The Rimfire Report: Did the U.S. Military Sleep on the American-180?

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and all of the different types of guns, ammo, history, and shooting sports that this niche corner of the industry entails. A couple of years back I had the extremely rare opportunity to shoot one of my “grail guns” the American-180 .22LR submachine gun. This is a firearm I’ve been fascinated with for a long time, and it’s also one that’s always generated a lot of discussion in the firearm world for its extremely narrow focus on marketing directly to police agencies. Wouldn’t this relatively inexpensive, lightweight, small-caliber, machine gun, make the perfect weapon for the American soldier? Today we’re going to go through a bit of that discussion and take a look at both sides of the argument to see why perhaps the American-180 and other rimfire submachine guns like it just might not ever make practical sense on the battlefield.

More Rimfire Report @ TFB:

• The Rimfire Report: How Many 22LR Rounds Fit In An Altoids Tin?
• The Rimfire Report: Federal 22 WMR 45 gr Punch - A Look At The Numbers
• The Rimfire Report: A Neat CB 22 Short Ruger 10/22 Magazine Conversion

The Rimfire Report: Did the U.S. Military Sleep on the American-180?

Most of you will remember that the American-180 has an unusually high capacity set of drum magazines it can feed from ranging from as little as 165 rounds up to the massive 275-round pan magazine. These magazines are still in production today as are a lot of the small bits and pieces used to keep these cool sub-guns running - E&L Manufacturing has been keeping the American-180 alive for a long time and even makes semi-auto variants of the gun.

It’s natural to assume that a cheap-to-shoot sub-gun that spews out 1,200 rounds per minute of lead might make a great weapon for overwhelming targets at close range - basically what subguns are intended for. The American-180 did get its chance to shine being used by several American law enforcement agencies, as well as foreign agencies and military units. Its two most famed uses in the line of duty included one “undocumented” use that occurred in Utah, presumably by the Department of Corrections, and another incident in Lauderhill Florida in 1974. Police Officer Gillo and his partner used the Laser LOK sight-equipped American-180 to return fire during a car pursuit after a 12-gauge shotgun had already been used to try and end the chase. Long story short, both suspects had a fair amount of lead in them after the entire incident.

Trying to Overcome Ineffectiveness

ILARCO who had taken over the manufacturing of the American-180 after the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act went into law even tried to market the sub-gun to military outfits by creating dual and even quad-mounted versions of the American-180 that could be mounted to lightweight vehicles and aircraft - none of these models proved to be appealing enough for any American military units to pick them up. Just goes to show that even with a staggering rate of fire of 1,200 rounds per minute, .22LR just wasn’t in the US Military’s appetite.

In an even more desperate bid to make the American-180 more appetizing for the military, ILARCO even developed a special 22LR-esque cartridge based on the larger 22 WMR cartridge. This necked-down 22WMR cartridge dubbed .22 ILARCO featured a 40-grain jacked hollowpoint that could still only deliver a measly 160 ftlbs of energy at 1,350 feet per second. Allegedly all that would have been needed to use this new cartridge was a simple barrel swap. The cartridge never took off, and only around one million rounds were manufactured and probably only a few hundred of those remain in private collectors hands.

Despite some real-tangible advantages, the American-180's limitations make it an unlikely candidate for effective military use. The primary issue lies in the .22 LR cartridge itself as I’m sure many of you already know and or have experienced yourself - it’s just too unreliable. While it can be effective in delivering a high volume of fire, it lacks the penetration, stopping power, range, and life-saving reliability needed for military engagements. Modern combat often involves enemies wearing body armor, fighting from vehicles, or taking cover behind solid barriers, and the .22 LR round would struggle to effectively penetrate any hardcover or vehicles, and of course, would suffer immensely from the harsh conditions of any modern battlefield.

Closing Thoughts

Despite a load of setbacks, many still think that the American-180 could have theoretically filled a niche role within the military. In close-quarters combat, where maneuverability and the ability to deliver rapid bursts of fire are more important than long-range effectiveness, the gun might have had some utility in some recent conflicts around the globe but I think most people naturally and understandably have an aversion to using .22LR in a combat role.

I think that while the American-180 had some unique features that could have maybe been useful in a military context, in the same vein its significant drawbacks make it unsuitable for service in the U.S. Military in a combat role or even as a training weapon. The .22 LR cartridge’s lack of stopping power, its reliability issues in harsh conditions, and its limited range render it ineffective in almost every type of lethal situation I can think of. Even though it’s still one of my favorite rimfire firearms, the American-180 remains an interesting but impractical firearm for anyone but a die-hard collector.

As always, I would like to hear your thoughts on this concept! Can you think of a military role that the American-180 might have been perfectly suited for? Thanks for stopping by to read The Rimfire Report and we’ll see you again next week!