One of the less well known firearms in the roller-locked family of designs is the Spanish Ameli (a contraction of “Ametralladora ligera”), or “Special Purpose Assault Machinegun”. Developed in the late 1970s by CETME, the Ameli was basically a scaled-down MG42 machine gun in 5.56x45mm. However, instead of using the MG42′s fully locked mechanism, the Ameli was designed with the roller-delayed blowback developed with the Gerat o6H/StG45 and most commonly seen on the HK91 series or rifles.
The Ameli was a particularly short and light weapon, and used a fluted chamber to aid extraction. It had good sights, an adjustable bipod, quick-change barrel with integrated handle, and several polymer parts to reduce weight. Like the MG42, it was designed with two different bolt weights to charge the rate of fire between 1250 rpm and about 850 rpm. Other than a few initial teething problems, it was an excellent weapon.
Manuals (English)
Ameli Descriptive Handbook
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