The 10 most famous weapon makers in history and the weapons they made (With Pics)

6. Eugene Stoner – M16

Indiana-born firearms designer Eugene Stoner is most associated with developing the AR-15 rifle, which would eventually be adopted by the US military as the M16. Many historians regard him as one of the preeminent firearms designers of the 20th century. During WWII, he served in the Aviation Ordnance in the US Marine Corps, in the South Pacific and northern China.

In 1945, Stoner became a design engineer in the aircraft equipment company, Whittaker. In 1954 he worked as chief engineer for ArmaLite, and designed a series of small arms, including the AR-3, AR-9, AR-11, and AR-12. None of these saw significant production. His revolutionary AR-10, selective-fire infantry rifle was submitted for rifle evaluation trials by the US Army.

The AR-10 was smaller, lighter, and easier to fire than its competitors, but was entered late in the testing cycle, and was rejected by the Army for the M14. His AR-15 was designed from the AR-10 model, with a slightly smaller caliber to meet minimum Army penetration requirements. ArmaLite sold the rights to the AR-15 to Colt, and the US military later adopted the rifle as the M16 rifle. In all, he designed 10 weapons for ArmaLite, and 10 for other companies.