Say what?

[HD]

 

[Jerkbiat]

 

[tangle tooth]

      This might be a silly question. Who actually started using the term "assault rifle"?
      I've heard more than a few young vets say they would never want to carry something like an AR-15 in to a real battle.

[Steve-o]

It figures...

A Brief History of the Assault Rifle

The name “assault rifle” is believed to have been coined by Adolf Hitler. Toward the end of World War II, the story goes, Hitler hailed his army’s new wonder weapon by insisting that it be called ... something that made for better propaganda copy. A Sturmgewehr, he called the new gun: a “storm” or “assault” weapon.



Prolly a good thing they didn't have these before the war started.

[LPS]

And of course the AR as in AR-15 does not mean assault rifle.  It is the abbreviation of Armalite the company that makes them.