AMELI: Spain's Not-Mini-MG42 in 5.56mm

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The AMELI (which is a contraction of "ametralladora ligera", or light machine gun) was introduced by CETME in 1981, and adopted by the Spanish military as the MG82. It was a counterpart LMG to the new CETME-L 5.56mm rifles, and is a mechanically fascinating design.
The AMELI is a roller-delayed blowback system. Although it takes a lot of visual cues form the MG42, it's not simply a copy of that classic. What makes the AMELI so intriguing is it combination of excellent mechanical simplicity, light weight (6.7kg/14.7 lb), and handiness. It is a belt-fed gun, with a rate of fire around 900rpm - fast, but not too fast.
Unfortunately the AMELI suffered a reputation for fragility, and never saw widespread adoption or real commercial success. It was adopted by Spain, Mexico, and Malaysia in limited numbers, but was replaced by the H&K MG4 in Spain in 2008. Production ended in 2003, with only 3000-4000 apparently being made.
Big thanks to DSA for giving me the opportunity to disassemble and film this one for you!
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Пікірлер: 1 000

  • @hobbstactv2571
    @hobbstactv25719 ай бұрын

    The color. The classic lines. The handiness. The romance language name. No denying that the Ameli has *swag*.

  • @simonblackwell3576

    @simonblackwell3576

    3 ай бұрын

    Is this a disco elysium reference? This comment reminds me so much of that games writing 😂

  • @Dell-ol6hb

    @Dell-ol6hb

    Ай бұрын

    @@simonblackwell3576 so true lmao

  • @GarysActionManChannel1970
    @GarysActionManChannel19709 ай бұрын

    The British SAS adopted the Ameli after testing procurement samples but when the production order was received they were all sent back to CETME due to numerous problems

  • @user-nd7hq5vk4n

    @user-nd7hq5vk4n

    9 ай бұрын

    If SAS like this mishine gun but denied by the reason of quality, then they need to use a Switzerland mahine gun that comes directly from mg45 concept

  • @Woodie-xq1ew

    @Woodie-xq1ew

    9 ай бұрын

    @@user-nd7hq5vk4ngood luck getting the British government to pay Swiss prices for a machine gun

  • @studentaviator3756

    @studentaviator3756

    9 ай бұрын

    ​@Woodie-xq1ew For the sas, they possibly would of.

  • @shuntera

    @shuntera

    9 ай бұрын

    That is a seriously attractive MG. If they had a semi auto only version I might be tempted as a range toy

  • @LIGHTNING278TH

    @LIGHTNING278TH

    9 ай бұрын

    Seems to be the trend with Spanish guns. Good design, poor QC.

  • @anarcowhatever
    @anarcowhatever9 ай бұрын

    In my five years of service in the spanish marines expeditionary brigade, never saw any of those cute pieces of junk shoot 10 rounds without a malfunction. I was lucky enough to be in the fire support section of the company, with the MG 42s and 60mm mortars. Twice the weight, but worked every time. The riflemen platoons consisted of two fire teams, each with an AMELI, a C90 rocket launcher and a grenadier. Never fully understood why they jammed so much, but if you've seen spanish marines doing move n shoot manouvers, and how the gunners slam those things against the ground, maybe you get an idea (that's probably why we had to weld the receivers). MGs were totally cool with this treatment, though 😂

  • @studentaviator3756

    @studentaviator3756

    9 ай бұрын

    Its ashame they never performed properly because its a really cool looking firearm and on paper seems fantastic.

  • @MiguelAngel-nf5zy

    @MiguelAngel-nf5zy

    9 ай бұрын

    They suffered the same that Cetme-L, nice design, good prototypes, awful build quality on regular production.

  • @studentaviator3756

    @studentaviator3756

    9 ай бұрын

    @MiguelAngel-nf5zy As designs, both those firearms are fantastic. It's sad the Spanish didn't sell both of those designs to another manufacturer, I'm sure it would have been very commercially viable.

  • @joemama.556

    @joemama.556

    9 ай бұрын

    ​@@studentaviator3756theoretically the design is now owned by general dynamics so its up to them if they ever want to see a revision of these guns. unlikely to happen ever tho

  • @studentaviator3756

    @studentaviator3756

    9 ай бұрын

    @joemama.556 I can't see general dyamics ever redesigning and manufacturing it. It's missed its opportunity to be a success :(.

  • @AllAboutSurvival
    @AllAboutSurvival9 ай бұрын

    It's unfortunate that the gun gained a reputation for fragility, impacting its wider adoption and commercial success. The AMELI's story is a reminder of how factors beyond just technical capability can influence the fate of a firearm. Kudos for shedding light on this lesser-known gem of firearms history!

  • @brokeandtired

    @brokeandtired

    9 ай бұрын

    Fun to fire bullet hose, but CETME were really screwing up on quality control. But OMG its fun to fire. 1200 rpm version with light bolt is amazing.

  • @Huma270490

    @Huma270490

    9 ай бұрын

    @@brokeandtired Apparently the govern pushed the cost cut way too much. Like the CETME-L the first batches apparently were very good but then they began to use cheap plastic, etc.

  • @davidv776

    @davidv776

    9 ай бұрын

    @@Huma270490 I can refrend that argument. First units were way better. PLUS, the units for the Guardia Civil (LC) were around 3 times more expensive than the L units for the Army. Never had an LC unit from the EA... We had them in storage, but after 20 years being comissioned to my unit, no one got out of the box, and were decomissioned being completely NEW. So, i can talk about the ET L version, and about the GC LC version, but not about the EA LC version. I can tell the ET L, got screwed after three months of use. It worked like a charm when it was new, but it started to show failures and wear soon after the first shots. If you ask, yes... I was able to wear the three uniforms.

  • @anuvisraa5786

    @anuvisraa5786

    6 ай бұрын

    It was a general problem in Europe at the time the Famas had problems also and the SA 80 system was a total disaster@@brokeandtired

  • @migueltraviesa2987
    @migueltraviesa29879 ай бұрын

    It was a pitty because Spanish designs were pretty clever but the mass production were just a desaster. The Ameli could have been one of the best light machineguns in its time

  • @davidgoodnow269

    @davidgoodnow269

    9 ай бұрын

    I loved the Ameli. So much better than the Minimi! Lighter, more comfortable, more reliable, but on that last I guess I just got lucky in having an armorer who basically completely rebuilt it, using the CETME design but fabricating his own components, from barrel and bolt to body and bipod!

  • @neutronalchemist3241

    @neutronalchemist3241

    9 ай бұрын

    @@davidgoodnow269 It's a shame a proper gun manufacturer didn't put his hands on the AMELI design, ironing out the industrialization problems. U.S. Ordnance did that for the quite disastrous M60, and the M60e6 ended up seemingly being a good MG. In an alternate world IE, instead of acquiring the licence to produce the Minimi, Beretta could have acquired that for the AMELI.

  • @ser43_OLDC

    @ser43_OLDC

    8 ай бұрын

    That's what happens when the MOD says that almost half of the budget has been cut

  • @jositom

    @jositom

    8 ай бұрын

    I agree with you. If it had been made with good materials it would have been a magnificent weapon. What a pity. Best regars from Spain

  • @Xaevryn

    @Xaevryn

    2 ай бұрын

    ​@@neutronalchemist3241 A Beretta produced Ameli sounds like an absolute dream

  • @nikolai1317
    @nikolai13179 ай бұрын

    What a neat piece of firearm history

  • @brabhamfreaman166

    @brabhamfreaman166

    9 ай бұрын

    @nikolai1317 And, thanks to Ian, not lost or forgotten as a piece of history.

  • @skoshitempest

    @skoshitempest

    9 ай бұрын

    @nikolai1317 Yeah? What about a nice piece of my balls

  • @tokenbastard4586

    @tokenbastard4586

    9 ай бұрын

    No joke, problematic parts of the design aside, it's got a ton of super-clever elements to it. Never even heard of it before today.

  • @amanryan6803

    @amanryan6803

    9 ай бұрын

    Absolutely beautiful design

  • @amanryan6803

    @amanryan6803

    9 ай бұрын

    What's the RPM on this

  • @kutter_ttl6786
    @kutter_ttl67869 ай бұрын

    A very well designed LMG that deserved more success but was unfortunately let down by its maker. The SAS (or possibly the SBS) tested this gun and liked it enough to place an order. But like Ian said, the QC of the production guns weren't quite up to the test samples so they ended up cancelling the order.

  • @sergiom9958

    @sergiom9958

    9 ай бұрын

    It was the SBS I think; and the problem was that they try to cut corners on the serial models to reduce costs. So the proof models were excellent and at 1/3 of the cost of the HKMG23; but the serial models were problematic.

  • @kutter_ttl6786

    @kutter_ttl6786

    9 ай бұрын

    ​@@sergiom9958Thanks for the correction. I've updated the comment to include it may have been the SBS.

  • @Lil_poopy_Squat

    @Lil_poopy_Squat

    9 ай бұрын

    I use this thing on rainbow six siege

  • @MrPossumeyes

    @MrPossumeyes

    9 ай бұрын

    @@kutter_ttl6786 Cheers man, thanks for watching the comments, and responding to the good ones. Thankyou for that.

  • @kurrito9540
    @kurrito95409 ай бұрын

    I've watched you for more or less 12 years now and as a Spanish person I've waited for this video for years

  • @andresmartinezramos7513

    @andresmartinezramos7513

    9 ай бұрын

    Igual

  • @buds2344

    @buds2344

    2 ай бұрын

    Está guapísimo el canal

  • @brittongolfwang
    @brittongolfwang9 ай бұрын

    One of the coolest LMGs. Thanks Ian.

  • @eurobeatbandit

    @eurobeatbandit

    9 ай бұрын

    It's not one of the coolest. In the words of Dugan from Carnik Con it's "wicked hot".

  • @user-kr7yh8vw9m

    @user-kr7yh8vw9m

    9 ай бұрын

    Another amazing gun generously provided to us by Gun Jesus

  • @Voltaic_Fire
    @Voltaic_Fire9 ай бұрын

    I don't think I've ever seen a weapon disassembled quite so thoroughly.

  • @joe6167
    @joe61679 ай бұрын

    Pretty cool to see how the MG42 design could evolve. That rear sight/barrel/carry handle is pretty slick for sure.

  • @Gearparadummies

    @Gearparadummies

    9 ай бұрын

    We used to fit an old SUSAT scope on top of it and make it accurate up to 600m. When it felt like shooting properly, that is.

  • @joelmcfarland5153
    @joelmcfarland51539 ай бұрын

    My favorite obscure and mostly overlooked 5.56 belt fed!

  • @celta21
    @celta219 ай бұрын

    Ian, Spain sent some of those guns to Ukraine the last year. I read one interview with an officer who said "at first i thought we were in the side of the ukranians, but when i knew that the guns we sent were the Amelis, I knew we supported the russians".

  • @geodkyt

    @geodkyt

    9 ай бұрын

    😂 Now *that's* Infantry Humor.

  • @woutergijs5246

    @woutergijs5246

    9 ай бұрын

    I was thinking: this weird fragile MG would not survive a prolonged use such as around Bakhmut. And now it seems some poor infantry got this meccano as their protection???

  • @knightoftheorderofukraine.4695

    @knightoftheorderofukraine.4695

    9 ай бұрын

    ​@@woutergijs5246, сам"бiдний". Укры знатны своей цiвилизованостью.

  • @knightoftheorderofukraine.4695

    @knightoftheorderofukraine.4695

    9 ай бұрын

    ​@@geodkyt, гумор.

  • @knightoftheorderofukraine.4695

    @knightoftheorderofukraine.4695

    9 ай бұрын

    Украм 140 000 рокiв. От них пошла уся розумна людина. Так написано у пiдручниках истории велiчия укронацiïi. А неразумна це москали. сугс. Ты"розумна людина"?

  • @faelwolf1177
    @faelwolf11779 ай бұрын

    There was a semi-auto version of this on the civilian market back in the early 80's, until the import ban hit. Super rare now, as they didn't sell too many before the ban due to the QC issues mentioned in this video, as well as being rather pricey for it's time. Looks like a truly forgotten weapon, as I don't even see it come up in a casual internet search.

  • @faelwolf1177

    @faelwolf1177

    9 ай бұрын

    @@Jason7.62x39 There's a company in the US making copies of the MP40 and FG42, etc. Who knows? They might get around to it. IIRC they also made a MG42, or someone did. All are pretty pricey though. Don't recall the name of the company offhand, I'm more of a black powder cartridge guy these days. Should be an easy search though.

  • @Voltaic_Fire
    @Voltaic_Fire9 ай бұрын

    He is right about it getting more impressive as you dive into it, that barrel removal system in particular is very nice, it certainly makes cleaning the barrel a lot easier. He is also right about the need to over-build for the military, there is no profession that puts its hardware through harsher treatment so everything needs to be ridiculously tough.

  • @geodkyt

    @geodkyt

    9 ай бұрын

    Ridiculously tough (FN MAG, Browning MGs, etc.), or ridiculously cheap so you can afford to treat them as "limited use disposable" (PPS-43, Sten, M3 Grease Gun, etc.), or ridiculously easy and cheap to replace the likely failure components (NorK Type 73 LMG feed extractor, HK G3 receiver at the depot or brigade armorer level, M16 gas rings, etc.) Looks like CETME leaned heavily into a #3 design, while Santa Barbara built it as if it was a #2 design. 😂

  • @ZGryphon

    @ZGryphon

    9 ай бұрын

    To paraphrase Mark Novak, nothing can ever be made sailor-proof; things can only be made more or less sailor-resistant at varying levels of cost. The same is true of soldiers. :)

  • @stephenbinion6348
    @stephenbinion63489 ай бұрын

    I fired one of these in Spain. We US Marines were cross training with the Spanish Marines. The Spanish used conscripts that probably added to the breakage. This was in the late eighties when I fired it. They may have still been new enough not to malfunction constantly.

  • @Hubert_Cumberdale_
    @Hubert_Cumberdale_9 ай бұрын

    Looks like something the marines from Aliens would use.

  • @MrMisterDerp

    @MrMisterDerp

    9 ай бұрын

    Oddly enough the basis for the original m41a and m41a2 was the thompson smg, don’t know how James Cameron made that leap but he did

  • @Hubert_Cumberdale_

    @Hubert_Cumberdale_

    9 ай бұрын

    @@MrMisterDerp Yeah and the smartgun is a mg42 or mg3 not sure wich.

  • @Chaosrain112

    @Chaosrain112

    9 ай бұрын

    MG42s with snowmobile parts served as the basis for the Smart Guns, so yeah, that already kinda happened. This is just the un-smarted Smart Gun.

  • @Gearparadummies

    @Gearparadummies

    9 ай бұрын

    ​@@Chaosrain112The servo arm the M56 smartgun was mounted on was actually a steadycam rig. James Cameron's creativity at it best.

  • @AdamFisher

    @AdamFisher

    3 ай бұрын

    @MrMisterDerp James Cameron originally intended to use the MP5 as the base for the pulse rifle, his original sketch (which ended up on a T-Shirt that Pvt. Frost is wearing while he loads and checks the squad’s compliment of rifles during their prep for drop) is clearly based around an MP5A3. They ended up using Thompsons instead due the muzzle flash being more impressive on camera

  • @dave.of.the.forrest
    @dave.of.the.forrest9 ай бұрын

    One of the coolest looking LMG's ever. I've always liked it, because there's a big article with shooting test on it in "The Gun Digest Book Of Assault Weapons" 1986 edition, page 58. Goes into a lot of detail. I've had it since back in the day.

  • @StraightShot2977
    @StraightShot29779 ай бұрын

    The Spaniards have a lot of interesting ideas on the record, always cool to see these in detail.

  • @timothylevin2661
    @timothylevin26619 ай бұрын

    A carry handle and no forward assist, I like it.

  • @floridahdshooter
    @floridahdshooter9 ай бұрын

    Great video.. Can anyone else imagine the look on Ian's face if when he reassembiled the bolt backwards and sent the bolt home just to shear the extactor off of a one of kind limited production gun and is likely impossabile to get replacement part. Imagine haveing to explan that to DSA..

  • @EdmundLoh
    @EdmundLoh9 ай бұрын

    Finally. I was just wondering the other day that the CETME Ameli was so 'rare' it was not even on Forgotten Weapons (until now, that is)

  • @JohnSmith-gm4fj
    @JohnSmith-gm4fj9 ай бұрын

    I remember reading the articles about this back in 83 in SoF and Gung-ho

  • @LMTran
    @LMTran9 ай бұрын

    It's too bad this never took off. The concept is awesome. Its form factor is much smaller than other comparable SAWs like the M249.

  • @nightangelhardy
    @nightangelhardy9 ай бұрын

    Love getting up and seeing more interesting guns being broken down by gun-jesus, thanks for all you do Ian!

  • @Puxi

    @Puxi

    9 ай бұрын

    Getting up at 15:19 at the weekend.... the perks of being unemployed.

  • @pennyaredreadful

    @pennyaredreadful

    9 ай бұрын

    And when he reassembles it, lo! There are two!

  • @MrPossumeyes

    @MrPossumeyes

    9 ай бұрын

    Agreed.

  • @MrHws5mp
    @MrHws5mp9 ай бұрын

    IIRC there was a 'para' version of this with a modified barrel lock that allowed the barrel and shroud to fold back over the receiver, making a very compact package. I recall reading (can't remember where: sorry) that law enforcement was concerned about them because terrorists had either got some or tried to get some, and the police didn't relish the idea of coming up against a full-auto 5.56mm with a 200 rounds belt that would fold up into a small suitcase.

  • @daniela.delacruz1559
    @daniela.delacruz15599 ай бұрын

    This thing is dripping with style! A pity it didn’t function better.

  • @STB-jh7od
    @STB-jh7od9 ай бұрын

    As I recall, when this competed for US Army's SAW contract in 80s, the reason it lost was because of a requirement for the weapon to fire and keep feeding the belt, while a weight was attached to the end of the belt, and this weapon couldn't do it. At the time, many weapons experts were perplexed about that requirement, and frankly, I've never heard a good explanation for it.

  • @andresmartinezramos7513

    @andresmartinezramos7513

    9 ай бұрын

    My best guess would be to ensure that the gun can feed the belt even in highly adverse conditions, like a long belt dragging in the mud or something like it is partially stuck on some weeds or twigs But that is speculation on my part

  • @Rasta8889

    @Rasta8889

    9 ай бұрын

    ​@@andresmartinezramos7513 In that case the gun might pull itself towards the belt instead of the other way round. Seems dangerous. Military requirements seem pretty random at times. In "Ignition! A History of liquid rocket propellants" Clarke says that the -100°F requirement for a working fuel system *might* be because the rocket needs to work in siberia...but propably it's just because it's such a nice round number ^^

  • @0b3rz0nK
    @0b3rz0nK9 ай бұрын

    Thanks for clearing it up in the title and right away. If anything this is a MG45 scaled down, not a 42. The technical differences between roller locked and delayed was a mainstay of torturing young german recruits all throughout the cold war with their MG3 and G3 and I think firearm-interested people with an internet connection should finally learn that too!

  • @sergiom9958
    @sergiom99589 ай бұрын

    Fun fact: a guy in Spain Gad the chance to buy nearly all prototypes and experimental models of CETME and among them some unique accesories for the AMELI (like the 30 round “STANAG” magazine well adaptor). By the way, he sold them to a Canadian guy. I think the buyer may be from the fire arm blog or some friend, but I’m not sure (because they have an article about the ameli I think if I remember well).

  • @angelvm36
    @angelvm369 ай бұрын

    The design was very good, the first units were excellent, the best on the market at the time, but it was decided to sell it with a very aggressive pricing policy, as we say in Spain, "good, nice and cheap", and that thing does not exist... The result, a Spanish State company that began producing cannons and arquebuses for the armies of King Carlos (the famous "Tercios") in 1511, very shortly after the AMELI debacle, was privatized and sold for next to nothing to General Dynamics... This is Spain

  • @mrmors1344
    @mrmors13449 ай бұрын

    We need a shooting video now. Also, I feel like those plastic "disposable" belt boxes and tabs are now 'keep and reuse' these days... like the Mauser stripper clips and m1 carbine mags. [the amount of time i spent refurbishing barely functional c96 stripper clips to be a solid grip on the one round on both ends but all 10 slide with no effort into gun was long and arduous but worth it]

  • @geodkyt

    @geodkyt

    9 ай бұрын

    ...or the original 20 round aluminum M16 mags... or the South African polymer Galil mags, etc... 😅

  • @Mister_Ce
    @Mister_Ce9 ай бұрын

    Finally!!! One video describing the history of one of the most controversial Spanish fireweapons of the 80s. I was really waiting for the Ameli.

  • @Varinius
    @Varinius9 ай бұрын

    This gun is used by a character called Maestro in Rainbow Six Siege, used to be crazy overpowered

  • @Jreb1865
    @Jreb18659 ай бұрын

    One of my all-time favorite light MGs... I remember seeing it hyped up back in the 80s and knew some dealer samples made it here before "the great betrayal" in 86. Quite a few years ago, someone made a mod kit you could bolt onto a 10/22 that looked just like it externally. Still mag fed of course, but very cool looking. Some of them should have been in 80s action movies...lol

  • @t3h51d3w1nd3r

    @t3h51d3w1nd3r

    9 ай бұрын

    Man 10/22s have been modded into everything

  • @DominusRexDK
    @DominusRexDK9 ай бұрын

    one of my favourite LMGs to look at.

  • @MrTony1995
    @MrTony19959 ай бұрын

    At first it was very good, but like with the CETME L, CETME tried to make it as cheaper as possible to gain as much dough as conceivable. They used very cheap materials and simplified things that shoul not have been simplified, that transform a very capable LMG into a piece of trash that either jams every few bursts, or its bolt retainer breaks and fires the entire belt non stop.

  • @WingMaster562
    @WingMaster5629 ай бұрын

    I've been seeing this gun float around my recommendations for a couple of weeks now. It's nice and interesting that Ian has covered it while I'm binging it.

  • @adlerarmory8382
    @adlerarmory83829 ай бұрын

    This is the weapon Randall Tex Cobb's character Sailor dismounted from the Vietnamese Huey during the POW camp raid in "Uncommon Valor"

  • @bishopcorva
    @bishopcorva9 ай бұрын

    If I recall right, one of the few reasons this didn't take off as well as it could have was the general build quality was hit and miss. Many of the early guns sorta rattled apart because the spot welds and rivets didn't hold. Rivets because of being undersized which allowed some movement and wallowed out the bores. Spot welds because there wasn't enough penetration to get a good weld bond. Then there was the barrel thing and the difficulty with hot barrel swaps. I think there were also allusions to FN having greased palms better for their m240 and m249. I think this is a stellar little piece, and if not for certain development issues and other factors. I think it would be a rather bonkers nifty piece if it have been more readily available. Not to mention the passage of the '86 law that barred manufacture of new mg for 'civi' hands, unless you have a type 2 license, but even then your customers are limited.

  • @matthayward7889
    @matthayward78899 ай бұрын

    Such a cool little gun.

  • @deputygunner
    @deputygunner9 ай бұрын

    Remember seeing this in Guns and Ammo back in the 80's, thought it was a cool gun then. Now even better to see it taken down and see how it worked. Thanks for a great video

  • @aaron6178
    @aaron61789 ай бұрын

    That's very cool looking. I used the FN Minimi back in the day which is about 4lbs heavier. That weight difference would've been pretty noticable.

  • @geodkyt

    @geodkyt

    9 ай бұрын

    A not-insignificant amount of that weight difference is the gas system and I'm sure designing the feed way to accommodate box magazine "emergency" feed adds a significant chunk of a pound (it's not just the fairly minor weight of the magwell - you also have to expand the feed way to fit it, which means the rest of it needs more metal too to enclose the volume). OTOH, for all it's complaints, the M249 is a more durable and reliable weapon, probably due to being build slightly beefier and certainly to a higher standard. Just, forget the crappy box feed option even exists and stick with belts, LOL.

  • @aerthreepwood8021

    @aerthreepwood8021

    9 ай бұрын

    Yeah, I fucking hated the 249.

  • @Hoozpoppin
    @Hoozpoppin9 ай бұрын

    Rarely do i find a completely unknown to me, cool MG. This is it, and its GENIUS.

  • @magnacarta9364

    @magnacarta9364

    9 ай бұрын

    Got to agree there.

  • @OldManAndTheSeaOfTooManyCats
    @OldManAndTheSeaOfTooManyCats9 ай бұрын

    I had always wondered whether anyone had created an MG-3 equivalent of the FN Minimi.

  • @kmech3rd
    @kmech3rd9 ай бұрын

    "Hans... get the MG-42. The LITTLE MG-42."

  • @austinm.9832

    @austinm.9832

    3 ай бұрын

    Hans? More like Juan.

  • @thomasherzog2172

    @thomasherzog2172

    2 ай бұрын

    ¡Héctor, trae a Ameli!

  • @protoman1214
    @protoman12149 ай бұрын

    Lol I literally just saw a vid like 2 weeks ago mentioning this gun is so rare that forgotten weapons hasn’t even made a video on it. And now here we are. Awesome!!

  • @xkavarsmith9322
    @xkavarsmith93229 ай бұрын

    Like the SA-80, the AMELI is begging to be brought back, redesigned in a few key areas, and modernized.

  • @jackaubrey8614

    @jackaubrey8614

    8 ай бұрын

    Would thank you for the Ameli, not so much SA80....

  • @xXGatekeeper49Xx
    @xXGatekeeper49Xx9 ай бұрын

    Fairly rare gun. One might even say it's an AnAMELI lol

  • @happisakshappiplace.6588
    @happisakshappiplace.65889 ай бұрын

    Wow I had a whole bunch of CETME videos appear in my feed past week and BANG now Ian has actually done a video on it. You Tube works in mysterious ways.

  • @C00KI3xM0NST3Rx
    @C00KI3xM0NST3Rx9 ай бұрын

    just watched a clip of this gun firing and the comments were talking about how it's so rare Forgotten Weapons doesn't have a video on this; then an hour later I see this.... spooky

  • @Xerxes1688
    @Xerxes16889 ай бұрын

    14:03 I was thinking the same but, perhaps, CETME designed the firing pin extension that way because it also contains the half-locking shoulders. Parts wear down at different rates, specially the rollers. Cutting one ejector groove forces you to put the firing pin extension in the same position each time. If it had two grooves, you might face reliability problems in the future. Granted, the rollers on these types of guns are designed to wear down and be replaceable, before needing to replace bolt locking shoulders, bolt head and barrel trunnion.

  • @geodkyt

    @geodkyt

    9 ай бұрын

    Three solutions come to mind: 1. Clearly mark the "up" side on the roller wedge. Even just stamping a simple icon on the top like a circle (and preferably something like a circle.slash on the opposite). Least impact to production cost/time or durability, but "signage" is also the least effective, and least preferred, engineering mitigation. 2. Do as Ian suggested. Simple, cheap, no significant increase to production time, but could have durability issues (both the second order wear pattern you mention *and* a potential first order effect of an extra failure point for the part - and FEA wasn't cheap in the 1970s and 1980s to evaluate it beforehand). 3. Add a small, shallow key & keyway so that you can still rotate it far enough to get the bolt out, but you can't fully reassemble it upside down because it won't go the last 1mm or so home. Best solution from.an engineering standpoint, but a non-trivial increase in production time and cost (remember that in addition to requiring more "fiddly bit" machining on two parts, it'll increase your scrap rate on those two parts when the fiddly bits aren't done correctly.)

  • @Xerxes1688

    @Xerxes1688

    9 ай бұрын

    @@geodkyt Solution number 3 is what HK actually did to their roller-delayed guns (and it's probably the same for the CETME C and L rifles). The locking wedge (or firing pin extension as Ian called it) has a lug on the stem that keyholes into the bolt carrier, thus it can only be inserted in one way, the shoulders can't be reversed.

  • @user-nd7hq5vk4n
    @user-nd7hq5vk4n9 ай бұрын

    I believe this machine gun have a lot of MG45 concept ideas.

  • @alexissjc409
    @alexissjc4099 ай бұрын

    Finally! There really arent enough vids on this really cool gun❤

  • @poromafia
    @poromafia9 ай бұрын

    Finally a video on this funky little thing.

  • @codygranrud6212
    @codygranrud62129 ай бұрын

    I'm going to guess those 'magazines' weren't really disposed of and units reused them in training. Nobody throws mags away as intended.

  • @geodkyt

    @geodkyt

    9 ай бұрын

    And I'll bet they were sturdy enough to be used a few dozen times before breaking down. Be willing to bet that belted blank ammo probably wasn't shipped in these boxes from the factory (much like we always got our blanks for our M16s in 20 round cardboard boxes, not bandoliers full of loaded stripper clips), and troops would stuff used belt boxes with belts of blanks for exercises (much like we kept the "disposable" bandiliers, clips, and clip guides from live firing to load blanks into so we could "train like we fight").

  • @RCZM64

    @RCZM64

    9 ай бұрын

    @@geodkytthere were no blanks or firing adapter for these. I suppose you could get blanks in a belt, but using it as a repeater doesn't seem that fun. Ammo came pre-packaged from the factory with a different loading than the standard rifle rounds, 1 tracer in 5. The ammo boxes came in a cloth pouch, also disposable, since I didn't see many in my time, but a few after they were retired at stores.

  • @paulbarnes2752
    @paulbarnes27529 ай бұрын

    Seems like it's fairly well thought out. With some upgrades/modifications (that would probably add a bit of weight) it might be viable today.

  • @aidanacebo9529
    @aidanacebo95299 ай бұрын

    I found out about this gun about a month ago, I was surprised when I noticed Ian hadn't done a video on one. Now I'm satisfied, that was very interesting. I hope we get a shooting video sometime soon... I'd like to see the fire rate of one of these. I'd also like to own one, but I don't have a class 3 FFL. I'd settle for a non-firing replica just to hang on my wall next to my non-firing MG-42, but nobody makes one of these like that unfortunately.

  • @toooldfortwowheels2048
    @toooldfortwowheels20489 ай бұрын

    I've been researching the Ameli recently, so the timing on this is excellent. They're very tidy little LMGs

  • @exuberance3973
    @exuberance39739 ай бұрын

    Cod ghosts had this thing as the starter MG, never knew it was a reworked MG42 that’s awesome

  • @SirToasti
    @SirToasti9 ай бұрын

    I have waited for this video for so many years! Thank you so much for covering this absolute unicorn of an lmg!

  • @elwayb.602
    @elwayb.6029 ай бұрын

    Wow the full disassembly was awesome thank you 🙏

  • @davidcruz8667
    @davidcruz86679 ай бұрын

    That's actually a really neat weapon... lots of potential problems, and a lot of parts when disassembled, plus that ejector problem... but it is unique, innovative, interesting, even awesome in its approach to design and construction... and it's a good looking weapon as well. Maybe it's not as trustworthy, but I like it. Maybe you could show us a video of you firing it at the range. So many cool ideas!

  • @Allen338LM
    @Allen338LM9 ай бұрын

    I really want to see you take this 1 to the range to see the cyclic rate of it

  • @jackaubrey8614

    @jackaubrey8614

    8 ай бұрын

    900 rpm. :)

  • @Azukaae
    @Azukaae9 ай бұрын

    Woah, I was waiting for this one until I forgot that I was waiting for this one. I suppose, in my case, this one is truly, A forgotten weapon!

  • @larbloc3382
    @larbloc33829 ай бұрын

    Though it would be impossible to decide which of Ian's videos I would consider my favorite, I can say, without a doubt, this and the HK G-11K2 are closely tied as my favorite weapons he has covered. I'm so glad to finally see a Forgotten Weapons review of this awesome piece!

  • @cathoderay305
    @cathoderay305Күн бұрын

    I saw a video, ages ago, where one of these was assembled from the components fitted in a special briefcase and have wanted one ever since.

  • @JPR3D
    @JPR3D9 ай бұрын

    This is a great video. Every time I see one like this, I can't help but imagine the amount of effort and time involved in engineering the assembly/disassembly procedure. I feel like doing that takes up as much if not more time than developing the operating system.

  • @ComradeCole
    @ComradeCole9 ай бұрын

    Always thought these were cool as hell. First time seeing it disassembled, very neat gun.

  • @sorryociffer
    @sorryociffer9 ай бұрын

    Wish someone could perfect a S/A one! It’s ADORABLE….

  • @bencemakkai8631
    @bencemakkai86319 ай бұрын

    I was waiting for you take a look at this one for a while, there isn't that much content covering this firearm on KZread, thanks for sharing it!

  • @foxtrotnine2504
    @foxtrotnine25049 ай бұрын

    remember first seeing this in call of duty ghosts, always thought it looked neat and was a great under rated weapon

  • @atomic...
    @atomic...9 ай бұрын

    This thing is just awesome. I'd been hoping this would get covered on the channel someday.

  • @MrLoobu
    @MrLoobu9 ай бұрын

    It's actually a great idea to have a dedicated MG design with all the features in the 6mm range so that you could run it and feed it like an lmg while taking advantage of the added durability, capacity and features. Some of which are unfortunately quite bad in this case.

  • @aat1a5
    @aat1a59 ай бұрын

    CoD Ghosts LMG, I loved this one because it was slow but powerful (even though IRL its rate of fire is pretty much the same of a MG42)

  • @CGa2887
    @CGa28879 ай бұрын

    I freaking love the look of these so much.

  • @joetaylor486
    @joetaylor4869 ай бұрын

    Wow Ian, I found this particularly interesting. An open bolt, roller delayed machine gun? Sounds like a gunworld unicorn. I would love to see you fire that.

  • @leekaijit36
    @leekaijit369 ай бұрын

    Although AMELI really adapt by Malaysia Armed Forces (dunno which faction), I never expected that such these gun suffered quality issues... Thus, AMELI issue proved one thing: No matter how good on the trial gun, if the mass-production gun cannot have a quality control then it's only a matter of time before being sweep into history...

  • @Randomly_Browsing

    @Randomly_Browsing

    9 ай бұрын

    Navy faction

  • @Lvoa-C
    @Lvoa-C9 ай бұрын

    The Big Alejandro was my favorite lmg in the division

  • @zaksk8s
    @zaksk8s9 ай бұрын

    Ian knows what the boys want while they drink their Saturday morning coffee.

  • @boostedgraveljunkie5325
    @boostedgraveljunkie53259 ай бұрын

    Such a genius design. Hats off to Spanish enginuity and the giga Chad that made this happen

  • @aquila3958
    @aquila39589 ай бұрын

    Interestingly enough it was replaced by the fitting spiritual successor, the H&K MG4 (also a light 5.56 machine gun)

  • @devanmullins4180
    @devanmullins41809 ай бұрын

    Finally! I’ve been waiting on this one such an interesting piece!

  • @Yogachara
    @Yogachara9 ай бұрын

    One of the coolest guns I didn't know existed

  • @jackstewart7664
    @jackstewart76649 ай бұрын

    From what I've read the ameli's operating system is based on the ill-fated MG45

  • @kmccabe1962
    @kmccabe19629 ай бұрын

    Excellent presentation. A shame it wasn’t more widely adopted, that would have pushed SB into improving this otherwise excellent product.

  • @carlosg.castillo
    @carlosg.castillo9 ай бұрын

    It is impossible not to love your analysis Ian, always extremely well documented and sensible, therefore very accurate in my opinion. Thousand thanks for your videos!

  • @alexpost9483
    @alexpost94839 ай бұрын

    Has a lot of neat features on the gun as far as construction goes.

  • @hankskorpio5857
    @hankskorpio58579 ай бұрын

    I loved its aesthetics in COD Cold War. There are very few modernish machine guns I would call beautiful. This is beautiful.

  • @bryanwills6688

    @bryanwills6688

    9 ай бұрын

    Its also in cod ghosts, I thought the one in cold war was a mg3

  • @jameskazd9951
    @jameskazd99519 ай бұрын

    what a cool gun. gotta be up there in my favorite LMG's, shame it had some quality control and durability issues. a modern redesign with updated materials and a few tweaks to things like the ejector and trunnion would be really awesome to see and could make for an excellent relatively lightweight SAW.

  • @pogmodii8960

    @pogmodii8960

    9 ай бұрын

    G11 spotted

  • @agjld7
    @agjld79 ай бұрын

    Thanks, I've been waiting for this one for years.

  • @oasismike2905
    @oasismike29059 ай бұрын

    Thank you for the small pauses while breaking it down -- I enjoy pausing the video, even though I cannot really visualize how the mechanisms work (yet). I never learned to shoot well, but as a child my Dad & Grampa'd take us (my younger Sister & I) to prolly the last live fire range in California (Los Altos), where they'd use various old rifles while we'd use a Ruger .22 rifle. I enjoyed it all, gun shows, watching them pour bullets -- helping grease them, and learning about the sanctity of life (and, uh, picking the petals off a poppy at a hundred feet with Dad's target rifle (one inch hexagonal barrel, bondo'd grip and a scope as long as the barrel) -- hehe. Watching your vids is a pleasant source for rumination and lets me re-live that part of my family's identity, though I don't think I'd keep a weapon at home these days I miss when they'd call cease fire, and we'd set targets and collect lead sometimes!

  • @TuckerDale89
    @TuckerDale899 ай бұрын

    I wonder if any part kits for this gun will ever be available? I love to have one even if it has to be semi-auto only.

  • @terrorform242
    @terrorform2429 ай бұрын

    this is a very nice looking gun. i can see collectors going nuts over these. a semi auto version would sell really well in the states im sure.

  • @sionsoschwalts2762
    @sionsoschwalts27629 ай бұрын

    This is crazy! I've been looking into this gun since a video with it appeared in my feed a couple days ago!

  • @water3294
    @water32949 ай бұрын

    Wow, I was seeing the coverage of this from other channels and was surprised that you hadn't put out a video here. Lo' and behold! Ian heard the cry. Thank goodness too, I love this production!

  • @SirClicks.
    @SirClicks.9 ай бұрын

    I would really like to see someone try this again with better qc and possible some modernization like rails and mlock

  • @jordanandrew2786

    @jordanandrew2786

    9 ай бұрын

    Yes, that would be quite cool.

  • @martinleehb
    @martinleehb9 ай бұрын

    Non reusable magazines that are meant to be discarded... I think we can all sort of see what is going to happen...

  • @trollwaffenunit1garrison784
    @trollwaffenunit1garrison7844 ай бұрын

    this gun should be revived with proper manufacturing, i think its an underrated gem that shouldn't just be tossed away to history

  • @geodkyt
    @geodkyt9 ай бұрын

    It was just last week or so that I was rewatching the CETME videos, and I was (again) disappointed by a lack of a matching Ameli video. 😂