How Bad Was the M16 Really?

Описание: How Bad Was the M16 Really?

American soldiers in Vietnam were found with their M16s in pieces, cleaning rods stuck in the barrel, clearly trying to clear a jam before it was too late. This video gets into what actually caused those failures and why nobody faced any consequences for it.

The M16 worked fine in testing. Then right before deployment, Army Ordnance switched to a cheaper powder without telling the designer or running a single test. That powder burned hotter, spiked chamber pressure beyond what the rifle could handle, made casings swell and tear, and left residue that hardened like plastic. On top of that, soldiers got rifles marketed as "self-cleaning" with no cleaning kits and magazines made from cheap aluminum that bent after a few uses.

The video breaks down the mechanical problems, the failure-to-extract jams that needed cleaning rods nobody had, and the forward assist that Army Ordnance forced into the design even though Stoner said it would only cause more issues. Half a squad's rifles would seize up mid-firefight. Guys were swinging helmets and grabbing enemy weapons just to stay in the fight. Congress investigated, people threw around phrases like "criminal negligence" and "sabotage," and then nothing happened. Nobody got fired. Nobody got demoted. They just quietly dissolved Army Ordnance and moved on.

Chapters:

0:00 Found With Their Rifles Disassembled
2:10 Why the M16 Was Made This Way
4:46 When Everything Seemed Perfect
5:48 The Nightmare Begins
9:21 What They Changed Without Telling Anyone
12:51 How They Finally Fixed It



RogerRoger covers military history with thoroughly researched original content.
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