During the 1950's, Eugene Stoner of Armalite Inc produced a design for a 5.56 mm rifle, designated the AR-10, a revolutionary weapon built with extensive use of plastics and alloys, as a replacement for the M1 carbine then in service with the US armed forces.

Following initial trials by the US Army Infantry Board at Fort Benning the designers modified the AR-10 at the Army's request, and the result was the AR-15. Firing a new, smaller, 5.56-mm x 45 cartridge cartridge, it was a far cry from the US Army's existing weapons being a much smaller and lighter weapon than its predecessors. But in 1959 the Army lost interest and turned instead to a new development programme, the 6-mm SPIW (Special Purpose Individual Weapon).

That might have been the end of the story but for the US Air Force, who were looking for a small and handy short-range weapon with which to arm airfield guards. They looked at the AR-15, liked it, and ordered 8,000 in 1962. Shortly after this it was issued to guards in Vietnam. The ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) saw them, thought that they would be ideal for their small-statured men, and asked for some to be supplied by the USA. One thousand were sent out in 1962, and it became highly popular.

In the late 1950s, following the failure of the 6-mm SPIW programme, the US military increasingly adopted the Soviet tactic of sacrificing accuracy in favour of lighter weapons with a faster rate of fire. US Army interest returned to the AR-15 and the Army took a number of the rifles for evaluation in Vietnam. Before the Army could standardise the weapon, they insisted on some small modifications; of these, the most important of these were a burst-fire selection and a plunger-type 'bolt assist' (a bolt closing device) on the right-hand side of the receiver for forcing the bolt home if the return spring fails to do this for any reason. Occasionally a dirty cartridge or a dirty chamber caused the breech to stick before being fully closed, and a positive closing plunger was added on the right hand side of the receiver. With this, the rifle now became the M16A1 and received official blessing and followed this up in 1963 with a large order for 85,000 rifles to replace the heavy and awkward M14. A further 19,000 were also ordered for the Air Force. Increasing numbers were required over the years - 100,000 in 1965 and a further 100,000 in 1966. By 1969, the US Army had accepted the M16 as the standard rifle. The Colt Firearms Corporation took over the manufacturing in 1962, and although some were produced by other firms under an agreement with the US government (Harrington and Richardson, and the Hydramatic Division of General Motors) most Ml6s have been made by Colt. It was also produced in a shorter-barreled carbine version.

The M16 family were gas-operated, selective-fire (full automatic or semiautomatic), self-loading rifles feeding from detachable 20- or 30-round box magazines. A bipod can be fitted, as can a bayonet. A typical rifle weighed just over 3kg (6.61b) and measured 990 mm (36.6 in) in length. The flip aperture rear sight of the rifles was contained between flanges (for protection) on the fixed carrying device located on the receiver above the pistol-grip trigger mechanism. This carrying handle gave the M16 some of its characteristic outline. The design of the weapon incorporated the 'in-line recoil' feature that had been known about for some years before. This meant that the recoil from firing drove the weapon in a straight line along the line of sight, so that the tendency for the rifle to move off the point of aim was considerably reduced. It also tended to limit the climbing effect when firing on automatic or bursts. The flash suppressor, which is fixed, can be used to fire standard rifle grenades. The compact nature of the M16 made it an easy weapon to carry into combat (see Technical Specifications)

The M16 possessed a rapid rate of fire, and a high muzzle velocity. This meant that in a close-range firefight the bullets would hit their target at supersonic speed and turn internal organs into a bloody mush.

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