m16 vietnam era

M16 Vietnam Era - Things to remember: In the summer of 1966, rumors of an arms problem began to filter out of Vietnam. The rumor included a shortage of ammunition, a failure to fire, and a lack of ejection.

In the first part of this series, we discussed how the US Army will be ditching the M14 assault rifle for the M16 rifle. The M16 promises lighter weight and greater lethality, but is it all it's cracked up to be? In this episode, we follow the gun to Vietnam, where the gun has earned a reputation for being unreliable, a reputation it doesn't quite deserve.

M16 Vietnam Era

As the US military became heavily involved in the conflict in Vietnam, the US Army and Marine Corps began issuing new weapons to infantry units. Developed by Armalite and manufactured by legendary firearms manufacturer Colt, the M16 Assault Rifle is a smaller and lighter version of the relatively new M14 Assault Rifle. The M16, used by US Special Forces and the South Vietnamese soldiers they recommended, received glowing reviews for its usefulness and lethality in the field. The Army and Air Force purchased 104,000 rifles in November 1963.

M16 Rifle Vietnam War Period Isolated On A White Background Stock Photo, Picture And Royalty Free Image. Image 43633714

When the US Army began pouring into Vietnam, its infantry were re-equipped with M16s. Units such as the 1st Cavalry Division, 173rd Airborne Brigade, and 101st Airborne Division saw the first large-scale deployment of the M16 with the US Army. Although the M16 replaced the all-wood and steel M14 with plastic parts, the new rifle won over many skeptics, and the Army and Navy ordered another 419,277 rifles in 1966.

In the summer of 1966, rumors of an arms problem began to filter out of Vietnam. The rumor included a shortage of ammunition, a failure to fire, and a lack of ejection. Over the years, the complaints pile up. During the first week of October 1966, troops of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry, Headquarters, 1st Infantry Division reported that they were having many problems with the new XM16E1 rifle and that "confidence was waning."

General William Westmoreland, the US Army commander in Vietnam, requested a technical assistance team to visit sites in the field equipped with the M16, and the visit lasted six weeks. A decorated veteran of the United States Army, one of Colt's experts returned the condition that he had "never seen such poorly maintained equipment." He reported that many soldiers had never held a rifle, had never been taught rifle maintenance, and had never even seen an M16 until Vietnam. Many people believe the rumor that guns should not be cleaned. Field cleaning supplies were limited. As a result, many weapons were in terrible condition.

Meanwhile, in 1963, the Army made a fateful decision: it switched from the discontinued IMR 4475 powder to the ball-shaped WC 846 powder. The WC 846 reduced chamber pressure and increased velocity, both good things, but the trade-off was burnt mud, which built up more carbon and increased the M16's rate of fire.

Cyma M16 Vietnam Style

Meanwhile, another problem has arisen that contributes to the problem. Contrary to popular belief, all military weapons require cleaning because they slowly accumulate oil, dirt, and carbon in the field. Far from maintenance, the M16 rifle needs regular maintenance. The M16's operating gas lock system channels the hot powder gas that follows the bullet out of the muzzle and back into the rifle's upper receiver. This gas pushes the bolt back, ejects the empty brass cartridge, picks up a new cartridge and starts the gun movement again. In semi-automatic mode, this process is repeated with each pull of the trigger, and in full-automatic mode it is repeated as soon as the trigger is pulled.

One of the problems with gas suppression systems is that, in addition to hot gases, the tubes also send out carbon and other gunpowder residues, which in their impurity can corrode the chamber and cause malfunctions. Hot gases and debris increase the frequency of new propellers and subsequent fires, increasing the need for periodic cleaning. This problem, combined with soldiers' tendency to not clean their weapons, led to frequent malfunctions.

This is not the only problem with the M16. In the hot and humid environment of Southeast Asia, bullets corrode quickly and magazine feed lips bend easily, causing feeding problems. The military refused to reject the chrome plate for the chamber, and the rifle suffered chamber corrosion as a result. The material of the weapons had a tendency to break. The barrel, bolt carrier group and other steel components are rusted. The copper bullet casing is too soft and breaks during extraction.

Maintenance issues are becoming more pressing. Units in the field have a 30% failure rate, with auto rifles automatically reducing infantry numbers to near-ineffective levels. Malfunctioning rifles have been repeatedly accused of contributing to the deaths of soldiers in combat, and some soldiers and Marines even chose to carry AK-47s.

Bushmaster/american Historical Society Vietnam War M16 Rifle

By 1967, Colt and the military had agreed to implement a series of modifications to the rifle to improve reliability. The heavier shock absorber slows the M16's rate of fire, the plastic stock is rougher using thicker plastic, and the chamber and barrel are chrome-plated to resist corrosion. Colt steel parts are phosphate coated to improve rust resistance and aluminum anodizing. The first weapons with these changes were in the field in late 1967, and the rest in late 1968.

Against this loose schedule, the only immediate thing soldiers and marines could do to make their rifles more reliable was to clean them, but as reporter CJ Chivers points out, this probably contributed as much to the military itself, with the same cleaning routine. - like the old M14 rifle. A problem has been reported. The reliability of this weapon is largely a matter of engineering and cost savings built into the weapon, and only hardware improvements have increased the weapon's reliability.

In 1970, the new M16A1 rifle replaced the old XM16E1 rifle. The most serious problems disappeared and it was successful, but it took four years for the weapon to be as reliable as originally advertised. The M16A1 continued in service for another fifteen years, into the mid-1980s, when the US Army and Marines began a new phase of upgrades to the long-range rifle. The new weapons and ammunition were designed not to eliminate Viet Cong guerrillas in the jungle, but Soviet motorized rifles on the battlefields of Western Europe.

Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national security writer based in San Francisco who writes for Diplomats, Foreign Policy, War Boredom, and The Daily Beast. In 2009, he founded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch. You can follow him on Twitter: @KyleMizokami. This article appeared two years ago and is being republished for the interest of readers. Worldwide, the .223 is the most widely produced rifle in the world, second only to the AK-47 in total post-World War II rifle production. To their credit today, American rifles defeated American troops in Vietnam. There are many parts to a recipe for disaster, and more than one chef has their share of messing up the roast. This is the sad story of the early days of the world's best battle rifle.

Vietnam War Weapons

In 1959, the United States chose the M-14 as its primary battle rifle. It would be the shortest-lived rifle in history. Compared to the Soviet AK-47, which was heavy and uncontrollable in fully automatic fire, the M-14 was obsolete at birth. America needs weapons to match its space age ambitions. Not surprisingly, it is a subsidiary of the aerospace company that fulfills this ambition. Armalite's business was to develop small tools that could then be sold to manufacturers. Armalite employee Eugene Stoner was given the canvas to create a masterpiece and from his fertile mind came the rifle of the future.

The superiority of the M-16 over other rifles on paper is astounding. The scale of the changes that went into Stoner's design was a perfect complement to the "World Age" technology. This rifle is light, accurate and has virtually no recoil. Any soldier with a little training can put each round in a case at 100 yards in less than 2 seconds. Ammon was lighter, cheaper and more lethal. The first reports of enemy casualties were so dire that they remained classified until the 1980s. The projectiles enter the body and sink into it. So the Green Berets, impressed by the M-16s issued to ARVN troops, requested the issue of the weapon in 1962. Jumping from the M-14 to the M-16 is equivalent to changing d plane to plane. The design was sold to Colt and adopted by the US Army in 1964. Optimism surrounding the weapon is high. That should have been the first warning sign.

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