Editing Flash suppressor (section)

==Types==
[[File:Lee-Enfield no 5-IMG 6559-white.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Rifle No 5 Mk I with cone-shaped flash suppressor]]

A number of different flash suppressing designs have been used over the years. The simplest is a cone placed on the end of the barrel, which was used on the late-World War II jungle-combat versions of the [[Lee–Enfield]], the [[Jungle carbine|rifle No. 5 Mk I]] variant, intended for use in the Pacific (the jungles of Malaya). More modern solutions tend to use a "basket" with several slits or holes cut in it, as seen on the [[M16 rifle|M16]] and other small-bore weapons. Cone-shaped flash eliminators are also evident on the [[ZB vz. 26|ZB vzor 26]] [[machine gun]], and on the turret-mounted aircraft machine guns of British WWII heavy bombers, which were used mostly at night.<ref name=Maio/>

[[File:Warszawskie, Kraków, Poland - panoramio (238).jpg|thumb|Sudanese Model Armalite AR-10 with a prong-type flash suppressor]]

Duckbill flash suppressors have upper and lower "prongs" and direct gases to the sides. Early [[M60 machine gun]]s and some [[Armalite AR-10]], [[Armalite AR-15]] and early [[M16 rifle|M16]] models featured this type of flash suppressor. One disadvantage is that the prongs can become entangled with vines or other natural vegetation and objects in the field.

"Birdcage type" flash suppressors still have prongs, but feature a ring on the front to prevent vegetation entanglement between the prongs. The closed bottom port of the M16A2 design makes the device function as a compensator. Both designs require indexing with a crush washer which increases flash signature.<ref name="Sweeney2010">{{cite book|last=Sweeney|first=Patrick|author-link=Patrick Sweeney (gunsmith)|title=Gunsmithing - The AR-15|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h9PibZ5MOJQC&pg=PA93|access-date=2 April 2013|date=23 March 2010|publisher=Gun Digest Books|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=978-1-4402-1457-8|pages=91–93}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

[[File:Vortex Flash Hider.jpg|thumb|Vortex Flash Hider seen from the front]]

The [[Vortex Flash Hider]] is a design developed in 1984, with a patent secured in 1995. The Vortex is somewhat reminiscent of the original "three-prong flash hider" found on the original Vietnam-era [[M16 rifle|M16]]. However, the Vortex is more robust and makes use of four solid tines, which are equally spaced and angled 6° from a centerline, while the slots of the body incorporate a 5-, 10-, and 15-degree twisted helix design, which eliminates up to 99% of visible muzzle flash by having the flash break up at multiple locations and angles.

The [[Noveske Rifleworks]] KX-3 is a flash suppressor intended for use on shorter barreled rifles and aids in reliability. The back pressure generated through this type of flash suppressor helps to cycle the rifle. Noveske patterned this design on the muzzle brake found on the Soviet [[AKS-74U]] carbine, where it was explicitly used for this purpose. Essentially it is the cone-shaped suppressor of the AKS-74U within a chamber.<ref name="SweeneyARBOOK">{{cite book|last=Sweeney|first=Patrick |author-link=Patrick Sweeney (gunsmith) |title=The Gun Digest Book of The AR-15|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ywqWgSSn2KIC&pg=PA255 |access-date=16 May 2013 |date=11 August 2010|publisher=Gun Digest Books|location=Iola, Wisconsin |isbn=978-1-4402-1622-0|pages=255–256|chapter=21}}</ref> Some other examples of cone-shaped hiders are found on the [[Bren]] machine gun, the .303 rifle No 5 Mk 1 "[[jungle carbine]]" and some models of the [[RPK]] and German [[Rheinmetall MG 3|MG3]].<ref name=Maio/>

The [[XM177]] Commando variant of the [[M16 rifle]] used a unique flash suppressor sometimes called a flash or sound moderator for its 10-inch barrel. This device is 4.2&nbsp;inches long and was designed primarily as a counterbalance measure, as the shorter barrel made the weapon unwieldy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rottman|first1=Gordon|last2=Lyles|first2=Kevin|title=Green Beret in Vietnam: 1957-73 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3HrhEN4gqVwC&pg=PA42 |access-date=6 June 2013|year=2002|publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1-85532-568-5 |page=42}}</ref> This device reduced flash signature greatly and sound signature slightly, making the normally louder short barreled rifle sound like a longer barreled M16A1.<ref name="RottmanM16">{{cite book |last=Rottman |first=Gordon |title=The M16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oRhIaYrN3sYC&pg=PA32 |access-date=6 June 2013 |year=2011 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1-84908-690-5 |page=32}}</ref> Unlike conventional [[suppressors]], the XM177's moderator has no internal baffles and does not reduce the weapon's sound signature to subsonic levels; despite this, because it alters the sound level of the weapon, the United States [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives]] has declared these moderators to be suppressors and regulates their civilian purchase in the United States.<ref name="RottmanM16"/>

There are also devices referred to as hybrids that function as both flash suppressors and [[muzzle rise]]/[[recoil compensator]]s, such as the White Sound Defense FOSSA-556. The U.S. military A2 muzzle device is technically a hybrid device: it has vents that are biased upwardly to reduce [[muzzle rise]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.recoilweb.com/preview-flash-suppressors-muzzle-brakes-compensators-tip-barrel-5927.html|title=Flash Suppressors, Muzzle Brakes & Compensators - Just the Tip of the Barrel|date=9 March 2012}}</ref>