M16A1, M16A2, M4 and M16A4

M16

From top to bottom: M16A1, M16A2, M4 and M16A4.

Type : Assault rifle

Country of origin : United States

Usage history

Period of use : 1960 -

Used by : United States, NATO, Israel, many others

On the war : the Vietnam War, Gulf War, Iraq War

Production history

Year : 1957

Manufactured : 1960 -

Total production : Over 8 million

Specification

Length : 1006 mm (39.5 in)

Barrel Length : 508 mm (20 in)

Magazen : 5.56 x 45 mm NATO, .223 Remington

Caliber : 5.56 mm (.223 in)

Mechanism : Operation of gas, rotating bolt

Average fire : 750-900 rounds / minute

Bullet speed : 975 m / s (3200 ft / s); 930 m / s (3050 ft / s)

Effective range : 550 m

Ammunition : Magazen short and long 30-grain 150-grain

M16 is a rifle made in the United States. Using the M16 x 45 mm bullets NATO 5:56. This rifle is used as the main assault rifle in the infantry wear the United States since 1967. M16 is also used by 15 other NATO countries, and is a 5:56-mm-caliber rifle the most widely produced. M16 assault rifle that is lightweight, 5:56 mm caliber, air-cooled, gas operated system, use magazen, and use the rotating bolt. M16 is made of iron, aluminum and plastic composite.

There are four main versions of the M16. The first is the M16, which was followed by the M16A1, which uses U.S. bullets M193/M196. This M16 can ditembakan on the choice of semi-automatic or fully-automatic. The second was the M16A2, which came into use around 1980. M16A2 using the Belgian-designed M855/M856 cartridge (and then made the NATO standards 5:56 x 45 mm). M16A2 can be fired semi-automatic and three-point burst. The latter is the M16A4, which became the standard for the U.S. Marines during Operation Iraqi Freedom, replacing the M16A2.

History

In 1948, U.S. Army civilian agency established the Office of Operations Research (Operations Research Office, oro). One of them is the first study analyzing more than three million reports of World War II field. The conclusion that they can is that most of the fighting occurred at close range. At war with high mobility, combat teams often encounter the enemy suddenly, and the party that has the ability to shoot most is who won. They also found that the probability of a random shot at the actual battle only - that is, accurately aiming not so influential, since the target does not dwell on the place. In addition, large-caliber bullets used in rifles that time was also not suitable because it is too big and heavy, what is needed is a bullet with a smaller caliber.

This research is seen by Colonel René Studler, Head of Research and Development, U.S. Army Light Weapons. Studler Colonel then asked for Aberdeen Proving Ground to make a statement about the smaller-caliber bullets. A team led by Donald Hall, director of development at Aberdeen, reported that the bullets the size of 0.22 inches (5.59 mm) will be the same effect with a large caliber bullet in the battle. Members of his team, particularly William C. Davis, Jr.. and G.A. Gustafson, began to develop an experiment bullets .224 inch (5.69 mm). But in 1955, their funding request was rejected.

A new study, Salvo Project, created to find a suitable design of the weapon used in actual battle. Salvo project run in 1953 up to 1957 in two phases. Salvo I concluded that a gun that fired four bullets into the 0.5-meter area will double the possibility of taxable on semi-automatic rifle.

In phase II Salvo, conducted weapons testing concepts. Irwin Barr of AAI Corporation introduced a series of weapons like arrows with bullets, ranging from shotgun shells containing 32 arrows, until the guns with bullets arrows. Winchester and Springfield offered a lot of weapons with the barrel, and Oro offers a .308 Winchester or .30-06 cartridge, which contains two .22 caliber bullets, .25 or .27.

Eugene Stoner

The first variant of the AR-10.

In 1954 Eugene Stoner's weapons company, ArmaLite, participate in the tender selection penganti M1 Garand rifle. Guns they make are the AR-10 rifles. AR-10, including sophisticated when compared to other rifles tested. Weighing 900 grams lighter than the others, the fit is also not lose. However, this gun was sent for testing in late 1956, at the time, testing the other guns had entered in year two, and AR-10 is the new rifles among the rifles that have been developed more deeply. And in 1957 in penegetesan, the barrel of an AR-10 prototypes were broken, which directly resulted in rejection of the AR-10 design is. Finally accepted the rifle is designed T44, which was named M14. Even so, ArmaLite later will develop a new rifle based on the AR-10 rifle was.

CONARC

AR-15 rifle.

In 1957, a copy of the 1955 funding request to hand Gustafson General Willard Wyman, commander of the U.S. Continental Army Command (U.S. Continental Army Command, CONARC). He immediately formed a team for caliber .22 bullets experimental development (5.6 mm).

General Wyman once impressed by a demonstration of the AR-10, privately suggested to participate in the tender ArmaLite rifle using bullets 5:56 mm. The draft submitted ArmaLite, AR-15, AR-10 form of adapted and reduced in size. The design is based on the M1 Carbine Winchester, and Springfield did not come to give their designs, because they do not want to divert resources from the T44 project. But ultimately, the AR-15 outperformed all other designs.

At that time, the parent company ArmaLite, Fairchild, has spent $ 1.45 million for the development, and resulted in Fairchild leave the small arms industry. Copyright AR-15 and then sold to Colt firearms in December 1959, with the price of $ 75,000 in cash and 4.5% royalty of sales.

Adoption M16

M16A1 rifle.

M16A2 with M203 grenade launcher.

In November 1964, the United States Army ordered 85 000 AR-15 is modified, and given the name XM16E1, for the experiment. United States Air Force also ordered 19 000 unmodified, named the M16. And a year later AU was officially received the first M16.

After that the United States Army began to arm the infantry with rifles XM16E1 (named M16), but the rifles was given without adequate cleaning equipment. In addition, the United States Army also failed to produce a bullet 5:56 mm as specified by the manufacturer, coupled with the composition of gunpowder dirubahnya used. 5:56 mm ammunition turned out to damage the contents of this new rifle, and firing characteristics increase the likelihood of congestion M16.

In 1966, XM16E1 reaches the United States Army in Vietnam, and began to appear reports of damage and congestion M16 rifle. Although M14 has a barrel and chrome-coated bullets room, M16/XM16E1 not. Given the reports about the soldiers who died for the weapon jams, began the investigation by Congress, whose results question the ability of 5:56 mm guns and bullets.

On the basis of the investigation, XM16E1 then modified into a M16A1, which has been given a layer of chrome, and adjusted to the Army's munitions output. Besides these new guns also have the cleaning device. The Army recently ordered 840 000 rifle on February 28, 1967. Also conducted intensive training programs to train rifles cleaning, and a comic book-shaped manual was distributed to the soldiers.

Design

M16 receivers are made of aluminum. Barrel, bolt and bolt carrier is made of iron. Butt and the handle is made of plastic. M16 early models including the lightweight, weighing 2.9 kg, much lighter than the rifles in the 1950s and 1960s. And also lighter than the AK-47 which weighs about 5 kg. And M16A2 variants of the newer weight increases, ie to 3.9 kg.

Current models (M16A4) has a receiver design for "flat-top", equipped with a Picatinny mounting rails, which makes users can install the tool normal viewfinder, optical viewfinder as well as tools such as telescopes and night vision.