Adoption
A demonstration of the AR-15 was made to Curtis Lemay in June 1960. He immediately ordered 8,500 for defense at Strategic Air Command airbases. Colt Industries also approached the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), who bought 1000 rifles for use by South Vietnamese troops in the early summer of 1962. American special operations units working with the South Vietnamese troops filed remarkable battlefield reports, pressing for its immediate adoption.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara now had two conflicting views: the ARPA report favoring the AR-15 and the Pentagon's position on the M14 . Even President John F. Kennedy expressed concern, so McNamara ordered Secretary of the Army Cyrus Vance to test the M14 , the AR-15 and the AK-47 . The Army's test report stated only the M14 was suitable for Army use, but Vance wondered about the impartiality of those conducting the tests. He ordered the Army Inspector General to investigate the testing methods used, who reported that the testers showed undue favor to the M14.

McNamara ordered a halt to M14 production in January 1964. In November, the Army ordered 85,000 XM16E1s for experimental use, and the Air Force ordered another 19,000. Meanwhile the Army carried out another project, the Small Arms Weapons Systems (SAWS) , on general infantry firearm needs in the immediate future. They highly recommended the immediate adoption of the weapon, so much so that they started referring to it as the M16. Later that year the Air Force officially accepted their first batch as the United States Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16. The Air Force M16s were different from the Army XM16E1s, which had a forward assist, as described below. The Air Force M16s were slightly modified AR-15s.

When the M14 reached Vietnam with U.S. troops in 1965 its flaws were instantly recognized. It was far too cumbersome and too heavy to use effectively in a close-quarters jungle environment, and the heavy ammunition meant only small quantities were carried on patrol. The fully-automatic fire quickly demonstrated itself as useless, as the British had suggested, and the rifles were eventually delivered locked in semi-automatic. In the end the Army had spent a considerable amount of time and money switching from one semi-automatic weapon to another, and it appeared this happened largely due to internal politics. In defense of the M14 design, it was lighter and more reliable than the M1 Garand from which it evolved. While the M16 had the TCC and numerous changes to enhance its reliability, the M14 received no such attention. The Army chose to freeze the M14's design at an undeveloped stage.

Meanwhile the troops desperately tried to increase their own firepower in the face of the Viet Cong's Soviet-designed AK-47 s. They improvised with any weapon they could find such as the pre-WWII Thompson submachine gun. The XM16E1 was being introduced in increasing numbers, but quickly gained a bad reputation.

With the XM16E1 the Pentagon ordered a change in the cartridge's propellant from the clindrical Improved Military Rifle (IMR) to the finer grained ball powder (the powder the rifle was originally designed around). The Pentagon had previously changed the powder from the ball powder to the IMR in order to use up supplies of the IMR that were left over from 30 calibre weapon systems. The IMR powder is a compressed load and therefore burns dirty. The change back to the ball powder increased the cyclic rate of fire, increasing wear on parts, however, fouling was decreased. Stoppages were generally due to a corroded chamber, poor maintenance, worn parts, or a combination of these. Though cleaner, the ball powder only added to the increased wear. The solution was to redesign the buffer to slow down the cyclic rate of fire at which point parts breakage returned to normal. As a testament to the original design, ball powder is still used today in issue ammunition.

A forward assist was designed to close the bolt in case of a misfeed. Colt, the Air Force, the Marine Corps and Eugene Stoner all agreed this device needlessly complicated the rifle and added about $4.50 to its procurement cost with no real benefit, but after another three years the Army ordered 840,000 of this version on February 28th, 1967. The version became known as the M16A1.

Colt had oversold the M16's reliability during testing, to the point where they claimed it never had to be cleaned. The direct impingement gas operating system used a tube along the top of the barrel that vented gas back into a 'piston' formed behind the bolt and the recess in the bolt carrier. When combustion gases reached this area, they drove the bolt carrier to the rear and then vented the excess gas out the ejection port and out between the gas key at the top of the bolt carrier and the gas tube from the port in the barrel. Conventional designs keep the piston above or below the barrel and vent excess gas at that point. The advantage of the Stoner system was that the 'piston' formed by the bolt and bolt carrier operated in a direct line and on the same axis as the bore of the rifle.

This resulted in no adverse movement of the bore axis due to the movement of the bolt carrier assembly. The adverse result of this design is that when the propellant gas is traveling down the tube, it cools and condenses becoming solid carbon. This carbon builds up in the action of the gun quickly. The M16 therefore requires frequent cleaning to remain reliable.

Making matters worse, troops were told the weapon required no cleaning because of its space age construction, and had not been supplied with cleaning kits. In the field the guns started jamming all the time. Soldiers often derisively referred to them as "toy guns" and used the catch phrase "You can tell it's Mattel" when one malfunctioned. This later blossomed into an urban legend that the first M16s were actually in part, or completely, manufactured by the toy giant.

The M16 debate once again took off, both in the Army and in Washington, DC. Stoner's latest design, a family of weapons known as the Stoner 63 , were sent to Vietnam for testing, while the SPIW flechette test weapon program was re-activated.

Luckily cooler heads prevailed. Cleaning kits were quickly produced, and a comic book was circulated among the troops to demonstrate proper maintenance. The reliability problems diminished quickly, although the reputation did not. This did not appear to be true for the North Vietnamese troops, however, who started to use the rifle whenever one could be found.

Perhaps the most important change to the M16A1 was the introduction of chrome plating in the chamber, and some time later, the barrel as well. This improvement had been suggested in the original SALVO tests, but was dismissed as not cost-effective or practical. At the time, no reliable way had been devised to chrome-plate a .224" diameter barrel. The true value of Chrome Plating is preventing corrosion in the Chamber. Being a nearly straight-walled chamber, the slightest quantity of rust, corroded brass, sand, fouling, rust pitting, or even machining marks increase friction exponentially. Soldiers in the field found that the first round nearly always fired but would stick in the chamber. This is why the AK-47 was designed with a tapered chamber.

Chrome lining not only prevents rust, but it also decreases friction. Fouling that does get into the chamber is pressed into the side of the fired case and ejected along with it.

After its rocky start, the M16 has proven itself to be one of the more reliable combat rifles. By the end of 1967, the troops, when asked, would only trade in their M16s for the XM177, a carbine version of the same weapon.

The lightweight round was likewise a matter of much debate in the rifle community. The "big round" concept refused to die for many years, and calls for an increase in caliber continued into the 1980s. Much of the debate centered on the Soviet Union's use of a larger STG44 -style cartridge, the 7.62 x 39 mm, cut down from their wartime 7.62 x 54 mm "full power" design. The "official" debate ended for good when in the early 1970s the USSR introduced their own small round, one even smaller than the M16 at only 5.45 x 39 mm. Apparently SALVO had the right idea all along. The small vs large calibre military round debate however, still rages amongst enthusiasts and military personnel. The large calibre proponents say that the small calibre round doesn't have the knock down energy at longer ranges, the military's position is based upon combat studies and states that most combat take place at under 100 meters and therefore the smaller calibre round has sufficient energy.

My opinion is that a well placed round, regardless the calibre, will always do the job. Marksmanship is and always has been a key, but that seems to be left out of the recent debates.





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Robert McNamara Served as secretary of state
from 1961 to 1968. Although not especially knowledgeable about defense matters,
McNamara immersed himself in the subject, learned quickly, and soon began to
apply an "active role" management philosophy, in his own words "providing
aggressive leadership questioning, suggesting alternatives, proposing
objectives and stimulating progress." This resulting in his micromanaging
the war in Vietnam, causing the needless deaths of many of our soldiers.
SAWS The Small Arms Weapons Systems
is administered by the U.S. Army Material Command and maintains
standards and dissemination of small arms and accessories as well
as demilitarization of some weapons.
M1 Garand The premiere 30-06 rifle of the WWII era.
The M1 Garand (more formally the United States Rifle, Caliber .30, M1) was the first
semi-automatic rifle to become a standard infantry rifle. It officially replaced the
Springfield 1903 rifle as the standard service rifle in 1936, until officially replaced
by the M14, which was derived from it, in 1957. It would be heavily used in
WWII, Korea, and to a limited extent in Vietnam. It was primarily used by the
U.S., but also some other countries. It continues to be used by various drill teams
and is a popular civilian firearm.


Calibre: .30-06 Springfield (7.62 x 63mm)
Action: Clip fed, gas operated, rotating bolt
Weight: 9 lb. 10 oz.


Sturmgewehr MP44 A 7.92mm SMG.
The MP43, MP44, and STG44 were names for nearly identical weapons with only
small production differences and dates. The last, the STG44, was called
"Sturmgewehr", literally, "storm-rifle" (or assault rifle). It combined the
traits of submachine guns and automatic rifles. The translation "assault rifle"
became very popular to describe this class of weapon.

It chambered a shorter version of the standard 7.92 mm rifle round that, in
combination with the weapon's design, allowed it to be used like a submachine
gun in close quarters but with greater accuracy and range than submachine guns
in longer range engagements. However, it had much less range and power than
regular rifles of the day; at that time, much of the fighting was taking place
at closer ranges such as in towns, cities, and wooded areas.


Calibre: 7.92mm x 33 Kurz
Action: Gas operated, tilting bolt
Weight: 5.22 kg.


Stoner 63 modular assault rifle.
The system was first introduced in 1963 during Stoner's time at Cadillac Gage,
which manufactured the weapon until 1971. The concept behind the Stoner 63 was
that of a weapon that could be easily reconfigured as a carbine, a rifle,
or a light machine gun feeding linked ammunition from the left, right or top.
The gas system was mounted in different positions depending on the weapon's
configuration. The gun was complex and required high levels of maintenance
to operate reliably, especially in the humid jungles of Vietnam where it made
its debut. However, the SEALs who employed it did their part and showed that
the Stoner 63 could be a very effective weapon.


Calibre: 5.56mm x 45
Action: Magazine fed, gas operated, rotating bolt
Weight: 15 lbs.


AK-47 Assault Rifle
The AK-47 assault rifle was developed in 1946 by Michail Kalashnikov,
engineer of the Soviet Union. Kalashnikov's assault rifle is one
of the best examples of the basic individual infantry weapon during the
last 55 years and it is virtually unsurpassed. The AK-47, with all
it's modifications is used by more than 50 countries all over the world.
It's construction became a base for a great number of copies, versions,
and modifications, chambered for various calibers, however all of them
work on the same principle, developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov.


Calibre: 7.62mm x 39
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
Weight: 4.3 kg.


M14 Service Rifle
The M14 was developed from a long line of experimental weapons based
upon the M1 Garand. Although the Garand was one of the most advanced
infantry rifles of its day, it was not a perfect weapon. Modifications
were beginning to be made to the basic M1 rifle's design since the
twilight of the Second World War. Modifications included adding a
fully-automatic firing capability and replacing the 8-round "en bloc"
clips with a detachable box magazine holding 20 rounds. Winchester,
Remington, and Springfield Armory's own John Garand offered different
conversion designs. Garand's design, the T20, was the most popular, and
T20 prototypes served as the basis for a number of Springfield test
rifles from 1945 through the early 1950s.


Calibre: 7.62mm (.308)
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
Weight: 4.5 kg.