common receiver that could be configured as an assault rifle, a top-loading magazine-fed light machine gun or belt-fed machine gun depending on what additional parts were fitted, and fitted with either a carbine barrel or full-length rifle barrel. The first prototype of Stoner's design was the Stoner M69W, designed in 1962, chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO. It was named such because its designation is an ambigram, which appears the same when read upside down, symbolizing Stoner's concept of a receiver that can be inverted. Stoner modified the M69W design slightly and created the Stoner 62, still chambered in 7.62mm. The caliber was changed to 5.56mm in the Stoner 63, first produced in 1963.
The Stoner 63 was fielded during the Vietnam War by the United States Marine Corps (who tested the assault rifle and magazine-fed LMG versions in 1967) and the Navy SEALs (who used the belt-fed machine gun and Commando derivative in actual combat). Feedback from the field testing led to the improved Stoner 63A model, made in 1966. The weapons all had testing designations: the standard assault rifle was the XM22 with the 63A version XM22E1 and E2 (the only difference being a different rate of twist in the rifling), the carbine XM23 with the same E1 and E2 sub-variants for the 63A, the LMG configuration XM207 with the same E1 and E2 variants, and the Commando given the Navy designation "Gun, Machine, 5.56 millimeter, Mk 23 Mod 0."
The Stoner 63 and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Stoner 63
Specifications
(1964 - ????)
- Type: Assault Rifle; Light Machine Gun
- Caliber: 5.56x45mm NATO
- Weight: 10.2 lbs (4.6 kg)
- Length: 40.2 in (102.2 cm)
- Barrel length: 20 in (50.8 cm)
- Feed System: 20 or 30-round detachable box magazine (AR); 75, 100 or 150-round disintegrating link belt (LMG)
- Fire Modes: Semi-Auto/Full-Auto
Television
| Show Title | Actor | Character | Note / Episode | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantum Leap | Scott Bakula | Sam Beckett | LMG configuration | 1989-1993 |
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time Crisis | drum magazine | enemies only | 1995 | |
| Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater | M63 | LMG configuration | 2004 | |
| Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker | M63A1 | LMG configuration | 2010 | |
| Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam | XM22 | LMG configuration; Medic kit only | 2010 | |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops | Stoner63 | Optional extended magazine, red dot sight/reflex sight/ACOG scope/thermal scope, camouflage | Assault rifle configuration | 2010 |
| Killing Floor 2 | Stoner 63A LMG | LMG configuration | 2017 |