Image credit
- Title
- File:Daewoo K1A SMG noBG.png
- Author
- shotgunlee(attribution required)
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Source
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daewoo_K1A_SMG_noBG.png
How Muzzle energy is calculated
E = ½ · m · v²
Inputs
- m4.018 g62.01 grverifiedsource62 gr as published, converted to grams.
- v905.3 m/s2,970 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 368.3 mm barrel, not this arm's 263 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Muzzle velocity is calculated
nearest sourced barrel length, no extrapolation
Inputs
- v at 368.3 mm905.3 m/s2,970 fpsverifiedsourceTable 2-1, muzzle velocity for the M4: 2,970 fps.
Assumptions
- This figure belongs to a 368.3 mm barrel. It is shown because it is the closest measurement that exists, not because it applies here.
1 of 1 inputs link to their source.
How Loaded mass is calculated
m_loaded = m_empty + m_magazine + n · m_cartridge
Not calculated: m_magazine has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- One magazine, filled to the stated capacity. Spare magazines, optics, slings and lights are the owner’s, not the arm’s.
3 of 4 inputs link to their source.
How Free recoil is calculated
E_recoil = ½ · m_firearm · v_recoil²
Inputs
- m_firearm2.87 kg6.327 lbestimatedsourcewithout magazine, K1A standard (all K1s in service were later upgraded to this standard), from the infobox, uncited there.
- v_recoil1.267 m/s4.158 fpsestimated
Assumptions
- Propellant gas momentum is excluded: ARMAG does not record charge weights. This is therefore a lower bound on the real free recoil, consistent between entries but smaller than a figure that includes the gas term.
- Free recoil: the arm is unrestrained. Stock design, muzzle devices, stance and shooter mass are not modelled, because none of them is a property of the arm.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Capacity is calculated
as published for the primary chambering
Inputs
- capacity30estimatedsourcecurrent (post-2014) production chambering, using various STANAG magazines, from the infobox, uncited there.
1 of 1 inputs link to their source.
Derived figures
Computed from the sourced values above. Open ƒ on any figure for the formula, its inputs, and the assumptions it makes.
How Momentum is calculated
p = m · v
Inputs
- m4.018 g62.01 grverifiedsource62 gr as published, converted to grams.
- v905.3 m/s2,970 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 368.3 mm barrel, not this arm's 263 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Sectional density is calculated
SD = mass(gr) / (7000 · diameter(in)²)
Inputs
- mass4.018 g62.01 grverifiedsource62 gr as published, converted to grams.
- diameter5.7 mm0.2244 inestimatedsourceNo free NATO dimensional standard is published. The C.I.P. datasheet for the .223 Remington, which shares this bullet, gives a cartridge-maximum bullet diameter of 5.70 mm.
Assumptions
- Reported in the conventional lb/in² so it is directly comparable with published figures.
2 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Power factor is calculated
PF = mass(gr) · velocity(fps) / 1000
Inputs
- mass4.018 g62.01 grverifiedsource62 gr as published, converted to grams.
- velocity905.3 m/s2,970 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 368.3 mm barrel, not this arm's 263 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
Assumptions
- A competition classification defined by the IPSC and USPSA rulebooks, stated in their units. It describes a scoring category, not an effect.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Magazine dump is calculated
t = (n − 1) / (rpm / 60)
Inputs
- n30estimatedsourcecurrent (post-2014) production chambering, using various STANAG magazines, from the infobox, uncited there.
- rpm825 rpmestimatedsourcemidpoint of a published 750-900 rounds/min range, from the infobox, uncited there.
Assumptions
- Cyclic rate held for the whole magazine, no stoppages, trigger held down. A theoretical figure for comparing mechanisms, not a measured one.
2 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Sight error at 1 mm is calculated
θ = atan(misalignment / sight radius)
Not calculated: sight radius has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- Shows what a stated aiming error costs. The misalignment is the reader’s figure; the site does not claim how well anyone aims.
No input on this calculation carries a clickable source yet.
Specifications
Every row here is generated from the schema, so a figure recorded on this entry cannot be missing from the table, and the same rows, read the same way, are what the comparison shows.
Identity
- Type
- Carbine
- Action
- Self-loading
- Fire modes
- Semi-automatic
- Fully automatic
- Operating system
- Gas, direct impingement
- Roles
- Designed in
- South Korea
- Produced in
- Introduced
- 1981
- Production
- not recorded
Dimensions and mass
- Mass, empty
without magazine, K1A standard (all K1s in service were later upgraded to this standard), from the infobox, uncited there.
- Magazine, empty
- not recorded
- Length
stock extended, from the infobox, uncited there.
- Length, folded
stock retracted, from the infobox, uncited there.
- Width
- not recorded
- Height
- not recorded
- Barrel length
from the infobox, uncited there.
Sights and rifling
- Sight radius
- not recorded
- Sight height over bore
- not recorded
- Rifling twist
- not recorded
- Twist direction
- not recorded
- Grooves
- not recorded
- Sight graduation
- not recorded
Operation
- Cyclic rate
midpoint of a published 750-900 rounds/min range, from the infobox, uncited there.
- Trigger pull
- not recorded
- Effective range
- not recorded
- Units produced
- not recorded
- Launch price
- not recorded
Chamberings
- 5.56x45mm NATOprimary30 rounds
- .223 Remington30 rounds
Scale
A to-scale outline against family siblings. The dimensions are sourced; the shape is a representative outline for the type, and says so.
- Daewoo Precision Industries K1A838 mm32.99 inheight not recorded
Representative outline: the dimensions are sourced, the shape is not. Overall length, and barrel length where recorded, are drawn from this entry's own figures; the profile is a generic one for the firearm type and says nothing about this arm's actual contours. Daewoo Precision Industries K1A records no height, so its outline is drawn at the type's proportion. That height is part of the shape, not a measurement.
Gallery
Image credit
- Title
- File:Daewoo K1 in Korean Marine Exchange Program 15-3 02.jpg
- Author
- Cpl. Tyler S. Giguere
- Licence
- Public domain
- Source
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daewoo_K1_in_Korean_Marine_Exchange_Program_15-3_02.jpg
Detail
South Korea developed the K1 from 1976 to replace the ageing M3 submachine gun in special-forces and close-quarters roles, a narrower brief than the K2 rifle developed alongside it to replace the M16A1 across the wider army. The two share a family resemblance and a maker, but the K1 is built around a shorter barrel and a telescoping stock for a role where compactness mattered more than reach.
The original K1 had a real fault: its short barrel produced excessive recoil, muzzle flip and flash, and early users judged the stock too weak for hard use. Daewoo’s fix was a new flash suppressor with three vents in its upper-right quadrant that cut flash to roughly a third of the early gun’s and helped control muzzle rise under rapid fire, along with a stronger stock. Every K1 still in service was eventually brought up to that K1A standard, which is why this entry (and every dimensional figure Wikipedia publishes for the type) describes the K1A configuration rather than the unmodified original.
The rifle chambered .223 Remington through most of its production run and moved to 5.56×45mm NATO from 2014, a change reflected in South Korea’s broader move toward NATO ammunition standardisation.
Every figure in this entry traces to the Wikipedia infobox without an inline citation and is recorded as
estimated. No twist rate is published.
References
This entry's own bibliography. Every citation key on this page resolves into this list.
- Daewoo Precision Industries K1 · Wikipedia · 1374026105 · read 2026-09-09 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Last verified 2026-09-09 · review status: agent-populated