The M16 and the Vietnam War
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Published 2024-03-12
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Movies Featured:
We Were Soldiers 2002
Apocalypse Now 1979
Family Guy (Series)
Hamburger Hill 1987
The Green Berets 1968
Forest Gump 1994
Full Metal Jacket 1987
Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan 2019
The Siege of Firebase Gloria 1989
Tropic Thunder 2008
Missing in Action 1984
Rushmore 1998
The Deer Hunter 1978
Platoon 1986
Uncommon Valor 1983
BAT *21 1988
American Dad (Series)
#gun #army #war
All Comments (21)
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The British Army bought 10,000 M-16s before the US Army did. They were used by the Gurkhas in preference to the FN FAL as it was shorter and lighter.
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It was great to see an interview with a soldier on the rifle. It is uncommon to see such footage.
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The person who said that the M-16 can be self-cleaned might be one of the worst trolls in the US military. 😂
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Knew a Sea Bee who said his unit never let go of the old M14s. Said the real advantage was that if the chopper went down and the M60 was destroyed, you could rip 7.62 rounds from the belts and load them into the M14s
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6:40 Johnny, on the issue of AK's to spec ops units during Vietnam, one other reason was that many of these missions, especially MACV-SOG missions along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, were conducted at night. The AK has a distinctive heavier sound firing compared to the lighter "pop-pop" sound of the M-16, so acoustic concealment was a reason to use the AK as well, if the teams got into firefights.
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"You're all stupid, see they're gonna be looking for army guys"
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My uncle had kept his copy of the M16 comic book in plastic and I inherited it from him, great memories and best cleaning guide ever made.
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I only fired 15 shots from an M-16 during my short time in my country's version of the National Guard. The Army instructor brought us to firing range and told us to shoot with zero prior knowledge. My first and last time using the M-16, a burst of GPMG and a single shot from a handgun.
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Pretty good summary of the M16. The combination of propellant change and failure to chrome line the chamber and bore created the vast majority of the M16`s problems. Failure to extract due to cartridge brass sticking in corroded chambers was the most common malfunction.
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Fun fact: a lesser-known issue of the Vietnam-era M16 was that Colt's machinery gave barrels the wrong twist, destabilizing the bullets so much they'd fragment on impact. The flip side of horror stories about jamming were reports like "the M16 rocks, I hit Charlie in the shoulder and his head exploded," which the Pentagon did its best to classify because they REALLY didn't want to deal with the PR fallout for something that wasn't even intentional on their part.
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My dad was issued an M16A1 back in the late 1980’s his only complaint was it was a pain to clean other than that he had nothing but praise
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Building an A1 was the best decision ever. Its to this day the most fun rifle to shoot.
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In middle school, a friend of mine has his grandpa came in to speak to our class who was a Vietnam Vet. I think we just read a book about it? Well, as a kid I read about how the M16 kept jamming so wanted to ask if his ever did. Before asking, I was thinking 'don't ask if he killed anyone, don't ask if he killed anyone.' Well, I ended up asking if he killed anyone and he said he didn't want to talk about it and he left shortly after. I think about that day a lot.
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Carried one in the Marines from 79 to 85. Didn’t shoot anything else. I do remember some old timers from Vietnam saying they hated them.
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Good and accurate description of the switch from stick IMR powder that Stoner designed the gas system around, to the cheaper (1 cent per round) spherical or ball powder.
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My grandfather preferred the m1 .30cal carbine (he was a cook) and my father's favourite weapon was the browning hi power (he drove lavs) but they both used to say that the m16 was the best weapon for frontline troops.
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The M16's character arc is some classic Heroes Journey stuff: begin as the red-headed stepchild, grow into a reliable friend, and now these days be viewed as an iconic hero (or villain if you listen to the political talking heads).
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M16a1 is such an American ass weapon
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If there's things that pretty much represent the Vietnam war, it's Fortunate son, Huey Helicopters, and the M-16.
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I like to add this about the ammunition, the ammo was originally produced by Remington with ball powder which was successful in field use without modifying the M16. When the M16 became standardized, the army took over ammo production so propellant was switched to surplus IMR (designed as late from WW2) which was compatible with artillery and 7.62 NATO. The bureaucrats intended the 556 ammo to fail so they could justify re-issuing M14 rifles to meet contracts originally promised to Springfield Armory.
