After conducting its own test of the AR-15, the US Air Force decided to adopt the rifle as standard issue, and ordered 8,500 AR-15s.Įxtensive tests were conducted on the AR-15 in 19. However, the AR-15 had gotten the attention of the US Air Force. In response to this study, the Army elected to instead ramp up production of the M14. The resulting study recommended adopting a lightweight infantry rifle like the AR-15. In 1958, the US Army ran experiments with small squads in combat situations using the current M14, the AR-15 rifle, and a third rifle designed by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Calls for a new infantry rifle chambering an intermediate cartridge began to grow. Reports from in the field indicated several problems with the M14, with the most often-cited complaints being that the rifle and its ammo were too heavy, and that the gun was nigh uncontrollable in full auto thanks to its powerful cartridge. Colt's model name for the M16 rifle was 'Colt Model 603'.ĭuring the early years of the Vietnam War, US troops were outfitted with the M14 battle rifle, chambering the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. It is an air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed assault rifle with a rotating bolt, and utilizes the direct-impingement system from Eugene Stoner's AR-15 rifle. The M16 rifle, officially designated as the 'Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16', is the US military version of the Armalite AR-15 rifle.
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