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The SG 510 was a Swiss assault rifle that was produced by SIG. The rifle was adopted by the Swiss Army in 1957 as the Stgw 57 (Sturmgewehr 1957) and served as their standard infantry rifle until it was replaced by the SIG SG 550 in 1990.
History[]
After World War II, the Swiss Army looked into adopting a modern assault rifle to replace the bolt-action K31. SIG, having failed to gain a military contract with their semi-automatic SK46, attempted to meet the Army's requirements by designing a selective-fire rifle. The prototype was designed in 1955 and designated the AM55.
Development of the AM55 prototype led to the finalized version of the weapon, adopted by the Swiss Army in 1957 as the Stgw 57. It was chambered for the indigenously-designed 7.5×55mm Swiss cartridge to avoid the political ties associated with adopting the 7.62×51mm or 7.62×39mm cartridges. Designed as a multi-role weapon, the StGw 57 could also be employed as a light machine gun and a sniper rifle.
After the adoption of the Stgw 57 by the Swiss Army, SIG developed a modified version of the weapon for international export. Marketed as the SG 510, it was offered in four versions, and chambered in popular calibres such as 7.62×51mm NATO. Variants for the civilian market were also produced, including the PE57 and AMT.
The Stgw 57 remained in Swiss service until 1990, when the Army upgraded to the next-generation 5.56×45mm SG 550 rifle, also developed by SIG.
Design[]
The SG 510 was a selective-fire assault rifle that operated on a delayed blowback principle utilizing twin pivoting bolt locks.
Variants[]
AM55[]
The AM55 was the prototype version of the Stgw 57, developed in 1955. It was chambered in 7.5×55mm Swiss and differed from the final weapon only in that it utilized wooden furniture and circular perforations in the barrel jacket, as well as a slit in the magazine that allowed the user to check the number of cartridges left.
SG 510-1[]
The SG 510-1 was an export version of the Stgw 57, chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO. It included a wooden fore-end but was otherwise a direct copy of the Stgw 57.
SG 510-2[]
The SG 510-2 was a lightweight version of the SG 510-1, designed for use by paratroops. It was fitted with lightened plastic furniture.
SG 510-3[]
The SG 510-3 was a carbine version of the SG 510-1, re-chambered in 7.62×39mm. It was fed from curved AK magazines and intended to be sold to countries that already had access to AK-47 rifles. It also featured an AK-type wooden handguard and stock.
SG 510-4[]
The SG 510-4 was a carbine rifle based on the SG 510-3, but re-chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO. It was offered with a wooden stock or a retractable metal stock. The SG 510-4 was produced by Beretta in Italy. A semi-automatic sporter variant of this rifle known as the American Match Target (AMT) was intended for the US civilian market.